It’s a balancing act. With the sun beating down at Hotspur Way, are two layers appropriate for the UK’s unpredictable weather? Robert Vilahamn opts to continue with the jumper and shirt as we find a spot of shade for our interview.

The tranquility of the setting is a far cry from our new Head Coach’s vibrant beginnings.

Growing up in a small village in Sweden, one hour north of the canals and boulevards of Gothenburg, with five siblings, Robert’s wasn’t a quiet household.

“There were a lot of people in the house! My brother was a professional before me, so I followed his road to IFK Göteborg, the best team in Sweden, when I was 16, so I was quite a good talent,” Robert recalled. 

“I played for the national youth teams and in the Allsvenskan, the biggest league in Sweden, but when I was 22 or 23 I realised I wasn’t going to become a player for a top club like Tottenham Hotspur, so I started to become a coach.”

Despite Robert’s self-deprecation about his own playing ability, there’s no calling into question his eye for finding the back of the net. The former striker once won the Golden Shoe in Sweden with 27 goals in 22 games for Ytterby IS.

Robert didn’t decide to hang up his boots altogether in his early 20s, as he took on a playing and coaching role with Ytterby IS in Sweden’s Division 3.

“Then I went to an academy in one of the biggest clubs in Gothenburg, Örgryte IS, and had an under-19 youth team there for two years. 

“After that, I took over a senior team, Qviding FIF, in Division 3 and won that one, won Division 2, and was signed for BK Häcken’s men’s team as an assistant head coach."

Häcken came third in the Allsvenskan to qualify for the Europa Conference League and were runners-up in the 2021 Svenska Cupen Final.

“I worked there with the first coach, then they switched to another one, and then I started to want to get back to being a head coach.

"Head coach is my thing, you know?

"So, when I got the chance to take over the women’s team in 2021, I was like ‘this is quite a good opportunity because [the profile of] women’s football is starting to raise’ and I wanted to go abroad, so I thought ‘this could work.’ 

“I still like to work with people and with leadership in football, so why shouldn’t I coach women instead?

"So I took that job and I have never regretted it.

"I feel like it’s actually more fun. I feel like it suits me and the players I’ve had are really keen to learn and develop, so it fits me and my leadership. I also want to develop and I know I’m not done yet with my coaching. I can grow with the team and the girls and we can develop together."

Developing together is exactly what happened. Häcken came second in OBOS Damallsvenskan - the highest division of women's football in Sweden, and the first professional women’s league - in 2021, and competed in the 2021 UEFA Champions League group stages with Benfica, Lyon and Bayern Munich.

“From the beginning, I thought ‘what’s the biggest difference? It’s football.’ But after three or four months, I realised that I didn’t know the history of women’s football.

“After that first year, it was a good year and I learned a lot, I brought a female women’s coach and new staff that knew about women’s football. That was really good for me because then I got the history with my leadership and that mixture made me understand that it’s still football, but it’s also a different story that I need to know. 

“When you work with new groups, you learn how to get to know them and I think a lot of players in that team in BK Häcken really want to know why we should do stuff.”

They were runners-up in the 2022 Svenska Cupen Final, and went on to compete in the 2022 Champions League play-offs against Paris Saint-Germain.

With a playing style that prioritises attractive, winning football, dictating games and scoring goals to entertain supporters and make them proud of the team, Vilahamn’s sides also defend with aggression, press the opponent early and high up the field and win the ball back quickly if they lose it.

Additionally, Robert is the Founder of the Vilahamn Soccer Academy in Uganda, running a non-profit project for young talented kids to play football in better conditions, with better equipment, and with trained coaches.

“I like a quote from the movie Gladiator," he said. "It’s ‘what we do in life echoes in eternity.’ So I think doing good stuff keeps you alive forever and has an effect on the next generation.

"If you have your house, family and food then you should try to do more for others."

If it's not apparent already, education and empathy are key strengths of Robert’s reportoire. Formerly a PE and English teacher at a school in Gothenburg, his passion for developing young players and people demonstrates the belief of ‘if you’re good enough, you’re old enough.’

When Robert joined us, Häcken were top of the league with an average age of 25 - the fifth youngest women's team in the division - demonstrating his ability to manage a younger squad which still consists of established senior internationals.

“My centre-back at Häcken is 38 and she has developed a lot this year," he told us. "The full-backs are 19 and they have developed a lot, so I like to play with all the age groups and I like to have the balance.

“Age is just a number, it’s all about the performance and what you can bring to the team.

“From the beginning, I loved to work with and develop players and human beings. Then, I realised you can do a lot of good stuff with young people because they are buying into everything to do their best.

"I brought those guys from the Örgryte IS under-19s to the senior team and continued to work with those academy players in the men’s team, and we won those two divisions. 

“Those players are now playing in Feyenoord and the biggest clubs in Sweden, so I realised that you can get a great benefit if you work with young players.

"Of course, we need the older ones, but we also need the younger ones so we can develop them.

"We’re going to bring that attitude to Tottenham as well."

As always, it’s a balancing act.