Theresa Eslund
Danish footballer (born 1986)
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Theresa Eslund (née Nielsen; born 20 July 1986) is a Danish football coach and former professional footballer who played as a defender for Brøndby IF in the Danish A-Liga and the Danish national team. Eslund works as the Brøndby IF Assistant Coach and Head of Player Development, the former Eslund's first full-time position with the club.[2][3]
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Eslund in 2017 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Theresa Eslund | ||||||||||||||||
| Birth name | Theresa Nielsen[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 20 July 1986 | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Right-back | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| Rikken | |||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| –2002 | Hvidovre IF | ||||||||||||||||
| 2003–2008 | BSF | ||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2016 | Brøndby IF | 87 | (13) | ||||||||||||||
| 2017 | Vålerenga | 22 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | Seattle Reign | 41 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | → Melbourne City (loan) | 12 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | Brøndby IF | 22 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2003 | Denmark U-17 | 15 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 2006 | Denmark U-21 | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2009 | Denmark U-23 | 2 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2008–2020 | Denmark | 133 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Eslund previously played for Reign FC of the American National Women's Soccer League, Melbourne City of the Australian W-League, and Vålerenga in Norway's Toppserien. She was named Danish Women's Footballer of the Year in 2012. Eslund announced her player retirement in 2021, after more than 20 years as a footballer.[4]
Early life
Club career
Brøndby IF, 2009–2016
In 2012, Eslund was named Danish Women's Footballer of the Year after helping Brøndby IF to a league and cup double.[7]
Vålerenga, 2017
In January 2017, Eslund signed with Norwegian club, Vålerenga in Oslo, marking her first time playing for a foreign club.[8] Eslund made 22 appearances for Vålerenga and scored two goals during the 2017 season.[9] She scored her first goal for Vålerenga in the 47th minute of a match against Kolbotn resulting in a 2–0 win.[10] The club finished in seventh place with a 10–8–4 record.[11] Eslund was named one of the top 200 players in the world for 2017 by The Offside Rule, a podcast by The Guardian.[12]
Reign FC, 2018–2019
Eslund signed with American side Reign FC ahead of the 2018 National Women's Soccer League season in January 2018.[13][14] She made her debut for Seattle as a starting defender during the home opener — a 2–1 win over the Washington Spirit on 24 March.[15]
Return to Brøndby IF
Eslund returned to Brøndby IF on a two-year contract in 2020, were the team ended up at second place in the league.[16]
International career
At age 17, Eslund competed with the Denmark's under-17 national team at the 2003 European Youth Summer Olympic Festival. She scored in the final as Denmark beat Switzerland on penalties after a 1–1 draw at Stade Sébastien Charléty in Paris.[17]
Eslund made her senior international debut for Denmark in March 2008, during the team's 1–0 win over Germany at the 2008 Algarve Cup.[18]
She was called up to Kenneth Heiner-Møller's squad for UEFA Women's Euro 2013[19] and she was also part of Danish squad, who received silver at the UEFA Women's Euro 2017 in Netherlands.[20]
Honours
- Brøndby IF
- Elitedivisionen: Winner 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017 [9]
- Danish Women's Cup: Winner 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017[9]
- Denmark
- UEFA Women's Euro 2017 runners-up
- Individual
- UEFA Women's Euro 2017 Best XI[21]
- Toppserien Defender of the Year: 2017[22]
Personal life
Formerly known as Theresa Nielsen, Eslund began using her married name in 2020.[23]
