Sophus Nielsen

Sophus Nielsen
Nielsen with Denmark at the 1912 Summer Olympics
Personal information
Full name Sophus Erhard Nielsen
Date of birth (1888-03-15)15 March 1888
Place of birth Copenhagen, Denmark
Date of death 6 August 1963(1963-08-06) (aged 75)
Place of death Copenhagen, Denmark
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
–1898 Concordia
1898–1902 Stjernen
1902–1904 BK Frem
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1904–1912 BK Frem 30 (33)
1910–1911 Holstein Kiel
1916–1921 BK Frem 107 (92)
International career
1908–1919 Denmark 20 (16)
Managerial career
1932–1933 Viborg FF
1933 Holstebro Boldklub
1940 Denmark
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Sophus Erhard "Krølben" Nielsen (15 March 1888 – 6 August 1963) was a Danish amateur football player and manager, and the first player in history to score ten goals in a full national team match. Nielsen scored a total 16 goals in 20 games for the Denmark national team, and won silver medals at the 1908 and 1912 Summer Olympics. He was named Denmark national team manager in 1940, and he was a pioneer in educating Danish coaches. His nickname Krølben (literally: curl-leg) is slang for him being bandy-legged.