The Dane will become our Women’s team’s Director of Football, subject to work permit approval, taking charge of coach and player development across the women’s first team set-up and leading on player recruitment across the entirety of the women and girls’ pathway at the Academy Stadium.
Having enjoyed a distinguished coaching career in both the men’s and women’s game at senior and youth level, Nielsen is excited to take on a new challenge.
And that mindset to consistently strive for further innovation and success, according to our new director of football, aligns perfectly with City.
“I think you need to be very aware that you can never copy. You need to find your own way,” he explained.
“Here, again, I think my impression is that when you always want to be pioneers, you’re not afraid to try to change something even when it’s going well.
“Then you have all the chances to grow. I think the most important thing for the Club is, you can be happy but never satisfied.
“You still want to develop, you still want to do things because the second you stop doing that and you sit back and say ‘now things are working for us’, then everybody else is going to overtake you again.
“That is going to be the key to building further on and also being successful.”
Nielsen arrives at the Academy Stadium with a wealth of experience but guiding Denmark to the EURO 2017 final is perhaps his greatest achievement during his time in the dugout.
And the Danes took some notable scalps along the way, booking their place in the showpiece event following impressive knockout wins over Germany and Austria.
Despite a strong showing in the final, they were forced to settle for a silver medal after a 4-2 defeat to host nation, the Netherlands, but witnessing the development of the players under his tutelage remains one of Nielsen’s biggest sources of pride.
Indeed, helping both individual players and the Club fulfil our potential on the whole – alongside both manager Gareth Taylor and Girls’ Academy Technical Director Jayne Ludlow - is one of Nielsen’s primary roles as director of football.
He added: “I think we [Denmark] surprised a lot of people [at EURO 2017], but not ourselves. It was a lot of fun and it was the biggest game, we played in a final.
“For me, the biggest achievement was when one of the girls, after two years of not talking after we sort of lost contact, calls me and tells me that the things I told her years ago when she was playing in my team, she’s got it now and she can really see what a difference it makes for her.
“Then I’m happy. That’s what it’s all about. When you work with people it’s to try to make a difference for them so they can improve and maybe achieve their dreams. That is what I want to do.
“That is why I am here now.”
