Ahead of the upcoming season of the Indian Super League (ISL 2024-25), Kerala Blasters FC announced the appointments of Björn Wesström and Frederico Pereira Morais as assistant coach and assistant coach for set pieces, respectively.
They are joined by Assistant Coach T.G Purushothaman and Goalkeeping Coach Slaven Provegcki in the backroom staff for the upcoming season.
Björn Wesström, 51, brings a wealth of experience to Kerala Blasters FC. His football management and coaching career began in 1999. In 2007, he assumed his first senior coaching role at Väsby United alongside Mikael Stahre, where they led the team to a historic second-place finish and promotion to Superettan. In 2008, Wesström became the scouting manager for AIK’s men’s team, and a year later, he was promoted to sports manager, during which AIK won the Allsvenskan, the Swedish Cup, and the Super Cup twice. He has since performed roles as chief of scouting, sporting director, and CEO of AIK. Prior to joining the Blasters, Bjorn served as director of football at Danish Club, Odense Boldklub.
Frederico Pereira Morais, 36, has a diverse coaching background across various football landscapes. Predominantly a development coach, he started as head coach at Boavista FC in 2009, moved to AS Monaco as a trainer from 2013 to 2015, and then joined Leyton Orient as a youth training coordinator before becoming the first team’s assistant coach until 2017. From 2018 to 2023, Morais expanded his expertise in Norwegian football as the training coach at Sarpsborg 08.
Kerala Blasters Head Coach Mikael Stahre expressed his enthusiasm for the new additions, “I am very pleased that Björn Wesström and Frederico Morais will be joining the Kerala Blasters coaching staff. I have known Björn for a long time and worked with him in various roles, so I am delighted to have the opportunity to work alongside him again. Björn is a highly experienced football professional who will positively complement the current staff while bringing enthusiasm and depth to the coaching team.”
“Frederico is a coach who has a wealth of knowledge accumulated from his excellent experience in several countries. He is very modern in his approach to training, analysis, and set pieces, which is a huge strength. He will have an important role to play in the team’s development, in matches, and training, and I look forward to welcoming him soon,” he added.