PHOTO: Bildbyrån
During the intervening days, former Tre Kronor national team captain Rikard Grönborg was fired in Switzerland.
Now he tells for the first time what actually happened.
– I was first surprised – then disappointed, he says to the Swiss site Blick.
He was involved in winning JVM gold in 2012 but the big international breakthrough for Rikard Grönborg came as the national team captain for Tre Kronor. And made a big success when Sweden won two straight WC gold medals in 2017 and 2018.
Grönborg fired
Since then, Grönborg has been one of Swedish hockey’s most high-profile coaches out in the big hockey world. For the last four seasons, the 54-year-old has been head coach in Switzerland for the big club ZSC Lions.
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Last season there was a snowy loss against Zug in the final series where the Lions lost a 3-0 lead to 3-4 in games. This season, the team was also eliminated in the CHL by Skellefteå AIK and was in third place in the league when the sudden announcement came during the intervening days.
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“Was disappointed”
Then Grönborg and his assistant coach Peter Popovic and Johan Andersson was sacked by ZSC Lions. Now the Swedish head coach talks about the tough announcement for the first time.
– I was surprised at first – then disappointed. There are two ways to interpret this: The analytical, logical way and the emotional way. My analytical side says I was hired to make this club better. When I came to Zurich it was quite worried and they had just missed the playoffs. In my first year, we were the best team in the league but unfortunately there were no playoffs due to the pandemic, Grönborg told the Swiss site Blick.
– And the emotional part. It is hard to have to leave now as I am very attached to the team. The team has the quality to win the title and they will reach their peak in the last third of the season.
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According to information, the relationship between Grönborg and the sporting director Sven Leuenberger has been strained and a big reason for the breakup.
– We are both professionals. I was employed as a coach and gave my opinion as a coach, Sven is a sports director and has his opinion as a sports director. Even if we didn’t always share the same opinions, it was productive and we treated each other with respect, says Grönborg in the interview.
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Rikard Grönborg seems to have already finished with a new job for next season. Then he is said to have agreed with the Finnish big club Tappara.
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