Last Friday, a bomb dropped in Swedish handball. Norway coach Glenn Solberg announced that he is leaving his position – despite having two years left on his contract.
Since the summer of 2022, Michael Apelgren has been Solberg’s assistant coach. He was shocked when the news came.
– He had a contract for two more years. After all, we all thought it would continue. The map is being repainted, so to speak. It was surprising, says Michael Apelgren.
Didn’t he call you or something in advance?
– No, as far as I understand, there has been a process here after the Olympics that landed here. I have been busy with the work in Szeged. Then that process had to be completed before I had anything to do with it, so no, I didn’t hear anything.
“Dream Job”
It is not clear who trains the Swedish men. But Michael Apelgren has been tipped as one of the names to take over.
– I understand that I am one of the names on the board and it is clear that it is a dream job, to a large extent. If you’re Swedish and a handball coach, being the captain of the national team is, in a way, the coolest thing you can be. It is clear that if the question came, it is clear that someone would really appreciate it.
Did the question arrive?
– No, as I said, maybe they have a little to process when it turned out the way it did.
During the summer, Michael Apelgren left his position as head coach for Sävehof to take over the Hungarian giants Pick Szeged. This is something Apelgren would have to consider if asked about the job of national team captain.
– For me, if that question were to come up, it’s really about two things: how we would get it together as a family and then also what Pick Szeged thinks about it . For me, it is important that I am a coach that you can trust and that stands by his agreements. I have a legal right to it in my contract but I think that is secondary. Because you want to stand de facto by what you say and fulfill your mission in a good way, he says.
Seeing duplication as possible
It is not unusual to be the captain of a national team at the same time as coaching a club in the world of handball. Women’s national team captain Tomas Axnér, for example, doubles as national team captain and coach in the great Danish team Esbjerg.
Michael Apelgren thinks it could work for him.
– Everything is about putting together a whole. Being a coach or an association is not a one-man show, but a collaboration where several people have to work together. I see that as impossible. Personally I am very used to high workload. Last year I worked with Sävehof, Pick Szeged and as an assistant coach in the national team. It went well.
Michael Apelgren started working on building the team around Pick Szeged already during his time as coach for Sävehof. But now he has taken over as coach completely and moved down to Hungary.
– It has been both terrifying and transformative. It is a new culture, the players are of eleven different nationalities. There is a lot that is new and you have to make a team work as well as possible. So far it’s been fun and rewarding, he says of the first time.
Honeymoon in Hungary
It has also gone well in terms of sports so far. Pick Szeged have won all their matches unless you exclude a neutral defeat against Barcelona in the Champions League. Michael Apelgren describes the period as a bit of a honeymoon.
– So far, we haven’t been seriously tested on how the group works. So far we are working well together. If there are two or three games here where you do badly and lose, I might have different answers than I have today. We’ll see when there’s a little more gale, he says.
When the GP interviewed Michael Apelgren in April, he pointed out the huge pressure on a man as a coach in Hungary.
– It is different from the Swedish “lull-lull culture”, he said then.
Although things have gone well for Michael Apelgren, he believes he feels the pressure.
– We have had some Hungarian games that you have to win. They are not as clever, the slightly sharper teams in the league. Then we have a very difficult start in the Champions League with Magdeburg, Barça and Nantes. It’s quite simple that these games will have zero points without even being bad. That is also what motivates me personally. I don’t think pre-season is fun, but I think it’s fun when there’s pressure and competition.
Family still in Sweden: “Chaotic in our lives”
He was also very surprised by living in Hungary and Szeged.
– It’s really a very nice city. Hungary really surprises me in terms of the standard of living. The city life and the food and everything is very, very good.
When Michael Apelgren moved to Hungary, they decided that the family would stay in Sweden and Partille. He says they have been able to see each other once a month.
– The children can be in their safe environment and there are so many loving people around and we have a lot of help from loved ones. Besides, it’s a quieter schedule, so next week I’ll be at home in Gothenburg for four days. They have been down for a couple of days too. It has worked well so far, and then we will see how it feels over time.
– In the best world, we could have lived together, but then the father would have chosen a slightly easier job.
When you are apart, do you take advantage of the days you see each other again?
– It’s clear that they’re trying to do it and what makes it a bit more relaxed in today’s society is that there’s Facetime and everything. Then it still feels like you’re a little more present than you were maybe ten years ago. But it is clearly different.
He says he did the same during his time as a professional in Spain as a player and when he was the coach of the Norwegian team Elverum.
– We have been a bit chaotic in our lives. It works differently for every family, for us it has worked. Then of course there will be pros and cons.
READ MORE:Glenn Solberg leaves the national team: “Follow my heart”
READ MORE:Handball Basics: Time is a bit short
READ MORE:Michael Apelgren about leaving his family in Gothenburg – for the job in Pick Szeged
2024-09-24 13:12:15
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