Mauricio Pochettino managed one full season at Southampton during the 2013/14 campaign before moving to Tottenham Hotspur.
During the Argentine’s time at St Mary’s, Ben Rosen was the Saints’ fitness coach. The latter left the Premier League side and joined Malmö in January 2014 and is still with the Swedish club.
Sweden’s Sportsbladet sat down for an interview with the Englishman, and he explained there’s no regret over leaving Southampton for Malmö, even though he wasn’t interested in the job in the beginning.
“When I got the call, I was not interested in the offer at first. I was in Southampton in the Premier League, which automatically felt more interesting and prestigious,” Rosen said.
“However, after talking on the phone with John Phillips for an hour, he had sold the whole club, city, league and supporters to me.
“After spending six months here, I was 100 percent sure I had made the right choice. It is without a doubt the best career choice I have ever made and could have made. It was a better choice than what a promotion at Southampton would have been.”
Rosen explained the difference between working at Malmö and Southampton, and also discussed the challenges fitness coaches in England face due to lack of stability for coaches.
“The difference in the Premier League is that you work with maybe 10-12 players from the first team,” he added.
“It ends with everyone fighting for their role and trying to show that one’s own work is most important.
“There are constant knives in the back and people all over you constantly setting different boundaries that you must not cross. Everyone is worried about themselves and wants to protect their own role.
“When I came here it was like breathing fresh air. I got asked how I wanted to work and then got to work that way.
“If you work in a Premier League club, it’s not the same thing. You are very controlled and you are not allowed to try things your own way. Working in Scandinavian football is something I can recommend to all English fitness coaches.
“In England they are a little disillusioned about such things. Every two years a new trainer comes in and then he sets up new routines for how to work. It is a strange decision that you do not really have in Sweden where there is a more open conversation.”
Rosen, 29, still has a long career ahead of him and when asked what could convince him to leave Malmö, he said: “It must be an absolutely fantastic opportunity. I have worked in a similar role in the Premier League and compared to working here, I didn’t like it at all.
“For me, it is more important how I feel comfortable at work and how happy I am in life than the prestige of the job itself. The fact that I have created a life here and that I really see Malmö as my hometown means that it must be something very special for me to seek something else.”
