Leif Gunnar Smerud

Leif Gunnar Smerud (born 24 January 1977 in Stavanger) is a Norwegian football manager and former player. He played in the top League for Lillestrøm, Viking and FC Lyn Oslo, and on the 2nd level for Mandalskameratene. He also represented Norway up to U21-level, and played in the U18 European Championship i 1995.

Leif Gunnar Smerud

Leif Gunnar Smerud, 2011
Personal information
Date of birth	(1977-01-24) 24 January 1977
Place of birth	Stavanger, Norway
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
	Vidar
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
–1997	Vidar
1997–1999	Lillestrøm	54	(5)
2000–2002	Viking	0	(0)
2000	→ Vidar (loan)
2003–2004	Mandalskameratene	52	(14)
2004–2005	Lyn	14	(1)
National team
1992	Norway U15	4	(0)
1994	Norway U17	2	(0)
1995	Norway U18	9	(0)
1996–1997	Norway U20	4	(0)
1997–1998	Norway U21	5	(0)
Teams managed
2007	Mandalskameratene
2011–2013	Hønefoss
2013–	Norway U21
2016	Norway (women) (caretaker)
2020	Norway (caretaker)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He is currently National Team Head Coach for the Norwegian U21-national team. He was head coach of the Tippeligaen team Hønefoss between 2011 and 2013.[1] He took the team to the Top league in his first year, and was the first and only coach in history to keep them there. In 2011, he was named "young coach of the year" by the National Coach Association. Before his spell with Hønefoss he was an assistant coach for the women national team that won a bronze medal in the 2009 euro, a team who was named Team of the year in Norway in 2009. Smerud has a UEFA-Pro-license. He is also a trained psychologist.

In November 2020, Smerud was announced as the caretaker manager for the Norway national team's UEFA Nations League match against Austria on 18 November. This came after the original Norwegian squad and support staff had to be placed in quarantine due to a positive SARS-CoV-2 test in the group.[2]