FC Nordsjaelland coach Flemming Pedersen is happy to work with former Chelsea star Michael Essien as a member of his backroom staff.
The former Real Madrid and AC Milan midfielder joined the training staff of the Danish Superliga side last week.
The 37-year-old has joined the side as a first team coach and will work closely with the players.
And FC Nordsjaelland coach Flemming Pedersen is thrilled with the chance to work with the former Ghana internatioal.
"Michael Essien is not educated yet, but he has a lot of 'silent knowledge', as we call it. When he plays with and moves on the field, he naturally directs with our players, and they get a lot of input. We can not do that as coaches, so there is a big difference there," said Pedersen.
Essien has joined FCN on a deal for the current season, and it's an addition to the coaching staff that FCN has been seeking for some time.
"We have always looked for a former professional player for the coaching staff, because it is important that we have someone who has tried everything before.
"He will be able to go into training duels, because it's not just about being physically strong. There is also timing and technique in it, so there he will be of great benefit, and in general he will contribute a lot of small improvements to the players."
Essien visited FC Nordsjælland club base in the town of Farum a couple of weeks ago for a week as inspiration for his ongoing coaching education.
Here he got the opportunity to be part of the work around the Superliga team and several of the club's academy teams, just to get a better knowledge of the teaching and development of young people off the field at Nordsjaelland.
Now Essien will contribute himself, as he has agreed to become part of the club's coaching team under Head Coach Flemming Pedersen in the coming season with the title Player Coach.
Essien will thus be part of the coaching team in an assistant role at the same time as he can and will participate in the training sessions to implement the exercises in the best possible way and be able to contribute new input to the coaching team's evaluations. He will have his first working day in Farum on 10 September.