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. 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 (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. Early life 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. Club career 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. DC United 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