Olli Harder

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Olli Harder
Personal information
Full name Oliver Harder[1]
Date of birth (1986-01-31) 31 January 1986 (age 36)
Place of birth New Zealand
Club information
Current team
 West Ham United Women (head coach)
Teams managed
Years Team
2017–2019 Klepp IL women
2020– West Ham United Women

Oliver "Olli" Harder (born 31 January 1986[2]) is a New Zealand association football coach and former player. He is the head coach of West Ham United Women. He has previously coached in the US, China and Norway, and was head coach of Norwegian women's club Klepp IL from 2017 until 2019.

Career[]

Harder played association football for two clubs in the New Zealand Football Championship as a goalkeeper.[3] He has coached in the US, China, Norway and England.[4] In the US, he coached Wilton Blue Under-11s in the Connecticut Junior Soccer Association league system,[5] as well as at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He worked for Club Football China, which aimed to develop young Chinese footballers.[3]

In 2017, Harder became head coach of Klepp IL women's football team. In the three seasons whilst he was in charge, they finished fourth, second and third respectively.[4] Klepp's 2017 finish was the first time in 20 years that they had finished in the top four in the league.[6] He was nominated for the Norwegian Coach of the Year award in 2017 and 2018.[6] In 2018, Harder achieved his UEFA A Licence.[7] Harder left Klepp at the end of the 2019 season,[8] and in December 2019,[9] he became assistant manager of the Sandnes Ulf men's team.[6][9][10] In the 2020 season, Sandnes Ulf finished seventh in the 1. divisjon,[11] and he left the role at the end of the 2020 season.[1] He has also been an assistant manager of the Norway men's under-23 team.[10]

In December 2020, Harder was appointed head coach of West Ham United Women, on a two-and-a-half year contract.[10][11] He replaced Matt Beard as head coach.[12] Harder's first scheduled match in charge of West Ham against Manchester City was postponed due to COVID-19 positive tests in the Manchester City squad.[4]

Personal life[]

Harder was born in New Zealand, and both his parents are German.[5][11] He has a degree in sports science from Unitec Institute of Technology, and studied for one semester at Virginia Tech.[3][11]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Oliver Harder ferdig i Sandnes Ulf". Bergens Tidende (in Norwegian). 20 December 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  2. ^ "West Ham United women fall to defeat at clinical Manchester City". West Ham United Women. 31 January 2021. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  3. ^ a b c "Ollie Harder". Yale Bulldogs. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  4. ^ a b c "'If my father wasn't German, I'd be a rugby coach!' – Meet West Ham's 'unique' new manager". Goal. 17 January 2021. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Olli Harder hopes to bring wonders of world tour to West Ham in WSL". The Guardian. 8 January 2021. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  6. ^ a b c "West Ham Women tempt Olli Harder from Norway to take manager's job". The Guardian. 23 December 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  7. ^ "UEFA A-lisens: – Utfordrende, men veldig lærerikt" (in Norwegian). 2018. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  8. ^ "Klepps suksesstrener Olli Harder gir seg". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). 11 November 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  9. ^ a b "Olli Harder er ansatt som Landros assistent i Sandnes Ulf". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). 9 December 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  10. ^ a b c "Olli Harder: West Ham appoint New Zealander to take over WSL side". BBC Sport. 23 December 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  11. ^ a b c d "West Ham United women's team appoint Olli Harder as manager". West Ham United F.C. Women. 23 December 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  12. ^ "How West Ham Women manager Olli Harder is bringing his hard-working mentality to the club". Sky Sports. 27 September 2021. Retrieved 22 October 2021.

External links[]

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