Ryan William Nelsen, ONZM (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, the All Whites and started his professional football career in his native country for Christchurch United. In 2001 he joined MLS side D.C. United and went on to play 81 times in the league, scoring 7 goals. In 2005 he moved to England with Premier League side Blackburn Rovers where he scored 8 times in 172 appearances. In 2012 he made a move to Tottenham Hotspur but only managed 5 appearances 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.
- Scores locked 0-0 at halftime ... This squad feels light years ahead of the 2013 New Zealand side that hadn’t been regenerated since the memorable 2010 campaign in South Africa and desperately missed Winston Reid (injured) and Ryan Nelsen (retired) ... .
Chris Wood is used to great days. He has had plenty across his career, with success for club and country and scoring feats that might never be matched by a Kiwi... He always turns up ... Ryan Nelsen celebrates with Chris Wood after beating Bahrain in 2009 ... .