Lennartsson confirms end of era
Monday, August 2, 2010
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Jörgen Lennartsson will end a six-year association with Sweden's Under-21 squad at the end of 2010 when he leaves to take over the helm of Norwegian outfit Stabæk Fotball.
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The Swedish Football Association (SvFF) has announced that Jörgen Lennartsson will step down as joint-coach of the national Under-21 side at the end of the year.
The 45-year-old Lennartsson, who has been with the U21s since 2005 and currently works alongside Tommy Söderberg, will break this successful partnership to take the helm at Norwegian club Stabæk Fotball from 1 January. The pair guided Sweden to the UEFA European U21 Championship semi-finals on home turf in 2009, and to their current first place in their qualifying group this time around.
"He has done a good job," said SvFF president Lars-Åke Lagrell. "He is an enthusiastic person and we wish him luck. We would have liked to keep Jörgen." Having won five of their opening six group games, Sweden will secure their place in October's qualifying play-offs with a point against Israel in Gothenburg on 3 September.
Lennartsson, who has signed a three-year deal with Stabæk, said: "I look forward to coaching a club side again. I took this job partly because of the quality of the players in the squad."