Håvard Nielsen (born 15 July 1993) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Eliteserien club Vålerenga. He played for the Norway national team.
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.
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.
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. On 26 January 2014 he made his debut in the German first tier, in a game against Werder Bremen. The loan deal ended in June 2015 when he returned to Salzburg.
In winter 2015 Nielsen moved to SC Freiburg.
In July 2017, after 1.5 seasons at Freiburg, Nielsen signed a three-year contract with 2. Bundesliga side Fortuna Düsseldorf.
He was loaned to MSV Duisburg on 8 January 2019.
On 26 July 2019, Nielsen joined 2. Bundesliga side Greuther Fürth, signing a two-year contract.
Ahead of the 2022–23 season, Nielsen joined 2. Bundesliga club Hannover 96 on a two-year contract. 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
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational CupContinentalTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsVålerenga2009Tippeligaen1000–1020101011–2120112831040333201216621–187Total46942405211Red Bull Salzburg2012–13Austrian Bundesliga24300–2432013–147000401102014–150000–002015–1680001090Total3930050433Eintracht Braunschweig (loan)2013–14Bundesliga16200–162 2014–152. Bundesliga30822–3210Total461022–4812SC Freiburg2015–162. Bundesliga7000–702016–174000–40Total11000–110Fortuna Düsseldorf2017–182. Bundesliga23000–2302018–19Bundesliga0010–10Total23010–240MSV Duisburg (loan)2018–192. Bundesliga16410–174Greuther Fürth 2019–202. Bundesliga31710–3272020–21341130–36112021–22Bundesliga26200–262Total912040–9520Hannover 96 2022–232. Bundesliga33820–3582023–2427700–2772024–2531210–3222025–2610000–100Total1011730–10417Vålerenga2026Eliteserien1000–10Career total374631529039865
International Scores and results list Norway's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Nielsen goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Håvard NielsenNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 14 November 2012 Ferenc Puskás Stadium, Budapest, Hungary 1–0 2–0 Friendly2 13 October 2014 Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway 2–1 2–1 UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying
References
External links
Profile at VIF-Fotball.no