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Nielsen to coach Oklahoma City

Nielsen takes the next step in his career and looks to become the first head coach of the OKC Energy FC.

Jimmy Nielsen takes the next step in his career and will become the head coach at OKC Energy FC
Jimmy Nielsen takes the next step in his career and will become the head coach at OKC Energy FC
Thad Bell

What was first rumored here in the U.S. by Brian Straus at SI seems to have been confirmed by media in Denmark. Former Sporting Kansas City captain Jimmy Nielsen will be the first head coach of the USL expansion side, Oklahoma Energy FC. There has been no official announcement by Nielsen of Energy FC.

In the article Nielsen confirms that Sporting KC will be working with Energy FC and sending them players this year. The USL affiliation was going to have to change with Orlando anyway with them joining MLS in 2015 and needing to focus on that preparation more than winning another USL title.

The article states that Nielsen will start on January 1st with the Energy. The White Puma will have a lot of work to do to get ready for the season, right now they are an expansion team with no players.

The affiliation with Sporting KC worked well for Orlando, they won the USL Championship this year and Sporting KC forward Dom Dwyer was a big part of that victory over Charlotte with four goals and an assist.

Nielsen may be new at coaching but he brings a ton of leadership experience to Oklahoma City after having been the captain with Sporting KC the last few years. Nielsen also has the "been there - done that - got the trophy and a t-shirt" quality after backing Kansas City to the MLS Cup in 2013 and the U.S. Open Cup in 2012.