Famous Swedish Coaches

Swedish football manager Sven-Göran Eriksson also had a decade-long football-playing career as a defender. He later scripted history as the English football team’s first foreign manager. He also became the first to win the Doubles in 3 countries and has had successful stints with clubs such as Benfica, Lazio, and IFK Göteborg.

Magnus Norman is a Swedish tennis coach and former professional tennis player. He is best known for running the Good to Great Tennis Academy, which has trained players like Gaël Monfils, Stan Wawrinka, and Grigor Dimitrov. Magnus Norman is widely regarded as one of the most respected and greatest tennis coaches around the world. 

Swedish handball coach and former handball player Ljubomir Vranjes had a successful playing stint with Redbergslids IK. He is also a former World Handball Champion and a 3-time European Handball Champion. He also won a silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. He later won the EHF Champions League as a manager.

3-time Olympic silver medalist Swedish handball player Staffan Olsson is also a 2-time World Champion and a 4-time European Champion. He had begun his professional career at age 10. He later took to coaching and now serves as the head coach of the Netherlands national men’s handball team.

Retired Swedish table tennis player and coach Mikael Appelgren is not just a 4-time World Champion but also a 9-time European Champion. He also won the World Cup and popularized the style of playing now known as appleing. He met his wife, Marita, at a table tennis competition.

One of the most successful coaches in the history of handball, Swedish handball coach Bengt Johansson was known for his signature style known as Gurkburken. The Swedish men’s handball team won multiple World and European Championships under his leadership and was also called the Bengan Boys, after his nickname, Bengan.

Swedish table tennis player Hans Alsér was not just a 2-time European singles champion but also a 4-time European team champion. Known as an all-round attacker, he also mastered the shakehand style. He later coached both Sweden and West Germany. He died in a plane crash at age 34.