Håvard Nielsen (born 15 July 1993) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a forward for 2. Bundesliga club Hannover 96. He played for the Norway national team.

Håvard Nielsen
Nielsen with Red Bull Salzburg in 2012
Personal information
Full name Håvard Kallevik Nielsen
Date of birth (1993-07-15) 15 July 1993 (age 31)
Place of birth Oslo, Norway
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Striker, winger
Team information
Current team
Hannover 96
Number 16
Youth career
2000–2006 Oppsal
2007–2010 Vålerenga
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2012 Vålerenga 46 (9)
2012–2016 Red Bull Salzburg 39 (3)
2014–2015Eintracht Braunschweig (loan) 46 (10)
2016–2017 SC Freiburg 11 (0)
2017–2019 Fortuna Düsseldorf 23 (0)
2019 Fortuna Düsseldorf II 1 (1)
2019MSV Duisburg (loan) 16 (4)
2019–2022 Greuther Fürth 91 (20)
2022– Hannover 96 60 (15)
International career
2008 Norway U15 4 (0)
2009 Norway U16 10 (7)
2010 Norway U17 8 (2)
2010–2011 Norway U18 15 (3)
2011–2012 Norway U19 15 (4)
2012–2013 Norway U21 15 (3)
2012–2015 Norway 14 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23 May 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 2020

Club career

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Born in the Norwegian capital, Oslo, Nielsen grew up in the outer-city neighborhood of Oppsal. He began his career with the local club Oppsal IF, but signed for Vålerenga in 2007, when he was 14 years old.[1]

On 5 October 2009, he made his debut in the Norwegian Premier League against Viking as the youngest ever Vålerenga player. In January 2011, he signed a three-year professional contract with Vålerenga.[2]

At the age of 18, Nielsen was already an experienced player and on 11 July 2012, he scored his first hat-trick for Vålerenga in the match against Odd Grenland.

In July 2012, he signed a deal with Red Bull Salzburg. In January 2014, he went on loan to the German Bundesliga side Eintracht Braunschweig.[3] On 26 January 2014 he made his debut in the German first tier, in a game against Werder Bremen.[4] The loan deal ended in June 2015 when he returned to Salzburg.

In winter 2015 Nielsen moved to SC Freiburg.[5]

In July 2017, after 1.5 seasons at Freiburg, Nielsen signed a three-year contract with 2. Bundesliga side Fortuna Düsseldorf.[6]

He was loaned to MSV Duisburg on 8 January 2019.[7]

On 26 July 2019, Nielsen joined 2. Bundesliga side Greuther Fürth, signing a two-year contract.[8]

Ahead of the 2022–23 season, Nielsen joined 2. Bundesliga club Hannover 96 on a two-year contract.[9]

International career

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Nielsen has played for a national team above his age since he was 16. He played all matches during the 2011 European Under-19 Championship qualification and scored one goal, when Norway advanced to the elite qualification.

Nielsen made his debut for the senior Norwegian national team in 2012 as a teenager and since then he has played 11 times for the Norway national team and he is now a regular for Norway. He scored his first international goal for Norway at only 19 years of age, in November 2012, against Hungary in a friendly match. He scored his second goal for Norway in October 2014, in a European Championship qualifier against Bulgaria.

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 14 May 2022[10][11]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Vålerenga 2009 Tippeligaen 1 0 0 0 1 0
2010 1 0 1 1 2 1
2011 28 3 1 0 4 0 33 3
2012 16 6 2 1 18 7
Total 46 9 4 2 4 0 52 11
Red Bull Salzburg 2012–13 Austrian Bundesliga 24 3 0 0 24 3
2013–14 7 0 0 0 4 0 11 0
2014–15 0 0 0 0 0 0
2015–16 8 0 0 0 1 0 9 0
Total 39 3 0 0 5 0 43 3
Eintracht Braunschweig (loan) 2013–14 Bundesliga 16 2 0 0 16 2
2014–15 2. Bundesliga 30 8 2 2 32 10
Total 46 10 2 2 48 12
SC Freiburg 2015–16 2. Bundesliga 7 0 0 0 7 0
2016–17 4 0 0 0 4 0
Total 11 0 0 0 11 0
Fortuna Düsseldorf 2017–18 2. Bundesliga 23 0 0 0 23 0
2018–19 Bundesliga 0 0 1 0 1 0
Total 23 0 1 0 24 0
MSV Duisburg (loan) 2018–19 2. Bundesliga 16 4 1 0 17 4
Greuther Fürth 2019–20 2. Bundesliga 31 7 1 0 32 7
2020–21 34 11 3 0 36 11
2021–22 Bundesliga 26 2 0 0 26 2
Total 91 20 4 0 95 20
Career total 272 46 12 2 9 0 293 48

International

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Scores and results list Norway's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Nielsen goal.
List of international goals scored by Håvard Nielsen
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 14 November 2012 Ferenc Puskás Stadium, Budapest, Hungary   Hungary 1–0 2–0 Friendly
2 13 October 2014 Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway   Bulgaria 2–1 2–1 UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying

References

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  1. ^ "Havard Nielsen" (in German). kicker.de. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
  2. ^ "Nielsen har signert". Vålerenga Fotball (in Norwegian). 31 January 2011. Archived from the original on 9 February 2011. Retrieved 26 February 2011.
  3. ^ "Eintracht verpflichtet Havard Nielsen" (in German). Eintracht Braunschweig. 5 January 2014. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
  4. ^ "Nielsen nær scoring i Bundesliga-debuten". Verdens Gang (in Norwegian). 26 January 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  5. ^ "Ein Norweger im Breisgau: Nielsen wird Freiburger" [A Norwegian in Breisgau: Nielsen becomes Freiburger] (in German). kicker. 17 December 2015. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  6. ^ "Geburtstagspräsent: Nielsen ist Fortune". kicker Online (in German). 15 July 2017. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  7. ^ ""Offensive Flexibilität": Havard Nielsen wird ein Zebra". msv-duisburg.de (in German). 8 January 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  8. ^ "KLEEBLATT HOLT ANGREIFER NIELSEN" (in German). SpVgg Greuther Fürth. 26 July 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  9. ^ ""Toller Klub mit einem großen Namen": Nielsen entscheidet sich für Hannover 96". kicker.de (in German). kicker. 7 June 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  10. ^ Håvard Nielsen at Soccerway
  11. ^ "Anders Trondsen". altomfotball.no (in Norwegian). TV 2. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
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