Brian Steen Nielsen

Football player infobox2
playername= Brian Steen Nielsen


fullname = Brian Steen Nielsen
nickname =
dateofbirth = Birth date and age|1968|12|28|df=y
cityofbirth = Vejle
countryofbirth = Denmark
position = Defensive midfielder
youthyears =
youthclubs = Vejle Boldklub
years = 1988-1992
1992-1993
1993-1995
1995-1996
1996
1997-1998
1998-2001
2001-2002
2002-2004
clubs = Vejle Boldklub
Odense BK
Fenerbahçe SK
Odense BK
Urawa Red Diamonds
Odense BK
Akademisk Boldklub
Malmö FF
AGF Aarhus
caps(goals) = 105 (2)
31 (4)
50 (4)
29 (2)
6 (0)
41 (1)
84 (10)
29 (0)
65 (5)
nationalyears = 1990-2002
nationalteam = Denmark
nationalcaps(goals) = 66 (3)

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

Biography

Born in Vejle, Brian Steen started his senior career at Vejle BK in October 1988. He received the 1989 "Danish under-21 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 BK (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 SK.

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 1996 European Championship (Euro 1996) tournament. After Euro 1996, 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 Euro 2000 tournament. 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 Aarhus, 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. [da icon [http://www.willis.dk/enet/idraettensforsikringer/html/ansvar_udenfor_kontrakt.html Skadeeksempler - Strafbare handlinger] , Willis insurance] 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.

Honours

*Danish Cup : 1993, 1999

References

External links

* [http://www.dbu.dk/lbase/playerInfo.aspx?playerId=1580 National team profile]
*da icon [http://vejle-boldklub.dk/statistik-spillernavn.asp?Spillere=Brian%20Steen%20Nielsen Vejle Boldklub profile]
*da icon [http://www.agf.co.dk/docs/Holdet/SpillerProfil.asp?id=533 Aarhus GF profile]
* [http://www.national-football-teams.com/php/spieler.php?id=11260 National Football Teams]