Kent Nielsen

Football manager infobox
playername= Kent Nielsen


fullname = Kent Nielsen
nickname =
dateofbirth = Birth date and age|1961|12|28|df=y
cityofbirth = Frederiksberg
countryofbirth = Denmark
height =
currentclub = AC Horsens
position = Manager
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1980-1986
1987-1989
1989-1992
1992-1994
clubs = Brønshøj BK
Brøndby IF
Aston Villa
AGF Aarhus
caps(goals) = 230 (34)
91 (7)
79 (4)
75 (?)
nationalyears = 1983-1992
nationalteam = Denmark
nationalcaps(goals) = 54 (3)
manageryears = 2000
2002-
managerclubs = AGF Aarhus (assistant)
AC Horsens

Kent Nielsen (born 28 December, 1961) is a Danish former professional football (soccer) player and current coach of Danish Superliga club AC Horsens. He played as central defender for the Denmark national football team which won the 1992 European Championship (Euro 92), retirring after the 2-0 final win against Germany, following 54 matches and three goals for Denmark.

Playing career

Kent Nielsen started his career in Danish club Brønshøj BK, for whom he debuted on the Danish national team on 5 October 1983 against Poland. He was selected for the Danish squad at the 1986 FIFA World Cup, but spent the entire tournament as an unused substitute. He switched to the Danish team Brøndby IF in 1987, with whom he won the 1987 and 1988 Danish championships, as well as the 1989 Danish Cup.

Following 91 games for Brøndby, Nielsen moved abroad to play for English club Aston Villa FC in 1989. In 1991, he moved back to Denmark, to play for AGF Aarhus. He won the 1992 Danish Cup with AGF, and was selected to represent Denmark at the Euro 92 tournament. Nielsen played four of Denmark's five games, including the Euro 92 final against Germany where he most famously cleared the ball off the goalline with a bicycle kick, avoiding a goal from Karlheinz Riedle. He ended his national team career following the Euro 92 final. He went on to play for AGF, where he retired in 1994.

Managerial career

Following his retirement, Nielsen spent years as an amateur football coach until he and Lars Lundkvist took over as coaches for AGF in 2000. In 2002, he became head coach of the Danish 1st Division team AC Horsens which he managed to promotion for the Danish Superliga 2005-06 season. Against all odds, he leaded the team to survive the first season, and his succes continued during the following seasons. In the 2007-08 season, his team finished in a historic fifth place, despite one of the lowest budgets of the league. Eventually, Nielsen's achievements with AC Horsens has caught the attention from other clubs. He will be a manager for Brøndby IF in start of 2009. He have a 4 year contrackt with Brøndby IF.

Honours

*Danish championship: 1987 and 1988 with Brøndby
*Danish Cup: 1989 with Brøndby and 1992 with AGF
*1992 European Championship

External links

* [http://www.dbu.dk/lbase/playerInfo.aspx?playerid=3996 Danish national team profile]