Sweden
Past their best
Lars Lagerback’s side have qualified for every big tournament since the turn of the century. Not only that, but they have managed to survive the group stage in the last three of them – a feat achieved by no other team at Euro 2008.
All well, then? Swedes dancing in the streets, swinging their yellow and blue IKEA towels to the sound of Abba’s greatest hits? Not quite, to be honest.
Lagerback has coached the national team for eight years and has just signed a new contract. The reserved, somewhat technocratic and completely unopportunistic 59-year-old has been criticised for a lack of flair and courage in his approach to the game. With five successful qualifications in succession he could, and should, take that sort of criticism lightly.
This time, Sweden beat off competition from weakened neighbours Denmark and Northern Ireland to finish second to Spain in a campaign that featured a minor scandal (Olof Mellberg, Christian Wilhelmsson and Zlatan Ibrahimovic were sent home after a late night out), a massive scandal (a Danish supporter punching the referee, an act that led to the game being awarded 3-0 to the Swedes), a boycott (Ibrahimovic refused to play for several months) and at least one great night of football (Sweden beating Spain 2-0 in Stockholm). But make no mistake, this team are hardly likely to surprise you.
The foundation remains the same as always. A great group ethic, a well-organised zonal defence and an ambition to minimise risks
and launch swift counter-attacks when given the opportunity.
Tens of thousands of Swedish fans will make the trip to the finals and they will be expecting the team to progress from a relatively easy group. Chances are, they may be in for a disappointment.
This team peaked at Euro 2004, when Henrik Larsson scored the goal of the tournament and Sweden lost their quarter-final against Holland on penalties, which, given their opponents’ dreadful record in shoot-outs, was a bit like losing to Uganda at ice-hockey.
Since then, Larsson has quit international football and is missed immensely. Captain Freddie Ljungberg has left Arsenal for West Ham and has been haunted by injuries. Young guns such as Sebastian Larsson of Birmingham have made it into the team but have yet to establish themselves.
Conceding goals
Worse still, Sweden are not the defensive fortress they used to be. In the four previous qualifying campaigns, Lagerback’s team conceded only 11 goals in 36 games. That makes the nine let in in 12 games this time round quite staggering.
Sweden will have to score goals, and not just a few, to go through this time. And they will rely heavily on the very un-Swedish might of Ibrahimovic, who has hardly scored all year.
The Internazionale striker, voted Swedish sports personality of the year for 2007, is the only truly world-class player in the squad. An injured knee has marred his season but on a good day his size 11 feet can control time, space and defenders better than just about any other forward in the world. The Nilssons, Svenssons and Alexanderssons will put in the usual hard work. It’s up to Ibrahimovic to provide the memorable moments of magic.
Interview with Sweden coach Lars Lagerback
Interview with Sweden's Olof Mellberg
Newsletter
