Thomas Nørgaard has decided to accept an offer to be a head coach in Denmark, where he also can be closer to his family. We would like to thank Thomas for all his work in Sparta and wish him the best of luck in his future.
“First of all, I've been extremely happy being in the club. Prague is a beautiful city and really welcomed me in so many ways. At the same time, I am glad that I could have been part of Sparta. Not only being inside the club but also with everything that's around it: expectations, pressure. Everything has been a huge thing to be part of. Right now I've had the opportunity to go closer to my family and at the same time I've been over the really exciting head coach job in Denmark. It's not because I'm not happy where I am, nor because I don't believe that the project will succeed because I definitely do so. it's more about family and the opportunity that once in a while comes. In football, timing is never good so you have to make some hard decisions from time to time. This one brings me closer to Denmark in a project that I think is really interesting. But at the same time, I'm leaving a club that definitely has gotten under my skin over six months. I hundred percent believe, that Sparta will succeed during the upcoming months,” said Thomas about his departure.
“Thomas came to me about two weeks ago with a request of leaving the club. He had the possibility to go back to Denmark and be closer to his family. At the same time being offered a job back home, which has made the choice a little bit easier for him. Of course, I had discussions with Rosa about whether it is possible for us to accept his request. In the end, we decided to accept it and let Thomas go. I wish him all the best,” said Brian Priske about his former assistant.
The new face of the coaching team is Lars Friis. The 46-year-old Danish coach was the head coach of Aalborg. Before that, was part of the coaching staff in Aarhus Gymnastikforening, Brentford F.C. or Viborg FF. Friis also spend sixteen years in Midtjylland where he met Sparta's head coach Brian Priske.
“This situation is also an opportunity to bring in a new person that I know and that I've worked with before. I'm happy that Lars has accepted to come to Sparta. I worked with him for four and a half years in Midtjylland. Christian also has worked with him for a long time, so we all know each other quite well. In his career, he picked up some valuable experience both as an assistant in Denmark or in Brentford and also as a head coach in the Danish league. He’s got the football skills that we are looking for and the human aspect of the game as well. I know that he will fit in perfectly for Sparta,” Priske outlined his expectations from his new colleague.
“Sparta is a very big club and when you look into history you can see that it's a great club with a lot of ambitions. The aim here is to win and I like that. All the surroundings and the setup here are really good, you’ve got here everything that is needed for success. Now it's only to perform,” said the newest member of the coaching staff.
“Sparta is a very big club and when you look into history you can see that it's a great club with a lot of ambitions. The aim here is to win and I like that. All the surroundings and the setup here are really good, you’ve got here everything that is needed for success. Now it's only to perform,” said the newest member of the coaching staff.
Welcome to Sparta, Lars!
