Ryan Nelsen

Ryan Nelsen

Personal information
Full name	Ryan William Nelsen
Date of birth	18 October 1977 (1977-10-18) (age 33)
Place of birth	Christchurch, New Zealand
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing position	Defender
Club information
Current club	Blackburn Rovers
Number	6
Youth career
1997–1999	Greensboro College
1999–2001	Stanford University
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2001–2005	D.C. United	81	(7)
2005–	Blackburn Rovers	145	(5)
National team‡
2008	New Zealand U23	2	(0)
1999–	New Zealand	44	(6)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:00, 21 August 2010 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18:06, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

Ryan William Nelsen (born 18 October 1977) is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays for English Premier League club Blackburn Rovers, where he plays as a centre back. Nelsen also captains the New Zealand national team, the All Whites. He joined Blackburn back in 2005 on a free transfer from D.C. United. Nelsen wears the number 6 jersey for both club and country.

Biography

Early life

Nelsen was born in Christchurch. 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, he transferred to Stanford University where he played his final two years of college soccer. He was named the Cardinal's Most Valuable Player as a junior and a National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-American as a senior while playing as a defensive midfielder. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in political science.^[1]

Club career

DC United

Nelsen was drafted 4th overall in the 2001 MLS SuperDraft by D.C. United, with whom he has spent four years in Major League Soccer. After emerging as a starter in 2002, Nelsen was named team captain in 2003, replacing Marco Etcheverry in that role, as well as winning the team's Defender of the Year Award and being named to the league's Best XI. He was named to the Best XI again in 2004, after captaining DC to its fourth MLS Cup. In four years in MLS, Nelsen scored seven goals and added five assists.

Blackburn Rovers

Nelsen was signed by Blackburn Rovers on a free transfer in January 2005, shortly after the 2004 MLS season had finished. In the summer of 2005, after just 6 months at the club, Nelsen was rewarded with a new three year contract after impressing Blackburn manager Mark Hughes by helping to turn their defence into one of the stingiest of the league, conceding only 0.67 goals per game after his arrival that season. Nelsen was successfully awarded a work permit when Blackburn launched an appeal after the initial application had been refused due to New Zealand being ranked outside the top 70 in the FIFA World Rankings.

In the 2005–06, Blackburn qualified for the UEFA Cup with a 6th place finish, but Nelsen missed the last couple of 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, notably Portsmouth having big bids turned down by Blackburn.

Despite recovering from the foot injury, Nelsen was dealt another serious 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 4th round win at Luton Town, he was immediately made captain, a clear indication of how highly the club regard him and he remains a fans favourite. In July 2007, he signed a new five-year deal with the club which will see him there until at least the summer of 2012. He scored his first league goal for Blackburn with a header against Wigan Athletic on 26 April 2009 in the 2–0 win for Blackburn. 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.^[2] Nelsen made his 175th appearance for Blackburn Rovers, starting and captaining the team in a 3–2 defeat to Everton at Ewood Park on 17 April 2010. On 24 April 2010, Nelsen subsequently added his fourth Premier League goal of the season against Wolves in the 28th minute in a game which finished 1–1 at Molineux when Sylvan Ebanks-Blake equalised in the 81st minute, in a match in which he completed the full 90 minutes of. In all competitions, Ryan Nelsen made a total of 33 appearances, and scored 4 goals for Blackburn in 2009-10.

International career

Nelsen made his New Zealand All Whites debut against Poland on June 19, 1999.^[3][4] Although he has been selected to play on numerous occasions, Nelsen had not represented New Zealand between his last appearance in 2004 and 2008 due largely to a recurring hamstring injury.^[5] Nelsen captained the New Zealand U-23 squad for their first appearance at the Olympic Games against China as one of three over-age players, alongside Simon Elliott and Chris Killen, although he was only available for the opening two matches as Blackburn had requested that he return in time to prepare for their opening Premier League game of the 2008–09 season against Everton.^[5][6] Nelsen captained the New Zealand National Football Team side as they qualified for the 2010 Football World Cup, beating Bahrain National Football Team in a two-legged playoff in November 2009.

On 10 May 2010, Nelsen was named in New Zealand's final 23-man squad to compete at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.^[7]

On 15 June, 28 years to the day after New Zealand made their first appearance in a FIFA World Cup Finals, Nelsen captained New Zealand to their first ever point in a FIFA World Cup Finals match in a 1-1 draw with World Cup debutants Slovakia. On 24 June, Nelsen again skippered the All Whites in a 0-0 draw with Paraguay, but New Zealand were knocked out of the group stages. Despite this, New Zealand remain the sole team not to lose a match at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Nelsen was named in a football "World Cup Best XI" by American sports channel, ESPN on 10th July, 2010.^[8]

International goals

Ryan Nelsen: International goals^[3]

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	19 August 2000	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Malaysia	1–0	2–0	Friendly
2	5 July 2002	Albany, New Zealand	Tahiti	1–0	4–0	2002 OFC Nations Cup
3	7 July 2002	Albany, New Zealand	Papua New Guinea	6–1	9–1	2002 OFC Nations Cup
4	14 July 2002	Auckland, New Zealand	Australia	1–0	1–0	2002 OFC Nations Cup
5	27 May 2003	Edinburgh, Scotland	Scotland	1–1	1–1	Friendly
6	4 June 2004	Adelaide, Australia	Tahiti	9–0	10–0	2004 OFC Nations Cup†

† Some sources credit Nelsen with a second goal in this game, while others attribute it to Neil Jones

Club career statistics

All-Time Club Performances

Club	Season	MLS		Playoffs		Open Cup		CONCACAF		Total
		App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals
DC United (Major League Soccer)	2001	19	0							19	0
	2002	20	4							20	4
	2003	25	1							25	1
	2004	17	2							17	2
	Club Total	81	7							81	7
Club	Season	Premier League		FA Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
		App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals
Blackburn Rovers F.C. (English Premier League)	2004–05	15	0	5	0					20	0
	2005–06	31	0			5	0			36	0
	2006–07	12	0	5	0			2	0	19	0
	2007–08	22	0	1	0	2	0	5	0	30	0
	2008–09	35	1	2	0	2	0			39	1
	2009–10	28	4			5	0			33	4
	2010-11	2	0							2	0
Club Total	145	5	13	0	14	0	7	0	179	5
Career totals		224	12	13	0	14	0	7	0	258	12
Last updated 24 May 2010

^[9][10]

Writing career

Nelsen co-wrote with New Zealand author Tony Smith the book Ryan Nelsen's Road to the World Cup.^[11]

References

External links

• Ryan Nelsen - FIFA competition record
• Ryan Nelsen career stats at Soccerbase
• Ryan Nelsen at the MLS Official Website
• Ryan Nelsen at rovers.co.uk

New Zealand squads New Zealand squad – 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup 1 Batty • 2 Zoricich • 3 Douglas • 4 Bunce • 5 Perry • 6 Wilkinson • 7 Burton • 8 Lines • 9 Urlovic • 10 Jackson • 11 Ngata • 12 Atkinson • 13 Bouckenooghe • 14 Nelsen • 15 Vicelich • 16 Coveny • 17 Elrick • 18 Smith • 19 Utting • 20 Nicholson • Coach: Dugdale New Zealand squad – 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup 1 Batty • 2 Oughton • 3 Mulligan • 4 Zoricich • 5 Hay • 6 Wilkinson • 7 Vicelich • 8 Lines • 9 Burton • 10 Jackson • 11 Killen • 12 Elliott • 13 Bouckenooghe • 14 Nelsen • 15 Smeltz • 16 Coveny • 17 de Gregorio • 18 Smith • 19 Utting • 20 Davis • 21 Hickey • 22 Wilson • 23 Paston • Coach: Waitt New Zealand squad – 2008 Summer Olympics 1 Spoonley • 2 Scott • 3 Hogg • 4 Peverley • 5 Nelsen • 6 Boxall • 7 Elliott • 8 Henderson • 9 Ellensohn • 10 Killen • 11 Brockie • 12 Old • 13 van Rooyen • 14 Tinkler • 15 Draper • 16 Jenkins • 17 Messam • 18 Little • Coach: Jacobs New Zealand squad – 2010 FIFA World Cup 1 Paston • 2 Sigmund • 3 Lochhead • 4 Reid • 5 Vicelich • 6 Nelsen (c) • 7 Elliott • 8 Brown • 9 Smeltz • 10 Killen • 11 Bertos • 12 Moss • 13 Barron • 14 Fallon • 15 McGlinchey • 16 Clapham • 17 Mulligan • 18 Boyens • 19 Smith • 20 Wood • 21 Christie • 22 Brockie • 23 Bannatyne • Coach: Herbert