Hasse Backe

Hans Roland "Hasse" Backe (born 14 February 1952) is a Swedish football manager and former player who most recently led Finland's national team.

Prior to this he managed the New York Red Bulls.

He has coached clubs in Sweden, Norway, Greece, England and the United States, and achieved his greatest successes in Denmark at FC Copenhagen and Aalborg BK.

Backe's playing career lasted through the 1970s, mostly in the Swedish lower divisions, including one stint with Brommapojkarna in 1977–1978.

He took up coaching while playing for Bro IK, and led them from the fifth to the third tier.

Backe began his managerial career with Djurgårdens IF in his native Sweden from 1982 to 1984, compiling a record of 38 wins, 20 draws and only 12 losses, which included a first-place finish in the 1982 Division 2 Norra.

Following his early success with Djurgårdens IF he went on to manage Molde FK, Hammarby IF, Östers IF, AIK and numerous other top Scandinavian clubs.

In 1989, he led Öster to a first-place finish in Division 1 Södra in which the club ended the season unbeaten in all 26 league matches and gained promotion to the Swedish Allsvenskan.

He enjoyed his greatest success in Denmark, having won three Danish titles with FC Copenhagen and Aalborg BK.

In his first season in Danish football Backe led Aalborg BK to the 1998–99 Danish Superliga title.

He also helped guide the club to consecutive Danish Cup finals in his two years at the club.

During the 2001 season Backe returned to Denmark to lead top side FC Copenhagen.

During his time at the club the Danish side would enjoy one of the club's most successful spells.

During this period Backe led Copenhagen to two Danish Superliga titles, one Danish Cup title, and two Danish Super Cup titles, which included a treble winning season during the 2003–04 season.

Backe was the manager of Panathinaikos in Athens until 14 September 2006, when he was fired after just three games due to the team's poor performance in this time.

Although Panathinaikos won two of three league matches, a 2–0 home loss to Ionikos and a 1–1 draw at home in a UEFA Cup tie against Ukrainian side Metalurh Zaporizhzhia led to his dismissal.

In July 2007, he was appointed as assistant manager at Manchester City in the Premier League, working alongside fellow countryman Sven-Göran Eriksson.

Prior to being appointed as Manchester City assistant manager, he worked as a senior advisor for Östers IF as well as a football analyst and commentator for Swedish TV4.

Backe briefly resigned his position at Manchester City after a family crisis in Sweden forced him to take compassionate leave shortly into his time at the club, but after a month was able to return at his former post.

Along with Eriksson, Backe and first-team coach Tord Grip parted company with Manchester City, joining Mexico with the two Swedes.

On 27 October 2009, Backe was appointed as manager of Notts County; the Swedish coach signed a three-year contract with the club.

He resigned just seven weeks later, on 15 December after a dispute about wages not being paid was announced.

During his time with Notts County, Backe compiled 4 wins (including two FA Cup wins), 3 draws, and 2 losses.

On 7 January 2010, Backe was named manager of New York Red Bulls.

After a blistering start to the 2010 season, club fans began to create shirts and flags with his likeness, and these honors culminated in the birth of the Hans Backe Viking Army, an offshoot of the Empire Supporters Club and Garden State Supporters.

In his first season with New York he coached the team to an Eastern Conference first-place finish.

Then on 9 November 2012, it was announced that Backe would not extend his contract with the Red Bulls.

On 12 August 2015, Backe was named manager of Finland national football team, starting on 1 January 2016.

His first official match with the team was held on 10 January 2016 and ended in a 0-3 defeat by Sweden.

Backe was fired as head coach of Finland's national football team 12 December 2016.

Finland did not win one single game during Backe's time as head coach; 11 matches resulted in 9 defeats and 2 draws.