Peter Forsberg is one of our greatest athletes ever.
And his nickname one of the most classic.
But how did he actually become Foppa with the entire Swedish people?
– It sounds strange and sick, he says.
Hockey fans and experts in North America agree on what a tremendously skilled player Peter Forsberg actually was. And all agree on one fact: Had he been injury-free throughout his career, only the imagination can set limits to how far he would have come. Now it was a decent career anyway for Forsberg, who completely dominated the Colorado Avalanche, and who won two Stanley Cup titles.
Admits after all the years
Peter Forsberg was also a badass in Tre Kronor, and he reaped great success in both the WC and the Olympics. He is one of only three players, along with Slava Fetisov and Igor Larionov, to win all of the titles twice. Thanks to the success, Forsberg has become “Foppa” with the entire Swedish people.
But despite the fact that the nickname is so incredibly associated with him, the origin of “Foppa” is somewhat unclear. He has previously said that it may have to do with Fig Sundsvalls legend Leif Forsberg. But he’s not sure.
– Honestly, I have no idea how and when I got my nickname. None of my friends called me “Foppa” when I was growing up, he tells Expressen.
“Sounds sick…”
However, Forsberg says that it may have to do with an old friend from his youth.
– We had a guy from Sundsvall named Mattias Forsberg live with us in Domsjö for a year. He had played TV puck and then entered the Hockey Gymnasium in Övik. He was called “Foppa”. So maybe it came from there, he says, and continues:
– It sounds strange and sick, doesn’t it?
Peter Forsberg believes that the media was a big factor in “Foppa” sitting so well.
– Otherwise, I think it’s the media that gave me the nickname. It must have been some newspaper that started calling me “Foppa” because by the time I got up to Modo’s A team, I had received the nickname. I have no other explanation.
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