Jacob Neestrup

Jacob "Nees" Neestrup Hansen (born 8 March 1988) is a Danish professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Danish Superliga club F.C. Copenhagen.

Jacob Neestrup

Neestrup with Copenhagen in 2008
Personal information
Full name	Jacob Neestrup Hansen
Date of birth	(1988-03-08) 8 March 1988 (age 36)
Place of birth	Copenhagen, Denmark
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Copenhagen (Manager)
Youth career
1994–1998	Fremad Amager
1998–2007	KB
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2007–2009	Copenhagen	2	(0)
2009–2010	Stavanger	0	(0)
2010–2011	Hafnarfjörður	6	(0)
2011	Fremad Amager
International career
2007	Denmark U20	2	(0)
Managerial career
2013–2018	Copenhagen U17[1]
2018–2019	Copenhagen (assistant)
2019–2020	Viborg
2021–2022	Copenhagen (assistant)
2022–	Copenhagen
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

A former midfielder, Neestrup emerged from the FC Copenhagen youth academy, but saw his career mostly diminished due to injuries. After retiring in 2011, he embarked on a career in management. He was appointed head coach of second-tier 1st Division club Viborg in June 2019, after having worked as an assistant at Copenhagen the season before.

Career

Although his first team debut came on 20 September 2006 in the Danish Cup, he was not promoted to the first team before the summer 2007.^[2] He was injured only two minutes into his professional debut. The injury subsequently ruled him out for 8 months.^[3]

After recovering, Neestrup made his Danish Superliga debut in the last match of the 2006–07 season against Vejle Boldklub.

In May 2010, Neestrup was signed by reigning Icelandic champions FH Hafnarfjörður. His stint with the club was not successful, being sidelined for large parts of the season due to injuries and a car accident.^[4] After six months, he returned to Denmark to sign with fourth-tier Denmark Series club Fremad Amager.^[5]

Coaching career

On 20 June 2019, it was confirmed that Neestrup had been appointed as the manager of Viborg FF for the upcoming season.^[6]

On 22 December 2020, it was announced that Neestrup would leave Viborg at the end of the year and return to F.C. Copenhagen as assistant manager of Jess Thorup. He left Viborg in 1st place in the 2020–21 Danish 1st Division.^[7]

On 20 September 2022, he was announced as new manager of F.C. Copenhagen following the sacking of Jess Thorup.^[8]

Despite being placed 9th out of 12 and being 10 points off 1st place when he took over, Neestrup still eventually guided them to win the Danish Superliga and the Danish Cup.^[9] On 12 December 2023, he guided them to the knockout stages of the Champions League, being placed second in a group with Bayern Munich, Galatasaray and Manchester United.^[10]

Managerial statistics

As of 30 October 2024

Managerial record by team and tenure

Team	Nat	From	To	Record								Ref
				G	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Viborg		20 June 2019	31 December 2020	54	31	13	10	116	65	+51	057.41	[11]
Copenhagen		20 September 2022	Present	108	59	24	25	209	125	+84	054.63	[12]
Total				162	90	37	35	325	190	+135	055.56	—

Honours

Player

Copenhagen

• Danish Superliga: 2008–09
• Danish Cup: 2008–09

Manager

Copenhagen

• Danish Superliga: 2022–23^[13]
• Danish Cup: 2022–23^[14]

References

1. "FCK ansætter ny træner" (in Danish). BT. 15 February 2013.
2. "Første træningsdag" (in Danish). F.C. Copenhagen. 20 June 2007. Retrieved 20 June 2007. Udover Mads Laudrup, der nu permanent er rykket op i førsteholdstruppen, er den unge midtbanespiller, Jacob Neestrup, ligeledes blevet indlemmet i de danske mestres trup.
3. "Velkommen til Jacob Neestrup" (in Danish). F.C. Copenhagen. 20 June 2007. Retrieved 20 June 2007.
4. Blond, Mikael (28 July 2010). "Biluheld satte Neestrup tilbage". bold.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 4 December 2020.
5. Blond, Mikael (14 January 2011). "Endnu en profil til Fremad Amager". bold.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 4 December 2020.
6. Viborg har fundet træner: Hyrer FCK-assistent, bold.dk, 20 June 2019
7. FCK henter Jacob Neestrup i Viborg, bold.dk, 20 December 2020
8. FCK fyrer Jess Thorup, bold.dk, 20 September 2022
9. "Neestrup reflects on winning the double". F.C. København. 4 June 2023.
10. "Copenhagen advance to Champions League knockouts with Galatasaray win". France 24. 12 December 2023.
11. "Viborg FF: Matches". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
12. "FC Copenhagen: Matches". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
13. "FCK er dansk mester". F.C. København. 18 May 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
14. "FCK win 2022/23 Danish Cup". Copenhagen. 18 May 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2023.

External links

• F.C. København profile (in Danish)
• Jacob Neestrup national team profile at the Danish Football Association (in Danish)
• Jacob Neestrup at DR (in Danish) (archived)