Welcome to the Blue Heaven : don't bet against the goalkeeper / Jimmy Nielsen with Paolo Bandini.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Nielsen, Jimmy, author.

Bandini, Paolo, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Nielsen, Jimmy, 1977-.

Nielsen, Jimmy.

Soccer goalkeepers--Biography.

Soccer goalkeepers.

Soccer--Kansas--Biography.

Soccer.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (168 pages) : illustrations (some color), photographs

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Olathe, Kansas : Ascend Books, 2013.

Summary:

Major League Soccer s Goalkeeper of ther year for 2012, Jimmy Nielsen, has established hinself as one of the best players in the League and a fan favorite while playing for Sporting Kansas City.Yet, while supporters are familiar with his achievements on the field and larger than-life personality off it, few are aware of the remarkable story that led him to the Midwest. Compared at an early age to Denmark s greatest goalkeeper ever, Peter Schmeichel, Nielsen was scouted by Manchester United and a host of other leading European clubs, but at the point when he should have been building a great career he was instead developing a ferocious gambling habit. In 1999, he dropped from Denmark s Under-21 team after missing cerfew because of a lost night at the roulette table. Nicknamed "Casino Jimmy" by rivalsupporters, Nielsen continued to gamble-the stakes getting so high that he was able to win $5000,000 on a single night at one casino and then throw more than half of that away at the same venue a day later. His losses finally cought up with him in 2004, when his inability to pay off a gambling debt helped put a major bookie out of business. Avoiding bankruptcy only with financial assistance from his soccer club and with the support of a family he feared would desert him, Nielsen gradually pieced his life back together. But in his soccer careerhe remained unfulfilled. He had spent almost his entire career with Aalborg, the team he supported as a boy, starting a record 398 games and winning the Danish championship in 1999, but he dreamed of a fresh challenge. Were it not for a phone call, from Kansas City in January 2010, that might have been the end of the story.Despite still performing at a high level, Nielsen was contimplating retirement when he was offered a contract by an American club he didnt even know existed. He said yes.

Contents:

Intro

Title Page

Copyright Page

Contents

Dedication

Foreword

1. The World's Most Expensive Gerbil

2. A Childhood Obsession

3. Lessons In Gambling

4. Soccer Gets Serious

5. Teenage Kicks

6. Going Pro

7. An English Adventure

8. 'The Next Peter Schmeichel'

9. Casino Jimmy

10. Jannie

11. Champions Of Denmark

12. Hans Backe's Underwear

13. Gambling Gets Serious

14. Rock Bottom

15. Rehab

16. The Wrong Move

17. Falling Out Of Love

18. A Phone Call From Out Of The Blue

19. Welcome To Kansas City

20. Home Sweet Home

21. Houston, We Have A Problem

22. Painting The Wall

23. History Repeats Itself

24. Looking Ahead

Afterword

Acknowledgements.

Notes:

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (ebrary, viewed December 7, 2016).

ISBN:

0-9856314-9-X