Kenneth Ohlsson

Lars Kenneth "Kenta" Ohlsson (born 7 September 1948 ) is a Swedish former football player and manager. He represented Hammarby IF throughout his whole playing career, as a one club man, and holds the club record for most league appearances in total. Ohlsson also made one appearance for Sweden, in 1978.

Early life Kenneth Ohlsson was born in Stockholm and grew up in the suburb of Bagarmossen, together with his younger brother Billy Ohlsson who later would become a footballer. His neighbour Olle Nyström, who was a player for Hammarby IF, convinced him to join the club's youth setup in the late 1950s.

Club career

In 1966, Ohlsson made his debut for the senior team, at age 17, in Division 2, Sweden's second tier. He soon broke into the side as a regular, playing with the likes of Lennart Skoglund and Tom Turesson, and Hammarby won a promotion to Allsvenskan the same year. He made his debut in Allsvenskan in 1967, playing all but three league fixtures throughout the campaign, but Hammarby finished at the foot of the table and suffered an immediate relegation. On 19 April 1978, Ohlsson won his only cap for the Sweden national team in a 3–1 friendly win against West Germany. Many pundits thought that Ohlsson would get called up to the 1978 FIFA World Cup the same summer, but manager Georg Ericson ultimately left him out of the squad. The decision was met with much disappointment from Ohlsson, who had sought a move to a club abroad to play professionally.

After the domestic success, Hammarby competed in the European Cup Winners' Cup the following year, ultimately getting knocked out by FC Haka in the second round (2–3 on aggregate). Ohlsson decided to retire from football immediately after the second leg had been played, on 2 November 1983, at age 35.

Managerial career After his playing career ended, Ohlsson stayed with Hammarby and worked as the assistant to manager Björn Bolling in 1985, securing a 6th place in the Allsvenskan table.

Back in Allsvenskan 1990, Ohlsson was unable to rescue Hammarby from an instant relegation, with a squad consisting of several homegrown youngsters due to financial difficulties. The club finished at the foot of the table, mostly due to a lack of defensive play, letting in a total of 52 goals in just 22 games. Ohlsson stayed as manager of Hammarby for two more seasons in Division 2, but was unable to lead the club back to Allsvenskan and left his position at the end of 1992.

He also played bandy for one season, in 1966, with Hammarby IF.

Personal life Professionally, Ohlsson worked as a PE teacher and football instructor at a sports gymnasium in Gubbängen, Stockholm, until his retirement.