Håvard Nielsen
Norwegian footballer (born 1993)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Håvard Nielsen (born 15 July 1993) is a Norwegian professional footballer who last played as a forward for 2. Bundesliga club Hannover 96. He played for the Norway national team.
|
Nielsen with Red Bull Salzburg in 2012 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Håvard Kallevik Nielsen | ||
| Date of birth | 15 July 1993 | ||
| Place of birth | Oslo, Norway | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Positions | |||
| 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) |
| 2014–2015 | → Eintracht Braunschweig (loan) | 46 | (10) |
| 2016–2017 | SC Freiburg | 11 | (0) |
| 2017–2019 | Fortuna Düsseldorf | 23 | (0) |
| 2019 | Fortuna Düsseldorf II | 1 | (1) |
| 2019 | → MSV Duisburg (loan) | 16 | (4) |
| 2019–2022 | Greuther Fürth | 91 | (20) |
| 2022–2026 | Hannover 96 | 101 | (17) |
| 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 as of 18 May 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 2020 | |||
Club career
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] He left the club in 2026.
International career
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
Club
| 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 | |||
| Hannover 96 | 2022–23 | 2. Bundesliga | 33 | 8 | 2 | 0 | – | 35 | 8 | |
| 2023–24 | 27 | 7 | 0 | 0 | – | 27 | 7 | |||
| 2024–25 | 31 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | 32 | 2 | |||
| 2025–26 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 10 | 0 | |||
| Total | 101 | 17 | 3 | 0 | – | 104 | 17 | |||
| Career total | 373 | 63 | 15 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 397 | 65 | ||
International
- Scores and results list Norway's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Nielsen goal.
| 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 |
