Nottingham Forest got the Ange Postecoglou era underway with a defeat, but just over 900 miles away in Denmark, Steve Cooper was starting a new job.
Cooper was sacked by Forest in December 2023 and found work again some months later by taking charge at East Midlands rivals Leicester City.
The Welshman will forever have credit at Forest as the man who delivered Premier League football back at the City Ground following a 23-year absence.
His time at Leicester was a disaster, with the Foxes fan base now keen on letting it slide that he’d previously managed Forest, with Ruud van Nistelrooy failing to do much better.
Cooper had been working as a technical observer for UEFA, but earlier this week, he was handed the reins with Danish outfit Brondby.
Brondby win big game in Steve Cooper’s first game in charge
It’s never easy taking charge of a local derby in your first game in charge at a new club, let alone when you’ve headed to a new country to continue your career.
Cooper looks to have settled quickly, however, and claimed a huge win over fierce rivals Copenhagen to climb to third in the Danish Superliga.
The head coach still has so much to give to football, and it’s perhaps a surprise that he wasn’t handed the chance to continue with an English club.
Cooper did an incredible job to get Forest promoted and then keep the club there, whilst he also progressed every single year when he was with Swansea.
Forest fans will love what Steve Cooper did after Brondby win
One thing that Forest fans loved about Cooper was the fist-pumping purist that he became whenever a win was secured under his management.
Well, Cooper didn’t hold back after winning the first game he oversaw as the head coach of Brondby and did a lap of appreciation and fist pumped each side of the ground.
Although the time was right for Cooper to leave Forest, he will always be worshipped for what he did at the club, leaving the supporters with some superb memories.
Now, he has a golden opportunity to make a name for himself in Denmark and turn Brondby into genuine title contenders during his maiden season at the helm.
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