Theresa Eslund

Theresa Eslund
Eslund in 2017
Personal information
Full name Theresa Eslund
Birth name Theresa Nielsen[1]
Date of birth (1986-07-20) 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
Women's football
Representing  Denmark
UEFA Women's Championship
Silver medal – second place2017 NetherlandsTeam
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

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]

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

Raised in Valby, Eslund began playing football at age six on a team known as Rikken.[5][6]

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

Nielsen during the UEFA Women's Euro 2017 semi-final against Austria.
Nielsen during the UEFA Women's Euro 2017 semi-final against Austria.

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
Denmark
Individual

Personal life

Formerly known as Theresa Nielsen, Eslund began using her married name in 2020.[23]

References

  1. ↑ Theresa Eslund at the Norwegian Football Federation (in Norwegian)
  2. ↑ "Brøndby IF forfremmer klubikonet Eslund | Fodbold for piger". www.fodboldforpiger.dk (in Danish). 20 March 2026. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
  3. ↑ "Theresa Eslund fortsætter som Head of Player Development". brondby.com (in Danish). 23 May 2025. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  4. ↑ "Dansk landsholdslegende stopper karrieren - TV 2". sport.tv2.dk (in Danish). 23 May 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  5. ↑ "Den danske sportselite: Theresa Nielsen - ChriChri". Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  6. ↑ "Rikken-pige årets fodboldspiller" (in Danish). Valby Bladet. 13 November 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  7. ↑ Weber, Lennart (3 May 2013). "Theresa har stamplads på landsholdet" (in Danish). Fagligt Fælles Forbund. Archived from the original on 10 May 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  8. ↑ "Theresa Nielsen: "Det er ikke et farvel - men et på gensyn" - Fodbold for piger". Fodbold for piger (in Danish). 24 January 2017. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  9. 1 2 3 "T. Nielsen". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  10. ↑ bold.dk (17 May 2017). "Theresa Nielsen på tavlen i Vålerenga-sejr". bold.dk. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  11. ↑ "2017 Toppserien". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  12. ↑ "Theresa Nielsen blant 2017s beste spillere". Vålerenga (in Norwegian Bokmål). Archived from the original on 6 April 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  13. ↑ "Reign send Mathias to Courage, sign Danish defender Nielsen". The Equalizer. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  14. ↑ "Seattle Reign sign Danish defender Theresa Nielsen". Sounder At Heart. Vox Media. Archived from the original on 14 February 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  15. ↑ "Reign FC Open 2018 NWSL Season With A Win Against Washington Spirit". TheBold: Seattle Reign FC. Medium. 25 March 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  16. ↑ "Inden topbrag: Theresa Nielsen tilbage i Brøndby-trøjen". Brøndby IF. 16 November 2019. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  17. ↑ Garin, Erik (9 October 2005). "European Youth Olympic Days (EYOD)". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  18. ↑ "Danmark – Tyskland 1 – 0" (in Danish). Danish Football Association. 5 March 2008. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  19. ↑ Bruun, Peter (21 June 2013). "Upbeat Heiner-Møller confirms Denmark squad". UEFA. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  20. ↑ "Denmark defeated by Dutch in Euro 2017 final". The Local. 6 August 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  21. ↑ UEFA.com (7 August 2017). "Official UEFA Women's EURO 2017 Best Eleven". UEFA. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  22. ↑ "EM-heltinde vinder fornem pris i norsk fodbold". DR (in Danish). Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  23. ↑ "NYE OG VELKENDTE ANSIGTER KÆMPER FOR KVINDELANDSHOLDET I PORTUGAL". DBU. 19 February 2020. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
Wikimedia Commons logo
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Theresa Nielsen.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.