Part 13 of 32: The Swedish Interview
For part 13 of the series, I caught up with Nicklas Andersson from Sweden. Nicke is 27 years old, lives in Sweden and follows the domestic league and the national team closely. He attended his first big championship in 2000 when he went to Euro 2000 in Holland/Belgium. Sweden was a big disappointment but the atmosphere was fantastic and he knew then, when he returned home, that this was just the first of many visits at big championships.
He has followed the World Cup since 1986 when he was seven and then his favourites where West Germany and Denmark, especially Danish midfielder Frank Arnesen. He has watched almost every WC game since that on TV. This summer will be his first live World Cup as Nicklas has the tickets to Swedish games from group stage until the semi-finals!
I thank Nicklas for agreeing to the interview.
Tell us a bit about the Swedish football history and the football culture which exists.
Football is the biggest sport in Sweden and has been so forever even if ice-hockey for some periods has been almost as popular. Sweden has been a strong team in most period with weak phases in between. The biggest successes is the silver medal when we hosted the world cup 1958. Brazil won but the Swedish people became fans of Brazilian football and Pelé. 1950 and 1958, Sweden finished third. The bronze from 1994 is considered one of our biggest sport moments ever and it was the start of a renaissance in football for Sweden. The domestic league has seen spectator rise from 300 in 1994 t0 more then 10000 on an average.
Two years ago I went to Euro 2004 where Sweden played fantastic football and for the first time a fan culture around the national team was created. More then 15000 Swedish fans attended to the game against Italy. In Portugal, it was the first time that the Swedish fans sang and stood up through the game. Before that, the Swedish fans were typically silent spectators who sat at their chairs. The interest for the national team has grown even more since that and more than 150 000 fans applied for tickets to the WC in Germany
Tell us a bit about the Road to the World Cup – the qualification, and the emotions the fans went through at the time.
Sweden got the worst possible start when we lost at home against our biggest rival Croatia; several voices said that it now would be very hard to reach the WC. From that game Sweden improved much and showed a fantastic attacking style of play that we almost did not believe that our NT could perform, we scored 30 goals and won every game but our away game against Croatia.
What style of football does the national team play?
Sweden has, in the last 10-15 years, build their success around a solid defence and wait until our opponents make a mistake. This tactic has been used either if we use a very strong or weak team. A change was seen in this qualification when Sweden suddenly started to attack much more frequently and with big success. The reason for this is that we now have our best players in the attack or attacking midfielders and we now have a shortage of good defenders, some thing we previously had more than we needed.
How do you think Sweden will fare at the world cup?
Sweden and I are very optimistic about our chances. In 2002 and 2004 we suffered unfortunate defeats in the knockout stage but this time it is our time to have some luck and now we have the skill to really deserve it. We will advance to the last 8 and there we can beat anyone if we have a good day. Our manager says that we can beat anyone if we have a good day and if we have seven good days, this summer can be very nice.
Who will be the most important player for your country?
Fredrik Ljungberg from Arsenal is our absolute best midfielder. He dominates offensively as well as defensively in the midfield. He was long criticized in the national team since he did not score enough goals, but he gave us all proof that that it is not true anymore when he scored seven goals in nine games in the preliminaries. Ironically when he started to score in the national team, he stopped scoring in Arsenal, but we don’t care about his problems in Arsenal as long as he delivers in the WC
Which player in your country’s side would you most like to get rid of?
Almost everyone in Sweden agrees that our weakest link is our right back where Alexander Östlund has been our managers’ choice. He is reckless and untalented. Some have argued that we don’t have any alternatives to him but since Sweden has nine million inhabitants, I think that there is at least 4.5 million reasonable alternatives.
Who are the players to watch from the other countries?
Messi from Argentina has shown fantastic potential, Srna from Croatia is one of my personal favourites, very underestimated. Ronaldinho does not need to be commented on.
What will be your excuse in the event of failure?
That our right back was too weak, our manager has stayed at his position too long and that we did not have a top class central midfielder.
Have you got the right manager?
He has managed to lead us to four consecutive championships which have not been done in Sweden before, but he has stayed very long at his position and has problems to find place for new players. I think that he is an excellent tactician and will prove this summer that he is the right man for us.
What advice would you give him?
Practice penalties before the championship, we did not do that enough before Portugal 2004 and the players did not want to risk to fail when we ended up in a penalty shootout against Holland.
Which team do you most want to beat?
England, they have not beaten us in over 40 years and they have had several chances but they still underestimate us.
Which opposition player will get the most stick?
Santa Cruz in Paraguay.
Where will you watch the matches?
At the stadiums in Germany.
How keenly will the World Cup be followed in your country?
Lots of events are planned in Sweden, Big size screens shall show the games in stadiums and park in Sweden and several thousands spectators are expected in our biggest cities. I think that this WC will be the most followed sport event ever in Sweden.
Who will be the player of the tournament?
Totti, he should not be tired since he have been injured but is back long enough before the start to find his form. He has a big heart for his Italy and is obliged to give Italy a success after the incidents in Portugal 2004.
Who will win the Golden Boot?
Van Nistelrooy.
Which team will disappoint the most?
England, the have no good alternatives to Rooney and the pressure from their media give the team feelings filled with anguish.
Who will be the surprise team of the tournament?
Sweden, this time it is our time to have some luck after unlucky defeats 2002 and 2004 and know we have the skill to really deserve it. We will advance to the last 8 and there we can beat anyone if we have a good day. Sweden can play a beautiful attacking football now and the general opinion of Sweden as a defensive team will be erased
Finally, Who will win the World Cup?
Holland, they have a good mixture of young hungry players and older player who see have failed before and now realize that the only way to success is to work as a team and they now do that very well. The have fantastic fans and are almost playing at home ground any where and want and deserve revenge for 1974.
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I hope you enjoyed part 13. Follow up questions for Nicklas can be e-mailed to me. Also, feel free to contact me if you would like to be interviewed or know a friend who would like/could be interviewed. Specific questions for specific countries which might pop in your mind in due course may also be sent.
For the rest of the interviews, check out the World Cup interview series page.
Tags: FIFA World Cup 2006, Football Interview Series, Sweden Football.
