The pot calling the kettle black

Tattersall

2009-08-01T23:40:00.003+02:00

Nu verkar Tattersall finnas någorlunda tillgänglig, vad jag förstått iallafall hos AIK-Shopen. Två texter författade av mig är med, en av dem finns i urtextversion på min gamla blogg här: Martin Mutumba - tillbaka i AIK

Texterna handlar på olika sätt om AIK. Det är reportage, filosofi, djuuupintervjuer, pasticher och ... ja. A little bit of everything. Onödigt snyggt formgiven är den också.

Mitt andra lite längre bidrag är ett utdrag ur den bok jag håller på att skriva, "När vi kör så kör vi - ett år med AIK". Det är vad jag gör nu, mer eller mindre på heltid och det är än så länge det roligaste och mest intressant "jobb" jag haft i mitt drygt fyrtioåriga liv. Jag har en idé om att använda bloggen till att testa lite texter framöver, vi får se hur det blir med det.

Vad vill man läsa om inför U21-EM?

2009-02-03T19:28:00.004+01:00

Vid tillfälle kommer jag att länka till ytterligare texter inför U21-EM och följa upptakten inför detta. Här i Göteborg kommer Spanien, Tyskland och Finland att husera medan England parkerar några stenkast söderut i Varberg. Sol, sommar, skärgård och fotboll i snäppet under världsklass - det ska bli grymt med EM för att citera Mattias.

Kom gärna med förslag i kommentarerna, allt beaktas!

En modig ny värld

2009-01-22T10:15:00.002+01:00

Här blir det texter om lite allt möjligt framöver. Min gamla AIK-blogg kommer tills vidare att fortsätta vara försänkt i dvala. Därmed inte sagt att jag slutat skriva om AIK - det kommer bara inte ske i bloggform. Troligtvis.

Här är en länk till en artikel jag skrev om IFK Göteborgs och U21-landslagets Mattias Bjärsmyr för några månader sen. Mycket sympatisk och klok ung man som nu hamnat i en märklig situation där han med nästan ett helt år kvar på sitt kontrakt blivit hotad med bänken av IFK:s klubbledning. Detta efter att han inte accepterat Håkan Milds kontraktsförslag. Den problematiken hade inte kommit till ytan när jag gjorde intervjun i början på november och nämns därmed inte heller.

Fler uppdateringar följer snart. "Snart" i en strikt geologisk mening.

Come Rain or Come Shine

2008-08-10T12:33:00.001+02:00

Inlägget är en krönika skriven för dagens matchprogram:

Days may be cloudy or sunny
We're in or we're out of the money
But I'm with you always
I'm with you rain or shine

Billie Holliday (Arlen/Mercer)

Det både började och slutade i grått mörker och eländiga stormbyar på Fredriksskans. Men mellan början och slutet strålade solen på ett sätt man bland annat kan se på världens rimligtvis vackraste klubbmärke. Daniel Mendes millimeterprecisa passning till CH Jagne vid 1 – 1, Jagnes kobrasnabba skott vid 2 – 1, Per Karlssons akrobatiska brytningar, Kennys vänsterskott i insidan stolpen och Iván Obolos spelsinne, klokhet och löpvilja. Ständigt denne Iván! Härligt med Markus Jonssons comeback också, håll dig nu fri från åkommor så kommer (ka-ching!) straffarna rassla in och vänsteryttrarna ta en omväg igen, precis som på den gamla goda tiden.

Kalmar var i underläge och i gungning. Då fick kapten Rydström ett gult kort, vilket enligt honom själv väckte hans medspelare och de kunde tugga sig in i matchen igen. Själv kände jag det som att vi försökte nå våra pilsnabba forwards med för tidiga långbollar som dessutom stannade upp i den hårda vinden. Men vad vet jag.

Bra spelare orkar spela i motvind, både ute på planen och i sin själ. Jag tror att AIK är ett bra lag med bra spelare. Om det är så som talesättet säger, att drakar lyfter i motvind, det varken vet jag eller bryr mig om. Istället vill jag peka på att AIK förmådde dra isär Nannes röda maskin på ett sätt man sällan ser – med ett varierat och uppfinningsrikt passningsspel kombinerat med löpningar och väl avvägd aggressiv press från samtliga spelare. Spelar vi bara vidare på det sättet kan motståndarna få ta hur många gula kort de vill.

Idag är det dags för Elfsborg, laget vi gick hals mot hals med under 2006 års säsongsavslutning. Två gamla bekanta de flesta av oss minns har de med sig, Teddy Lucic och Stefan Ishizaki. Borås-laget har hittills spelat fler tävlingsmatcher än något annat allsvenskt lag i och med deras deltagande i Intertoto- och UEFA-kvalspelet. Det orkar de säkert med. Vad de inte kommer att orka, det är att slå ett svartklätt lag med män som står upp för varandra, inte släpper en ... jäkel över bron och spelar bollen snabbare än gula tröjor kan springa.

Vi på läktarna är med er i vått och torrt, i ur och skur, i nöd och i lust. Jag ber att få avsluta med ett citat från den ordinarie välkände skribenten Deep, säg det som ni menar det:

Nu kör vi!

The Road

2008-08-08T14:14:00.001+02:00

The King

2007-02-20T00:23:00.000+01:00

The quest for world domination continues

2007-02-18T12:07:00.000+01:00

This week we have managed to infiltrate IFK Göteborg's arguably best blog, Baraben.com, where we make snide comments about their lack of class players. Seriously, the blog is really good in a bitter sort of way and I think I am making a point by pointing out the lack of a coherent vision and strategy at IFK. The comments section should be interesting and full of love.
Check it out.

AIK trounce Sirius and Zlatan is still not playing for Sweden

2007-02-17T18:17:00.000+01:00

AIK put what might be called a reserve team on the pitch for today's friendly against Division two side Sirius. 4-0 was the final score, Bernt Hulsker, Alexander Gerndt got one each while our own Inzaghi, Daniel Mendes, got a brace. This looks like it will the best preseason since ... uh, forever with almost every player in the squad getting significant playing time and everyone looking fit. A normal preseason often has consisted of AIK borrowing players from left and right just to get a starting XI. Kudos to both the fitness staff of Thomas Lindholm and Oskar Skatt as well as our other staff.

The papers are going nuts after The Brand Zlatan declared he wasn't coming back to the national team in an interview yesterday. The same old stories, "Zlatan is so weird" and "Zlatan hates Lagerbäck", are reitirated everywhere while this blogs faithful readers, all two of you, already are in the know. This doesn't stop the media from sharing such nuggets as Mr Raiola, The Brand's Guiding Light, talking to Swedish journalists:

- I'm sorry, I am not Mino.
- Look Mino, I've talked to you hundreds of times, I know your voice!
- I am not Mino, sorry.

Fantastic. It's like watching kids running around creating havoc. And making millions of dollars doing it.

Zlatan played really well for an hour in today's game against Cagliari. A fantastic football sequence: Figo backheels the ball to Zlatan who, with a deft outside touch, crosses the ball perfectly for Burdisso to head into the net.

Dulee man of the match as GIF Sundsvall were run over, 3-0

2007-02-11T14:23:00.000+01:00

Didn't get to see the game as I'm down with the flu at the moment. And 500 km away from Skytteholm too, now that I think about it. Listened to AIK:s excellent web radio broadcast though. Sundsvall played a 4-6-0 formation for the whole game and managed one shot at goal while AIK played ball the way you should. Goals from Mendez, NiCklas Carlsson and Dulee Johnson and all players in the match squad got some playing time, except for an on-loan goalie.

It also seems we have a new left back with the beginnings of an Argentina-hairdo, which I wager will prove absolutely crucial this season. He's really good too. So there you are.

Remember, remember, the fifth of November

2007-02-10T01:10:00.000+01:00

Just saw this. With great trepidation beforehand I might add. Moore The Magic Man had his name removed from it after reading the script, it was produced by Joel Silver and The Wachowski Brothers who I do not love or trust and the trailer gave the impression that it was mainly about slo-mo action scenes and explosions. Which certainly wasn't what the graphic novel was all about. Add to that the horrid track record of making films from Moore stories (From Hell and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen), you understand I had decided to stay away from this one. Glad I didn't.

It turned out beautifully. Great acting performances all around with some wonderful lines thrown about the place as well. Very emotional, even surprisingly so and very very talky.

Evey Hammond: Who are you?

V: Who? Who is but the form following the function of what and what I am is a man in a mask.

Evey Hammond: Well I can see that.

V: Of course you can. I'm not questioning your powers of observation I'm merely remarking upon the paradox of asking a masked man who he is.

Riquelme to Boca Juniors

2007-02-08T15:23:00.000+01:00

Oh crap. It doesn't seem like the issues can be solved right now. Riquelme will go on loan for the rest of the season to his old club Boca. Thanks to the net we who love him should be able to watch him quite a few times anyway. I'm already looking forward to Boca vs Estudiantes, aka Riquelme vs Veron.

Should be an alright matchup, dontcha think?

Ayala signed for Villareal

2007-02-07T21:57:00.000+01:00

Beautiful. My favorite centre back will play for my favorite Argen... I mean Spanish team next season. Now we only need to sort this Riquelme business and start prodding some buttock in La Liga again.

In other news, Sweden lost to a good Egypt side with 2-0. More on that later.

Starting XI

2007-02-07T15:52:00.000+01:00

Isaksson

Nilsson-Mellberg-Hansson-Edman
Linderoth
Svensson-Källström-Wilhelmson
Prica-Allbäck

Planned subs at halftime are: Shabaan for Isaksson and von Schleebrügge for Edman.

What does this tell us?
One, Svensson gets his chance to get into a starting XI that includes Källström. It would be great if this works out, and I have a feeling it just might. Alexandersson is easily the weakest regular these days, possibly along with Nilsson.
Two, Rosenberg is not considered match fit, which sounds like a reasonable conclusion.
Three, Andy Johansson is not a serious contender for a regular squad. When everyone including the kitchen sink is either unfit, injured or having brain scans (Ibrahimovic) and Rade Prica gets the nod ahead of you, you know you are on borrowed time.

My guess is that Wilhelmson will play a bit as a forward winger while Svensson moves a bit inside, leaving the flank open for the offensive runs of Nilsson. This should strengthen us up centrally and leave space for Prica and Nilsson to run into. Svensson, Linderoth and Källström sound like and excellent central midfield trio to me. We'll see.

There's been a small change in tonight's program ...

2007-02-06T23:25:00.000+01:00

... the part of Robin Williams will be played by The Temptations.

Hrm.

Anyway, after leaving you all scratching your heads over that one, it seems that it is more likely that Anders Svensson will replace Alexandersson to the right, which leaves Mikael Nilsson back at right back and Markus "Mr 100%" Jonsson on the bench. Ah'm devastated sah! Not really. Hopefully we'll get to see a bit of Mr Jonsson tomorrow, sprained ankle and all.

In other news, AIK played their first game of the season, beating Syrianska FC 2-1. Only they didn't, not really. This was instead "a practise in match-like conditions" which, of course, is something else entirely. This weekend we take on GIF Sundsvall in a friendly - where we won't feature two Väsby players (I think) like we did today. I await confirmation on the scorers, the first goal was either headed in by Nicklas Carlsson or Jimmy Tamandi, opinions differ, while Kali Ongala (on loan from Väsby for the day) seems to be scorer of the second goal in extra time.

P.S Anyone know where I can get hold of "Robin Williams - Live at the Met" from mid-eighties sometime, please post linkies in the comment section. The above header is from the announcer of that show.

Egypt and the spectre of Zlatan

2007-02-06T17:24:00.000+01:00

OK, here we go. Time for the last friendly before the qualifier against Northern Ireland. A year ago we were trusting in the Holy Trinity of Ljungberg, Zlatan and the Holy Henrik. None of them are available anymore. Sadly, insanely in-form Elmander is also out after a minor injury but hey, let's think positive here and start with a possible lineup for tomorrows game, away against Egypt.

Goal: Shabaan will probably get the nod to start while Isaksson might be given some desperately needed match practice after the break. Isaksson simply isn't Man City's no1 right now.

Defenders: Ollie Mellberg and Petter Hansson should start in central defense. My guess is Markus Jonsson (of AIK, baby) will start at right back and Erik Edman at left back. von Schleebrügge will definately play, he can go central or left, depending on what Lagerbäck wants to do.

Linderoth will play in the Linderoth position.

Midfield: I'm guessing Mikael Nilsson will replace Alexandersson at right midfield, Wilhelmsson will replace Ljungberg over on the left and then it is time for the usual ten thousand franc question, Källström or Svensson. Please let it be Källström and please order the outside midfielders to defend accordingly.

Strikers: Rosenberg and Allbäck. Just leave Rade Prica out of the equation. Please.

The Reason Why Zlatan Won't Play

2007-01-31T13:18:00.000+01:00

It's all really very simple. Zlatan has the potential to become the number one brand in Football, on par with Henry, Ronaldinho, Beckham and Ronaldo. That is what he and his advisors are after. Playing a friendly against Egypt before the end run of Serie A and The Champions League simply plays no part in those plans. Nor does, really, qualifiers against the likes of Northern Ireland or Liechtenstein. That the Swedish press are tying themselves into knots over the schism between Ibra and Lagerbäck is just silly, rather I would point to the fact that neither Raiola (his agent), his father or his wife gives a flying psychotic fuck about the Swedish national team or the Swedish market anymore. Ibra has outgrown that. If it becomes in the interest of the brand to play for Sweden again, he will. Otherwise not.

"Always follow the money."

- Commander Vimes (Terry Pratchett)

2006-12-24T11:33:00.000+01:00

Manfred and me

2006-10-19T20:22:00.000+02:00

This blog might come alive again in the near future. Nice pic from the upcoming German movie The Red Baron.

Derek and AIK

2006-06-17T20:49:00.000+02:00

Nice wristbands Derek. We love you too.

Cruyff on Larsson

2006-05-24T22:48:00.000+02:00

'Larsson is technically an excellent player with different qualities and he almost never makes a mistake,'

Johan Cruyff

HENRIK LARSSON

2006-05-18T00:03:00.000+02:00

Mjällby withdraws undefeated

2006-05-16T19:02:00.000+02:00

The greatest AIK player of my time has decided to withdraw from the field, undefeated. Two moments that I believe I will remember for as long as I remember anything; Mjällby's competitive international debut against England in 1998.

1. Darren Anderton and Mjällby compete for the ball. Mjällby tackles Anderton out of the TV screen and gains the ball.
2. Like a nimble blonde tank Mjällby charges through defenders in the penalty area and puts the ball in the net while a desperate David Seaman frantically tries to get out of the way.

Mjällby also captained the team that won the Group of Death in the 2002 World Cup and was nominated for the World Team. The above tackle is, I believe, in the middle of the pitch with two seconds left of the first half in the game against Argentina.

On the club level he won both the Swedish League with AIK and the Scottish League with Celtic, where he also reached the UEFA Cup final.

Back to the good old bad old days

2006-02-06T21:52:00.000+01:00

With heartfelt thanks to Niclas ALLTID AIK of Gnagarforum for sharing this fantastic image of what being AIK used to be all about. This season we will be taking a lot of flak from hoi polloi - it'll be just like old times.

It was the time of the Preacher

2006-02-02T09:51:00.000+01:00

Everyone everywhere seems to be interested in wanting to teach The Zlatan how to behave. Journalists, "Experts", Refs - all of them feel the need to advise him on what not to do or to advise him on what he might be doing, few are interested in commenting on what he actually is doing. What I've seen of him lately is a striker who has lost his confidence in front of goal while still contributing immensely to the team effort. Normally the comments would run along the lines of how loyal the Swedish player is, how his teamwork is appreciated and so on. Not so for Ibrahimovic. He has a goal draught. He has a temper. He gets angry. When someone (say Mats Olsson of Expressen) comments on these comments he would claim that it is because The Zlatan's last name is Ibrahimovic that he is treated in this way, hinting at an underlying racism or at least that all commentators are discussing him on the merits of his "otherness" from other Swedish athletes.

What I find when I read about football is that it is rather the commentators that try to live up to some new, "other" ideal, both when discussing Ibrahimovic and when discussing football in general. It seems to me that it is the commentator experts that are trying to live up to something they believe is warranted - the complete focus on short term results (anyone is prepared to confidently predict the outcome of an entire season on one pre-season game), winners (the result is often regarded as an inevitable conclusion in post-game summaries these days) and the "no memory - no learning" paradigm ("experts" unabashedly ignore that the team/player they are currently hailing as The Second Coming were considered useless by them only last week).

Their very status as experts become impossible since they believe that expressing the flavor of the day is what is expected of them, while NOT conforming to popular shallow opinion is exactly what constitutes an expert. The experts should not to be confused with journalists, who have a different part to play. Yet to me it seems that any difference between the roles of expert and journalist has close to vanished and some kind of predictable nonsensical consensus has emerged as the norm. More on this later when I can be bothered to write coherently.

It was the Time of the Preacher
In the year of 01
Now the preaching is over
And the lesson's begun

Everybody PANIC!

2006-01-30T21:42:00.000+01:00

The Super Swedes are crap! No one scores! Hilfe!

Right. Go back to your tabloid, while we deal with reality.

It took Trezeguet and Juve 17 minutes to destroy Ascoli. Zlatan came on pretty late for Trezeguet, according to a recent rumor in La Stampa, Ibra was in a fist fight with Zebina during practise two weeks ago. This is rumored to be why he has lost his starting position. I believe that del Piero's current form is a more likely answer. It is, however, clear that the talk about his current goal draught is affecting him, his decision-making on the pitch is down a notch or two. It remains to be seen whether the 24-year old can shrug off the immense pressure and continue to produce amazing football. I have no doubt he will.

The Henrik started for Barca in their away game at Mallorca and did well during his 70+ minutes on the pitch. He came close to scoring several times but only managed to hit the post. Messi scored twice and Giuly once, so it's not like Larsson lacks competition just because Eto'o is in Egypt. He is a more natural no 9 than Messi and much better in the air than any other attacking player Barca have but hey, he is no longer the world class striker he was a few years ago. Players like Messi and Eto'o are able to take the ball and run straight through a defense at high speed and score by themselves. Larsson has been succesful because of his energy, focus and intelligence.

Ljungberg is apparently a crap player all of a sudden, according to media experts. Sure. I'll not even bother with commenting. Look! See how I'm not commenting.

Rosenberg continues to score while Ajax continues to plummet. He's any clever man's third striker for Sweden right now and should remain so.

Salle Östlundh was shipped off to Southampton of all possible places. Damn you, Erwin Koeman, damn you.

Fun Euro qualifier group

2006-01-27T20:30:00.000+01:00

- This should be interesting.
- Define "interesting".
- Oh god oh god, we're all gonna die?

And with that quote from "Serenity" we move on to today's mouthful - the European Cup 2008 Qualifier Group draw. Sweden got Spain, Denmark, Latvia, Iceland, Northern Ireland and, believe it or not, Liechtenstein. Certainly a group we are capable of advancing from, but as you know dear readers (all four of you), we (or rather I) do not take anything for granted here on thepotcallingthekettleblack. In football, weird shit will happen. Spain is of course completely capable of beating anyone and anything on a good day and draw against Malta on the other days. Same goes for Denmark really, other than that they are also capable of losing against that former residence of the Knights of St. John. The odds that Denmark will have an off day against Sweden are not computable but they can stumble anywhere else along the road. Hopefully, Spain will continue to handicap themselves by always playing Raúl so we only have to contend with 10 world class players. There are plenty of wonderful players to choose from for almost all positions in the Spain team whereas Sweden and Denmark always will field their share of cannon fodder to supplement whatever stars they have available. Lagerbäck has said what he always says after a draw so I'll not quote him here.

Sweden to play Chile in last friendly before the World Cup

2006-01-25T00:16:00.000+01:00

A good call I thought. The game will be played at Råsunda (probably) on June 2nd. Apparently they are "similar in style" to both Tn'T and Paraguay.

A used car salesman pretending to be Wenger

2006-01-24T12:06:00.000+01:00

Bo Lundqvist, chairman of SEF (no, I'm not going to tell you what that stands for) and of Animal Farm FC IF FF AB Inc threatens to keep his players home from future Mickey Mouse-tournaments with the national team, like the one in Saudi Arabia. The reason being that it might disrupt his team's preparations for another Mickey Mouse-tournament - the Royal League. Well isn't that special. Since everyone knows that these tournaments are the only way to get into the national team squad for players without international experience, I would be surprised if his players think this is a good idea. Tobias Hysén, for instance, had his shot to get a all expenses paid Germany trip this past week. It doesn't sound like he took his chance. It remains to be seen who will make the squad for the Ireland friendly later this year. According to our media "experts" (and I use that term as loosely as is possible) Karl Svensson of Blowit might be a surprise addition, but we have no way of telling if this merely is yet another campaign to create a story. This is usually the case ahead of big tournaments, for Euro 2000 it was Johan Elmander, WC 2002 Kim Källström and for Euro 2004 it was all about the return of The Larsson.
Bo Lundqvist, incidentally, was given the title "hero" in a tabloid this week after announcing that his club would spend millions of kronor on preventing adolescents from joining Animal Farm's hooligan firm and demanded that both AIK and Hammarby would do exactly the same thing. It turned out that the program consisted of starting a café. We'll see how that develops.
It would be interesting to know if any Swedish tabloid will try to follow The Sun's suit and buy themselves some "exclusive" riots in Germany or if they'll just pony up whatever The Sun is demanding and buy the rights for Swedish publication. It's a wonderful world.

One of the worst games ever

2006-01-24T01:43:00.000+01:00

Of course I didn't watch it, not after seeing the starting lineup. The less said about these last two games the better. Saw episode 5 of ROME tonight instead, what a great show it's turned out to be. Not on par with Deadwood of course, but then very little is. People I know demand that I watch Brideshead Revisited for no other reason than that it is brilliant. I just might one of these days. Apparently a remake is in pre-production, no one seems sure of why.

- A central midfield with Ishizaki and Djuric? Tell me you're joking, centurion.

Rosenberg and Larsson scores

2006-01-23T03:45:00.000+01:00

Both scored the first goals for their teams in today's matches, both were substituted late in the game and both of the subs brought on for them scored as well. Oh, the symbolism and potential drama! Anyway, Larsson looked more nervous than I've ever seen him tonight and it was great to watch the relief in his face after he tapped in an easy goal. He moved very well but his touch was not up to par, signs of not playing enough and being tense. Rosenberg has now scored five in his last seven games for Ajax while this was Larssons first goal in three months.

Riquelme converted twice from the penalty spot to give Villareal a home win against Osasuna.

Larsson to start against Alavés tonight

2006-01-22T12:28:00.000+01:00

With Samuel Etóo away for the African Cup it looks like Henke will get the nod from Rijkaard. When it comes to individual skills like pace and first touch he is not nearly as good as Etóo but he is far superior tactically and in positional play. Txiki Bergirstan has even made an instruction video of Larsson's movement on the pitch. From what I've seen of Larsson so far he has lost a bit of his first touch and his pace is definately down a notch again. Hopefully he'll get on the score sheet tonight. With Larsson on the pitch Barcelona is able to threaten by putting high crosses into the box, something they normally don't bother with with Etóo, Ronnie and Messi (or Giuly) playing.

Mellberg and crew shut down Spurs

2006-01-21T17:58:00.000+01:00

Olof Mellberg helped Aston Villa keep a clean sheet in their away game to Tottenham today. Tottenham had most of the possession and Villa never once threatened to score. Thanks to good positional play and a few excellent saves from goalkeeper Sörensen, Defoe and Keane wasn't able to turn their possession into goals, even with playing against ten for ten minutes. Captain Ollie played as he always does and looked as strong and forceful as usual. Good news for the national team with the complete lack of depth behind Teddy, Ollie and Petter Hansson (Heerenveen). A player like Majstorovic is probably out of it since he doesn't have to personality to handle a fourth spot very well. Another reason why someone like Karl Svensson could be a late addition to the squad that goes to Deutschland.

Teddy to quit after World Cup

2006-01-20T13:01:00.000+01:00

Teddy Lucic, the coolest guy ever to leave Hising Island, is reputed to retire from international duties after the World Cup so he can see his kids more often. I'm guessing that he'll be able to see more of his beloved horses as well.

Bajen has more right backs than you can shake a stick at

2006-01-20T03:09:00.000+01:00

So Alexander probably won't return to that club, which is good. In more ways than one. Remains to be seen whether MFF will be able to persuade Salle or if he'll just cruise on down the street and remain on the continent.

Östlundh told to leave by Feyenoord

2006-01-19T23:57:00.000+01:00

After starting almost every game for his Dutch club Feyenoord, former AIK forward (with brief, insignificant stints at IFK Norrköping and Bajen) Alexander Östlundh has been told he can leave by manager Erwin Koeman. The right back spot (for my money the only spot one can bother debating) is all of a sudden up for grabs. Contenders are, besides Östlundh, Mikael Nilsson of Panathinaikos, Niclas Alexandersson and Curly Andersson. Alexandersson, Nilsson and Östlundh should all make the squad anyway, but Curly's nomination hinges on showing he can really compete for a spot.
Rumor is currently that Alexander will move to a smaller Dutch club, while both Malmö FF and Bajen certainly need strengthening at right back. AIK is probably out of the picture as the right flank looks like its strongest area this year with new signings Kenny Pavey and Marcus Jonsson competing with Jimmy Tamandi and Mattias Moström.

That wasn't so bad now, was it? Yes it was.

2006-01-18T23:54:00.000+01:00

Well, that sucked. Awful low tempo game. No one made a very positive impression except maybe Tranquil Teddy, but he's always cool. Midfield was crap with no pressure applied and very little movement. There was plenty of space but no movement and the passing was really poor. Maxie Schnellenbaum didn't do much damage as a left back and Toby Hysén was invisible like last time I saw him in the yellow shirt. Martin Ericsson was decent in the first half I thought, reminds me a bit of Ishizaki, only better. We've got a few of these types of midfielders, good when they have the ball, completely bloody useless when out of possession. Anders Svensson is easily the best of the bunch and is miles better now without the ball. Djuric, Ishizaki, Martin Ericsson and Kim Källström simply cannot be trusted to perform any defensive duties whatsoever. Karl Svensson was also close to decent but putting the ball up the pitch without being under pressure is something only Norwegian coaches applaud. Only Ollie Mellberg is allowed to do that and that is only because he can beat up both Freddie Ljungberg AND Zlatan. Eddie G was just the same as always, I thought. Very erratic, a bit like a younger David James. Gods help us if we lose Isaksson.

So maybe I should write more often

2006-01-18T00:05:00.000+01:00

With the World Cup draw over and done with we sent some chaps down to Saudi Arabia to show them how Human Rights work and to play some football. To my mind the starting XI in tomorrow's game features only three players that are probable to start in the World Cup, Teddy Lucic of BK Häcken Anders Svensson of Elfsborg Losers FC and Niclas Alexandersson of Blowit, Gothenburg.

In fact the number of potential World Cup travellers are easily numbered if numbering is your kind of thing and not that there's anything wrong with that. Apart from the previously mentioned trio the back four (the other three apart from Teddy Tranquility Lucic) all have a chance of making an impression. We need defensive players and I think that these are the best we've got behind Mellberg, Edman and Östlundh, along with Mikael Nilsson of Panathinaikos.

I don't see Martin Ericsson, Fredrik Berglund or, actually, Tobias Hysén making it into the squad. Hysén is good but might not make it since he's competing with Elmander (Bröndby), Jonson (Animal Farm IF FF) and The Chip (Anderlecht) for a spot behind Alexandersson and Ljungberg. Alexandersson, easily the most versatile player in the squad, will probably be a backup for Linderoth AND be the starting choice at either right midfield or right back. Up front I'm guessing on Jonson and Rosenberg to back up the most obvious choices in the team after Isaksson, Zlatan and Henrik. That would give us the following squad:

Isaksson, Eddie and probably Alvbåge who doesn't cut it in my mind.

Östlundh, Mellberg, Teddy Tranquility, Edman, Nilsson, von Schleebrügge, Hansson, Curly Andersson.

Linderoth

El Chip, Källström, Anders Svensson, Elmander, Ljungberg, Alexandersson

Larsson, Ibrahimovic, Rosenberg, Jonson

And one more guy. Thing is, Mikael Nilsson is an excellent right midfield player and since Alexandersson can play everywhere ... I need to sleep on this.

Starting lineup for tomorrow's game:

Eddie G
Curly A, Teddy Da Man, Karl Svensson (his debut) and Maximilian von Schlipperknödel
Alexandersson
Martin Ericsson, Anders Svensson, Tobias Hysén
Son of Jon, Freddy Berglund

Elfsborg - objects of well deserved ridicule

2005-10-23T23:42:00.001+02:00

Elfsborg completely disgraced themselves as the pitiful wretches lost 8-1 against this years champions. This pathetic display is further evidence that a comfortable loser atmosphere still is prevalent at the Borås club. This is the club Anders Svensson longed for, instead of going somewhere where he might have to work. This is the team who has spent more money in the transfer market this year than all other teams save Malmö. Anders Svenssons days as a natural starter in the national team are nearing an end unless he moves or Kim Källström stops developing.

I hope Elfsborg drops out of the first division next year, if you don't have more than one player with something resembling a spine (Hasse Berggren) then you should just go away. To just lie down and let another team walk over you - I'm appalled.

Real Madrid - Valencia 1--2

2005-10-23T23:42:00.000+02:00

Valencia was helped by a hopeless referee as they beat Real Madrid tonight. Odd decisions left and right until Real collapsed and took themselves out of the game with two red cards. Incredible high-speed play by Villa, Vicente and Aimar in attack for Valencia while the defence was good enough to hold Madrid (who were without Ronaldo and Baptista). Some excellent passing and solid defending, both goals coming from dead ball situations. Baraja hit a free kick and David Villa scored his 11th goal from a penalty in La Liga. Out of 11 tries.

I still don't think the defence is as assured as it was two years ago but an away win at the Bernabu is of course always something to cherish. No sign of Rufete, rumor (actually Pontus Kåmark) has it that he's out fo form. Angula had a decent game, nothing more, even if he had a goal wrongly disallowed for offside. Baraja and Albelda are looking closer to the players we remember from that glorious season 2003-2004.

Messi looks to keep Larsson out of starting XI

2005-10-23T23:24:00.000+02:00

Not only that, the way he played against Osasuna, he is likely to keep anyone out. I still fail to see a problem for Henrik and his place in the national team. He will continue to get some playing time, especially when Eto'o is away or injured. The training sessions and the climate are world class.

Sweden drop from 10th to 13th place in the FIFA rankings

2005-10-19T20:39:00.000+02:00

This might be significant when the draw for the World Cup is done in December. It would appear that Sweden will be ranked in the second group, depending on what other teams make it to the cup. The Czech Republic (who went from fourth to third after losing to Holland!), Turkey and Spain are all ahead of Sweden but have yet to clear the last obstacle, a final qualifying round. Whether all, some or none of these teams go through could have a direct effect on what group Sweden will be seeded in.

Sweden did, however, make the top seeded group for the European Championship qualifiers after Croatia only managed a 0-0 draw against Hungary.

Hello and goodbye to Superettan

2005-10-19T15:28:00.000+02:00

AIK is back where it belongs. The black and yellow team won the Second Division, finishing ahead of Öster IF. Next season should see some things set straight in the First Division as things seem to have gone awry there this year.

Larsson has gotten his pace back

2005-09-19T01:13:00.000+02:00

Very good news for Sweden. Henrik Larsson, who has seemed to lack pace in his performances after his injury, looked much more alert in Barcelonas loss against Atletico Madrid. He came very close to scoring but was (wrongly) judged to be offside and very nearly put van Bommel through with an excellent long ball. If I saw correctly, Larsson came on as a midfielder but soon ended up as a central attacker. It seems Samuel Eto'o has severe difficulties in playing anywhere else but centre forward. Odd, that.

The "news" that Larsson might be considered as fifth forward at Barca and that this would somehow be a threat to our national team is of course absolute rubbish. Let's compare the fatigue levels of Ronaldinho who will start every game and Larsson at the start of the World Cup. Larsson will continue to get the occasional 90 minute game and do lots of 20-30 minute games this season. The training sessions at Barcelona should be of a decent level, dontcha think?

AIK is looking good

2005-09-17T23:59:00.000+02:00

Well not financially. But I dare to say that we are back in Allsvenskan. There simply isn't the quality around to stop us and after the amazing 5-1 defeat to Boden we're simply not going to relax again. Reports from the last game, a thorough 3-1 beating of pre-season favourites Örebro, speak of fluid attacking play with rapid movement of the ball. Kristian Haynes and Dennis Östlundh an unlikely yet very successful forward pair and re-born Derek Boateng in a holding midfield role with playmaker duties. Rikard Norling and Nebosja Novakovic has done an amazing job of turning a listless crew of has-beens and never-wases into a well organized attacking team.

van Basten is playing again and he is Swedish

2005-09-07T22:57:00.000+02:00

Hungary totally deserved getting a draw out of the game. Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored one of the most fantastic goals Sweden has ever scored. Absolutely amazing.

Stuff will happen

2005-08-26T17:18:00.000+02:00

More stuff to come here, I've been out of sorts for a bit. Managed to get a short chat with one of my favorite (ex-)players on Wednesday, Andreas Andersson. Made me think about the differences in mentality between an ordinary joe like me and someone with a background like that. Something to ponder.

They would have lost to anyone tonight

2005-08-23T23:47:00.000+02:00

Yes, the humiliation continued all through the second half. I think a division six team would have troubled that back four and the only one trying to do anything in midfield was Daniel Andersson. The forwards, young Pode gave it all he had while Afonso didn't seem to give a fuck.

I owe Prahl an apology, I thought Anders Andersson was a football player still. I've been wrong before and will likely be so again. How on earth could Malmö fail to buy more backups for the back four? Kaiser Patrik quit playing full time three years ago and just having Persson isn't enough. I've never seen Elanga this poor either, he was a total failure. Enough of this.

Pathetic Malmö

2005-08-23T21:01:00.000+02:00

Thank the gods I'm not MFF. First half the most expensive team Sweden has seen in a while is standing still when in possession and the back four refuses to leave their penalty area when the rest of the team tries to press. Most division six teams have a better grasp of football's fundamentals. No movement, never playing the ball into space, never creating space and when they do get the ball upfield they put two players in the box. Oh yeah, and the second Swiss goal was a beautiful through ball, by Malmö left back Elanga. Absolutely nothing is working and the Swiss are certainly good enough to exploit it, but Malmö is really just giving the match away.

Second half should provide for even more embarassment for Swedish club football. Litmanen and Anders Andersson are on the bench. Jesper Bech is on the pitch. That's just fucking stupid.

Thunights the night

2005-08-23T18:48:00.000+02:00

What wit!
A possible starting line-up for the men in light blue tonight:

Asper
Mattison - Höiland - Abelsson - Elanga
Bech - A. Andersson - D. Andersson - Osmanovski
Afonso - Pode

It is doubtful that the game won't feature Litmanen.

The Premiership

2005-08-23T14:48:00.000+02:00

If you are a football fan, I think you should read this:
Football fans are idiots

I may have something to add on how this applies to Swedish football later on. For starters, let's just say it is a good piece of writing and that it is hard to find fault with the line of reasoning going on in it. Add in that article in Offside where the business deals of 'Arry Redknapp were brielfy examined (the Anders Svensson one in #3 2005). When Harry got the Soton job he went into the transfer market and bought two central midfielders, his son Jamie and Nigel Quashie. This despite the fact that observers claimed Soton's best player of the fall was a central midfielder. Now, both Redknapp's and the other bloke are represented by the same agency. Whenever they switch clubs, the agency makes money. 'Arry may or may not have some stake in the agency or receive a bonus whenever he allows the agency to earn money. Who knows? When, mainly due to Redknapp's complete lack of any football knowledge, Soton were relegated, the first thing he said was that he knew both Quashie and Redknapp would leave. Amazing isn't it? It's so cheap and so obvious it seems no one would try it, let alone get away with it.

Always follow the money, as Commander Vimes is wont of saying. The Premiership for me is reduced to watching Tottenham trying to play Dutch football and seeing if Rafa gets Liverpool to resemble his Valencia team of 2004. I am unable to get excited about watching the top three, maybe I should try to find out why.

Mozilla weirdness

2005-08-23T10:51:00.000+02:00

Due to some weird settings that I for some reason changed in Mozilla Firefox, images sometimes change place on the web pages I visit. Most notably this happens on Expressen's site but also on www.tvmatchen.se. It was thanks to this that I went on a rampage against TV4 last week, when in fact it was TV3 that covered the Czech game. So yeah, sorry for feeding you misinformation. I promise to spank myself, severely, any day now. I'll try to fix my settings someday, somehow.

Thun in Thun on Burn out

2005-08-23T09:51:00.000+02:00

A bit more in ye old Doom n' Gloom category. It may well be ten years before a Swedish team get a final qualification opponent with the (lack of) calibre of FC Thun again. If a team with the economy, crowd and squad of Malmö FF is unable to get past the Swiss, we might as well give up any hopes of European play and put our trust in the national team for international wins. With only one central defender remaining and genius Jari Litmanen injured/doubtful Malmö will not have a bench capable of turning the game around , should the game turn sour. At the start of the season, the question was how coach (not manager) Tom Prahl would fit Afonso, Rosenberg, Osmanovski and Nicklas Skoog into a starting XI. Skoog is out injured, Rosenberg sold to Ajax, Afonso only scores on non-moving balls and Osmanovski is mainly used as a winger. Hopefully, Elanga, Höiland and The Anderssons (Anders and Daniel, that is. Patrik has just retired) will show their class tonight. And Asper would do well to find his 1999 form.

Who are we kidding?

2005-08-19T10:33:00.000+02:00

According to our media and Mr Källström himself, Kim had an excellent game and played well defensively. What anyone who watched him when the Czechs had possession will tell you is that he did absolutely nothing to win the ball back. Nothing. I don't think Lagerbäck will risk giving away the central midfield that easy, Linderoth can't be everywhere.

Källström leaves a lot to be desired defensively, he would function extremely well with two central midfielders behind him in a 4-2-3-1, the way I believe Rennes used him last season.

Rosenberg in starting XI

2005-08-16T21:21:00.000+02:00

After Ibrahimovic, Ljungerg (both injured) and Lucic (flu) bowed out of tomorrow's game Lagerbäck has named the following starters:

1 Andreas Isaksson – 2 Alexander Östlund, 3 Olof Mellberg, 4 Petter Hansson, 5 Erik Edman – 6 Tobias Linderoth – 7 Niclas Alexandersson, 8 Kim Källström, 9 Christian Wilhelmsson – 10 Markus Rosenberg, 11 Henrik Larsson.
Subs: 12 Eddie Gustafsson, 13 Christoffer Andersson 14 Olof Persson, 15 Daniel Andersson, 16 Marcus Allbäck, 17 Johan Elmander, 18 Johan Arneng.

A bit surprised that Rosenberg got the nod, I noticed on todays practise that he was paired with Larsson and he wasn't exactly brimming with confidence. Källström sprayed balls all over the field almost always trying for the hardest solution. Arneng looked comfortable in the box but maybe a little slow outside it. Hopefully Källström will be able to play more with his brain and remain in position tomorrow or we could well get slaughtered. Alexandersson is the best outside midfielder defensively, he is needed with Källström on the pitch and with Östlund playing behind him. The forward turned right back always plays super-aggressively and if his timing isn't on for the night he will need backup. Mellberg has announced that he won't play the full 90 minutes which indicates late call-up Olof Persson of Malmö FF will get some playing time. Henrik Larsson has indicated he would like to play the whole game so it would be a surprise if he doesn't. With three given starters gone from the line-up I expect most of the more inexperienced players will get playing time. Since we're allowed six substitutions I suppose everyone save Allbäck or Eddie Gustafsson will feature in some way.

Arneng to replace Jonson

2005-08-15T14:09:00.000+02:00

Johan Arneng of Djurgården takes the place of injured Mattias Jonson for Wednesday's friendly against the Czech Republic. This was to be expected since there were only three central midfielders in the squad. Another possible selection would have been Martin Ericsson of Ålborg in the Danish League. It is probable that he is not seen as a good enough two-way player, having mainly offensive qualities. Should Andreas Johansson of Wigan start playing regularly for his club he would also be a likely candidate. Johansson came close to scoring when he came on as a sub in Sunday's game against Chelsea.

Hopefully I'll be able to watch the Czech practise on Tuesday night and maybe a Sweden session as well. Thanks to benevolent forces I have received tickets to the game and won't have to subject myself to the horrors of a TV4-produced game. Tv4 has the most inept cadre of "expert" commentators in the world, all save one with direct ties to Hammarby where TV4's Robert Perlskog used to be a board member.

Jonson out of Czech game

2005-08-14T16:23:00.000+02:00

Mattias Jonson will not play on Wednesday after injuring his hamstrings in Djurgården's UEFA-cup qualifier. Lagerbäck may call up a replacement after Sunday's First Division games. Central midfielder Johan Arneng of Djurgården could well be in line.

Two by two with pants of blue

2005-08-10T10:39:00.000+02:00

If you caught that line I'm betting you will look for serenity in movie theaters this fall. Anyway, my thoughts on how and where the players will form up against the Czechs:

Isaksson (Gustafsson) Duh

Östlund (Alexandersson, C Andersson)
Lucic (Hansson)
Mellberg
Edman (C Andersson)

Linderoth (D Andersson)

Wilhelmsson (Jonson, Alexandersson)
Källström (D Andersson)
Ljungberg (Elmander, Jonson)

Ibrahimovic (Allbäck)
Larsson ( Rosenberg, Jonson)

So no backup for Mellberg and very likely Källström will get 90 minutes unless he gets slaughtered. Lots of options up front with Jonson being the most versatile. Elmander has matured and impressed me with his great pace and improved work rate. Come next summer I expect him to be number three among the forwards. Alexandersson is an option at right back until Mikael Nilsson recovers from injury and returns to form.

The Yellow Submarine victorious in Liverpool

2005-08-09T22:49:00.000+02:00

Three quotes from Soccernet's live commentary of the Everton-Villareal game.

David Moyes looks very determined on the Everton bench. His opposite number, Pellegrini, looks like a cabaret singer.

Willkommen, Bienvenue, Welcome ...

Riqueleme is starting to come in to his own as Everton chase the game and Villarreal look to frustrate them by keeping possession; the Argentine play-maker rarely gives the ball away and always seems available.

And that is all the magic required.

This has been a classic European performance by Villarreal; they were outplayed early on, but stayed composed and patient and hit the home side twice with stunning counter-attacks. Everton, understandably, have been a little niave {sic}.

Sometimes you can picture how games has played out just by reading a few sentences.

Good night.

It's alright - Larsson is back

2005-08-09T21:04:00.000+02:00

Lasse Lagerbäck today announced the squad for next week's friendly against the Czech Republic.

Goalkeepers:
Eddie Gustafsson, Ham-Kam Fotball
Andreas Isaksson, Stade Rennais FC

Defenders:
Christoffer Andersson, Lillestrøm SK
Erik Edman, Tottenham Hotspur FC
Petter Hansson, SC Heerenveen
Teddy Lucic, BK Häcken
Olof Mellberg, Aston Villa FC
Alexander Östlund, Feyenoord

Midfielders/forwards
Niclas Alexandersson, IFK Göteborg
Marcus Allbäck, FC København
Daniel Andersson, Malmö FF
Johan Elmander, Brøndby IF
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Juventus FC
Mattias Jonson, Djurgårdens IF
Kim Källström, Stade Rennais FC
Henrik Larsson, FC Barcelona
Tobias Linderoth, FC København
Fredrik Ljungberg, Arsenal FC
Markus Rosenberg, AFC Ajax
Christian Wilhelmsson, RSC Anderlecht

According to the media and Lagerbäck there were no surprises. Really? There are no less than six forwards in the squad competing for two places. With Anders Svensson out injured I suspect they will give Källström yet another go at the other central midfield spot in front of Linderoth. I doubt he will make it defensively against the quick precise passing of the Czechs. I think they went eenie-meenie-minie-moe over whether to call Rosenberg or Fredrik Berglund. Rosenberg unproven but with higher status (and greater potential) in Ajax - yet Berglund continues to score and score in Denmark. Barring any injuries this is how I believe Lagerbäck wants to start on Wednesday:

Isaksson
Östlundh-Mellberg-Lucic-Edman
Linderoth
Wilhelmson-Källström-Ljungberg
Larsson-Ibrahimovic

Four-five years ago we had six or seven really good central defenders so we used them at both wing backs and Johan Mjällby played central midfielder. Now we have Mellberg and the enigma wrapped in a conundrum Teddy Lucic who looks world-class against Argentina and division three against division three opposition. Petter Hansson is a decent sub but no starter. Here's hoping Andy Jakobsson opens the door again. Instead we put our hope and faith in two forwards and a midfielder. Ibrahimovic, Larsson and Ljungberg create problems for any defense. I would be surprised if Andreas Isaksson doesn't play in a Big Team next season. He is sensational.

AIK seven points in the lead

2005-08-08T21:25:00.000+02:00

Despite being one man short for 30 minutes AIK managed to hold on to their two goal lead and beat IFK Norrköping in front of a record crowd. Derek Boateng played for 90 minutes for the first time this season and started the scoring with a dazzling shot from 30 meters, 19 minutes into the game. Nicklas Carlsson then added another goal on a pass from Boateng following a corner. The referee was the, as usual, hopeless Keijo Hyvärinen who, according to reports, had great trouble with keeping control of the game. Mattias Moström received an injury after a reckless challenge from a Norrköping player and was substituted for Rubarth after only 25 minutes. Rubarth was himself substituted for keeper Kjell Jönsson after 59 minutes, Daniel Öhrlund receiving a red card after handling the ball outside the area. The call was dubious according to completely subjective reports.

Since Gais lost 3-2 at home against Mjällby, AIK now leads the Second division by seven points. Should Öster manage to beat Väsby Utd on Wednesday the lead will shrink to five points with twelve games remaining.

Everton vs Villareal

2005-08-07T14:50:00.000+02:00

This one should be interesting. I remember when Celtic played Villareal a few years back and Celtic came out the same way I think Everton will, very physical and aggressive, trying to scare the yellow submarine. If they think they can I'm betting that they are wrong. Villareal has half the Argentine national team in the line-up (Riquelme, Sorin, Figueroa and Gonzalez), two superb defensive midfielders in Senna and Tachinardi (Josico is out injured), the top scorer in Europe and excellent speed down the flanks. What Villareal managed against Celtic was moving the ball around, always keeping possession, which both tired the pressing team and created space for Riquelme. My guess is Lee Carsley will jump in studs first if he can and try to scare Román out of the game. I don't think that'll succeed.

I'll be interested in how Villareal's new keeper holds up but I probably won't be able to see the game.

Goitom to be loaned from Udinese?

2005-08-07T01:06:00.000+02:00

According to SvenskaFans, Swedish U21-striker Henok Goitom was not included in Udineses recently submitted Champions League squad. This should indicate that he is to be loaned or sold shortly. My guess is that it will be a loan deal as Udineses manager has given Goitom favorable reviews and I don't think Udinese would sell him now. In order for him to compete for a possible World Cup squad he must be getting regular match practise in Serie A. I don't think a Serie B team will do. Tommy Söderberg (former manager of the national team, now U21 manager) has spoken very highly of Goitom and he is a regular in the U21's.

I suppose Malmö FF would be interested in some kind of deal here but my bet is that he remains in Serie A. Once upon a time AIK came this close to signing Goitom when instead Udinese stepped in. He's played 10 minutes in one competitive match for Udinese where he scored one goal.

More on the national team

2005-08-05T01:32:00.000+02:00

Naturally, should recent Ajax signing Marcus Rosenberg succeed in Holland, he would most certainly feature in a World Cup squad. He did rather poorly in his latest national game though and has shown uneven form, as most young players do. Sweden currently has far more good strikers than high-class defenders. Thankfully, Mikael Nilsson escaped the insanity that is 'Arry Redknapp's Southampton for Panathinaikos and Erik Edman should get plenty of games at Tottenham, as should Mellberg at Villa. Fourth defender is Teddy Lucic of BK Häcken (once an AIK player), a unique player in many ways, more on him later. Nilsson fights with willpower-fueled Alexander Östlund of Feyenoord for the right-back spot. Östlund as a young striker once scored the goal that secured AIK's title in 1998 .

In fact, should Östlund keep Nilsson out, Sweden's whole defensive line would consist of former AIK players.

AIK heavily featured in derby between Djurgården and Hammarby

2005-08-04T23:14:00.000+02:00

When the other two clubs from Stockholm met tonight AIK was present throughout the broadcast without even playing in the same league. In the studio head coach Rikard Norling made an appearance as guest analyst and during the breaks short clips with AIK match sequences were shown. Norling made, as he has the few times I've met him, a very polite and correct impression and answered, I thought, intelligently and with insight.I can't help but really like this man.

The game was good, especially the first half which ended with Djurgården 2-1 in the lead. Hammarby got back in with a few minutes to spare and both teams should feel displeased with the result as both, especially Djurgården, had opportunities to come away with three points. Mattias Jonson, recently bought from Norwich to DIF, was a force during his 65 minutes on the pitch. Jonson has been the third choice striker for the national team and competes with Johan Elmander of Bröndby, Marcus Allbäck of FC Köpenhavn and possibly Fredrik Berglund of Esbjerg for the spots after the obvious starters Larsson and Ibrahimovic. Henok Goitom could also challenge should he receive more playing time at Udinese.

Swedish football not quite dead just yet and a new player for AIK

2005-08-04T17:24:00.000+02:00

Malmö managed to squeeze past Maccabi Haifa last night and will next face FC Thün (Thun?) of Switzerland. Regardless of the fact that Thün has beaten Dynamo Kiev to get here, the chances of having a Swedish team in the Champions League look very promising.

In other news, AIK has gifted it's fan base with a new "most disliked player" with the re-signing of wing-back Jimmy Tamandi as a free agent last week. Tamandi "helped" to play AIK out of the first league last year, got fired by new club Salernitana and has done god knows what the last six months. Since some AIK fans aren't happy unless there's players to hate, preferably non-white ones, and AIK desperately needed stiffer competition for the left and right back positions, everyone's happy. Especially Arash Talebinejad and Göran Marklund who both has been out of favor with the haters and in favor with the manager. People are strange.

Original poster

2005-08-03T18:07:00.000+02:00

Did I mention that you should see this? Yes I most certainly did.

RAGAD - lest we forget

2005-08-03T17:49:00.000+02:00

A reminder for me to buy the new DVD of "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead" on US import. Some added commentary and stuff which I absolutely crave.

- The rape of the Sabine women! Or rather woman. Or rather Alfred.

The best dialogue in the universe.

MFF - our last hope?

2005-08-03T17:33:00.000+02:00

Awful I know. Yet it is absolutely vital for Swedish football that Malmö ousts Maccabi Haifa and advances at least to the UEFA-cup. I thought it was really funny when some less informed character at TT announced that Malmö wouldn't need to beat a "big club" to advance to the Champions League. Since when isn't Dynamo Kiev a big club? According to a helpful character at the MFF fan site you can watch the Maccabi game online live here.

Swedish nationals in the side are Daniel and Anders Andersson, where Anders hasn't featured in a while. Other players with Sweden merits are Yksel Osmanowski and Mattias Asper. Jari Litmanen and Jon-Inge Höiland play for Finland and Norway while left back Joseph Elanga has a few nationals for Nigeria. Most experienced in the Malmö side are Litmanen (Ajax, Barcelona) and central defender Patrik Andersson (Bayern München, Barcelona). The last and only time AIK was in the Champions League the keeper was Mattias Asper - he is starting today for Malmö.

Andreas Andersson new coach for AIK

2005-08-01T18:46:00.000+02:00

It was announced just now that Andreas will become part of the AIK coaching staff following his decision to quit playing. Even if it is a sad day when our biggest star in many years resigns, it is a good sign that AIK has decided to keep a person with his experience onboard. For foreign readers, the staff in Swedish clubs are traditionally small. Almost all clubs retain only three coaches. Stupid.

Andreas Andersson to quit football

2005-08-01T13:42:00.000+02:00

Andreas Andersson, AIK's injury-plagued star has decided to call it quits. A sad day for everyone.
More here (in Swedish) and more later here.

Really crazy Madrid

2005-08-01T11:03:00.000+02:00

Why do they buy Baptista and Robinho when they already have players like Raul, Ronaldo and Owen? Because they can. The funniest thing from my POV is that this will not mean the exit of the useless Raul, who has maybe two or three decent games in the last year, but it will spell the exit of Owen who currently is a much better striker. Politics. Spain would not have exited Euro 2004 in the group stages if they had played their other strikers. But the captain must play. So the team will lose. Politics.

Harry Potter

2005-07-31T23:20:00.000+02:00

I recently went through all the Potter novels in a very short time. The translation of Prisoner of Azkaban was atrocious but the others were decent I thought. Shame I bought them in Swedish as I quickly realized that The Dude would not read anything past Prisoner of Azkaban in a few years. He's six now and really afraid of being alone and in the dark. Reading about Voldemort rising from the grave (in Goblet of fire) certainly wouldn't help him any. The most recent one, The Half-Blood Prince, I read in English as I prefer to do and as I rather enjoyed the whole trip I felt a bit let down by it. I've previsously only rarely managed to second-guess Rowling but with this one I saw almost everything coming several hundred pages away. I'm also fairly certain I've figured out what will happen next. Aren't I clever? Not really, but the plot did feel much more forced this time and going over the same old ground.
Thank the gods I started a blog about football so I could get this off my chest.

It's not like the end of the world or anything

2005-07-31T23:09:00.000+02:00

Just a Swede writing a blog about Swedish football in English. If you ignore it it will probably go away. Eventually. Main concerns are Swedish team AIK and the national team. AIK is currently leading the second division while Sweden are fighting with Croatia for a place in the World Cup.