Caroline Sjöblom

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Caroline Sjöblom

| image =

| caption =

| fullname =

| height = 1.74 m{{cite web |url=https://www.playmakerstats.com/player.php?id=120423&epoca_id=139 |title=Caroline Sjöblom |publisher=Playmaker |access-date=21 April 2023}}

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1989|10|16|df=y}}

| birth_place = Saltvik, Åland, Finland

| currentclub =

| clubnumber =

| position = Defender

| youthyears1 =

| youthclubs1 =

| collegeyears1 =

| years1 = 2008–2011

| clubs1 = Åland United

| caps1 = 41{{cite web |url=https://tribuna.com/en/persons/caroline-sjoblom/career/ |title=Caroline Sjöblom Career |access-date=21 April 2023 |publisher=Tribuna Digital}}

| goals1 =

| years2 = 2011

| clubs2 = Djurgårdens IF

| caps2 = 22

| goals2 =

| totalcaps =

| totalgoals =

| nationalyears1 =

| nationalteam1 =

| nationalcaps1 =

| nationalgoals1 =

| manageryears1 = 2016–2018

| managerclubs1 = Tyresö FF

| manageryears2 = 2018–2020

| managerclubs2 = AIK

| manageryears3 = 2020–2022

| managerclubs3 = Sweden U17

| manageryears4 = 2020–2022

| managerclubs4 = Sweden U19

| manageryears5 = 2023

| managerclubs5 = Kansas City Current (assistant)

| manageryears6 = 2023

| managerclubs6 = Kansas City Current (interim)

| pcupdate =

}}

Caroline Sjöblom (born 16 October 1989) is a Finnish women's football manager and former player. As a player, she won the 2009 Naisten Liiga with Åland United. and participated in the 2010–11 UEFA Women's Champions League.

Sjöblom was most recently interim head coach of Kansas City Current in the American top-flight National Women's Soccer League.

Early life

Sjöblom was born in the municipality of Saltvik in the autonomous region of Åland, Finland. She studied behavioural science in university.{{cite news |url=https://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/fotboll/a/41dVae/aiks-avgaende-tranare-om-succen |title=AIK:s avgående tränare om succén

|trans-title=AIK's outgoing coach about the success |date=23 September 2020 |access-date=21 April 2023 |first=Emelie |last=Fredriksson |work=Aftonbladet |language=sv}}

Club career

= Åland United, 2008–2011 =

Sjöblom joined Åland United in the Naisten Liiga in 2008.{{cite news |url=https://www.alandstidningen.ax/sport/carro-missar-premiaren-och-em-kvalet |title="Carro" missar premiären – och EM-kvalet |trans-title="Carro" misses the premiere – and the EC qualification |date=19 April 2008 |access-date=21 April 2023 |work=Ålandstidningen |language=sv}}

In 2009, she won the Naisten Liiga with Åland United, then participated in the 2010–11 UEFA Women's Champions League, where Åland fell to 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam 15–0 on aggregate in the round of 32.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.ourgamemag.com/2021/06/01/aland-united-the-minnows-heading-for-europe/ |title=Aland United, the Minnows Heading for Europe |date=1 June 2021 |access-date=21 April 2023 |magazine=Our Game Magazine |first=Richard |last=Laverty}}

= Djugardens IF, 2011 =

In 2011, she transferred to Djurgårdens IF in Sweden's Damallsvenskan, where she played centre-back. The club competed for the Svenska Cupen.

Sjöblom retired as a player after the 2011 Damallsvenskan season at the age of 22.

Coaching career

In 2012, Sjöblom joined Stockholm-based AIK as an assistant coach for its academy, then in 2014 for its women's under-19 team.{{cite news |url=https://www.nyan.ax/sport/caroline-sjoblom-ny-tranare-i-aik/ |title=Caroline Sjöblom ny tränare i AIK |trans-title=Caroline Sjöblom new coach in AIK |date=22 November 2018 |access-date=21 April 2023 |work=Nya Åland |first=Victor |last=Sundqvist}}

= Tyresö FF, 2016–2018 =

In 2016, she was appointed manager of Tyresö FF competing in Sweden's Division 2. The team won the division, earning promotion to Division 1, and the club appointed Sjöblom sports director in addition to manager.

= AIK, 2018–2020 =

On 21 November 2018, AIK appointed Sjöblom as managers of AIK's women's side. In 2020, the club won the Elitettan with a record 72 points, winning 24 of 26 matches, and was promoted to the top-flight Damallsvenskan in 2021.{{cite press release |url=https://www.aikfotboll.se/nyheter/aik-avslutade-med-seger-och-satte-poangrekord-2020-11-14 |title=AIK avslutade med seger och satte poängrekord |trans-title=AIK finished with a victory and set a scoring record |date=14 November 2020 |access-date=21 April 2023 |publisher=AIK Fotboll |language=sv}}

= The Swedish FA, 2020–2022 =

On 1 October 2020, Sjöblom left AIK to accept an appointment from the Swedish Football Association to manage its under-15 and under-17 teams.

In 2021, Sjöblom served as an analyst for the senior team during the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.{{cite news |url=https://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/fotboll/a/9E1qrl/det-kvittar--vi-kommer-vinna-vilken-match-som-helst |title=Det kvittar – vi kommer vinna vilken match som helst |trans-title="It settles – we will win any match" |date=27 July 2021 |access-date=21 April 2023 |work=Aftonbladet |first1=Anna |last1=Rydén |first2=Frida |last2=Fagerlund}}{{cite news |url=https://www.nyan.ax/sport/alandska-caroline-sjoblompa-plats-vid-tokyo-os/ |title=Åländska Caroline Sjöblom på OS i Tokyo |trans-title=Åland's Caroline Sjöblom at the Olympics in Tokyo |date=30 July 2021 |access-date=21 April 2023 |work=Nya Åland}}

Sjöblom led the Sweden women's national under-19 football team to qualify for the 2022 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship, Sweden's first since 2015,{{cite press release |url=https://www.kansascitycurrent.com/news/kansas-city-current-add-former-swedish-national-team-coach-t |title=Kansas City Current add former Swedish National Team coach to technical staff |date=25 January 2023 |access-date=21 April 2023 |publisher=Kansas City Current}}{{cite news |url=https://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/fotboll/a/APpv2E/caroline-sjoblom-byter-f19-landslaget-for-kansas-city-current |title=Caroline Sjöblom byter F19-landslaget för NWSL |trans-title=Caroline Sjöblom changes the F19 national team for the NWSL |date=25 January 2023 |access-date=21 April 2023 |work=Aftonbladet |first=Clara |last=Nyblom Hardie}} where Sweden lost to Spain in the semi-finals and finished third.{{cite web |url=https://www.uefa.com/womensunder19/match/2034733--spain-vs-sweden/events/ |title=Spain-Sweden |publisher=UEFA |date=6 July 2022 |access-date=21 April 2023}}{{cite magazine |url=https://www.ourgamemag.com/2022/09/04/how-are-sweden-preparing-for-a-different-future/ |title=How is Sweden Preparing for a Different Future? |date=4 September 2022 |access-date=21 April 2023 |magazine=Our Game Magazine |first=Richard |last=Laverty}} Her tactics in the tournament were praised by Jarmo Matikainen in UEFA's technical review.{{cite web |url=https://www.uefatechnicalreports.com/programme/wu19-2022/features/technical-topics/page/1 |title=Technical Topics |publisher=UEFA |access-date=21 April 2023 |first1=Pauline |last1=Hamill |first2=Jarmo |last2=Matikainen |first3=Brent |last3=Hills |first4=Monika |last4=Staab |quote=When Sweden pressed in a high block, one of the midfield players joined the striker trying to force an error from the opposition. You could hear, Head coach, Caroline Sjoblom, urging them to step up. And you can see that they were shifting to that shape. Again, it's clever because it's simple. They were basically moving the players within their own, let’s say, ‘channels’. explains Matikainen.}}

Sjöblom departed the role on 14 December 2022.{{cite press release |url=https://www.svenskfotboll.se/nyheter/landslag/2022/12/caroline-sjoblom-lamnar-svff/ |title=Caroline Sjöblom lämnar SvFF |trans-title=Caroline Sjöblom leaves SvFF |date=14 December 2022 |access-date=21 April 2023 |publisher=SvFF}}

= Kansas City Current, 2023 (interim)=

On 25 January 2023, American National Women's Soccer League club Kansas City Current announced that it had hired Sjöblom as an assistant coach to head coach Matt Potter{{cite news |url=https://www.nyan.ax/sport/klart-caroline-sjoblom-tillkansas-och-usas-hogstaliga/ |title=Klart: Caroline Sjöblom till Kansas och USA:s högstaliga |trans-title=Done: Caroline Sjöblom to Kansas and the USA's top league |date=25 January 2023 |access-date=21 April 2023 |work=Nya Åland |first=Peter |last=Pussinen |language=sv}} on a contract until 2024. In an interview with Aftonbladet, she said the offer was for more resources than any club in Sweden could provide and praised the Current's facilities, staff, and ambitions.

On 19 April 2023, Kansas City fired Potter hours before a match against Houston Dash in the 2023 NWSL Challenge Cup, and Sjöblom was appointed the club's interim manager.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/soccer/2023/04/19/kc-current-nwsl-potter-fired/06e5e076-dee9-11ed-a78e-9a7c2418b00c_story.html |title=KC Current fires Matt Potter hours before game in Houston |date=19 April 2023 |access-date=21 April 2023 |newspaper=The Washington Post |agency=Associated Press |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Diamond |first=Drew |date=23 October 2023 |title=Vlatko Andonovski new head coach Kansas City Current |url=https://herfootballhub.com/kansas-city-current-confirms-vlatko-andonovski-new-head-coach-and-sporting-director/ |access-date=23 October 2023 |website=Her Football Hub |language=en-GB}} Sjöblom learned of Potter's firing and her appointment hours before it occurred and led the Current to a 2–0 victory in her debut as manager, comparing the short turnaround to the limited preparation she had as an international coach.{{cite news |url=https://equalizersoccer.com/2023/04/20/immediate-aftermath-of-potter-firing-kc-team-shocked-but-go-on-to-win-first-game-of-2023/ |title=Immediate aftermath of Potter firing: KC team shocked but go on to win first game of 2023 |date=20 April 2023 |access-date=21 April 2023 |work=The Equalizer |first=Dan |last=Lauletta}}

Sjöblom was not retained as the full-time head coach of the Current for the 2024 season when the franchise hired former U.S. women's national team and FC Kansas City manager Vlatko Andonovski to lead the team.{{Cite web|last=Kassouf|first=Jeff|date=20 October 2023|title=Sources: Kansas City Current to Hire Vlatko Andonovski as Head Coach|url=https://equalizersoccer.com/2023/10/20/sources-kansas-city-current-to-hire-vlatko-andonovski-as-head-coach/|access-date=23 October 2023|website=The Equalizer|language=en-US}}

Licensing

Sjöblom served as district association captain for the Stockholm Football Association, and completed the UEFA A Licence diploma course for former elite players.{{cite press release |url=https://www.svenskfotboll.se/nyheter/svff/2020/2/caroline-sjoblom/ |title=Lång intervju med Caroline Sjöblom: Mitt liv består utav fotboll |trans-title=Caroline Sjöblom quit football at the age of 22 – now she coaches one of Sweden's best teams |date=7 February 2020 |access-date=21 April 2023 |work=SvFF}} In November 2021, Sjöblom graduated from the UEFA Pro Licence program.{{cite web |url=https://www.idrottsgalan.ax/nomineringar-2022 |title= Nomineringar 2022 |trans-title=Nominations 2022 |publisher=Idrottsgalan |access-date=21 April 2023}}{{cite tweet |user=Sjoblomskan |author=Caroline Sjöblom |number=1463826763197394946 |title=UEFA PRO graduates 🤩 |date=25 November 2021 |access-date=21 April 2023}}

Honours

= Player =

; Åland United

Naisten Liiga: 2009

= Manager =

; Tyresö FF

Sweden's Division 2: 2016

; AIK Fotboll Dam

Elitettan: 2020

Individual

Åland Sports Awards Silver Ball: 2006{{cite web |url=https://www.idrottsgalan.ax/pristagare/caroline-sjoblom |title=Caroline Sjöblom Fotbollens silverbollar 2006 |trans-title=Caroline Sjöblom Football Silver Ball 2006 |access-date=21 April 2023 |publisher=Åland Sports Awards}}
Åland Sports Awards Manager of the Year nominee: 2022