Glenn Solberg to take over Sweden after EHF EURO 2020

Former Norway international Glenn Solberg is going to take over as coach of Sweden’s men’s national team in the spring of 2020.

The 47-year-old Solberg is replacing Kristján Andrésson, who, on his turn, is taking over from Danish national team coach Nikolaj Jacobsen at Rhein-Neckar Löwen in Germany.

Andrésson will be combing the two jobs until after the EHF EURO 2020, when he will leave the Swedish team completely to Solberg, who will be involved already from September.

“It is a wonderful feeling, and I am unbelievably proud to be going to be in charge of such a fantastic team. I was extremely happy just to be a candidate for the job,” says Solberg, who played 112 internationals as a centre back for Norway.

“Aim is to be in the international top all the time”

Sweden won silver at the EHF EURO 2018 in Croatia and finished fifth at the World Championship 2019 in Denmark and Germany. The team got a top-10 result at every major tournament since 2014.

“Sweden are in the world top and play a really fine way of handball, which has made it great fun to follow them. With so many good players, it is obvious that the aim is to be in the international top all the time,” Solberg says.

“It is tight at the international top with many great teams, so things change from championship to championship, but Sweden are obviously a team which should always be among the best,” adds Solberg, who is currently head coach at Norwegian league club St. Halvard and part-time coach at German champions SG Flensburg-Handewitt.

High expectations from federation

The Swedish Handball Federation has high expectations of the new coach.

“Kristján Andrésson and (assistant coach) Martin Boquist have done a fantastic job these past years and have taken Sweden back to the top of the world. We believe that Glenn Solberg together with Martin (Boquist) can develop the national team even further towards our vision of having a national team of absolute world class,” says Robert Wedberg, the federation’s general secretary.

“We have been working hard to find the right person, and we are sure to have accomplished this by signing Glenn, who has a solid background with experience from top level as a player as well as as a coach,” Wedberg says.

Solberg has signed a four-year contract

Solberg, who played for Drammens HK, HSG Nordhorn, FC Barcelona and SG Flensburg-Handewitt, has signed a four-year contract with the Swedish federation. His first competitive matches will be the Olympic qualification matches, which Sweden may have to play in April 2020 unless they win the EHF EURO 2020, a tournament they are co-hosting with Norway and Austria.

That will be Andrésson’s last tournament in charge. Obviously, the Icelandic coach will also lead Sweden in next month’s Scandinavian derbies against Norway in the EHF EURO Cup on 11 and 13 April.

Photo: Peter Vikström / Handbollslandslaget