Johan_Lange_(football_coach)

Johan Lange (football executive)

Johan Lange (football executive)

Football coach

Johan Lange (born 22 November 1979) is a Danish sporting director in professional football, he was formerly a manager and coach. He is currently the Technical Director at Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League.

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Coaching career

Lange started his coaching career at Danish Superliga side FC Copenhagen, working as their assistant manager for three and a half years, before departing on 30 June 2012 to join EFL Championship club Wolverhampton Wanderers as assistant manager to Ståle Solbakken.[1]

On 5 January 2013, following a string a poor results, which left Wolves 18th in the Championship - and a FA Cup defeat to non-league Luton Town, Solbakken and his backroom staff were sacked.[2]

On 2 February 2013, Lange was hired as head coach of Lyngby Boldklub in the Danish 1st Division.[3]

Transition into other roles

In 2014, Lange was reunited with Solbakken, as he rejoined FC Copenhagen as development director, the role changing to Technical Director within the same season.[4] In this role he became known for his apparent knack of signing players for a low cost, then later selling them at great profit to Europe's elite clubs, all whilst FC Copenhagen continued to win trophies domestically and compete in the UEFA Champions League.[5]

On 30 July 2020, Lange joined Premier League team Aston Villa as Sporting Director.[6] Following Aston Villa's survival from relegation the previous season, and subsequent departure of Jesus Garcia Pitarch as Sporting Director, Lange was tasked with helping build a team that would challenge at the top half of the Premier League, rather than battle against relegation.[7] The signings of Emi Martínez, Matty Cash, Bertrand Traoré, Ollie Watkins and Morgan Sanson as well as Ross Barkley joining on loan from Chelsea helped Aston Villa to achieve that goal, finishing 11th in Lange's first season, spending most of the season in the top half of the table and having not been in serious danger of relegation at any point of the season.[8]

On 16 June 2023, as part of an internal restructuring process, Monchi was named as Aston Villa's President of Football Operations. Lange now assumed the role of "Global Director of Football Development and International Academies".[9]

On 9 October 2023, Lange departed this youth development role at Aston Villa, to become Technical Director at Tottenham Hotspur.[10][11]

References

  1. [1]
    "Johan Lange to join Ståle Solbakken at Wolves". Shropshire Star. 30 June 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  2. [2]
    "Stale Solbakken sacked by Wolves". Express & Star. 5 January 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  3. [3]
    "Lyngby bekræfter ny træner". Bold.dk. 2 February 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  4. [4]
    "JOHAN LANGE UDVIKLINGSCHEF I F.C. KØBENHAVN". FC Kobenhavn Official Site. 21 January 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  5. [5]
    Bate, Adam (11 February 2020). "FC Copenhagen's transfer triumphs: Johan Lange explains their success". Sky Sports. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  6. [6]
    McNulty, Phil (30 July 2020). "Aston Villa appoint Johan Lange as new sporting director". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  7. [7]
    "Aston Villa target top-half finish as Johan Lange takes sporting director role". Four Four Two. 30 July 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  8. [8]
    Evans, Gregg (26 May 2021). "Villa season review: The Grealish effect, 7-2, El Goalzi and finally solving a problem position". The Athletic. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  9. [9]
    "Monchi appointed President of Football Operations". Aston Villa Football Club. 16 June 2023. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  10. [10]
    Leventhal, Adam. "Spurs appoint Villa's Johan Lange as technical director". The Athletic. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  11. [11]
    "Youth Development and International Academies update". Aston Villa Football Club. 9 October 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
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