Hear Isak Hien’s response to Jon Dahl Tomasson’s compliment in the player above.
The press conference, which is held the day before Sweden’s international matches, is usually attended by the national team captain together with the Blågult team captain. But neither Victor Lindelöf nor Dejan Kulusevski, who has worn the captain’s armband this year, joined Jon Dahl Tomasson. Instead, Isak Hien sat on the podium.
– I want more players to act as leaders, and Isak has taken a lot of responsibility, says Jon Dahl Tomasson at the press conference in Tallinn.
The 25-year-old centre-back, on a regular basis in Atalanta in Serie A, has been a given in Dahl Tomasson’s Swedish national team. Hien has played in all seven international matches since Dahl Tomasson became national captain, and in six of them he has started.
– He is a modern defender who eats strikers for breakfast. I had been scared, look at that body and look at me, says confederation captain Jon Dahl Tomasson.
Hien will start against Estonia, just like goalkeeper Viktor Johansson. Dahl Tomasson confirmed this at the press conference in the Estonian arena.
Estonia-Sweden kicks off at 20:45, Swedish time, on Monday.