Swedish coach Andree Jeglertz steers Man City to WSL triumph in 2026

Andree Jeglertz led Manchester City to their first Women's Super League title in a decade after Rebecca Knaak scored a stoppage-time winner.

Title-clinching moment revealed Rebecca Knaak’s goal in stoppage time against Liverpool on Sunday sealed Manchester City’s Women’s Super League title in 2026. Captain Alex Greenwood embraced manager Andree Jeglertz as the Swedish coach’s usual calm demeanor briefly vanished in celebration. Three days later, City’s title was confirmed when Arsenal failed to beat Brighton. After the official announcement in a room at Joie Stadium where the team watched the match, Jeglertz called Greenwood over and simply said, "We did it." ## Early life shaped coaching style Jeglertz grew up in Malmö, southern Sweden, where he played street football and lived beside an English neighbor who inspired him to watch Premier League matches. By age five, he joined a local football club and thrived in the sport-focused environment, unlike his younger brother who showed no interest. "He wasn’t competitive - he played football but he didn’t have that big interest in it like I had," Jeglertz recalls. "I always wanted to train a lot and have always been a very determined person. I thought: ‘I want to be on this level, I want to reach this.’" ## Strict discipline and structure shaped path Jeglertz believed training required structure and refused to accept random drills. "I wanted training to be a proper format, not just to do things randomly - I’ve never been good in that. It has to be with some structure. It’s still like that," he explained. His father, a football fan who played in his youth, took him to matches weekly, embedding the sport deeply in his life. Jeglertz also watched Malmö in Munich during their 1979 European Cup final loss to Nottingham Forest with his father. ## Playing career ended, teaching began Though Jeglertz played for Malmö and earned three Sweden Under-21 caps, he realized he wouldn’t reach the top level. That realization led him to study teaching, following his mother’s path and satisfying his curiosity about people. "When I realised I was not going to be as good as I had hoped for, that was tough - but I really loved the sport," he admitted. "I educated myself as a teacher. I really loved the relationship between people and wanted to combine that, so continue working inside football and with people." ## Family life and professional moves Jeglertz married former footballer Ulrika and they have two children, daughter Cornelia and son Adam. When Cornelia was an infant, the family relocated to Umeå in eastern Sweden, settling in a small neighborhood two miles outside the city. There, Jeglertz took his first major managerial role and won the Champions League in 2004 with a squad featuring Brazil star Marta. The next major move took the family to Stockholm five years later when he joined Djurgårdens, followed by coaching stints in Finland and Denmark. ## Daughter reflects on father’s dual role Cornelia views Jeglertz first as her caring father, not the celebrated coach others see. "He’s still only my dad - he’s not the famous coach that he is to other people," she says. Despite frequent relocations, she describes him as deeply engaged in her life and proud of her circle of friends. "He’s very interested in me and my friends. I think it’s a privilege that we have been able to follow him around, see his accomplishments and see the world," she adds. ## Personal interests and quirks Before a BBC Sport interview, Jeglertz had recently met his family in Manchester for dinner in Ancoats, a neighborhood he frequents. He enjoys curries and has studied wine culture and food pairings. Longtime friend and former fitness coach Lars-Gunnar Skoog, who worked with Jeglertz for a decade, describes him as "very sociable." "He has a terrible taste in music - he doesn’t know who Taylor Swift is. He only knows really old artists," Skoog jokes. ## Training habits and group bonding Skoog recalls Jeglertz’s intense training routines, including early morning runs with coaches that often led to injuries. "When we were at Umeå, we went to Turkey every year for pre-season training. All the coaches would run together at 7am. I told him we had to run slower but he would push everyone and we all got injured. We blamed him!" Despite the rigor, Skoog says Jeglertz fosters strong bonds, hosting reunions in Umeå where past players gather for large dinners. ## Calm exterior masks deep emotions Jeglertz is known for his calm, level-headed approach both on the touchline and in public, often posing for photos with fans and engaging with media. Sam Coffey, a January signing, highlights his balanced personality as key to his success. "He’s a funny guy," she says. "He’s really secure in himself. When you have that in a manager, it gives you security as a player. He’s very calm and composed but also drives really high standards for us." ## Family sees steady, composed side Cornelia confirms her father’s consistent demeanor extends to family life. "I have never seen him differently. Of course, he can be angry, like when I was a kid and being naughty. But not in a way that I can remember," she explains. "He’s always been very careful with how he puts his words out there so it doesn’t hit strongly. He’s careful so that everybody can feel seen and feel good around him." ## Role as emotional anchor for players Jeglertz admits he feels more emotion than he shows, especially with Manchester City’s success. "One of our biggest jobs as coaches is to balance the team’s emotions. If the players are frustrated or feel they are disappointed, I have to be the positive person and the one picking them up. If we are scoring and doing well, I need to be the balanced one," he explains. "The players need to know I’m almost always the same person." ## Private reactions to defeat revealed Skoog, who lived with Jeglertz two days weekly during their Linköping tenure, has seen the coach’s private side after losses. "He is very professional in the media and after the games in the dressing room. But when he came home, he would be sad and analyse the game again," Skoog says. "He looked at what he did wrong and what he could do differently. Andree’s coaching career has been 80% successful so he hasn’t had too much failure." ## Team describes him as a father figure Manchester City vice-captain Kerstin Casparij calls Jeglertz the "papa" of the group, noting his ability to make everyone feel part of a family. The coach encourages players to speak up in meetings, contribute to tactics, and express themselves on the pitch. "He’s someone I can go to about pretty much anything and he’s the same with everyone. It’s not just me because I’m the captain," Greenwood adds. ## Relentless work ethic noted by peers During his time at Linköping, Jeglertz left home at 7am and returned at 6pm, dedicating extra hours to training plans and video analysis. Within two weeks, players loved him for his commitment and took confidence from his detailed preparations. "His whole life is football - he is obsessed with it. He would speak on the phone with players and watch games. He is a perfectionist," Skoog remarks. ## Players valued his inclusive approach Skoog credits Jeglertz’s success to his willingness to listen and adapt training based on player input. "He talked a lot to the players and listened to them. If they said something good, he let them try it on the pitch. He was not dictating things. The players felt they could have input in the training sessions because he listened," he says. "It wasn’t like that before he came - players weren’t used to that." ## Team spirit and philosophy outlined Jeglertz’s football philosophy centers on people and extracting the best from everyone. He believes players should be decision-makers on the pitch, unpredictable, creative, and flexible, but above all, united as a team. "There was always a strong team spirit. In Umeå, the other teams hated us. It was us against them, always. He was good at making us feel strong together," Skoog explains. ## Influences and tactical evolution Jeglertz has long admired Dutch football and Johan Cruyff, reading coaching books and testing new methods. He developed a focus on physical fitness and adopted a 4-3-3 formation during his time at Manchester City. "Andree was a modern trainer. He was very accurate with his planning of every training session," Skoog reflects of their Umeå days in the mid-2000s. ## High standards drive success at City Greenwood says Jeglertz "demands high standards" daily at City and credits this mindset for building a winning mentality. "Everyone feels very comfortable to be themselves. It’s the safest dressing room and everyone feels comfortable to have their say," she notes. "Andree is a really calm guy but at the same time he is really intense. His door is always open and he really understands the human level and that’s really important, especially with women." ## First season reflections and fan moments Jeglertz has enjoyed his debut season at City, joking that a 3-2 win over Arsenal made him feel 10 years older. He was left speechless after City’s 5-1 thrashing of Chelsea in February. In November, he attended an England Under-23 match on a rare night off, signing autographs for fans. His pre-match talks are recorded and posted weekly on the club’s website, and his family watched games intently from April to May. ## Family pride in growing visibility Cornelia says she has never seen so much coverage of her father, noting the increased attention on women’s football. "I think that’s great to see so much women’s coverage - it is a big change. I think that makes me more proud, that he’s part of that change," she states. Jeglertz’s impact has been immediate but he remains eager to keep learning and achieve more. ## Coaching future and team environment Jeglertz believes happy players are good players and stresses the importance of creating an environment where everyone enjoys coming to work. "This is their life. They are fortunate to work with their hobby. The best teams, that succeed, are ones that enjoy going to work," he says. "You can have success one year but if you want to build something for the future you need to create an environment where everyone says: ‘Wow, I don’t want to go home from work’. When I look back on my coaching career, I would like to have been working at the highest level always."