Springboard assistant coach of FC Augsburg: After Lars Knudsen in Denmark, Jacob Friis is now taking over a national team. The 48-year-old Dane is the new national coach of Finland, which also has to pay a transfer fee for him.
From no other position is the path to becoming a national coach as short as from being an assistant coach at FC Augsburg. After Lars Knudsen recently led Denmark’s national team on an interim and extremely successful basis (he is now a technical trainer there again), another assistant to FCA coach Jess Thorup has now become the focus of a Scandinavian national team: Jacob Friis is taking over the Finnish national team.
Jacob Friis: “Honor, as National coach to be active”
Friis was introduced at a press conference on Monday. Everyone involved has agreed not to disclose the amount of the transfer fee. “I hope that I can help Finnish football reach new heights,” said Friis when he was introduced.
“It is an honor for me to be able to work as Finland’s national coach. That’s why I was very happy to accept this offer. I am very grateful to everyone in charge at FC Augsburg for giving me the opportunity to gain experience in the Bundesliga let me out of the contract during the current season,” says Friis.
Friis career: head coach – assistant coach FCA – head coach
Augsburg’s Bundesliga away win at Werder Bremen was not his last game as FCA assistant coach, after Saturday’s home game against Heidenheim he will officially move to Finland. He came to Swabia in autumn 2023 as head coach of the Danish first division club Viborg FF – and was moved into the second tier for this. “Many will ask why I gave up a head coaching position for an assistant coaching position,” Friis said at the time. “But I was convinced by the FCA’s approach, which I can identify with 100 percent.”
So now the move to the top position again, but the Finns also had to pay a transfer fee for the 48-year-old Dane. In addition to his native language, Friis also speaks English, German and Spanish – and Finnish will probably also be added. In the press conference he replied in English that he wanted to do the same later this year. Maybe he could switch to Finnish later.
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Source: BR24Sport January 20, 2025 – 2:55 p.m
