{"id":483677,"date":"2026-01-01T01:51:19","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T01:51:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/483677\/"},"modified":"2026-01-01T01:51:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T01:51:19","slug":"columbus-crew-name-henrik-rydstrom-ninth-head-coach-in-club-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/483677\/","title":{"rendered":"Columbus Crew\u202fname\u202fHenrik\u202fRydstr\u00f6m\u202fninth head coach in Club history\u202f"},"content":{"rendered":"

COLUMBUS<\/strong> \u2013\u202fThe Columbus Crew\u202fannounced\u202ftoday\u202fthat Henrik\u202fRydstr\u00f6m\u202fhas been named the ninth full-time head coach in Club history.\u202fRydstr\u00f6m\u202f\u2013\u202fwho most recently led\u202fthe renowned\u202fMalm\u00f6\u202fFF of\u202fAllsvenskan, Sweden\u2019s top football division \u2013\u202fcomes to the Black & Gold with 10 years\u00a0of\u00a0coaching experience, including seven as head coach of Swedish sides,\u00a0after playing professionally for 24 years.<\/p>\n

During\u202fhis first year at the helm of\u202fMalm\u00f6\u202fFF\u202fin 2023,\u202fRydstr\u00f6m\u202fdirected\u202fthe\u00a0team\u00a0to the\u00a0Allsvenskan\u202fchampionship with a 20-6-4\u202frecord. In 2024,\u202fhe guided the\u00a0squad\u00a0to\u202fback-to-back league titles and\u202fa Swedish Cup victory,\u202fcompleting\u202fthe club\u2019s first\u00a0such\u00a0double\u202fsince 1989.<\/p>\n

Rydstr\u00f6m\u202fis\u202fjoined by assistant coach\u00a0Theodor Olsson and\u00a0First Team analyst\u00a0Mak\u202fPakhei.\u202fCrew goalkeeper coach Phil Boerger and\u00a0head of video & data analysis\u00a0Marc O\u2019Neill will\u202fcontinue in their roles with the Club.<\/p>\n

\u201cHenrik has proven his leadership ability throughout an established coaching and playing career, and we collectively share a vision for how we can continue to advance and evolve the Club\u2019s dynamic style of play,\u201d said General Manager Issa Tall. \u201cDuring the head coaching search, we prioritized candidates\u2019 personalities and care for their club as a whole, in addition to their coaching accolades. Henrik fully embodies these traits as the Crew\u2019s head coach, and we\u2019reeager to begin the 2026 season together with our long-standing goal of consistently contending for championships in Columbus.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are thrilled to welcome Henrik as the head coach of the Columbus Crew. Throughout the interview process, he displayed a keen ability to lead and support everyone at his clubs while producing results, both as a coach and player,\u201d said the Haslam, Johnson and Edwards families. \u201cWe are confident Henrik will be an exceptional representative and leader of our Club, aligned with our goals of competing for titles on the pitch, engaging our passionate fan base and elevating our local community.”<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited to coach the Crew and thank the Haslam, Johnson and Edwards families, Issa, Marc and the entire team for the opportunity to join the Club. After every meeting with Crew leadership, the feeling continued to grow that this Club is special and something that you want to be part of,\u201d said Rydstr\u00f6m. \u201cAs a coach, you love the Crew\u2019s playing style and how the players enjoy it, the focus on hard work and the Club\u2019s passionate supporters. Our goal is to continue to build upon the team\u2019s impressive success and attacking style while combining the desire to win with challenging ourselves every day to improve and to create joy for the team and supporters.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hired as Malm\u00f6\u00a0FF\u2019s head coach in December 2022,\u202fRydstr\u00f6m\u202fcompiled a\u202f39-9-12\u00a0record\u00a0in\u202fAllsvenskan\u202fcompetition\u202fduring his\u202ftwo\u202ffull\u202fseasons\u202fwith the club.\u202fHis\u202fsquad\u202faveraged more than two points per match in 2023 (2.13\u202fper game) and 2024 (2.17 per game)\u202fand\u00a0amassed\u00a020 league\u202fwins during his first campaign,\u202ftied for the\u202fthird-most in team history and\u202fonly the side\u2019s third time reaching the mark\u202fsince\u202f2001\u202f(21 in 2016 and\u202f2010).\u202fRydstr\u00f6m\u202fand Malm\u00f6\u00a0FF\u202fearned a 4-1 penalty-kick victory\u202fover\u202fDjurg\u00e5rdens\u202fIF\u202fafter being level 1-1\u202fin the 2023-24 Swedish Cup\u202fFinal,\u202flifting the trophy for only the second time\u202fsince 1990.\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rydstr\u00f6m\u202fbegan his coaching career in 2016 as an assistant with Kalmar FF, the club where he spent the first 20 years of his playing career. In July 2018, he was elevated to\u202facting head coach when\u202fNanne Bergstrand went on sick leave,\u202fmanaging\u202fKalmar for 10\u202fAllsvenskan\u202fleague matches through the end of the season. On Dec. 10, 2018,\u202fRydstr\u00f6m\u202fand Mirza\u202fJele\u010dak\u202fwere presented as\u202fco-head coaches to lead IK Sirius.\u202fIn 2019, Sirius\u00a0maintained\u00a0its position\u00a0in the Swedish\u202ftop flight, and\u00a0Rydstr\u00f6m\u202fwas awarded\u00a0full-time\u00a0head coaching responsibilities. In\u00a02020,\u202fhe guided\u00a0Sirius to a 9-11-10 record in league play\u00a0before\u00a0returning to\u00a0Kalmar in 2021\u202fas head coach.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

During\u00a0his first season\u202fdirecting Kalmar,\u00a0Rydstr\u00f6m\u00a0led\u00a0the club\u00a0to a 13-8-9 record in league play, finishing sixth in the\u202fAllsvenskan. The following year,\u202fKalmar\u202fimproved to 15-6-9\u00a0and a\u00a0fourth-place\u202fstanding\u202fto\u00a0secure\u00a0a spot in the UEFA Europa Conference League qualifying rounds.\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rydstr\u00f6m\u2019s, who played professionally in his native Sweden for\u00a0nearly a\u00a0quarter century, is a Kalmar youth product and midfielder by trade. From 1994-2013, he competed in 551 league games and scored 23 goals with Kalmar while his 802 matches across all competitions are an active record for the club. The team captain led Kalmar to its only\u00a0Allsvenskan\u00a0league championship in 2008 and helped the side secure the Swedish Cup title in 2007. He\u00a0ultimately concludedhis playing career with IFK Berga,\u00a0Listerby\u00a0IK\u00a0and\u00a0Hossmo\u00a0BK.\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

As Columbus continues\u00a0its\u00a0preparation for the 2026 campaign,\u00a0Crew Season Ticket Memberships for 2026 are currently available, highlighted by guaranteed access to all Black & Gold home matches at the best full-season prices; a complimentary Apple TV subscription; exclusive member-only events; a discount at the Crew Shop; presale opportunities for events at\u00a0ScottsMiracle-Gro Field, Historic Crew Stadium and Huntington Bank Field; and more. Fans interested in more information on Season Ticket Memberships are encouraged to email\u00a0seasontickets@columbuscrew.com<\/a>\u00a0or visit\u00a0www.columbuscrew.com\/tickets\/memberships<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The first club in MLS history, the Crew open their 31st season with back-to-back Western Conference road matches at Portland (Saturday, Feb. 21, 10:30 p.m. ET) and Sporting Kansas City (Saturday, Feb. 28, 8:30 p.m. ET) before hosting Chicago Fire FC for the home opener at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field on Saturday, March 7 at 7:30 p.m.\u202fFans can secure single-match tickets to the Crew-Fire matchup via\u00a0www.columbuscrew.com\/tickets<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"COLUMBUS \u2013\u202fThe Columbus Crew\u202fannounced\u202ftoday\u202fthat Henrik\u202fRydstr\u00f6m\u202fhas been named the ninth full-time head coach in Club history.\u202fRydstr\u00f6m\u202f\u2013\u202fwho most recently led\u202fthe…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":483678,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[51,47165,105,50,52],"class_list":{"0":"post-483677","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-homepage-news","10":"tag-latest-news","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-top-stories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115817341553445256","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483677","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=483677"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483677\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/483678"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=483677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=483677"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=483677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}