Man City Women appoint new director of football
Manchester City Women have appointed Nils Nielsen as their new director of football, to be assisted in due course by former City and England goalkeeper Karen Bardsley.
Nielsen, who has been known as a coach at international level for the past 10 years, will work above first-team head coach Gareth Taylor and technical director of the club’s girls’ academy Jayne Ludlow.
The 51-year-old previously took Denmark to the Euro 2017 final during a four-year stint in charge and had previously led the country’s male Under-18 national team. Nielsen briefly had a spell in China in 2018 and was, until last year, head coach of Switzerland’s senior side, leading them to Euro 2022.
“I am very happy to be here at Manchester City. Moving away from coaching and into a directorial role, it’s ultimately about making a difference and working closely with people across the whole set-up,” Nielsen said.
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“I’ve always been incredibly passionate about the development side of the game – that has driven me throughout my career. Manchester City want to be pioneering, and that makes this the perfect club for me to be at.
“You don’t get it much better than here – you have everything you need to be the best you can be, and I know there are exciting plans to come. This is a club that will continue to grow, and that makes me very excited for what lies ahead in the future.”
Bardsley, who retired as a player 12 months ago, will start work assisting Nielsen once her existing development programme comes to an end.
City had a summer of considerable turmoil in 2022, losing their starting midfield as Georgia Stanway, Caroline Weir and Keira Walsh joined Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively. Lucy Bronze also left for Barcelona, while Ellen White retired.
It meant that the club had to recruit hard in order to replace their outgoing stars, with the squad doing an admirable job of remaining competitive in the WSL during a period of significant transition.