PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Janne Andersson has said goodbye to the national team.
Now the search for his replacement as national team captain is in full swing.
Then TV4 journalist Olof Lundh directs clear criticism towards “Blågult”.
After seven long years as Sweden’s national team captain completed Jan Andersson on Wednesday his very last press conference. It was obviously sad and there was talk about his deed in Blågult over the years.
Janne’s farewell
From the successful World Cup promotion against Italy in 2017, to the fantastic World Cup summer in 2018 but also the setbacks with the outing against Ukraine in European Championship 2020, the missed World Cup in 2022 and the near-failed Nations League as well as the fiasco in this year’s European Championship qualifiers. Janne has managed to do most of it during his 94 international matches as the most responsible for the men’s national team.
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Still, there was a pretty good atmosphere at the last press conference.
“Looking at two missed championships in a row, Janne Andersson was in a much better mood than it was on Erik Hamrén the day after the EC adventure ended in Nice in June 2016. Then there was mostly an angry shining around the outgoing national team captain who summed up barely seven years at the deserted training facility in Pornichet,” writes the TV4 profile Olof Lundh in his column on Fotbollskanalen.
“The most interesting thing would have been to hear Janne Andersson give his view on how Swedish football should organize itself in order to get an even better exchange. He was careful but clear enough about the fact that Swedish football needs a technical director or overall national team manager. Otherwise, he did not go into details”
Lundh’s criticism
What happens next for Janne Andersson is highly unclear, but he does not close any doors for other coaching jobs and can also imagine a comeback to the Allsvenskan. For the Swedish national team, an intense hunt now awaits to find a replacement as national team captain.
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The SvFF managers Fredrik Reinfeldtchairman, and Andrea Mollerberg, new general secretary, is given a tough task to find a new name that will take Sweden back to the top of the world again. Now Lundh is critical of what that process will look like.
“There are divided opinions about how fast the football association should be in the current situation. In my world, it is difficult to understand that you do not first add an organization and a clear structure. Either an overall national team manager or a technical director as some football associations have. Then that person leads the search for a national team captain and the organization around the national team,” writes the columnist.
“It was good that the football association listened with some of the tone-setting national team players during the last meeting. Everything to hear about what worked well and what can be improved about the national team. Add to that that they asked for qualities of a good national team captain, but not names of candidates, which is wise”.
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Olof Lundh also thinks it is very strange that the Swedish Football Association has not even asked Janne Andersson about his experiences and lessons from the job as the association captain.
“On the other hand, it is strange that the union has not emptied Janne Andersson of thoughts, lessons and experiences after seven and a half years in the post. It should be a given as a basis for recruitment. Above all, before starting the sharp hunt with calls to check interest. It’s incomprehensible that it hasn’t already happened,” writes the TV4 journalist in his criticism.
“Obviously you are suddenly in a hurry”.
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