One month after Glenn Solberg announced his departure from the position of coach of the Sweden men’s senior national team, the Swedish Handball Federation (SHF) has announced it has appointed Michael Apelgren as the 13th coach in the history of one of the most decorated teams in men’s international handball.

Apelgren, who turned 40 years old in June, hails from a family with a checkered sports tradition, as his mother, Lena Paulsen, was a handball player, while his father, Per Apelgren, played football.

As a player, Apelgren featured as a centre back and has five selections in the Sweden men’s senior national team, having played at club level for Djurgårdens IF, Hammarby IF and IK Sävehof in Sweden, as well as for BM Granollers and CB Puerto Sagunto in Spain and Elverum Håndball in Norway.

He retired from his playing career in 2016, but was also a coach at Elverum between 2014 and 2020, winning six domestic titles. Apelgren also coached at IK Sävehof between 2020 and 2024 and was Solberg’s assistant coach in the national team between 2022 and 2024.

Since this summer, he is also leading Hungarian side OTP Bank-Pick Szeged, where he will coach in parallel with his assignments for the Sweden men’s senior national team.

“After working as a coach for over ten years, it is something that has emerged as a dream. It will really be something extra to lead the national team. There have been very, very good things done in the national team in recent years and I will in many ways have a similar way of working with clear frameworks where we have an openness towards the players and involve them in what we do,” said Apelgren, according to the official website of the SHF.

Apelgren will lead Sweden for the first time in November, when Sweden will face France and Denmark in the EHF EURO Cup.

Then, he will make his debut at a major international competition in January, at the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship, where Sweden are due to play in Group F, in Oslo, alongside Spain, Japan and Chile, in one of the most balanced groups in this edition of the world handball flagship competition.

Photo credit: Swedish Handball Federation / Petter Arvidson / Bildbyrån