Glenn Solberg led Sweden to European Championship gold in 2022 and World Cup silver in 2021, but at the Olympics in Paris this summer, Sweden did not live up to expectations, but went out in the quarter-finals against Denmark.
With two years left on his contract, Solberg left suddenly in September, despite his contract being extended as recently as less than a year earlier.
SVT Sport can now tell you that Solberg, in addition to the successes, has for a long time stirred up emotions in the national team with his leadership. This is the opinion of several people with access to the national team that SVT Sport has spoken to, information that also appeared in Viaplay and Aftonbladet.
In April 2022, Martin Boquist was fired as assistant national team captain in a publicized manner. Boquist then went out and said that it was Solberg who wanted to get rid of him.
Details: Apelgren was frozen out
People SVT has spoken to testify that Solberg has had an exclusionary leadership style towards parts of the leadership staff. This, in turn, has created dissatisfaction even among parts of the player group. One person who is said to have been particularly vulnerable is Boquist’s successor Michael Apelgren.
– Of course we saw what happened to Apelgren during the Olympics, but we were there to focus on playing, says one player.
Apelgren is said to have been stopped by Solberg from participating during some tactical briefings, including during the Olympics. Several people, including players that SVT has spoken to, say that they wanted to hold tactical meetings with Apelgren, but felt compelled to keep these secret, for fear of being found out by Solberg.
Declines to comment
A bit into the tournament, the player group asked Solberg to involve Apelgren again – which he then did.
– “Mickey” was a super professional. He kept a good face and never complained to us players, says another player.
The criticism against Solberg is not only negative, SVT Sport has also spoken to players who highlight positive aspects of his leadership. Neither Solberg nor Apelgren want to comment on the data.
General Secretary Robert Wedberg also does not want to comment at this time.
National team manager Hanna Fogelström tells SVT Sport that she and assistant national team captain Michael Apelgren have spoken, but that the conversation stops between them.
Here is a longer answer in the player above.