The Big Interview: Martin Sjögren
After leaving his role as Norway head coach after a poor Euro 2022, Martin Sjögren is back in the women's game after a year with Swedish champions Hammarby, and discusses his return with WFC...
Just 18 months passed by between Martin Sjögren leaving his role as Norway head coach, under the ignominy of another European Championship group stage exit and returning to the women’s game as head coach of one of Sweden’s biggest clubs at the start of 2024.
While his career in the women’s game became synonymous with a talented yet underperforming Norway team over a six-year spell as the nation’s head coach, Sjogren is born and bred Swedish, previously leading LdB Malmö – eventually becoming FC Rosengård – and Linköping, a title success in 2016 with the latter leading him to be offered the Norway job.
Now, back in Sweden with Hammarby after a year working in the men’s game as an assistant at IFK Norrköping, Sjögren enjoyed a solid year back in the women’s game, finishing third and qualifying for next season’s Champions League qualifying rounds.
Check out over 100 more unique stories in WFC’s Premium section, available for just £45 for 12 months, paid in one go, or a £6 a month rolling subscription.
All subscriptions come with a 7-day free trial to allow you to explore our full archive.
Plus, guarantee you everything that is to come over the next 12 months…
“I’ve really enjoyed being back in the women’s game with a big club like Hammarby,” says Sjögren, speaking through a bout of the flu on the morning of the team’s final Champions League game for this season, in Austria against St. Pölten.
“It’s a special club. I’m sure you’ve seen all about our fans travelling all over Europe with us, it’s amazing. There’s such a big interest in the Stockholm area and overall, it’s been really fun coming back.
“It’s nice coming back as a head coach too, really nice, compared to being an assistant, and also, we’ve reached our goals which was to make sure we qualified for the Champions League again. It’s the greatest competition, we’ve made progress through the five games we’ve played so far, four of them against teams like Manchester City and Barcelona.”
On the face of it, third place – 14 points off dominant champions FC Rosengård – may not feel like a major success to the outside world given Hammarby came into 2024 as defending champions themselves, but like too many before them had to contend with Europe’s elite cherry-picking their best players, with Damallsvenskan clubs constantly struggling to retain their best talents.
Check out other interviews with managers around the world…
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Women's Football Chronicles to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.