World Cup quarter-final against Romania.
Then there was an opposing player Sweden would have an extra eye on.
A simple task according to Jonas Thern.
The 1994 World Cup summer is one of Sweden’s biggest sporting moments. It is without a doubt the biggest success ever in football, and the championship has become a real classic.
Swedish success
There is probably no one who does not know that Sweden stood for a real feat, went all the way to the semifinals and finally won a bronze medal. The performance has given the whole team iconic status, and no one will ever forget the fantastic summer.
A player who was incredibly important for Sweden’s success was the central midfielder Jonas Thern. Together with Stefan Schwarz, he formed one of the championships’ best field duos.
There are many who want to claim that Thern and Schwarz were Sweden’s two important players. Not because they accounted for so much going forward, but because their hard work in midfield was absolutely crucial for the Swedish success.
Thern’s crazy replica
After several good matches in the group stage and in the round of 16, Romania waited in the quarter finals. Their biggest threat was undoubtedly the superstar Gheorge Hagi who was one of the tournament’s best players.
It was of course a lyre player that Tommy Svensson and the management staff studied extra carefully. In the podcast “Tutto Balutto”, Lars Lagerbäck, who was then a scout for the Swedish national team, talks about how Jonas Thern, full of confidence, had the solution to the Hagi problem.
– We had done a special thing with Hagi in Romania which was very dominant. When Tommy (Svensson) was to have a review, we had some clips. He had a lot of dialogue and asked the group the question: ‘Shall we do something with Hagi?’, Says Lars Lagerbäck and continues:
– Then Jonas says: ‘Uh. Stefan (Schwarz) and I fix that ‘.
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