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A long overdue post

Friday, June 10th, 2011

It’s been a long time between blog posts so I hope there are still some people out there still reading. I’ll try to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Since the last blog entry (last February), the Allsvenskan season has well and truly kicked off and we’re now ten games into the season. Just prior to the first round, I wrote this preview for The Local, and I’m pleased to report that I’m not radically wrong.

As it stands Helsingborg tops the table by one point, which will more than likely extend to four points once they are awarded an automatic win after their match against Malmö was suspended. Once again they have been the most consistent team in the competition, with the best defense having only conceded one goal at home all year.

Elfsborg remain the favourites with bookmakers, and currently sit in second spot. In typical Elfsborg fashion they have been wildly unpredictable. Lasse Nilsson and Niklas Hult have spearheaded an attack that has scored more goals than any other team, but they also concede goals at an alarming rate, including three against struggling Trelleborg.

Malmö also remain one of the league’s stronger teams but haven’t been as dominate as 2010. They can also expect to loose a few players in the summer transfer window as well as their manager Roland Nilsson, who will be moving to FC Copenhagen.

Kalmar are currently third and would have to be considered a title contender if it weren’t for their terrible away form. They have won all five home games, but only won one away.

IFK Göteborg should also be a title contender on paper, boasting the league’s highest goal scorer Tobias Hysen. But in terms of goals conceded they also have the league’s fifth worst backline. They also lost their first four games and have a lot of catching up to do.

The two biggest overachievers have been Gais and Gelfe, who were both joint favourites for relegation at the start of the season. However after bolstering their attack with Razak Omotoyossi, Alvaro Santos, Amadaiya Rennie and Wanderson, Gais look a lot more potent upfront and find themselves in sixth. By contrast, Gelfe have defied preseason predictions through a solid dependable backline.

At the bottom of the table, Halmstad and Djurgården are both struggling. Halmstad has only recorded one win, scored only seven goals (the league’s lowest) and conceded 17 (the leagues highest) making them the competition’s worst team in every facet. Djurgården at least have the consolation of having beaten Halmstad, but at this stage it looks like they might both get relegated together.

Unfortunately the biggest talking points this season have been off the field. Already two matches have been suspended mid-match due to hooliganism.

Last month the Skåne derby between Helsingborg and Malmö

had to be suspended after Helsingborg keeper Pär Hansson first had a firework thrown from the crowd go off right next to his ear, and was then attacked by a pitch invader. Two months ago, Syrianska v AIK was suspended after an object thrown from the crowd struck the linesman. There have been a

lot comparisons made in the media with England in the 1970s and 80s, which seems a little unfair considering these incidents can hardly be compared with the tragedies of Heysel and Hillsborough. But for football fans it means we can probably expect to see a lot security at matches from now on. It’s unfortunate because basically the only time the Allsvenskan gets any attention outside of Sweden is when incidents like this take place. I feel obliged to mention it because you can’t really have a blog about Swedish football and ignore the one issue that is grabbing all the headlines. But on the other hand,

I really do want to ignore it because I genuinely feel the problem is nowhere near as big as so many tabloids make it out to be. England, Scotland, Italy, Serbia – these are countries with a hooligan problem, and it infuriates me when columnists try to equate the Allsvenskan with the same standards. I’d also rather focus on what is happening on the pitch rather than what a very small minority get up to in the stands.

In other news, the national team recently tore Finland apart and suddenly look a half decent chance of qualifying for the European Championships. The excellent Zonal Marking website has provided an analysis of the match, which you can read here, and you can see all five goals here.

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Holland v Sweden: Hamren’s First Real Test

Wednesday, October 13th, 2010

“It started well but then it got worse.” This is how Sweden’s assistant coach Marcus Allbäck described last night’s 4-1 lose to Holland. The match report in this morning’s GP claims he is quite right…it was very even for the first four minutes before Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored the first of four unanswered goals for the Dutch. Shame about the next 86 minutes.

“A dark chapter in Swedish European Championship qualifying history,” is how it was described by GP, but as they graciously concede “…it must be emphasised how good Holland was.”

Channel Four commentator Olof Lundh was a little harsher. In an article titled ‘The Dutch Lesson Stings’, he wrote: “Holland thrashed, and almost humiliated Sweden. It stayed at 4-1 with it could have been much, much more.” He mentions certain “mistakes” that caused Sweden’s spectacular downfall but he never names any individual player. He also concedes that Holland were simply a better team and that the best Sweden can do is learn from them. “The only positive thing about the match in Amsterdam is that the European Championship qualifiers are far from over. Sweden can still reach the finals in Poland and Ukraine in 2012 through a second place and playoff.”

Overall the response in the media is in stark contrast to the finger pointing and pessimism of the British media to England’s 0-0 draw with Montenegro. No one is criticised. No one is blamed. No one is suggesting the tactics were wrong. No one is suggesting that the future of Swedish football has reached a new low. It is simply a case of losing to a better team.

In fact the biggest critics seem to be the players themselves. ”Catastrophic, It felt like they had complete control of the entire match.” was how Zlatan Ibrahimovic put it. ”Holland played like we wanted to play, and we played the way we hoped Holland would play,” claimed Kim Källström, in a statement that possibly sounds more confusing and convoluted when translated into English.

The significance of last night’s match was that it was the first time since Erik Hamren took over that Sweden have had to play quality opposition in a game that mattered. His biggest change to the national team since replacing Lars Lagerbäck has been a shift to a more attacking game plan. This has proved popular with fans and the media, and effective against the likes of Hungary and San Marino, but it remained to be seen if it would stand up against a team with the attacking potency of Holland.

As we saw last night, it won’t. However was it necessarily the wrong approach? Would the result be any different if Lagerbäck was still in charge with his five-man midfield? My gut feeling is that under a more defensive system they might have gotten away with a 1-0 lose. A 0-0 draw at best. During the 2010 qualifying campaign Sweden grinded out two 0-0 draws against Portugal. But they were also far from convincing against Albania, Malta and Hungary. So while they might be on the end of the odd thrashing, I’m more than happy to endure it if it means I’ll never be subjected to another frustrating 0-0 draw against Albania again.

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Age of Hamren

Friday, August 13th, 2010

Last Wednesday Sweden played their first match under new coach Erik Hamren: a 3-0 drubbing of Scotland in Stockholm. While its premature to make any judgements on the basis of one match, the signs are positive.

Unfortunately I didn’t actually get to see the match but by all accounts Sweden could have won by a lot more. It’s interesting to see how different countries saw the game. In the British media the result reflected the continued demise of Scotland in international football. If even Sweden can score three against Scotland, imagine how many Spain will score? But the Swedish media focussed on the impressive nature of the win, and the rare sight of a Swedish team playing attacking football.

In an article titled “A Perfect Match” Aftonbladet columnist Simon Black labelled Sweden’s performance as “courageous, playful and positive” in a way rarely seen in a Swedish national side. “We could not do much more than to sit and check the empty boxes.”

Traditionally Sweden has tended to play conservatively, with a strong emphasis on defending. This was certainly a hallmark of Lars Lagerbäck time as national coach, who was constantly criticised for his lack of creativity and offensiveness. Under Lagerbäck Sweden were boring but they got results and Lagerbäck was tolerated as long as he kept qualifying for major tournaments. Sweden could take points off the likes of Spain, England and Portugal, but they also sometimes struggled to put away teams like Belarus, Hungary and Moldova. When they failed to qualify for the last World Cup, Lagerbäck’s days were numbered.

Under Erik Hamren Sweden are going through a much-needed transition phase. Many of their veterans have finally retired, so Sweden’s promising youngsters are getting an overdue run in the first team. True, Anders Svensson and Olof Mellberg are still floating around, but it was refreshing to see Emir Bajrami, Ola Toivonen, Pontus Wernbloom and Mikael Lustig in the starting eleven and given key roles.

Tactically Hamren seems to be following worldwide trends by adopting the fashionable 4-2-3-1 system. He has given far more free reign to his attacking midfields, while also allowing his fullbacks to push forward. Aftonbladet called it “A Swedish Revolution.”

But this was against a Scotland side missing many of their key players, and who by all accounts were absolutely atrocious in defence. Hamren’s Sweden will hopefully avoid those frustrating 0-0 draws against the minnows, but it will be interesting to see how it holds up against a side like Holland.

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Euro 2012 Draw: What it means for Sweden.

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

With the qualifying fixtures for EURO 2012 just drawn, it has to be said that it has been relatively kind to Sweden.

Netherlands: The inventers and pioneers of Total Football will be Sweden’s greatest obstacle to direct qualification. Neutrals will love watching their free flowing attack game, but they’re in a completely different class and it is easy to envisage them ripping Sweden apart. Although, like a lot of sides who insists on aesthetically pleasing football (such as Arsenal), they can be wildly inconsistent and often fall victim to technically inferior but pragmatic opposition. You wouldn’t put money on it, but it is not impossible for Sweden to grind out points from the Dutch.

FIFA ranking: 3

Finland: This clash will not only be a Nordic derby, but will possibly see Sweden play a squad with more Allsvenskan players than themselves. The Finns have made great strides under former boss Roy Hodgson and continue to do so under Stuart Baxter. In the recent World Cup qualifiers they finished third behind Germany and Russia in what was a tough group. In that campaign they drew against Germany twice and only lost two games, so beating Sweden is not beyond them. However a number of their core players are well passed their peak and probably don’t have much more left in them. Sami Hyypiä (aged 36), Joonas Kolkka (35), and Finland’s greatest ever footballer Jari Litmanen (38), may well not see the whole campaign out. Also working in Sweden’s favour is the fact that Finland has never qualified for a major tournament.

FIFA ranking: 54

Hungary: The once famous Magical Magyars have fallen a long way since the days of Ferenc Puskás, and they haven’t qualified for a major tournament since the 1986 World Cup. Sweden won both encounters during the last World Cup qualifiers. They’re unlikely to finish ahead of Sweden, but they can take away valuable points.

FIFA ranking: 52

Moldova: Moldova didn’t win a single match during their last World Cup qualification campaign, finishing last behind Luxembourg. Their two games against Sweden should be a guaranteed six points, but you wouldn’t put it past Sweden to grind out a tie.

FIFA ranking: 96

San Marino: This lot have only ever won one match in their entire history, a 1-0 win over Liechtenstein in 2004. With a population smaller than the island of Lidingö, this will be Sweden’s chance to either field a B team, or dramatically improve their goal difference. Possibly both. This will be a guaranteed six points for Sweden, otherwise I’m closing down this blog and never writing about football ever again.

FIFA ranking: 203

The Verdict: To qualify Sweden need to at least finish in the top two of their group. Top spot will guarantee direct qualification, as will the best runner-up of the nine groups. The remaining eight will then play off against each other for the four remaining spots.

The presence of Holland makes it difficult to see Sweden qualifying first. However Finland, Hungary, Moldova and San Marino are all beatable opposition, and on paper they are all inferior to Sweden. If they can take maximum points than they will stand a good chance of claiming direct qualification as the best runner-up.

However after Lars Lagerbäck’s resignation and the retirement of a number of players, 2010 sees Sweden with a new coach and a significantly different squad. Under Lagerbäck Sweden had a tendency to play conservatively and often drew games they should have won. With Zlatan Ibrahimovic withdrawing his services from the national team, Sweden will need to get their goals from elsewhere and gain maximum points from the likes of Moldova, Hungary and Finland.

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