PHOTO: Bildbyrån + SVT
Hedvig Lindahl has long been one of the top goalkeepers on the women’s side.
But the past year has been tough for the Swedish veteran.
And she has to hold back tears when she has to talk about it.
It has been a tough year for the Swedish goalkeeper hero Hedvig Lindahl. One of Swedish football’s best shot stoppers ever on the women’s side is currently without a club and it’s just the latest string of disappointments she’s been forced to go through in 2023.
Lindahl’s career
Lindahl has made a total of 189 international matches for Sweden and was for many years unchallenged number one in the national team, but she has managed to turn 40 years old and this summer was poked from the blue-and-yellow World Cup squad. In addition to that, she has been subjected to harsh criticism during the year and in July Djurgården broke her contract.
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After representing big clubs such as Chelsea, Wolfsburg and Atletico Madrid, Lindahl returned to Swedish football again in the summer of 2022. But the time in Djurgården did not turn out to be what neither she nor the club had hoped for and only a year later they have gone their separate ways.
READ MORE: Hedvig Lindahl is forced to apologize after the unexpected words about Sweden in the World Cup: “Worst in world history”
Hedvig close to tears
Now Hedvig Lindahl gets really emotional when she thinks about the future, see the video below.
– I would like to step off a football pitch and get applause. One last positive experience. It is the small image that comes to mind, she says in an interview with SVT Sport.
– Maybe it will happen in January or February that I say “now I quit”. But it would have been nice to have an ending. It’s about my respect for myself. There has been an incredible amount of sacrifice, sweat and tears and stress that needs to end.
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The veteran goalkeeper has recently accepted a part-time job as a goalkeeper coach at a football high school, but still does not rule out a continuation of his playing career.
– There have been a few international stakeholders, but mostly in Sweden at slightly different levels. There are also offers of assignments to step in as a coach and such, she says in the interview.
READ MORE: Hedvig Lindahl’s adamant criticism after the huge scandal in the soccer World Cup – now comes under severe attack: “Deeply worrying”
She holds back tears as she talks about possibly ending her playing career and admits she hasn’t made a final decision yet, watch the video below.
– I have not decided. I’ve actually had a few different opportunities here this fall, but I didn’t feel like it was something I really wanted to jump into, she says to the TV channel.
– It would be perfectly fine to quit when you are 40. But I have not completely closed the door and there will be new contracts at the turn of the year.
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