We sat down with Swedish national team legend and Manchester City’s Director of Football Therese Sjögran to get the inside scoop on her experience as a player, how Man City is preparing their players for the tournament, and which players she’s paying attention to at the 2025 UEFA Euro tournament.

TGXR: Director of Football is a broad title — can you give some insight into what your position entails? What’s your favorite part of the job?

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Therese: The role in the U.S. that’s probably the closest, for comparison, would be a GM. It’s a mix of scouting, recruiting, players, coaches, building the team for the next season, and so on. It's a lot of work with a long preseason window. The part I like most is finding the right players and the right people to build a team around that will hopefully win things. So, even though this is a stressful period, it's also the most fun part.

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TGXR: Manchester City has nine players in this EURO. What role does the club play in helping those players prepare for the tournament? 

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Therese: The planning is difficult. They played a whole season, and then they had a national team window where they played competitive games with the Nations League. Then they got some days off where we helped them – if they wanted to come in and do something with us or they wanted to have some days off. We scheduled their vacation how they wanted it. It's very individualized. If they want to train on pitch, we have staff in to do that. We try to support as much as we can because it's a really tight schedule.

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TGXR: What's one piece of advice you'd give to your players that are getting ready for the tournament? 

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Therese: What I wish I did more when I played the big tournaments was to enjoy it more. When you're in the EURO or the World Cup — really enjoy the moment. That's really difficult because the games are so important, and you go game for game and you have to win all the time. So I hope that they can enjoy it, because it's going to be a really, really, amazing tournament.

TGXR: You had a phenomenal career as a player, specifically with the Swedish national team. When you were playing, how did your preparation differ from a regular game to a big tournament like this? As a player, a tournament like the EURO or World Cup has to feel like it has some extra weight to it, right? 

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Therese: Yeah, for sure it is, but I think when you’re younger, it can be more difficult to just see it as the next game or whatever, but the older you get, the more experience you have — you can come into the tournament in a different way. I would say I try to take every game for what it was and not make it bigger than it has to be. But, again, it's more difficult if you're younger and maybe it's your first tournament. I didn't prepare in any certain way, it was more about preparing my mental state going into the tournament and the older you get, the easier it is.

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TGXR: How do you think your career as a player helped you prepare for your role as Director of Football?

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Therese: My career as a player has meant everything to me because I understand the players, what they need and, of course, have the knowledge and the experience of playing myself. It has helped me so much. I don't know how you do in this role if you haven't played. It’s helpful to have the context to know a lot of players. I've been in the role for nine years and I’ve learned so much. I came in totally green — straight from playing. I learned some things the hard way, but my playing time and the experience has given me so much.

TGXR: Women's sports are surging in popularity, and the EURO have already sold 600,000 tickets. What's it been like to have a front row seat from your playing days to now — to watch the growth as you've gone through this transition yourself? 

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Therese: Yeah, the women's game has grown so much, even just in the last five years. To see these big tournaments selling out, and get so much media coverage — it's what we wanted. The EURO in England 22 was also a really big tournament for the women's game. We’re going in the right direction and it's just getting bigger and better. It's cool to be in the women's game at the moment because so many things are happening and it will keep growing for sure. 

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TGXR: With this rapid growth that we've seen, where do you hope we are by the next EURO? 

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Therese: It's difficult to get tickets to some of the games. And I hope that it's going to be even harder to get tickets — because it should be like that. It should be like it is on the men's side. I think for the next EURO or the next World Cup, you’ll have to be quick for tickets. I think this tournament is going to set so many records, like the last one also did. I'm really looking forward to it.

TGXR: Who are some of the players that you're most excited to see in this tournament?

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Therese: There's going to be a lot of superstars who we already know. Spain, for example, with [Aitana] Bonmatí, and they also have some young ones that are always great to watch. For England, I really hope Lauren Hemp, one of our players, can have a great tournament. She was injured this year and is back, so I’m excited for her. Sweden, of course, I watch them a little bit extra — they have some young, interesting players. I think Hanna Bennison finally will get her international breakthrough. They have another young player as well, Ellen Wangerheim. It's her first tournament; she's 20. I hope she gets some playing time, because she will mess things up for most of the opponents. 

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TGXR: Which team do you think has a chance to surprise people?

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Therese: That's difficult. In Germany, they have so many top class players. They have, I think she's 22, Jule Brand. She's played before, but maybe she will have her breakthrough this season. She's an up-and-coming player as well. 

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TGXR: Is there a specific game, matchup, or player that you’re most excited for? 

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Therese: Of course, I want Sweden to go as far as possible, and they have Germany in the group. Those games are always so fun to see. So, yeah, Sweden versus Germany. It's the game to watch. 

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TGXR: What’s one reason that folks should tune into the EURO, even if they don't know a lot of the players playing or aren't familiar with some of the storylines? 

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Therese: The football itself and the quality of the game. I mean, ten years ago, maybe I would have said something else. But the quality now, and the players and the stars who are going to be in the EURO… The football is just going to be really, really good. It's difficult for me to say anything else because I really think the game has progressed so much. Just come and watch — then you'll be stuck on it.