Early Career and Education
Nus' football journey began at 14 as an assistant coach at Espanyol's training camps. By 16, he had Level 1 and 2 coaching certificates, expanding his coaching opportunities. At 18, he started a Sports Science degree, completing it in four years. At 22, he secured his Level 3 coaching certificate (equivalent to UEFA Pro license) in Huesca, Spain. An ankle injury ended his playing career at Reus Deportiu, leading him to focus solely on coaching. At 21, he became assistant coach at Club Gimnàstic de Tarragona for the under-19 team.
Liverpool and International Experiences
In 2007, Nus decided to move to England to work as a youth coach at the academy of Liverpool, with the main role of contributing to the development of young players. One year later, Nus was promoted to the first team coaching staff, where he worked under the guidance of Rafael Benítez. On 18 March 2009, the team registered a 4–0 victory over Real Madrid and a 4–1 victory over Manchester United, managed by Sir Alex Ferguson. The 2008–09 season was a very successful campaign for Liverpool, ending in second place in the Premier League and advancing to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League. During this experience, Nus had the opportunity to work with world-renowned players such as Steven Gerrard, Javier Mascherano, Fernando Torres, Xabi Alonso and Pepe Reina. Moreover, he also played an important role in the development of young players such as Daniel Pacheco, Mikel San José or Miki Roqué, who played in the development squad.
Chunnam Dragons
After three years in the UK, Nus moved to Asia to work for the Chunnam Dragons in the top-tier division of the South Korea K League. He was appointed as the assistant coach of Jung Hae-seong, who previously worked as assistant coach of the South Korean national team. During the 2011-12 campaign, Nus was able to develop players such as Ji Dong-won, who later signed with Sunderland, and Yun Suk-Young, who signed for Queen Park Rangers.
Brighton & Hove Albion
The following season (2012–13), Nus was appointed as Head of Academy Coaching at Brighton & Hove Albion, where he oversaw the development of the club's young talent and played a role in the process of promoting players to the first team, which was managed by Gus Poyet. In addition, during the 2012–13 campaign, the club finished the league in fourth place and making it to the Championship playoff for the first time since 1991. The team was eliminated by their rivals Crystal Palace.
Melbourne Heart
In 2013, Nus decided to join John Aloisi's coaching staff at Melbourne Heart – currently named Melbourne City. Nus’ integration to the A-League was facilitated by his relationship with Aloisi, who previously played for two La Liga teams, Osasuna and Deportivo Alaves. The 2013–14 season did not start upright for Melbourne Heart, and on 28 December 2013, Aloisi was sacked as the team manager after having played only 10 games. The technical director, John Van’t Schip, took charge of the team and Nus was automatically promoted to first assistant coach.
At the conclusion of the campaign, Nus rejected the club's offer to renew his contract, ending his time in Australia.
Ghana national team
In December 2014, Nus was appointed as Assistant Coach at the Ghana Football Association with the main goal to prepare the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, the 30th staging organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). The tournament – 17 January to 8 February 2015 – initially scheduled to be hosted by Morocco, who later demanded postponement of the event because of the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa; Morocco was ruled out as a host country and replaced by Equatorial Guinea.
The finals draw was held on 3 December 2014 in Malabo. The 16 teams were divided into four pots based on the CAF Ranking. The ranking was calculated using teams’ results in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, 2013 Africa Cup of Nations finals and qualifiers, the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations finals and qualifiers, the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations finals, and the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. The Black Stars were placed into Group C with Algeria, Senegal and South Africa; all the games but one were played in the Estadio de Mongomo.
The Ghanaian final squad was announced on 7 January 2015, with numerous players coming from Premier League, Serie A and Ligue 1 rosters. Jordan Ayew, Christian Atsu, Asamoah Gyan, Daniel Amartey, Mubarak Wakaso and André Ayew were some of the players that led the team to a historic run. On 19 January 2015, the Black Stars started the tournament with a loss against Senegal, with the final score of 1–2. However, the team managed to beat Algeria by 1-0 – 23 January – and South Africa by 1-2 – 27 January. With those results, Ghana advanced to the knockout stage in first position and was scheduled to face Guinea on 1 February 2015 at Estadio de Malabo.
The Black Stars were able to comfortably defeat Guinea 3–0 with a brace of Atsu and a goal of former Crystal Palace striker, Kwesi Appiah. On 5 February 2015, Ghana played Equatorial Guinea for a place to the final. The match was disputed at Estadio de Malabo and the final score was a 3–0 victory with goals of J.Ayew, M. Wakaso and A. Ayew. With this result, Nus was able to make history and play his first ever Africa Cup of Nations Final. During the semi-final fixture between host nation of Equatorial Guinea and Ghana, several incidents occurred between the home fans, visiting fans and police. At half-time, the Ghanaian players and coaching staff were protected from hostile Equatoguinean fans by police, using plastic armors and shields. In addition, fans rushed onto the pitch at the 82nd minute in the second half, fans rushed onto the pitch and missiles were thrown at the Ghanaian substitute players. A helicopter was dispatched to disperse spectators out of the stadium.
On 8 February 2015, the match ended goalless. Following extra time and after a historical 9-8 penalty shoot-out, Ivory Coast defeated Ghana. Everton FC player, Christian Atsu, was named Orange man of the Competition and received the Nissan Goal of the tournament. André Ayew ended as the Pepsi Highest scorer. Also, Kwesi Appiah finished as the Samsung Fair Player of the Tournament. Nus’ team placed three players in the CAF Team of the Tournament, right-back Harrison Afful, midfielder André Ayew and winger Christian Atsu. Once in Accra, its supporters welcomed the squad, and the country's leaders honored the coaching staff.
In addition to assisting the national team head coach, supervising the players’ performances and travelling around the different countries visiting their respective clubs, Nus also oversaw the development of the Black Stars and the future generations of the country. Between 8 and 22 March 2015, Nus travelled to Senegal to supervise the 20th edition of the biennial international youth football tournament, 2015 African U-20 Championship, organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for players aged 20 and below. Once again, Ghana advanced to the semi-finals of the tournament and performed at a high level, losing in the semifinals, finishing third and qualifying for the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
After receiving multiple offers from different head coach positions, Nus’ decided to stay as assistant coach of the Black Stars to compete at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, which was the 31st edition of the tournament, and was hosted by Gabon. This event was also part of the Africa Cup of Nations 60th Anniversary. Ghana was placed in Group D with Uganda, Egypt and Mali. Nus’ team advanced to the knockout stage, and was able to fight for a final spot with Cameroon. [1] On February 2, although an amazing performance, the Black Stars were defeated 2-0 by the tournament winners, Cameroon; ending the competition on fourth position. After more than two historical years with the Ghana National Team, Nus decided to not renew his contract with the country's federation, finishing this way a remarkable experience with one of the best African national teams. [1]
Elche
On summer of 2015, Gerard Nus was appointed as a Technical Director of Elche in La Liga, and worked under the supervision of sporting director Ramon Planes. This new role allowed Nus to continue with his position as assistant coach of the National team of Ghana. At Elche, Nus built a successful structure to link the youth teams with the first team, ensuring their abilities to perform at a high level. Also, he oversaw the training sessions of the first team, assisted in the scouting procedures and helped in the creation of the 15/16 squad. Elche finished the 14/15 campaign with enough points to remain in La Liga. However, off the field issues and the important economic crisis that the club faced, forced the team to drop to a lower division. As a result, many important players decided to leave the club. However, with one of the lowest budgets of Segunda División, Elche was able to build a strong and competitive roster that fought to get into playoff positions during the season. Some of the players that were member of the 15/16 squad were left-back Álex Moreno, strikers Sergio León and Álvaro Giménez, attacking midfielder Javier Espinosa and center-back Armando Lozano.
In addition to the fabulous job that Planes and Nus were able to do under such challenging circumstances, the club's structure improved significantly with the creation of a specific area of sports performance and high-level detailed training, controlled and monitored by Nus. This new section of the club was designed to allow all the players of the club, from the academy teams to the development squad – under 23 –, to improve the fundamental areas of their game and monitor their constant progress.
On summer 2016, with the conclusion of the season and the consequent departure of the Ramon Planes to Rayo Vallecano, Nus did not sign a new contract and moved to Madrid, where he was appointed as the new technical director of Rayo Vallecano.
Rayo Vallecano
On Juliol 2016, Nus was hired by Rayo Vallecano as Deputy Technical Director, to assist Sporting Director Ramon Planes, and with the role of Deputy Technical Director. At Rayo Vallecano, Nus faced similar circumstances as in Elche, as the club was relegated to Segunda División after finishing 18th in the 2015–16 La Liga season. Rayo's first season back in Segunda Division was difficult, and the team ended in 12th position. At the start of the 2017–18 season, the club appointed David Cobeño as the new Sporting Director, with the consequent departure of Ramon Planes.
With the club's goal to build a roster to return to La Liga, Nus decided to remain at the club and played an important role designing the 17/18 squad, with players such as Fran Beltrán, Roberto Trashorras, Óscar Trejo, Bebé, Adrián Embarba, Raúl de Tomás and Unai López. Rayo secured their return to La Liga with a 1–0 victory over Lugo on the 41st game of the season. [2]
Rayo OKC
In August 2016, Nus was named Head Coach of Rayo Oklahoma City, a football club owned by Rayo Vallecano. The team based, in Oklahoma City, joined the North American Soccer League – the second tier of the American soccer pyramid – beginning with the 2016 season, and played their home games at Yukon High School's Miller Stadium. Nus took over after Alen Marcina left the team in the middle-bottom of the table, with six losses, six draws and only six wins; 18 points in 18 games. With Nus’ arrival to the team, the results improved tremendously and they were able to achieve the NASL Championship semifinal after an historical ten-game unbeaten run with five straight wins.
The performances captivated many fans and football critics, due to the attractive style of play and ability to create countless scoring opportunities. The team was recognized for its high pressing, and its desire to win the ball as close to the opposition's half as possible. In addition, Nus’ team dominated the games with the control and possession of the ball. Greek striker Georgios Samaras, Ghanaian midfielder Derek Boateng, defenders Moises Hernández and Sebastien Ibeagha, attackers Michel Garbini and Sebastián Velásquez, were among the players that played an important role under Nus’ attacking and dynamic team.
On November 7, 2016, following the conclusion of the 2016 NASL playoffs, Nus stepped down and returned to Spain to continue his role as Technical Director for Rayo Oklahoma City’s parent club, Rayo Vallecano. A few months later, the American club ceased operations due to the instability of the league. [3] [4]
Irtysh Pavlodar
On 21 December 2017, Gerard Nus was appointed as the new manager of Irtysh Pavlodar on a two-year contract. Created in 1965, the club was a founding member of the top league and had never relegated to lower levels. The team’s ambitions were to win the qualifying games of the UEFA Europa League to be able to play the group stage and to be competitive in the club’s 27th successive season at the Kazakhstan Premier League- the highest tier of football in Kazakhstan.
The 2018–19 season started with two great results for Nus’ team. On 11 March, Nus achieved his first victory in the competition against Atyrau by 2–1. Just a few days later, on 17 March, Irtysh accomplished his second win of the season by a final score of 2–1, against a very strong side, Aktobe. In addition to this historical start of the season, Nus qualified the team for the next round of the Kazakhstan cup, despite having one of the lowest budgets of the table.
On 28 April 2018, despite the multiple great performances of the team and after remaining in the middle of the table, Nus and Irtysh Pavlodar announced that they had mutually agreed to part ways. The fans were shocked by the news.
Just a few months later, Nus was appointed as the Technical Director of Eskilstuna in the Allsvenskan, the Swedish top-tier division. [5] [6]
Eskilstuna
In December 2018, Nus became Technical Director of Eskilstuna in the Allsvenskan, the top-tier division of Sweden. The club has previously been known under the names Café Opera and Väsby United before switching ownership and their identity again in 2012 to AFC United. During the 2016 season, it was once again decided that they would switch their name, identity, as well as locality. After choosing to move to Eskilstuna, about 110 kilometers west of Stockholm, this is where they derived their current name from.
Nus’ main goal was to oversee the development of the club and establish the key fundamentals of the team. In addition, Nus created a structure from the academy to the first team that improved not only the present but also the future of the club. [7]
NorthEast United
On 25 August 2020, Nus was appointed as the new manager of Indian Super League side NorthEast United, a professional football club based in Guwahati, Assam that competes in the top tier league of India. The club signed the Mauritian international Khassa Camara, Ghanaian striker Kwesi Appiah, Belgium defender Benjamin Lambot, Portuguese Luis Machado, Australian Dylan Fox and Guinean Idrissa Sylla. In addition, the club retained Uruguayan captain and midfielder, Federico Gallego.
With the appointment of the Spanish manager, the club was able to accomplish an historic 6-game unbeaten run and was able to remain in playoff positions for more than 8 fixtures. Nus’ team was recognized by its dynamic and energetic offense, its great defensive organization and its ability to score goals in many different ways. On December 22, the team created a season-record of 21 goal attempts in their game against Odisha. In addition, the team was able to defeat Mumbai City– owned by the Football City group – in their opening game of the 2020/21 season by 1–0, as Kwesi Appiah scored his first goal of the campaign.
Although having one of the best seasons of their history, NorthEast United parted ways with coach Gerard Nus after a tie against Bengalaru. After only eleven matches in charge and only three points away of the playoff positions, the fans pronounced their disappointment by expressing that they wanted the Spanish coach to remain in charge. However, Khalid Jamil was named interim head coach for the rest of the season. And later he helped the team reach the playoffs.
