Middlesbrough Appoints Kim Hellberg as Head Coach

Middlesbrough Football Club has announced the appointment of Kim Hellberg as their new head coach.

The 37-year-old joins Boro after a successful stint at Swedish club Hammarby, where he guided the team to runner-up finishes in the Allsvenskan in both 2024 and 2025. Hellberg succeeds Rob Edwards, who left Middlesbrough for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers earlier in the month.

This role marks Hellberg’s first managerial position outside of Sweden, although he was previously in discussions with Championship rivals Swansea City. He will officially begin his duties later this week, while Adi Viveash will continue as interim head coach for the upcoming home match against Championship leaders Coventry City.

Currently, Middlesbrough sits in second place in the league, trailing Coventry City by seven points after suffering only two losses in their first 16 league matches this season.

Hellberg is Boro’s second managerial appointment in just five months, following the departure of Edwards after only 14 games in charge. Previously, Hellberg spent two successful seasons at Hammarby, where he had been a key figure since his tenure began.

Before joining Hammarby, Hellberg began his coaching career in the lower divisions of Swedish football with Kuddby IF and IF Sylvia, before moving to the top-tier club IFK Norrköping in 2020. His first head coaching role in the Allsvenskan was with IFK Värnamo, where he earned recognition for his impressive performance that led to his move to Hammarby.

In discussing his move, Hellberg expressed, “A lot of things make Boro the perfect choice for me. The way they play and want to play, together with the crowd, suits me and how I want to work.”

He will be joined at Middlesbrough by his assistant David Selini, while Adi Viveash will remain a part of the backroom staff. Although not well-known to many in English football, Kieran Scott, Boro’s director of football, has been monitoring Hellberg’s progress and believes he represents a rising talent in coaching.

“Kim is someone I’ve been monitoring for a while,” Scott stated on the club’s website. “He’s well known in the circles of European football as an up-and-coming head coach who was catching a lot of people’s eyes and doing really well at Hammarby. We met with various candidates, but Kim was high on my list.”

In the wake of Hellberg’s departure, ex-Wolves first-team coach Ian Burchnall is a leading candidate to take over his position at Hammarby. Burchnall has managerial experience in Scandinavia, having previously managed Viking in Norway and Östersunds in Sweden, where he succeeded Graham Potter in 2018. He has also worked with the Jamaican national team under Steve McClaren during their recent World Cup qualifying campaign.