Photo: Bildbyrån
Jon Dahl Tomasson has been based on the Swedish national team for a year.
Now Viaplay expert Jonas Olsson gives his view of the “new” Sweden.
– He is very inclined to play to the national team’s forces rather than maybe play to make up its shortcomings, he tells the Sports Bible.
He played for clubs such as Landskrona, Nec Nijmegen, West Bromwich, Djurgården and Wigan. There were also 25 international matches for Jonas Olsson42. After the career, which ended in 2019, the center-back has made himself known as Premier League expert in Viaplay.
Jonas Olsson’s view of the national team
Ahead of Sweden’s training national matches against Luxembourg (Saturday, 18.00) and Northern Ireland (Tuesday, 19.00) Olsson gives his honest opinion on what the national team looks like under the Danish Confederation Captain Jon Dahl Tomasson48.
– First, you should say that the national team we now have in the form of individual quality, it is difficult to argue that we have had something better in relative present as well. We have two forwards that the whole world is talking about, Alexander Isaac and Viktor Gyökeres. We have width around them with Dejan Kulusevskiwith Anthony Elangawith Sebastian Nanasi. We have players of the right age on the way forward with Lucas Bergvall and Hugo LarssonJonas Olsson tells the Sports Bible.
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Under previous federal captains, such as for example Lasse Lagerbäck and to some extent Janne Anderssonthere was a clearer thinking to start from the defensive. Jonas Olsson believes that it is nowadays the offensive players’ individual skill that stands out in the team building, rather than the collective defense game.
– You often hear: “We may not have the kind of defender we had before”. No, we haven’t. But that is because football has developed. But we have Isaac Hien that is reigning Europa League champion and Gabriel Gudmundsson that makes it great both in the national team and the club team (Losc Lille) and we have Victor Nilsson Lindelöfwho has been injured a lot, but who has still had seven, eight in Manchester United. So qualitative it is very, very good I would say, he says.
More freedom under Jon Dahl Tomasson
It is smart of Jon Dahl Tomasson to dare to let the game start from the Swedish national team’s strengths, even though it comes with several risks.
– We have a national team that may differ a bit towards the other former federal captains in that he is very inclined to play to the national team’s forces rather than perhaps playing to make up its shortcomings. There is also a shift I think in “approach”, says Jonas Olsson to the Sports Bible and continues:
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– It is perhaps a trend that you leave a little more creative space to the players on the pitch and responsible for them. But what I mean is – and it is perhaps also the union when they have been in recruitment – they have really identified what are our strengths as a team. It is the offensive line. Then we make sure to have a way of playing that is offensive. Offensively, I mean that the defense game is more offensive, that we are pushing higher up. Before, it has been more that the Swedish national team’s strengths are in the defensive and it has been good.
Development goes faster under Tomasson
Jonas Olsson is still in mind that Sweden, despite during times when there were really good offensive players, always prioritized a strong collective defense. Now football has changed and so is the Swedish national team. With the shift from Janne Andersson to Jon Dahl Tomasson, the development has been accelerated a bit.
– We have had national teams where there have been very skilled offensive players who Zlatan Ibrahimoviclike Fredrik Ljungberglike Henrik Larsson. But you may still have focused more on getting the defense game together, he says.
– It is clear that you must have both parts. It has been Sweden’s strength for a long time so it is reasonable that it has been so. But it has nevertheless been more about that Swedish players who arrive have their greatest skill in the offensive and then it is reasonable that they play for those strengths, the expert continues.
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