Richard Møller Nielsen
Nielsen in 2010
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 19 August 1937 | ||
| Place of birth | Ubberud, Odense, Denmark | ||
| Date of death | 13 February 2014 (aged 76) | ||
| Place of death | Odense | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1955–1962 | Odense BK | ||
| National team | |||
| 1959–1961 | Denmark | 2 | (0) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1962–1964 | Brobyværk IF | ||
| 1964–1968 | Odense BK | ||
| 1968–1969 | Esbjerg fB | ||
| 1969–1974 | Svendborg fB | ||
| 1974–1975 | B 1909 | ||
| 1975–1985 | Odense BK | ||
| 1978–1989 | Denmark u-21 | ||
| 1987–1990 | Denmark (assistant) | ||
| 1989 | Denmark (futsal) | ||
| 1990–1996 | Denmark | ||
| 1996–1999 | Finland | ||
| 2000–2002 | Israel | ||
| 2003 | Kolding FC | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Richard Møller Nielsen (19 August 1937 – 13 February 2014), nicknamed Ricardo, was a Danish football player and manager. His greatest triumph came when he coached the Danish national football team that won the 1992 European Championship (Euro 1992) tournament. In 1995, he was knighted as Knight 1st Degree of the Order of the Dannebrog. He is the father of Tommy Møller Nielsen.
Nielsen was mostly known for his career as a football coach, but he played for Odense BK, and was capped twice for Denmark as a defender. An injury ended his career.
Nielsen coached, among others, Esbjerg fB, Odense BK and the Danish national youth team under head coach Sepp Piontek. In 1990 Piontek left his position as national coach, and replacement was required. Nielsen was mentioned early in the race for the job, but the Danish Football Association decided to look abroad for a new coach. They selected German Horst Wohlers as the new Danish coach, but he was unable to cancel his contract with German club Bayer Uerdingen, so Nielsen was appointed.
The first aim for Nielsen was to qualify for the Euro 1992 in Sweden. Denmark started out with a secure home victory against the Faroe Islands, followed by an away draw against Northern Ireland and a 2–0 home loss against Yugoslavia. Several players left the squad including Michael Laudrup, Brian Laudrup and Jan Heintze, and several newspapers were demanding that Richard Møller Nielsen step down. Despite the criticism, the team won the rest of their games in the group, including a 2–1 away win against Yugoslavia. It was, however, not enough to qualify. The Danish team finished second in the group just behind Yugoslavia.
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