“I wasn’t like this before,” says Tottenham Hotspur head coach Robert Vilahamn. “I wasn’t a good professional athlete. I wasn’t a good leader or person when I was younger. I was kind of snobby. I thought I knew everything. I’ve taken a journey and developed how I want to be as a coach.”
The 41-year-old has been on a journey from player to coach, teacher to entrepreneur. Such learnings have shaped how Vilahamn manages his Women’s Super League side. Before a historic FA Cup semi-final clash against Leicester on Sunday, he sat down with The Athletic to share his story.
At 16 years old, Vilahamn, who had never travelled outside his small childhood village of Skalhamn, Sweden, moved 130 kilometres (80 miles) south to Gothenburg. He had his own apartment and a full-time salary as a professional footballer. It was a far cry from his family’s humble beginnings where his father worked at the harbour, driving a forklift truck, while his mother, who died nine years ago from cancer, stayed at home trying to make sure there was food on the table for his six siblings.
“The only thing I did was play football with my siblings, cousins and neighbours in the garden,” Vilahamn says looking out over the immaculate pitches at Tottenham’s training ground in north London….
