Brian Steen Nielsen

Brian Steen Nielsen (born 28 December 1968) is a Danish former professional footballer, who most notably played 66 matches as a defensive midfielder for the Denmark national team between 1990 and 2002, scoring three goals. After his retirement from his active career, he worked as the director of football at former club AGF until 2014.

Brian Steen Nielsen
Personal information
Full name Brian Steen Nielsen
Date of birth (1968-12-28) 28 December 1968
Place of birth Vejle, Denmark
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Youth career
Vejle
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1988–1992 Vejle 105 (2)
1992–1993 OB 31 (4)
1993–1995 Fenerbahçe 50 (4)
1995–1996 OB 29 (2)
1996 Urawa Red Diamonds 6 (0)
1997–1998 OB 41 (1)
1998–2001 AB 84 (10)
2001–2002 Malmö FF 29 (0)
2002–2004 AGF 65 (5)
Total 440 (28)
National team
1990–2002 Denmark 66 (3)
Teams managed
2005 AGF Aarhus (caretaker)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Biography

Born in Vejle, Steen Nielsen started his senior career at Vejle Boldklub (VB) in October 1988. He received the 1989 Danish U21 Player of the Year award, and on 14 February 1990 he debuted for the Danish national team. He came on as a half-time substitute in a friendly match 0–0 draw with Egypt, but he did not become a constant part of the team, playing three further games until June 1991. He switched from Vejle to rival team Odense Boldklub (OB) in 1992, where he won the 1993 Danish Cup trophy. After a year at OB, he made the jump abroad to play in Turkey for Fenerbahçe.

The move to Fenerbahçe saw him return to the Danish national team in 1993, and during the last years of coach Richard Møller Nielsen's reign, Brian Steen was a part of the defensive midfield, playing many games alongside John "Faxe" Jensen. He moved back to play for OB in 1995, who he represented when he competed for Denmark in the UEFA Euro 1996. After the championship, he moved to Japan to play for Urawa Red Diamonds, and following Møller Nielsen's retirement as Denmark coach in June 1996, Brian Steen was eventually dropped by new coach Bo Johansson.

He moved back to OB once more in 1997, before playing for Akademisk Boldklub (AB), where his experience made him the natural team captain. His time at AB culminated in the 1999 Danish Cup triumph, at which time he had returned to the national team where he played a number of games in a midfield pairing with hard-hitter Stig Tøfting. Following the emergence of the eight-year younger Thomas Gravesen on the national team, Brian Steen slowly took on the role of substitute following the UEFA Euro 2000. After 11 minutes of play in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, under new coach Morten Olsen, his national team career had come to an end.

He ended his club career in Denmark with AGF, playing his last years alongside Stig Tøfting, though his stay at the club would be marked by him head-butting teammate Nikolaj Hust at the club training. He was not sued by Hust, but the press got hold of the news and Brian Steen was charged by the police and was convicted of mild violence, resulting in ten £50 fines.[1] He stopped his career at Aarhus GF in the fall of 2004, but stayed around the club, both as a caretaker manager and he is the current sports director.

In April 2016, it was made public that his name was found amongst those in the Panama Papers. Allegedly, he set up a company in Panama with the intent of evading Danish tax.[2]

Club statistics

[3]

Club performance League
Season Club League AppsGoals
Denmark League
1988Vejle1st Division70
1989260
1990250
1991Superliga172
1991–92172
1992–93OdenseSuperliga314
1993–94132
Turkey League
1993–94FenerbahçeFirst League201
1994–95303
Denmark League
1995–96OdenseSuperliga292
Japan League
1996Urawa RedsJ1 League60
Denmark League
1996–97OdenseSuperliga130
1997–98281
1998–99AkademiskSuperliga282
1999–00275
2000–01293
Sweden League
2001MalmöAllsvenskan150
2002140
Denmark League
2002–03AarhusSuperliga212
2003–04292
2004–05151
CountryDenmark 35526
Turkey 504
Japan 60
Sweden 290
Total 44030

National team statistics

Denmark national team
YearAppsGoals
199010
199130
199200
1993100
199470
1995110
199670
199700
199820
199962
2000101
200150
200240
Total663

Honours

References

  1. "Skadeeksempler – Strafbare handlinger" (in Danish). Willis insurance. Archived from the original on 25 August 2006.
  2. "Læk afslører: Danske landsholdsstjerner havde hemmelige skattelyselskaber". dr.dk. 4 April 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  3. Brian Steen Nielsen at National-Football-Teams.com
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