Kent Karlsson (soccer player)

Karlsson (left) can not prevent Poland's Lato from winning 1-0 at the 1974 World Cup.

Kent Roland Karlsson (born November 25, 1945 in Arboga , Västmanland ) is a former Swedish football player who now works as a coach .

career

Player career

Karlsson started his career at IFK Eskilstuna at the age of 17 . In 1967 he moved to Åtvidabergs FF , with whom he rose to the Allsvenskan . 1970 and 1971 succeeded both the victory in the Svenska Cup and the runner-up. In 1972 and 1973 Karlsson won the Swedish championship with the team. In 1975 he was awarded the Guldbollen as Sweden's Footballer of the Year. After relegation to Division 2 in 1976, he left the club and returned to IFK Eskilstuna. In 1980 he ended his active career.

From 1973 to 1977 he played 38 times for the Swedish national team . He took part in the world championships in 1974 and 1978 . While he played all six games in the first tournament, he was no longer used in his second tournament.

Coaching career

Immediately after his active career, he switched to the coaching bench. He was hired by IK Brage without having a coaching license . He then worked for various clubs in Denmark, Norway and Sweden such as Örebro SK , IK Sleipner , Assyriska Föreningen and FC Copenhagen . With IFK Norrköping he won the Swedish championship in 1989. In 2004 he took over his former club Åtvidabergs FF in the second-rate Superettan , with whom he qualified as a cup finalist for the UEFA Cup . He has been with Smedby AIS since 2007 .