Mats Gren
FullnameMats Åke Gren
Birth date20 December 1963 (age 62)
Birth placeFalun, Sweden
Height1.86 m
PositionCentral defender
Years 11978–1983
Years 21984–1985
Years 31985–2000
Clubs 1Falu BS
Clubs 2IFK Göteborg
Clubs 3Grasshopper
Caps 145
Caps 240
Caps 3427
Goals 112
Goals 29
Goals 345
Totalcaps512
Totalgoals66
Nationalyears 11984–1990
Nationalteam 1Sweden U21
Nationalcaps 112
Nationalgoals 15
Nationalyears 21984–1992
Nationalteam 2Sweden
Nationalcaps 222
Nationalgoals 20
Manageryears 12004
Managerclubs 1Grasshopper (assistant)
Manageryears 22005–2006
Managerclubs 2FC Vaduz
Manageryears 32007–2009
Managerclubs 3Grasshopper (assistant)
Manageryears 42009–2011
Managerclubs 4Vejle
Manageryears 52012–2014
Managerclubs 5Jönköpings Södra IF
Manageryears 62020–2021
Managerclubs 6BK Häcken (women)

Mats Åke Gren (born 20 December 1963) is a Swedish football coach and former player who played as a defender. He played for IFK Göteborg and Grasshopper during a professional career that spanned between 1978 and 2000. A full international between 1984 and 1992, he won 22 caps for the Sweden national team and represented his country at the 1990 FIFA World Cup. Gren was first playing as a forward, but as he was a utility player, the last ten years in Grasshopper he played as a defender and also became team captain.[1][citation needed]

Club career

Gren played for Falu BS 1982–1984. He then played for IFK Göteborg in 1984–1985 and became Swedish champion in 1984. Gren then moved to Grasshopper, where he played from 1985 to 2000. He won the Swiss National League five times (1990, 1991, 1995, 1996, 1998) and won four Swiss Cup titles (1988, 1989, 1990, 1994).[2]

International career

Gren played 22 games for the Sweden national team and was on the squad in the 1990 FIFA World Cup, in one match as a substitute.[3]

Coaching career

He was assistant manager of Grasshopper from 2009.[4]

On 31 May 2009 he was named as the new head coach of Vejle Boldklub and signed over three years here between 30 June 2012.

Due to a poor start to the spring season of 2011, where Vejle dropped from 2nd to 3rd in the Danish 1st Division, Gren was sacked by the club board on 12 April 2011.[5]

In 2014, Gren left his job as manager Jönköpings Södra to take the role as sporting director at IFK Göteborg. On 10 October 2018, with the club showing poor results and having financial difficulties, IFK Göteborg sacked Gren.[6]

Career statistics

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year[7]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Sweden198430
198520
198600
198710
198810
198930
199030
199160
199230
Total220

Honours

Player

IFK Göteborg[2]

Grasshopper[2]

Manager

BK Häcken

References

  1. ^ "podcast"
  2. ^ Mats Gren wird Trainer in Dänemark
  3. ^ FIFA.com – FIFA Spielerstatistik Mats GREN
  4. ^
  5. ^ "Vejle fyrer Mats Gren". Archived from the original on 18 April 2011. Retrieved 12 April 2011.
  6. ^ Förändringar i ledarstaben
  7. ^ "Mats Gren - Spelarstatistik - Svensk fotboll" (in Swedish). www.svenskfotboll.se.. Archived from the original on 7 November 2022. Retrieved 2022-08-02.