Ex-Nati coach Nielsen on the difference between men’s and women’s football: ‘It is important for the players how you communicate’

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“It’s the same game,” Nils Nielsen (51) replies when asked about the difference between the two genders. Yet there are clear differences in the leadership of the team. “It’s about how you communicate.” This is much more important for women than for men. While men have similar issues and concerns, they are much less likely to bring them up. The women, on the other hand, are more open. “They say how they are.” Men, on the other hand, tend to hide their feelings.

Before his time as coach of the Danish and Swiss national teams, Nielsen worked in the young men’s team of the Danish federation and trained Christian Eriksen (31), among others.

Communication is a bigger challenge for the Dane when coaching a women’s team. “If you don’t communicate, women start to wonder what the reasons for your actions might be,” says Nielsen. This has a negative effect: the players would lose a lot of energy. “It is important that you talk to them regularly, openly and clearly. Even if they disagree with you, they can deal with it better and lose less energy, especially with things they have no influence on.”

Load regulation depending on the cycle phase

A second important point is training theory. It is now common knowledge that physiological and anatomical differences must also be taken into account during training. Depending on the phase, the female cycle makes the body more susceptible to injury. It is therefore important to vary the training intensity. “Load management is very important for women so that unnecessary injuries can be avoided,” says Nielsen. Also in terms of nutrition, we know that the female body requires something different depending on the phase of the cycle. At the national team, four different smoothies are on the breakfast table. The regeneration shake is similar to that of men, but more often used by women.

Tactically, there are only minor differences for Nielsen. The coach of a women’s team does not have the same opportunities as that of a men’s team. “But that’s for physical reasons and has nothing to do with the ability to understand,” says Nielsen. “Because the men can hit the ball 20 meters further and are more athletic, the tactical possibilities increase.”

Guest in another world

Nielsen has been successfully working with women’s teams for many years. With Denmark he was in the European Championship final in 2017, with the national team he qualified for the European Championship in 2022 and now for the World Cup. The anti-authoritarian management style based on self-responsibility was well received by the players. According to Nielsen, women need an environment in which they feel safe and comfortable. That is also important for the men, “but they – according to the cliché – always have something on their mind and that is football on the field”.

Nielsen has learned a lot in nearly a decade as a coach of women’s teams. It’s a different world, he says. His most important insight: As a man you are a guest in a strange house with women. “You have to adapt to the house rules.”

Source : Blick