The last few weeks have been filled with information regarding Kalmar manager Henrik Rydström. The 46-year-old is said to be ready for big club Malmö but he has long denied anything was ready.
But now everything is clear.
– We have found a person who represents what we represent. A nice mix of cockiness and self-confidence but also humility in wanting to learn and raise the bar and improve over time, says sporting director Andreas Georgson.
“I wish January was now”
Henrik Rydström will take up his new role on 1 December and have his first team training session at Malmö IP on 9 January.
– It’s incredibly fun and challenging, I leave a Kalmar that I care a lot about and had a lot of fun in, says Henrik Rydström at a press conference and adds:
– But the challenge that exists here and being able to do it with these people and the team that exists and the players… you wish January was now. You have already begun to think in your head what to do and how to deal with it.
Replaced Nanne Bergstrand
Rydström spent his entire playing career in Kalmar FF and then became a leader in the youth team. In 2018, he temporarily took over as head coach of the A team after Nanne Bergstrand suffered from exhaustion. However, Rydström didn’t last long in charge as he was phased out of the club after the 2018 season.
Then he chose to take over Sirius where he remained for two years. After Rydström chose to leave Sirius for family reasons at the end of 2020, he got the opportunity to move back to Kalmar where he was successful. The team progressed from having qualified for survival in the top flight to finishing fourth in the allsvenskan in 2022 under Rydström’s stewardship.
Malmö FF now have their eighth manager since Åge Hareide took charge of the team in 2014. Malmö finished seventh in Allsvenskan this year.
