Kim Hellberg has completed his managerial move to Middlesbrough from Hammarby. The 37-year-old Swede, who appeared poised to take charge at Swansea until Boro’s hijacking of that mooted deal, will aim to reinforce a reputation as one of Europe’s brightest emerging coaches.
After securing two consecutive second-place finishes in Sweden’s top tier at Hammarby, Hellberg has become something of a hot property and is tasked with leading second-placed Boro back into the Premier League.
They have paid about £250,000 to extract Hellberg from his contract and hope he can continue the job started by Rob Edwards. He had impressed immensely after his summer arrival, but the former Luton manager’s left for Wolves this month.
Hellberg began coaching in his country’s seventh tier after a modest playing career as a midfielder in Sweden’s lower divisions and swiftly proved a promotion specialist before taking charge at Hammarby two years ago.
He will not take charge until after Tuesday’s game at home to the Championship leaders, Coventry, with Adi Viveash having another game as the interim manager before staying as part of the coaching staff.
Hellberg told the club’s website: “A lot of things make Boro the perfect choice for me. The way they play and want to play, together with the crowd, suits me and how I want to work. I want us to play quick and aggressive football, and to try to win the ball as quickly as possible if we don’t have it. I want us to be quick on goal and create a lot of chances.”
Swansea have announced Vítor Matos as their head coach on a contract to 2029. They have taken the 37-year-old from the Portuguese second-tier club Marítimo, where he took his first head coach’s role in June. Matos had spent five years as the elite development coach at Liverpool under Jürgen Klopp and has worked at Porto and in China.
Swansea are 20th in the Championship and are at home to Derby on Tuesday. The CEO, Tom Gorringe, told the club’s website: “Vitor has spent over a decade working at elite clubs, and has been a trusted figure for some of the best coaches operating in the modern game.
“He is committed to playing an attacking brand of football, and to developing players technically and tactically, and we are sure supporters are going to enjoy watching his Swansea City team in action.”
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coventry | 16 | 28 | 37 |
| 2 | Middlesbrough | 16 | 6 | 30 |
| 3 | Stoke | 16 | 10 | 27 |
| 4 | Bristol City | 16 | 7 | 26 |
| 5 | Preston North End | 16 | 5 | 26 |
| 6 | Hull | 16 | 1 | 25 |
| 7 | Millwall | 16 | -5 | 25 |
| 8 | Ipswich | 15 | 10 | 24 |
| 9 | Birmingham | 16 | 6 | 24 |
| 10 | Leicester | 16 | 3 | 24 |
| 11 | Watford | 16 | 2 | 23 |
| 12 | Derby | 16 | 0 | 23 |
| 13 | Charlton | 16 | 0 | 23 |
| 14 | Wrexham | 16 | 1 | 22 |
| 15 | QPR | 16 | -5 | 22 |
| 16 | Southampton | 16 | 1 | 21 |
| 17 | West Brom | 16 | -3 | 21 |
| 18 | Blackburn | 15 | -4 | 19 |
| 19 | Portsmouth | 16 | -6 | 17 |
| 20 | Swansea | 16 | -7 | 17 |
| 21 | Oxford Utd | 16 | -6 | 14 |
| 22 | Sheff Utd | 16 | -12 | 13 |
| 23 | Norwich | 16 | -12 | 9 |
| 24 | Sheff Wed | 16 | -20 | -4 |
