While Høgmo is remembered by many in Norway as the man who failed to take Norway to a new championship, with losses against nations such as Azerbaijan and a sad EC playoff against Hungary. But in Sweden and Häcken, the tone is completely different. The Norwegian coach took over Swedish Häcken in 2021 to save the club from relegation. He managed that, but Häcken did not give up. Now the club is fighting against the traditional club Djurgården to take league gold with six games left in the season. – In this case (last season) there were a lot of injuries, we sold a lot of players and we couldn’t field the same team even once. It was a type of crisis management. It was much more difficult here than in Djurgården, says Høgmo to news about the period when he first took over the club. This means that the former national team manager is declared a genius by the Swedes, and the club has never won the Allsvenskan. The closest they have been is a second place in 2012. HERJAR: Häcken has only lost two games this season. It is the fewest in the league. Photo: MATHIAS BERGELD / BILDBYRÅN Smiles at Real Madrid’s claim Häcken’s sporting director Martin Ericsson recently said that Høgmo was capable of coaching his own Real Madrid. – In my world, he is one of the few coaches from Scandinavia who could coach Real Madrid with his managerial style. Then I also think about the way he is, and how confident he is in himself, said Ericsson. He elaborates to news: – What I mean is his incredibly strong leadership and drive. I think we are a growing club and see ourselves as a big club in Sweden. We must have coaches who are good leaders with good leadership. In addition, you must have good football players, form a team and have a commitment to the club. He is strong there, believes the sports director. REAL MADRID COMPARISON: Sporting director in Häcken. Martin Ericsson, believes Høgmo has the managerial qualities to coach Real Madrid. Photo: Terje Haugenes / news Høgmo smiles at the pronunciation of Ericsson. – It’s probably a metaphor he uses, it’s funny, says Høgmo. – It’s a bit like being a top coach, and I’ve experienced that in a career spanning over 32 years. One is a hero one day and then you are “idiot-explained” the next. What may have changed over time is the shorter frequency of when you are declared a genius. As a coach, it’s about balancing this, he says further. – Could you coach Real Madrid? – What is fascinating about Ancelotti is his role in that type of team. You rent up and down the system, and the trainer stands in between. It is an exciting and challenging job. Hagerup and Børli inspired OPTTUR: After several years outside the coaching profession, Høgmo has turned Häcken upside down. Photo: Terje Haugenes / news Høgmo likes to have some slightly more special methods during his period as a coach. Players he has trained have experienced poetry, ballet and yoga. He has also brought some of this into Häcken. – Wenger said early in the 2000s that there has been a lot of focus on physical training, but now there will be much more focus on mental training. Of course, we have implemented some here that we used in Tromsø. That is part of the reason for our stable performances, Høgmo believes. He thinks the media likes to focus on such methods, but he lives well with that. – I think in a football world that can be uniform, it is good to bring in other aspects. The good thing about poetry is that you can say a lot in a few words. In Tromsø, we ran reading circles on Inger Hagerup and Hans Børli, and then players started writing poems. Then you develop people, says the Häcken trainer. After the downturn with the national team, he took two years in Fredrikstad as sports manager to be able to be more at home, he says. He then worked for a period as a coach developer for the Norwegian Football Association. – I shook off the disappointment and got into new jobs. I found great motivation. It is especially in the football industry, with a lot of pulse and passion. You see differences every day. In Häcken, we go to work every day to get better, he says. Gives Høgmo great credit He believes the end of his period as Norwegian national team manager was one of the toughest things he has experienced as a coach. – I would say it was a demanding situation – it absolutely was. Because you really want the team, the nation and everyone to have a good experience. But in Häcken, he has really turned things around. Ericsson pays tribute to his Norwegian coach. – He should have a lot of credit (for the turnaround), absolutely. He has carried out the mission in a very strong way. We have been a good match and we fit together, says Ericsson. He says that Høgmo is a profile that fits Häcken very well, and after the conversations with the Norwegian it felt right to appoint him. – He has enormous drive, stands for development and wants to move forward all the time. There he is exceptional and we almost have to hold him back, because he wants to come up with new things all the time. This is how the table looks with six games left:
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Per-Mathias Høgmo is declared a genius in Sweden – near sensation with Häcken – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
