I really like the Swedish word lagom. It means essentially "Not too much, not too little". Just lagom.
My enthusiasm for the NHL's Edmonton Oilers is lagom, by my standards. I am very enthusiastic about the sport of ice hockey, the Oilers players, the prospects, their season, their history, etc. However, living on Central European Time, I have a hard time watching or listening to games that often occur between 3 and 6 o'clock in the morning. Instead, I have chosen a measured approach to my Oilers and follow instead often only in words (game reports, blogs, etc.) and video.
It is therein that I discovered an appreciation for the Oilogosphere (Oilers Blogs). It was the summer of 2007 and a friend was the co-author of one of the more popular blogs, at the time.
Far away from the often thoughtless idiots of call-in-radio, or the babble on HF forums, blogs were a source of intelligent commentary, statistical analysis and humour. It was new. It was unique.
I too felt unique. Lagom unique.
The local Uppsala newspaper published an interview one November day on then Oilers prospect, and local boy, Jonas Almtorp. At the time, Jonas had leapt across the pond to try his luck in the Oilers (farm) system. His leap knocked the bar off (to use another sport analogy) and into a level of professional hockey much lower than he had likely expected, that was riding busses in the ECHL.
There were a few direct quotes from Almtorp in that UNT article, and I took it upon myself to translate and share them with the Oilers faithful, or rather the Oilogosphere. And thus began my so-called blog.
I am not a scout, nor am I involved with hockey in any sense other than as a casual observer.
Living in Sweden, I simply am taking the opportunity to send reports from my unofficial outpost. I keep an eye open here and there for any of the following:
Oilers draft picks (present or past) playing in Sweden
Obscure Oilers connections (like my semi-invented Swedish team, The Rölers)
What is more, I love soccer (hereafter known as football - AKA: SHAKAF). Canada is not known for football prowess and the dismal performances at an international level (1986 being our lone World Cup appearance) make it difficult to be a fan of Canadian football.
Nevertheless, I am a Canadian football fan. I am a Voyageur!
Any time a Canadian international makes inroads in the sport, I like to follow them. Atiba Hutchinson as an example, got his start in the Swedish clubs Östers IF and Helsingborg IF before finding his current home in FC Copenhagen's midfield.
All this amounts to an attempt at blogging. I do it because I think it is fun and it is my creative outlet. If anyone reads it, great! But frankly, I do it for the love and interest of sport.
I do not post here that frequently, maybe once or twice a month, but hopefully what is posted is interesting and informative.
Woosh. That would be the sound of a metaphoric Elite Series hockey season zooming past. (In actual fact, it was a slow amble, although use of the fast-forward button creates the desired “woosh” effect.) It is time for playoffs and that means more than just the championship, but also the fight to avoid relegation.
ELITE SERIES QUALIFICATION TOURNAMENT I had adopted Rögle BK as my team of choice during this year’s campaign. The Rölers, as I called them, held their own early season to initially surprised many.
Yet, here it is the Rölers who return to the Elite Series qualification tournament, this year as the losers defending their position rather than winners from the Allsvenska. The team gained promotion from the Allsvenska in dramatic fashion last spring in the final tournament match. During the off-season they made both smart and fluky acquisitions, including NHL veteran Mathias Tjärnqvist (brother of Daniel) and the anonymous Canadian twins Chris and Cam Abbott.
By mid-season, the team from Ängelholm was comfortably in the middle of the table in the 12 team league. But the trend was not the Rölers friend. Losses and injuries began to mount and it was mostly movements down in the standings as they approached March. They finished 11th and face the qualification tourney.
Joining them as relegates-to-be is Björn Bjurling’s Södertälje SK. The Edmonton Oilers drafted goalie posted okay numbers (90.93% save perc. & an average 34 shots per game) and was a lone bit of stability for SSK. The problem lay in that Södertälje managed next to no offence, registering a league low 122 goals for, which had them suckling on the bottom of the standings for most of the year.
To some degree blame could be the revolving door (literally) into the coach’s office. Södertälje fired Leif Strömberg on December 10, only to recently rehire him February 26. Södertälje, it would seem, is plagiarizing Brynäs circa 2007-08. Brynäs IF used a similar distorted management style last year firing and rehiring Leif Boork as they miraculously hung around and qualified for another year in the Elite Series. It remains to be seen if SSK can wholly emulate Brynäs and re-qualify for next year's Elite Series.
Not to be outdone, March 2, after the final regular season game, Rögle (correction: Rölers) management promptly and inexplicably fired their coaching duo Peter Johansson and Björn Hellkvist. A new skipper, Gunnar Persson, is also a former skipper (coached Rögle '04-'06) and has been entrusted to stave off the team’s relegation back to the Allsvenska.
On the topic of coaches, former Edmonton Oiler Bert Robertsson together with colleague Jonas Rönnqvist has over-exceeded all expectations in their first year with Uppsala team Almtuna IS. Head coach Rönnqvist and assistant Robertsson have brought a high-tempo, aggressive-forecheck style to a team made up primarily of worker-bees and grinders. Bert and team knocked off last year’s Elite Series relegate, Mora IK in the first playoff to the qualifying tournament.
Their success in part is coaching, but can also be due to goaltender, Mark “in da park” Owuya . He is on loan from Djurgårdens IF and has been a stellar workhorse all season. Unfortunately, his return in Almtuna next year is highly doubtful. The 19 year old, who was passed over in the 2008 NHL draft, has turned many heads with his poise between the pipes for Almtuna. A return to Djurgårdens next season is most likely yet the playoff experience is all the better for his development, confidence and I wouldn't be suprised if he would be drafted this June. His hip-hop/urban Swedish stylings, on the other hand (as seen on his website), should be retired.
Above collage: A few of the Berts I know (and one Burt)
Should little Almtuna miraculously get promoted to the Elite Series, the crummy and cold Gränby Ishall (or, as I call it, ice hole) would be quite the embarrassment to top tier hockey in Sweden. At capacity, 2562 people would make it warm and cozy, though then I think the ice surface would spontaneously melt (sarcasm).
Point is, despite a lousy arena, Almtuna is a minnow and will not achieve promotion.
At present, the Elite Series qualification tournament will be Rögle BK, Södertälje SK (11 & 12 respectively from the Elite Series) along with Leksands IF, AIK, and VIK Västerås HK (1, 2 & 3 from the Allsvenska). One final spot in the tournament goes to the winner of the best-of-3 playoff between the Växjö Lakers and the aforementioned Almtuna IS. The tournament is a 10 game round-robin format where teams play each other home and away. Teams finishing first and second qualify for the '09-'10 Elite Series.
SWEDISH ELITE SERIES PLAY-OFF The playoffs in the tier I Elite Series began earlier tonight. Notable is that, unlike the NHL, the top 4 teams get to choose their opponents.
Perennial superpower Färjestads BK (1) choose to face Brynäs IF (7),
2008 runner-up Linköpings HC (2) meet Skellefteå AIK (6),
defending champs HV71 (4) go up against late-season surging Timrå IK (8), and
Gothenburg team Frölunda HC (3) surprisingly chose to face Linus Omark’s Luleå HF (5).
There were 3 upsets in game 1 with only Färjestads getting the expected win. Timrå, Skellefteå and Luleå all won the first of the best of 7.
LINUS OMARK Luleå HF forward and Edmonton Oilers 2007 draft pick Linus Omark has not only had a break-out season, finishing third in league scoring (23 G, 32 A = 55pts), but he also stole the show in game 1. Together with linemate Johan Harju, Omark's "magic" set up 3 goals, in a 5-1 rout of Frölunda.
A successful playoff seems apparent and bodes well in advance of his first NHL training camp (he attended the Oilers' June 2008 prospect camp). His prowess for scoring points, stick-handling wizardry and the Oilers' heightened interest in the little guy from Overtorneå made for newsprint foder both in Sweden and North America. It remains to be seen where in the Oilers’ depth chart, amid the logjam of small-guy-scorer-types, he might fit.
My expectations of him were far exceeded, especially after this blog entry from preseason camp.
JOHAN MOTIN Färjestads BK has had a comeback year, of sorts. Long time General Manager Håkan Loob has managed to keep continuity in the organization and always fields a contender in Karlstad. Yet it was last year's embarrasing exit in the playoffs and turmoil among coaches and team that were the scars heading into this season. After a bit of retooling, it was ironically their strong team ethic (and solid goaltending) season long that won them first place in the standings.
Oilers' 2008 draft Johan Motin’s had a stable sophomore campaign for Färjestads. He appeared in 52 of 55 matches, racking up 11:09 minutes per match while registering 3 assists and 28 minutes in penalties. They are hardly exciting statistics, although they are typical numbers for a young yet dependable stay-at-home defenseman. Färjestads will likely have a much stronger playoff performance this spring and Motin will be in that mix.
OTHER OILERS PROSPECTS Allsvenska player William Quist is about to get the boot from the Edmonton Oilers wagon. I saw the 2007 draft pick play in Uppsala in October (video below). His team, the Nybro Vikings were lousy with a capital L. William's play that day was half-hearted. In fact, that would be a good description of what I’ve read of William’s travels in his young hockey career. His junior career, try-outs with the national junior teams, and even his time in Oilers rookie camp have all been a bit lacking in that je ne sais quoi. For every spark of life or creativity in a shift, there are 4 shifts of not-so-much. Quist did not find a strong role on his team, which happens to be approximately the same story last season.
The Nybro Vikings were not a good club this year and they will have to re-qualify to stay in the tier II Allsvenska. For Quist, he can forget the NHL in the short term and focus on keeping his team in Sweden’s second highest league. Those that claim he's young (only 19) and he needs time to find his bearings, should re-read Almtuna's Mark Owuya story.
FOOTIE
With spring in the air, I feel it necessary to finish off with a Soccer (hereafter known as Football) note, and womens football at that. A trio of Canadian women will lace up their boots for Piteå IF in the coming season of the Women’s Allsvenska (damallsvenska). This will mark the return of Canadians to Swedish women's football after a bit of a hiatus.
The W-League (and now the new WPS) is often a destination of choice for Canadians wanting to play professional. Work visas and connections often limit Canadians opportunities in European football but I get the sense that opportunities do abound. Personally, I am pleased to see Canadian women getting recruited and choosing to play in Europe, and especially Sweden. It is a high quality league and the training opportunities and competition add new experience and technique to a player's game (and therein also to the competitiveness at the national team level).
Speaking of new experience and technique, the CSA has (finally) made a smart move hiring an Italian to coach the Women's National Team (WNT). After 6 years under the guidance of Norwegian Even Pellerud, Carolina Morace took over the WNT February 5.
Those who care about the development of football in Canada can only hope that this will spell the end to the ugly dump-and-chase style employed by Pellerud during his WNT tenure. Goodbye to deep bombs and hello to ball control. Il ritorno di bello gioco di calcio!
Ever built one of those thingamajiggers in grade school science class to look at the sun? You are well aware that you shouldn't stare at the actual sun, but how bad could it be? Just a peak, for a few seconds, right at the burning fire of reality.
Or rather, maybe it is like watching a horror film from behind one's hand – peeking between the fingers. The urge to watch is more than there. One is driven to see the horrors for oneself, even if it might leave nightmares for 4 long years.
Canada’s men’s national soccer (hereafter known as football) team (CMNT) faces 4 long years of waiting, should tonight's match-up with powerhouse Mexico be yet another defeat. As recently as last week, the CMNT blew up what was felt to be REAL World Cup qualifying hopes, when they lost a home match 2-1 versus Honduras.
With 4 matches remaining in stage 3, and only -1 in the goal differential column, Canada is not mathematically out. Sadly, this does not take into account that of these 4 matches, 3 will be in foreign, unfriendly confines and a fourth will be a rematch versus said Mexico.
I have my face covered, though I’m still peeking.
For more blog commentary on tonight’s match-up, I hyperlink thee to the following:
I have this quotation flipping around in my head that is something like “Hope springs eternal”. It was long ago, that hope among Canadian soccer (hereafter known as football) enthusiasts was as high as it is now, in lead up to 2010 World Cup qualifying (WCQ).
Tonight, at BMO Field in Toronto, begins the third leg of four in the CONCACAF road to South Africa 2010. Jamaica will take to the artificial pitch in Toronto to face the Canadian Men’s National Team (MNT) and, what is hoped to be, a pro-Canadian home crowd.
The so-called Golden Generation of Canadian football is now. It has been a long time since Canada has known a team with such strength at all positions - most especially in the midfield - and tactics other than dump-and-chase.
The Voyageurs fan club, among others, has made sure that tonight will be a home field match. There should be a spectacular atmosphere at the match and I can only hope that the players respond in kind. The Voyageurs song book, with such hits as Dwayne De Rosario (to the tune of Pet Shop Boys Go West) or Radzinski (to the tune of Boney M’s Rasputin), will get a good workout from the Voyageur faithful.
Hope and Faith was not just some crummy American sitcom featuring Kelly Ripa, it is becoming the unofficial themes of Canadian football fans. They will sing at the top of their lungs and cheer for their boys because they are full of hope and believe that Canada can reach a World Cup again. We’ve been trusting in this faith and hope every four years when WCQ comes around.
A win in game 1 versus Jamaica will be step one. Otherwise, hope that springs eternal may be replaced by "hope burps ephemeral" or "pessimism whiplashes like a car crash". (I'll work on making that sound more eloquent, should need arise.)
HOPE COUNTER: 9x
For more on the match up, I refer thy faithful to the following:
Canadian Soccer Association - although this link features this disturbing quote from head coach Dale Mitchell:
"I think it is coming together," said Mitchell of his preparations. "It is strange week because it is a short week. Guys are traveling different places and in different states of physical condition. That is a little bit of a concern, but we have done our best to get as well organized as we can. We have the better part of a day and a half now to further rest up and to get to as close to 100% as we can be."
SWEDEN: Since this blog is known as Scouting Sweden, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that also tonight the Swedish Men’s team takes on France in a friendly match at Ullevi in Gothenburg. World Cup Qualifying for Sweden and UEFA Group 1 begins in early September against Albania and Hungary.
And thus thy went forth to the podium and bequeath to the masses that it shall be Motin and Motin it shall be.
Although I am nearly two months overdue, I hereby wish to take this opportunity to thank the Edmonton Oilers scouting staff, in particular Kent Nilsson, for giving this blog a new prospect, focal point, and target for the coming years.
Frankly, I had written off the idea of the Oilers going Swede this year, especially considering how few picks (5) they had at their disposal in the NHL Entry Draft.
Selected 103 overall, Johan Motin joins the likes of William Quist, Linus Omark and Björn Bjurling as active Oiler draft picks from, and playing in, Sweden.
The Oilers development system seems to have burgeoned in the past couple years. The direct emergence of young talents like Sam Gagner & Andrew Cogliano along with a gain of depth in all positions allowed Kevin Lowe and entourage to follow a simple draft day strategy. At approximately 5:07 of this clip, Kevin Lowe mentions having seen Motin a couple years ago at the Under 18 World Hockey Tournament. At that time, scouts were projecting Motin as a top 10 pick and yet there he was, still available to the Oilers in the 4th round.
What changed? Well, not so much one realises after having scoured the internet via a Google News (in Swedish) search.
MOTIN: A GOOGLE NEWS SEARCH (SWEDISH VERSION)
TELEVISION: SVT reported March 5, 2007 about the poise Johan Motin has shown since his call-up to the bright lights of the Elite Series. His size and stability are noted as having been advantageous in handling the big league and when asked what he will work on most in the near future, Motin says primarily his shot.
PRINT: NWT - Sept 19, 2007. Season preview of Färjestad's team and their young talent Johan Motin. He is studying public/society economics at Tingvalla high school. Motin got prime ice-time last season with Czech veteran Robert Kantor. His first big league fight was with scrappy Finn Sami Torkki, which he claims to have won by "falldown". Motin takes the bus to school and says that he tries to be a normal teen because "one must have one's feet on the ground. I want to finish school in the best way possible, because there will come a life after hockey."
WEBSITE Kanon wrote about Motin's loan to Allsvenska club Bofors on Nov 21, 2007. Färjestad fired coach Roger Melin and new bench boss (Tommy Samuelsson) played primarily with only 6 D-men. With development and increased ice-time in mind, Färjestad loaned Motin to Bofors, in his home town of Karlskoga. More ice-time was vital given the forthcoming World Junior Championships that was to occur later in 2007 in the Czech Republic. He went on to appear in 15 matches with Bofors IK.
BLOGS: Scouting report HockeyMagasinet 2007-09-03 "his mature and unafraid play impressed the Färjestad executive that offered him a 3 year contract in March 2007... his strong play in the U18 tournament (Sweden won bronze) garnered him the award for best Swedish player and he recorded 3 assists in 5 matches. He is a proven winner, having hardware from having won TV Pucken (Swedish rep. team tournament), the Swedish J18 league (junior) championship and a bronze a the U18 Worlds".
Why Johan Motin was drafted in round 4, as compared to Sept 2007 round 1 estimates, is likely due to two factors. Firstly, his move to Bofors looks bad on paper - like a demotion. The reality is that his new coach came under intense pressure to get Färjestad back into winning form and that meant veterans on defense. Motin's youth and development were recognized and he needed more playing time. The second factor, hypothesized by Kevin Lowe, was that his stay-at-home defensive style might also have lead to his drop in draft status. Stay-at-home defensemen do not score a lot of points, nor do they appear often in the spotlight. Lowe too was a stay-at-home D-man in his playing day, although Lowe managed to get drafted 21st overall in 1979 (perhaps stay-at-home defense was sexier back then).
In either case, Johan Motin remains a player with a promising pedigree and has already been a winner on a couple of big stages. His asset was deemed valuable by the Oiler executive and this writer certainly hopes Motin will be in Oilers silks in the future.
Final items from the 2008 NHL Entry Draft: when it came to Swedes, Ottawa managed to win the "Pick The Most Swedes" contest. Thanks in part to having former Swedish National Junior coach Anders Forsberg on their scouting payroll, the Senators selected 3 Swedes in front of their home crowd at the Scotiabank Arena. HockeyMagazinet put out this blog report and also summarized all Swedes selected.
LAST WORD: The Women's Olympic Soccer (hereafter known as football) quarter final between Canada and the USA is being played as I type. Canada has always had problems winning football matches against their female counterparts to the South, especially in major competitions. According to FIFA, they have met 42 times with the USA having been victorious 36 times (85%) and 3 ties. Canada's only victories have been friendly-matches.
After a promising performance against Sweden, the Canadian women have shown that they can match the best. The trend of losing to the Yanks must be broken and it must be today! I hope...
In red will be a generation of girls who have together grown to become Canada's Women's National team (WNT). In blue/yellow, a routine laden bunch of tactical and talented Swedes.
It is the likes of youngster Kara Lang - who has been on the national team since she was 15, goal machine Christine Sinclair - now 93 goals in 124 games for the WNT! (Sinclair's Olympic blog is here), and 2007 player of the year Rhian Wilkinson complements a full cast of hard working young women. Most have gone (or are going) to American universities and/or ply their trade at the National Soccer Academy in Vancouver.
This is the profile of the women going up against seasoned pros from what is likely the best women's league in the world, the Damallsvenska. Led by Viktoria Svensson, Lotta Schelin and anchored by goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl.
Swedish media, such as here, have looked past Canada from the very beginning. Most news outlets chose China and Sweden to advance, even though China is ranked 14th by FIFA. Perhaps drawing on China's second place finish at World Cup 1999, or that they host this Olympiad, many have heightened expectations for the PRC. When Sweden came out flat against the Chinese in the first game and lost 2-0, it further elevated China and put question marks in the minds of many a Swede.
Yet along came the 'dump and chase' style of Canada, who mysteriously proceeded to dominate versus China. In fact, Canada should have won Saturday's 1-1 match in Tianjin considering the amount of shots, and percentage of play they found.
So what is in store on Tuesday. It is not comparable to any Sweden vs. Canada ice hockey match-up. In this case, Sweden holds the upper-hand in experience and respect. Yet two very different team have shown up based on expectations. Sweden has under-achieved and Canada has been surprisingly dominant. The real test will be tomorrow.
Odds are it will be a phenomenal chance for Canada to prove its footie-value on the world's stage. Unfortunately, this writer believes their dump and chase strategy will be their downfall against the tactically sound Swedes. As much as I hope for a breakthrough for Canadian footie, it requires a stronger back line, a smarter tactic versus a European style, and a patience in ball possession that would flow throughout the whole team, and not just a lone few.
My prediction: Sweden 2 - Canada 1 (Sweden scoring in the 91st minute - injury time - after a defensive lapse by Canada).
Euro 2008 is progressing through the second set of matches and Saturday will be the highly-touted Spaniards vs. Sweden in Group D.
For the first 67 agonizing minutes against Greece, it was boring, tactical soccer (hereafter known as football). Then, a quick give-and-go via Henrik Larsson, Zlatan Ibrahimovic's right foot secured Sweden a 3 point win, and momentum into Saturday's match against Spain.
It will be a completely different battle than that versus Greece. The creative Spaniards are known to make the simple look difficult and the difficult look simple. What is more, they are a talented team composed of rivalling factions - defenders Ramos (Real Madrid) and Puyol (FC Barcelona) reportedly had a yelling match during the first 10 minutes of their opening match against Russia.
Sweden will need to control the midfield and have solid communication along the backline. Two problems of this strategy are in the form of injuries to speedy right midfielder, and lone La Liga player, Christian Wilhelmsson and experienced back Niklas Alexandersson.
In their two meetings during Euro qualifying, Sweden won at home 2-0 (fall of 2006!), and lost in Madrid, 3-0.
If I were coach Lagerbäck, I'd be studying film of Manchester United's 1-0 win over Barcelona in the 2nd leg of the Champions League semi-final. It may not be completely an apples to apples comparison, although it was a brilliant demonstration of how to stifle and counter the lively tick-tack-toe Spanish style.
I hope for a draw.
--- Sunday, June 15, sees the Canadian national team (ranked 60) begin its quest for South Africa 2010 as the men's national team faces island nation, St. Vincent and the Grenadines (ranked 147). Hopes for this team are high, as the bitter taste of 2006's World Cup campaign fell enormously short of expectations.
Much talk on the forums of Canadian-soccer.com have been over the surprise roster spot given to Nigerian born, Ugo Ihemelu. Strangely enough, the Colorado Rapids player holds both Canadian and American citizenship and played 14 minutes of a 2006 friendly against Norway. The key issue is that those 14 minutes were for the United States national team. Word going around the forums is that the friendly was a so-called B-game and he is apparently still able to change nations. One would hope the CSA has done the due diligence to ensure Ihemelu is eligible for Canada.
I have hopes for a significant win to start the WC campaign. Mid-fielder Julian De Guzman may be injured, but the rest of the "Golden Generation" will be on the pitch and ready to pummel the St VAG zone with offence.
UPDATE: the Globe and Mail published an article where a couple players spoke out about the disorganization at the CSA. It is refreshing to hear that is not just us fans who are frustrated. ----
Tyler Hemming, Vahid Assadpour and Tosaint Ricketts got a good look during a week of trainings. Though none were offered contracts, it is promising to see that young Canadians are getting attention at this level.
Hammarby coach, Tony Gustavsson had some kind, yet constructive critique for the lads.
Among this week's guests, he (Tosaint Ricketts) stood out. He was quickest of all participants in the team's physical training tests, conducted Tuesday (May 20th).Quoting coach Tony Gustavsson "He confirmed the physical assets I'd heard about, he's a player with unique agility and quickness. It was almost awful, in a positive way of course. Then, he also was a bit un-schooled in both technique and tactics."
Ricketts countrymen, midfield Vahid Assadpour and back Tyler Hemming, did not look out of place. "Vahid is a quick thinker and quite all-round. Tyler is the wisest of those who have been here. He has very good sense of the play and technically very secure with both feet, yet lacking quickness," says Gustavsson.
At present, it does not look realistic to write any contracts with any of the players attending the camp. At the same time, the head coach is still seeking talent at striker, inside midfield and midback during the summer.
Tonight, Sweden jumps into the fray among the 16 nations fighting for European soccer (hereafter known as football) supremacy. The match against defending champions Greece will be a vital benchmark for the hopes of both teams.
Sweden made Euro2008 after finishing second to Spain in what was a rollercoaster qualifying campaign. For every dominant performance, such as the 2-0 home win over Spain, there would be an uninspired 2-1 loss to the likes of Northern Ireland. Amongst all this, one never really got a sense of who was the real Swedish team. Never mind the fact that qualifying also included a near debacle in the form of the bizarre 3-0 default win over Denmark*. With a roster composed of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Fredrik Ljungberg and Henrik Larsson, the Swedes should be almost feared when it is a big competition. Unfortunately, the cast of players is not all a Zlatan, Freddie or Henke. Although it is a blend of experience with youth and European league stars with domestic dignataries, one can only hope the team gels and that a top class team shows up tonight.
It is not that Sweden is inexperienced, internationally. In fact, Sweden is in its fifth straight international tournament (Euro 2000, 04, 08 & World Cup 02, 06) and will field a team quite similar to that which exited the 2006 World Cup in the quarter-finals against the host Germans.
Most of this nation is football mad at the moment. Every possible newspaper is pushing their own “exclusive Euro2008 supplement” or major retailers flog their own blue and yellow merchandise.
I have yet to see a media outlet, even most of the Swedish ones, give the Swedish team much hope of advancing past the quarter-finals. That said, this is the European Championship, and like Denmark in 1992 and Greece in 2004, with a bit of teamwork and luck, any country can win it all. Greece proved in 2004 that a strong defensive strategy can win a championship.
I think an aggressive start will go a long way in facing Greece. The offensive weapons of Zlatan and Henke (Larsson) need to be exploited and Greece’s defensive wall must fall.
By my assessment, Sweden needs at least 4 points (one win, one tie) to emerge from this group. Spain is a heavy favourite and Russia is a wildcard. Greece, though defending champs, are a team Sweden needs to overcome in order to set the record straight that the real Swedish team has shown up to European football’s big dance.
* Sweden led 3-0 after 30 minutes only for Denmark to claw back to 3-3 by the 85th minute, at which time a Danish defender sucker punched Swede Marcus Rosenberg in the penalty area which was a red card to Denmark & penalty shot for Sweden. The penalty shot never got taken, as directly after the red card, a Danish spectator stormed the pitch and attacked the referee. The match was stopped and eventually forfeited. The 3-0 result was awarded to Sweden.
Comparing Canada’s national team coach Dale Mitchell to Swede Sven-Göran Eriksson is like comparing Tip Top Tailors to Georgio Armani. In both cases, one can still show up to the show looking good, but it is really a question of quality, style and above all, money.
The worst kept secret in soccer (hereafter known as football) has finally been made official. Sven-Göran Eriksson, along with his entourage of Tord Grip and Hans “Hasse” Backe, have been named to lead the Mexican national football team, El Tri.
Mexico has paid a sweet bit of money (2 year - $7.5 Million contract) to gain the services of “Svennis” but the return is a proven commodity. Sven is a magnet for winning. As early as 1982 he took the small Swedish club (small by European standards) IFK Göteborg all the way to the UEFA Cup, and won it all, not to mention also winning their own domestic league and Swedish Cup that same year. Svennis has won in Italy, with Lazio, Roma (Coppa Italia ‘86), Fiorentina, and Sampdoria (Coppa Italia ‘94) and Portugal (Benefica). The most recent exploits with England’s national team and Manchester City have been well documented by the vicious, yet loving (tongue-in–cheek), British media.
Although he may be a magnet for success, he also is a magnet of the ladies and controversy. He often spiced up the tabloids when his famous British ladies spoke out. Or, what British football fan could forget the sense of betrail when news broke of his secret meetings/job interview with a Saudi sheikh (in reality a News of the World reporter posing as one)? Despite the scandals, he always seems to somehow conduct himself with poise, yet also maintain an image as shrewd business man and coach. One wonders how he can achieve such success with such a mild mannered demeanour. Must be the suits...
A jump across the pond to CONCACAF should lead to more success for the man from Sweden's Värmland, and Canada will get to experience it first hand.
If Canada wins it’s upcoming series vs. St. Vincent and the Grenadines (which they should) and Mexico disposes of Belize, the two will face each other in stage 3 of World Cup qualifying.
Mexico has always been a powerhouse in CONCACAF and with this move, they can only continue to improve. Their domestic league is strong and they are arguably one of the prime football cultures in the Americas, after Brasil and Argentina.
Quoting Mexican sports analyst David Faitelson about Eriksson's appointment:
I celebrate, applaud and delight in the decision Mexican football has taken today. Not only is it about the arrival of Sven-Goran Eriksson... it's about a new conviction and desire on the part of those in charge of Mexican football to explore the kind of horizons we wouldn't have dared look at in the past.
The Canada Soccer Association (CSA) and Dale Mitchell on the other hand, are scraping themselves back into shape after a debacle of resignations and infighting among the CSA executive.
Mitchell's credentials are hardly inspiring in light of Eriksson's. Dale Mitchell never played professional football outside of North America, although he was well capped with the Canadian national team. As a player, he appeared in the '84 Olympics and the '86 World Cup. Prior to taking over the nation's top team, he was at the helm of the Vancouver Whitecaps and the U20 national team. This is hardly a top-class, international football cv, but with consideration to David Faitelson's quote, it is about as far as the CSA's horizon reaches.
How will Canada meet this improvement to its CONCACAF brother? Hopefully, they will start by buying coach Dale Mitchell a good suit.
Tonight is the second leg of the Champions League semi-final between FC Barcelona and Manchester United. If Barcelona looks extra hungry tonight, the blame could be in part due to a Canadian, a Swede and Deportivo La Coruna.
Perhaps the most entertaining football in all of Europe is played in Spain’s La Liga.
Canada has one player that can lay claim to play in the elite levels of La Liga, Julian De Guzman of Deportivo La Coruna. Along with De Guzman, Sweden’s national team player Christian Wilhelmsson is currently on loan to Deportivo and the two make for a dynamic midfield combo.
As recently as mid-March, Deportivo was in danger of relegation. Wilhelmsson joined midway through the campaign and since Deportivo has nearly run the table, so-to-speak. They are currently in 7th and nearing a UEFA Cup spot.
This past Saturday, La Coruna man-handled what was a substitute ridden FC Barcelona. Perhaps with their Champions League match in mind, skipper Rijkaard rested the likes of Xavi, Samuel Eto’o and Lionel Messi (Ronaldinho is injured and out for the season). Notwithstanding a substitute laden Barca is still a team to be reckoned with.
Even if they did have Thierry Henry, Carles Puyol, and Eidur Gudjohnsen, Deportivo’s performance was simply staggering. They would be challenging for a league title with Real Madrid had they played like this from season’s start.
Interestingly enough, Manchester United also lost on Saturday.
It will be a phenomenal match tonight at Old Trafford, and should Barca prevail, I like the idea that the Canada/Swede connection beat up on the Champions League finalists.
Tonight is the year's first fixture for the Canadian Men's national soccer (hereafter known as football) team. The Canadian team, comprised primarily of European-based players, face Estonia at the rather humourously named, A.Le Coq Arena in Tallinn.
The two teams met March 29, 2003, also a friendly, with Canada losing 2:1.
Facing the small Baltic land of Estonia in a friendly should be an accurate test for the Canadian side. A convincing win, with a spice of strategy and a side dish of team building would go a long way to justifying their 4th place ranking within CONCACAF and 56th in FIFA. Plus, disposing of the 124th ranked Estonians would lend well to upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Caribbean minnows like Saint Vincent & the Grenadines (ranked 130).
After the under-23 team came within a game of the Olympics, hope for Canadian football has become a bit rejuvinated. A loss tonight would be just plain annoying.
PREDICTION: Canada 3: Estonia 1. Goals by Julian de Guzman, Dwayne De Rosario, Paul Stalteri
In other matches:
Jonathan de Guzman (brother to Julian) most likely will not play his first match for Netherlands in Vienna versus Austria. Jonathan gave the proverbial finger to Canadian football à la Owen Hargreaves-style. If you can read or understand Dutch, read more here.
Sweden relives the 50th anniversary of their only World Cup final appearance by facing Brasil in a friendly at Emirites Stadium in London.
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UPDATE: Canada loses 2-0 (one was an own goal) on a snowy pitch. Ugh! Meh!
When FIFA organizes a tournament, such as the World Cup, the top level world-wide football leagues and associations will steer around it by creating breaks in their schedule. There is one exception among the so-called top leagues: Major League Soccer (MLS).
The MLS, like most other sports in the Excited States of America, sees their league as unto itself. The 2008 schedule was recently released and it takes in zero to no consideration of other world soccer tournaments. Cathal Kelly of the Toronto Star wrote an article detailing how the Canadian and American national teams (among others) will face problems in securing players to World Cup qualifying and for the 2008 Olympic Games due to scheduling conflicts with the MLS.
We are talking about a small window of international matches. CONCACAF and FIFA stipulate international match days sometimes years in advance. World Cup qualifications (group2 stage) will occur on June14-15 and a return on June 21-22. The MLS has planned a slate of 6 matches, for each those two weekends.
I can see an argument from potential clubs from both sides of the coin. A weekend game in June is the best time to draw a paying public. At the same time, to lose a core of players to international duty - often the best players - does a team's competitiveness no favours.
Football has so much goodwill to build in North America and by double booking MLS matches on the same day as internationals, everyone loses. Surely the MLS must realise they are an element of a bigger equation (FIFA), not simply the sum of the parts (the 14 MLS teams).
Baseball’s championship is called the World Series. American Football and the NBA both without qualification hail their championship teams as so-called World Champions. I am not debating the dominance of the leagues, rather that it is smug and ignorant to call a team that plays in a closed league (no outside teams influence play) a World Champion. It would be ridiculous if the champion of Spain’s basketball league, for instance, were to claim world supremacy, so why can the NBA?
The MLS is hardly a dominant league, by global standards. True, it is the top level of competition in North America, but European leagues are clearly of higher quality. A story on Yahoo Sports attempts to rank the best leagues and gives special commendation to the MLS, Japan’s J-League, Australia’s A-League, Mexico’s Primera and Russia's top league. Obviously missing in the analysis is any reference to the tremendous competition in Argentina and Brasil.
Sweden's Allsvenska is similiar to the MLS in a variety of ways. Its season also plays through the summer and it too is hardly a big-name league (ranked 28th in Europe!). The Swedish league though takes into consideration international play in its scheduling - 2008 sees a break from May 12 - July 1 due to UEFA Euro 2008. Although the league does not boast a large number of big name international players, they do support their national football program by implementing this break in the schedule.
Let's face it, the MLS and the Allsvenska are minnows in a big pond. Sadly, the MLS' actions in scheduling make it look more like a clownfish.
Toronto FC is the only Canadian franchise and, as such, has to carry a quota of Canadian players. This can lead to problems when the Canadian national team will come calling. TFC management should clearly try and move the June 14 away game (vs. Colorado) and June 21 home game (vs. Kansas City) to weeknights to alleviate potential roster problems. Hopefully other teams might follow suit.
For competition in any sport, world and regional tournaments must be respected! Professional leagues would have no base of players whatsoever if it were not for the national programs, doing the hard ground-work to build sport in small communities around the world. We all deserve to see the fruits of their labour on the international stage.
Fun fact 1: Canada won the gold medal in football at the 1904 Olympic games in St. Louis. Fun fact 2: The tournament in 1904 featured just 3 teams. 2 from the US and 1 from Canada. Hoorah for Galt FC (Canada's team)!
BANDY: the Women’s World Championship began yesterday in Borlänge (250km NW of Stockholm). There are 7 matches jammed into 4 days of competition. Canada is seen as a threat to crack the medals but, like the men, Sweden and Russia are almost guaranteed to play for gold and silver. Canada faced both Sweden and Russia on day 1. The match versus Sweden was a mere 10-1 loss. We fared much better against Russia, losing 3-1. Go Canada!
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