Nelsen leaves QPR to take Toronto job
Reuters - Tuesday 08 January 2013, 15:58
Queens Park Rangers defender Ryan Nelsen was appointed head coach of
Major League Soccer (MLS) club Toronto on Tuesday but it is unclear when
he will take up the post.
"This was too great an opportunity to turn down," Nelsen told a news conference.
The
35-year-old New Zealand captain has been a key player for QPR this
season, playing 21 times in all competitions since joining them in June,
and is still under contract to the Premier League's bottom club.
Nelsen
will be available for QPR's league game with his former club Tottenham
Hotspur on Saturday and wants to talk to Rangers manager Harry Redknapp
to discuss when he will join up with his new team.
The
defender spent four years in the MLS with D.C United between 2001-05.
He then had a seven-year spell with Blackburn Rovers before joining
Tottenham.
"From the day Ryan
arrived in Washington D.C as a 23-year-old I always knew he would be a
head coach someday," Toronto president and general manager Kevin Payne
said on the club website.
"I
believe his leadership qualities, intelligence, preparation and
character will contribute to his success as a coach. I couldn't ask for a
better person to lead our club."
Nelsen replaces former England and Arsenal striker Paul Mariner who was sacked on Tuesday after seven months in the job.
"This
was a difficult decision but one that was made in consideration of the
strategic and cultural direction our club is taking," Payne said.