Ryan Nelsen

Ryan William Nelsen (born 18 October 1977) is a former New Zealand professional football player and former head coach of Major League Soccer side Toronto FC.

Nelsen commonly played as a defender, and his professional career began in 1995.

He notably captained the New Zealand national team and started his professional football career in his native country for Christchurch United.

Nelsen played for Christchurch United from 1995 to 1998.

Even after he relocated to the United States, he played his last season with the club when he was home for a semester's sabbatical from his university football scholarship with Greensboro College.

After attending Our Lady of the Assumption primary school and St Thomas of Canterbury College, he moved to the United States to play for Greensboro College in North Carolina in 1997.

After spending two years at Greensboro and leading The Pride to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III championship match, only to lose to Ohio Wesleyan University, he transferred to Stanford University where he played his final two years of college football.

He was named Stanford's Most Valuable Player as a junior and an NSCAA All-American as a senior while playing as a defensive midfielder.

He graduated with a bachelor's degree in political science.

In 2001, he joined MLS side D.C. United and went on to play 81 times in the league, scoring 7 goals.

Nelsen was drafted fourth overall in the 2001 MLS SuperDraft by D.C. United, with whom he spent four years in Major League Soccer (MLS).

After emerging as a starter in 2002, Nelsen was named team captain in 2003, replacing Marco Etcheverry, as well as winning the team's Defender of the Year Award and being named to the league's Best XI.

Again, in 2004 after leading United to its fourth MLS Cup, he was named the Best XI.

In four years in MLS, Nelsen had seven goals and five assists.

In 2005, he moved to England with Premier League side Blackburn Rovers where he scored 8 times in 172 appearances.

Nelsen was signed by Blackburn Rovers on a free transfer in January 2005, shortly after the completion of the 2004 MLS season.

In the summer of 2005, after just six months at the club, Nelsen signed a new three-year contract after impressing manager Mark Hughes and helping to turn Blackburn's defence into one of the toughest in the Premiership.

Nelsen was successfully awarded a work permit on appeal after the initial application had been refused due to New Zealand being ranked outside the top seventy in the FIFA World Rankings.

In the 2005–06 season, Blackburn qualified for the UEFA Cup with a sixth-place finish, but Nelsen missed the last few games after breaking his foot in a 2–0 win at Charlton Athletic.

Nevertheless, his performances since arriving in England prompted much interest from rival clubs including Portsmouth, whose bid for Nelsen was rejected by Blackburn.

On 1 February 2006, he started and played the full ninety minutes alongside Andy Todd in a 4–3 league victory over Manchester United at Ewood Park.

Nelsen was dealt with another blow before the start of the 2006–07 season, with a serious hamstring injury forcing him out until the new year.

On his return to the team in an FA Cup fourth round win against Luton Town, he was immediately made captain.

In July 2007, he signed a new five-year deal with the club until the summer of 2012.

He scored his first league goal for Blackburn with a header against Wigan Athletic on 26 April 2009 in a 2–0 win which helped Blackburn stay in the Premier League for another season.

He then scored his second Premier League goal against Portsmouth with a header from a corner taken by David Dunn on 7 November 2009, and has also scored goals against Birmingham City and Fulham.

In all competitions, Nelsen made a total of thirty-three appearances and scored four goals in the 2009–10 season.

On 11 April 2010, Nelsen came on for the injured Christopher Samba against Manchester United at Ewood Park in a 0–0 draw.

Nelsen made his 175th appearance for Blackburn Rovers, leading the team in a 3–2 defeat to Everton at Ewood Park on 17 April 2010.

On 13 November 2010, he scored against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane for his first goal of the 2010–11 Premier League season.

On 27 November, he played the full ninety minutes partnering Christopher Samba, but this time in a 7–1 rout against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

He then added his second and third goals of the campaign by scoring against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 4 December in a 3–0 win and against West Ham United on 18 December in a 1–1 draw.

With Blackburn's tenth successive Premier League season, and their seventeenth in nineteen seasons, now underway, Nelsen welcomed the club's proposed takeover by Indian owned Venky's Group who has promised up to £100 million for Sam Allardyce to spend on strengthening the squad – with Nelsen feeling that the squad could do with "freshing up."

Nelsen suffered a knee injury forcing him to miss the rest of the 2010–11 season.

On 15 January 2011, he made his 200th appearance for Blackburn in the away game against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Nelsen signed a two-year contract extension with Rovers in late January 2011 which would keep him at the club until the summer of 2013.

Under Steve Kean as manager following the sacking of Sam Allardyce, Nelsen was relieved as team captain of Blackburn in favour of Christopher Samba, Nelsen moving to vice-captain.

In 2012, he made a move to Tottenham Hotspur but only managed 5 appearances (scoring once in an FA Cup tie against Bolton Wanderers, the re-arranged match following Fabrice Muamba's cardiac arrest) before joining Queens Park Rangers in the summer of 2012.

He agreed to return to MLS on 8 January 2013 by signing with Toronto FC as head coach.

He was fired from Toronto FC on 31 August 2014.