Chicago Stars hire Martin Sjögren as next coach — but the former Norway coach won't start until January

Chicago Tribune

a day ago

Martin Sjögren had been intrigued by the National Women's Soccer League for years.
The timing, though, hadn't felt right to pursue an opportunity — until the Chicago Stars had a coaching vacancy this summer. Sjögren's vision aligned with the direction the organization is forging and ultimately made him the right fit.
The Stars named Sjögren their next coach Wednesday and Anders Jacobson his first assistant. Current interim coach Ella Masar will continue as an assistant along with Karina Báez and goalkeeper coach Brenton Saylor.
Sjögren, 48, will finish the Swedish Damallsvenskan league season with Hammarby before joining the Stars in January, feeling an obligation to his current club. In numerous meetings during the lead-up to his hiring, Sjögren saw that he and the Stars possessed a common set of values for how a professional sports organization should be run.
'We really said: What are the barriers, what are the boundaries of our search? And there were none,' Stars President Karen Leetzow told the Tribune. 'We were going to look anywhere and everywhere to see where we could find the perfect fit for our club.'
Once they identified candidates from around the world, a 'robust process' ensued, Leetzow said. The search included more than 60 candidates with general manager Richard Feuz and assistant GM Babett Peter conducting initial interviews to narrow the pool. The finalists then met with Leetzow and principal owner Laura Ricketts. Leetzow estimated she and Ricketts met with at least three final candidates.
Sjögren and Jacobson were a package deal during the process, which at one point featured a joint interview where their camaraderie shone.
The addition of Jacobson as Sjögren's right-hand man should help the transition. The duo has worked together for 10 years, though the last three years they have been on separate endeavors. Sjögren and Jacobson also have known Masar for years. Her presence contributed to the appeal of the Stars job.
It ultimately was an easy choice, Leetzow said, because of how well Sjögren and Jacobson work together and their thoughtfulness. Their history with Masar was 'icing on the cake.'
'At the end of the day, no matter who we hire, there's going to be people who are, 'Oh, yeah, that makes total sense,' or like, 'We don't really understand that,'' Leetzow said. 'But as long as we know what we were going for, and as long as that person — or persons in this case — checks all of our boxes, we're 100% behind the hire.'
Once Jacobson receives his visa, he will join the Stars immediately as interim coach for the remainder of this season. In the meantime, Masar will continue in that role. Jacobson and Masar will begin implementing Sjögren's strategies and approach while providing him weekly feedback.
'With Anders, we don't think alike, which is good if you're going to work together,' Sjögren told the Tribune. 'So we always have good discussions, but when we decide upon something, we always keep to what we have decided. And I trust Anders with all my heart. And even if we don't think alike, we also have the same set of values, which makes it easy to work together.'
Sjögren takes over a struggling Stars team that sits 13th in the 14-team league with just eight points (1-9-5). Faced with what shapes up to be a multiyear climb back up the table, it might not have represented an attractive situation.
However, Leetzow viewed the opportunity through a different lens, calling the NWSL the world's most competitive league. Considering how many coaches want to work in it, she said Chicago is a secret weapon that sells itself, 'and we have an amazing coaching staff and an amazing roster.'
'With all those things in mind, we didn't have any trouble sourcing potential candidates for the position,' Leetzow said. 'I don't think where we are in the standings at all represents where we can be. We're in a development cycle, it's clear, but it has not at all tempered any excitement of any coach to come here.'
Sjögren spent most of his playing and coaching career in his native Sweden. He started his coaching journey in 2004 at Östers IF and steadily rose through the club ranks. He guided LdB FC Malmö to the Swedish league title in 2010 and 2011, then moved on to Linköpings FC for four years, including an undefeated season in 2016 and another Damallsvenskan title.
Club-level success resulted in Sjögren being named the Norwegian national team coach in December 2016, a position he held for more than five years. Norway reached the quarterfinals of the 2019 World Cup but failed to qualify for the 2020 Olympics.
In July 2022, Sjögren and Jacobson resigned from their coaching positions after Norway didn't get out of the group stage for a second straight UEFA Women's European Championship.
Reflecting on leading Norway's national team, Sjögren described those years as a tough experience that taught him a lot about himself and leadership in such situations.
'In the national team, you have to simplify and simplify and simplify, and it's more about leadership, maybe, than tactical knowledge, but then also to be able to handle big stars,' Sjögren said. 'I've been coaching club teams with good players as well, but it's a bit different when it comes to the national team, and also when it comes to championships. All the experience that I've had, both with club and the national team, will help along the way.'
Leetzow understands the pressures that exist at the national team level, having served as the U.S. Soccer Federation's chief legal officer from 2020-23.
'Coaching a national team is one of the most difficult positions a coach can take,' she said. 'Everybody's always out to get you or critique you in some way, and he's had, as far as I can tell, a successful period of time.
'He had some losses and some things I think he wishes he could take back. That's life, that's part of the learning cycle, and I don't hold that against him in any way. He's an amazing, calming influence. He's very deliberative about his coaching style.'
Sjögren plans to utilize a more European style of play with the Stars. He wants them to maintain the best of the American identity to combine with a European possession-oriented approach, 'because I don't think you can just switch from 0 to 100 or 100 to 0. You need to try to keep the best parts of what you already know.'
When breaking down the basics of his philosophy, Sjögren said he wants his team to have an offensive approach while holding more possession than the opponent — regaining possession as quickly as possible if it loses the ball — and pressing high. He also noted the importance of factoring in the opponent.
'You have to be adjustable to what you face,' he said, 'and also being at the bottom of the table that the team is at the moment, maybe you can't just do all of this at once. But that's at least the vision for this team. Possess the ball a little bit more, win it back a little bit more often, press higher a little bit more, and if you take those small steps, step by step, eventually, hopefully we will have the winning team.'
Sjögren joins the Stars knowing there isn't a quick fix. Implementing these tactical adjustments and honing precision will take time, and this likely won't be a one-year process.
'You can build something really quick by just buying a lot of players,' he said, 'but if you do that, there's a big risk that suddenly, if you don't keep on paying that money, you won't have a team anymore. So you need to build a good foundation to stand on, and from that create an attractive organization to be a part of.'
Rebuilding an organization from the ground up can be a tough sell to fans. The Stars have embraced the chance to address the club's culture and players' needs, though the on-field product clearly remains a work in progress, especially with Mallory Swanson not playing this season.
'Every team wants to be able to sell a vision of a winning team to fans, but for us, we're looking to build long-term success in the city of Chicago,' Leetzow said. 'That said, I would expect Martin — or any other hire that I make — to buy themselves a little bit of time to get accustomed.
'But when you talk to him, he both understands the long-term build, but he's got that quiet fire of wanting to win. So I expect that he'll do his best to bring us into the winning column as quickly as he possibly can.'