PHOTO: Bildbyrån
He played football for 20 years.
Now Thomas Ravelli prefers to keep his distance.
– Then I wouldn’t have been able to be at home and live a normal life, he says to Sportbibeln.
Thomas Ravelli, 64, was a professional soccer goalkeeper for 20 years, with games in Östers IF, IFK Göteborg and Tampa Bay Mutiny. He also played 143 games in the Swedish national team, where the highlight was the World Cup in 1994.
Ravelli about football
Today, there won’t be as much football for Ravelli.
Do you miss football?
– No! Absolutely not, he tells Sportbibeln.
Why not?
– Above all, this stress and nervousness. To always be the best, never make any mistakes, and always have the knife to your throat. You can never really relax. It was easier when you were an outfield player, then you can trust the others around you. But as a goalkeeper you know you can’t make mistakes, you live in those circumstances, and that’s why I quit too.
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Several from the WC 94 gang have gone on to take on leadership roles in football after their careers. Henrik Larsson, Roland Nilsson and Jonas Thern for example. Thomas Ravelli is not one of them.
– If I had become a goalkeeper coach or another type of coach, I would have been in the same situation again. Been away a lot, and not been able to be home and live a normal life. That was what I was looking for quite a lot when I stopped playing football, that I would be able to decide for myself about my life. Being able to decide what I want to do, where I want to go and when I want to eat.
– You were very, very limited during the period you played football. Above all, it was the case that you were on the football field, mentally, all the time. Preparations, training and so on. Maybe you go into yourself already two days before the match, and then it’s done, then you’re on the pitch even if you’re at home.
Unexpected favorite
The former goalkeeper doesn’t see himself in a leadership role in the future either, but is staring at the door to something similar.
– If you are not there every day, but are some kind of mentor or advisor to a goalkeeper, you could have imagined being that. But not this drudgery that you need to do to develop the team. However, jumping in at specific times and providing support, teaching them how to think, and technique when it comes to penalties and free throws. I can imagine doing that.
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When it comes to watching football, in principle only IFK Göteborg, Öster and the national teams apply.
– But I don’t watch any regular match from the Italian or English league. Hardly the Champions League either, it must be when it gets to the quarter- and semi-finals, then maybe I’ll start watching. But I follow the national team, the girls and the boys, but no more. I prefer to watch tennis, golf, and American football I also like very much.
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Is it the NFL that applies then?
– Yes, yes, of course it’s the NFL I’m watching. When you learn the rules like that, I think that sport is great fun because every pass is decisive in itself, something can happen every time. That they lose the ball or that there is a goal or something similar. Every pass is like a penalty kick in football more or less, they are so decisive, so I like that, says Ravelli.
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