Breaking News: Ex Ghana midfielder Michael Essien joins FC Nordsjælland coaching staff

Danish Superliga side FC Nordsjælland have announced the signing of former Ghana international Michael Essien as a member of the club’s coaching staff for the 2020/2021 football season, the club has announced.

The 37-year old former Black Star, Lyon, Chelsea, and Real Madrid midfielder is currently pursuing a coaching course to acquire his coaching badge to enable him return to the game, this time to work from the dugout. As part of his efforts to upgrade himself, “Essien visited FC Nordsjælland as an inspirational trip in relation to him doing his coaching badges”, and he found the opportunity at the Danish club.

The club officially released a statement on their website to announce the arrival of Essien at the club to join the coaching staff. Below is the full statement by the club announcing Essien’s arrival:

“FC Nordsjælland has signed the former Black Star, Lyon, Real Madrid, and Chelsea player as part of the club’s coaching staff for the season 2020/2021.

A few weeks ago, 37-year old Michael Essien visited FC Nordsjælland as an inspirational trip in relation to him doing his coaching badges. Here he had the opportunity to be part of the work around both the Superligateam, several of the club’s academy squads, and got to understand teaching and development of young players outside the pitch in FCN.

Now Essien himself will be able to contribute to this since he has accepted to become part of the club’s coaching staff in the upcoming season, with the title of Player Coach, under guidance of Head Coach Flemming Pedersen. Essien will join the staff in an assistant role and participate in the trainings alongside the players to help implement the drills and ideas in the best possible way as well as contribute with new input to coaching group evaluations of the training session afterwards. Essien will have his first day in Farum the 10th of September“.

Sports director Jan Laursen:

– Michael left a very positive impression here during his visit and we continued the dialogue with him after he had left. We felt, he was excited by what he experienced here through our philosophy, the people he met at the club, and that our environment inspired him. At the same time, Michael’s visit gave us a clear impression of how much a coaching staff member on the pitch, as an active part of the training with the players, can contribute and add. That part we are really looking forward to further developing, and we are very happy that it can happen through and with such a football- and human capacity as Michael Essien is.

Head Coach Flemming Pedersen:

– In the coaching staff we’ve experienced Michael Essien as both curious and hungry for knowledge before and after the training sessions, but at the same time also contributing and giving among the players during the trainings. His career and experience speak for themselves, but when you add his humble and giving personality, this is an exceptional opportunity for us to get a person added to the staff who can help make our environment even more developing for our players and also add valuable input to the coaching team and be our hand on the training pitch. We are very much looking forward to welcoming Michael to FCN.

Picture: FCN