- Aug 16, 2003
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Graham Potter has guided Swedish minnows Ostersund to the Europa League group stage... but now sights are set on Champions League football
PUBLISHED: 07:47 EDT, 6 September 2017 | UPDATED: 07:47 EDT, 6 September 2017
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...rsund-s-rise-Europa-League.html#ixzz4tvz98aCt
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From the ninth tier of English football to the Europa League group stage via the fourth division of the Swedish league, Graham Potter's rise is nearly complete.
But the 42-year-old former York defender, the only English manager in continental competition this season, has been tasked with taking Ostersund into the Champions League by winning Allsvenskan.
Potter said: 'My chairman (Daniel Kindberg) is an ambitious guy. He wants to win the Allsvenskan and then get into the Champions League. That's the end goal.
'Six years ago when we were in the fourth tier of Swedish football that sounded like he needed to go to some institution.
'It's still the aim. That's what we want to try to do and work towards.'
When Potter and his Ostersund side play Zorya Luhansk in Lviv, Ukraine on September 14, he might well reflect on a playing career which began at Birmingham and included more than 100 appearances for York, plus spells at Northampton, Boston, Shrewsbury and Macclesfield.
He might also reflect on coaching Leeds Carnegie, a team of students playing in the English ninth tier, as he completed his own masters in leadership and emotional intelligence.
'That's the beauty of football. You never know where things are going to end up,' Potter added.
'I didn't feel like the typical pathway was enough for me. I needed to practise, I needed to learn, I needed to get better.'
Potter undertook an Open University degree in social sciences after finishing his own playing career, which included eight Premier League appearances for Southampton in 1996-97.
His one victory with Saints came on October 26, 1996 at The Dell, when Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United were beaten 6-3 after abandoning their grey shirts at half-time.
Potter played 20 minutes as a substitute that day and, as the 20th anniversary of that contest nears, he is preparing for a Europa League Group J campaign against Athletic Bilbao of Spain, Ukraine's Zorya Luhansk and Hertha Berlin of Germany.
Hertha will be the first side to visit the 8,500-capacity Jamtkraft Arena and play on its artificial surface in round two on September 28.
The return at the Olympiastadion, centrepiece for the 1936 Olympics and with a 75,000 capacity, takes place on December 7 in round six.
The mighty Galatasaray of Turkey, Luxembourg's Fola Esch and PAOK of Greece have already been dispatched by Potter's side from Sweden's 'Vinterstaden' (Winter City). Lower league journeyman Jamie Hopcutt has made five appearances in qualifying.
'The manner of our qualification gives us confidence. It's not like we were lucky and hung on,' Potter said.
'Who knows? We'll keep dreaming. Of course we'll be the underdog in every game.
'You have to go in with a view that you can win and we'll try our best.'
The Europa League group stage place gives a financial boost to Potter's quest to fulfil the goals set by Kindberg, whose unorthodoxy has spread to team activities.
Players participate in cultural activities including ballet, painting lessons and workshops on the indigenous Sami people of the Swedish Arctic.
It seems to be working for a club which is 20 years old, reached the top flight in 2015 after three promotions under Potter and won the Swedish Cup in 2017.
'The finances, the resources and the profile you get from the Europa League, this is a chance to accelerate the development,' Potter said.
He has been at Ostersund since December 2010. He speaks Swedish 'badly' but English is the primary language for a multicultural squad.
'We've got a really exciting project here,' Potter added.
'I just want to keep getting better and keep trying to improve. Who knows where football or life takes you? I certainly wouldn't have planned where I am now six years ago.
'It's a fantastic opportunity and the best thing I've done professionally in my life.'
Potter, who has three young children, added: 'Now it feels like home.'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...Graham-Potter-English-boss-Europa-League.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/...urope-making-a-name-for-himself-a7970721.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football...ter-englishman-using-swan-lake-rock-concerts/
- Swedish side Ostersund have qualified for the Europa League group stage
- The minnows beat Galatasaray on their way to qualifying for the group
- Graham Potter, and Englishman, is in charge of the ambitious club
- His chairman now wants his side to make it to the Champions League
PUBLISHED: 07:47 EDT, 6 September 2017 | UPDATED: 07:47 EDT, 6 September 2017
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...rsund-s-rise-Europa-League.html#ixzz4tvz98aCt
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
From the ninth tier of English football to the Europa League group stage via the fourth division of the Swedish league, Graham Potter's rise is nearly complete.
But the 42-year-old former York defender, the only English manager in continental competition this season, has been tasked with taking Ostersund into the Champions League by winning Allsvenskan.
Potter said: 'My chairman (Daniel Kindberg) is an ambitious guy. He wants to win the Allsvenskan and then get into the Champions League. That's the end goal.
'Six years ago when we were in the fourth tier of Swedish football that sounded like he needed to go to some institution.
'It's still the aim. That's what we want to try to do and work towards.'
When Potter and his Ostersund side play Zorya Luhansk in Lviv, Ukraine on September 14, he might well reflect on a playing career which began at Birmingham and included more than 100 appearances for York, plus spells at Northampton, Boston, Shrewsbury and Macclesfield.
He might also reflect on coaching Leeds Carnegie, a team of students playing in the English ninth tier, as he completed his own masters in leadership and emotional intelligence.
'That's the beauty of football. You never know where things are going to end up,' Potter added.
'I didn't feel like the typical pathway was enough for me. I needed to practise, I needed to learn, I needed to get better.'
Potter undertook an Open University degree in social sciences after finishing his own playing career, which included eight Premier League appearances for Southampton in 1996-97.
His one victory with Saints came on October 26, 1996 at The Dell, when Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United were beaten 6-3 after abandoning their grey shirts at half-time.
Potter played 20 minutes as a substitute that day and, as the 20th anniversary of that contest nears, he is preparing for a Europa League Group J campaign against Athletic Bilbao of Spain, Ukraine's Zorya Luhansk and Hertha Berlin of Germany.
Hertha will be the first side to visit the 8,500-capacity Jamtkraft Arena and play on its artificial surface in round two on September 28.
The return at the Olympiastadion, centrepiece for the 1936 Olympics and with a 75,000 capacity, takes place on December 7 in round six.
The mighty Galatasaray of Turkey, Luxembourg's Fola Esch and PAOK of Greece have already been dispatched by Potter's side from Sweden's 'Vinterstaden' (Winter City). Lower league journeyman Jamie Hopcutt has made five appearances in qualifying.
'The manner of our qualification gives us confidence. It's not like we were lucky and hung on,' Potter said.
'Who knows? We'll keep dreaming. Of course we'll be the underdog in every game.
'You have to go in with a view that you can win and we'll try our best.'
The Europa League group stage place gives a financial boost to Potter's quest to fulfil the goals set by Kindberg, whose unorthodoxy has spread to team activities.
Players participate in cultural activities including ballet, painting lessons and workshops on the indigenous Sami people of the Swedish Arctic.
It seems to be working for a club which is 20 years old, reached the top flight in 2015 after three promotions under Potter and won the Swedish Cup in 2017.
'The finances, the resources and the profile you get from the Europa League, this is a chance to accelerate the development,' Potter said.
He has been at Ostersund since December 2010. He speaks Swedish 'badly' but English is the primary language for a multicultural squad.
'We've got a really exciting project here,' Potter added.
'I just want to keep getting better and keep trying to improve. Who knows where football or life takes you? I certainly wouldn't have planned where I am now six years ago.
'It's a fantastic opportunity and the best thing I've done professionally in my life.'
Potter, who has three young children, added: 'Now it feels like home.'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...Graham-Potter-English-boss-Europa-League.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/...urope-making-a-name-for-himself-a7970721.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football...ter-englishman-using-swan-lake-rock-concerts/