“The only violation of the rules in all years”

Lars Lagerbäck has always had three rules during his years as national team coach.
On a single occasion he saw a foul.
And yes, of course Zlatan was involved.

Lars Lagerbäck is one of our most meritorious and successful coaches ever. For many years he led Sweden to championship after championship, and he formed a feared duo with the profile and icon Tommy Söderberg.

Lasse’s three rules

After leaving Sweden in 2009, there were a number of other national team assignments for Lagerbäck. In 2010 he coached Nigeria, and then he had success with Iceland – and he finished(?) his coaching career with three years as national team captain for Norway. After that, Lars Lagerbäck became an expert in Viaplay.

160904 Lars Lagerbäck, advisor during a training session with Sweden’s national soccer team on September 4, 2016 in Stockholm. Photo: Erik Simander / BILDBYRÅN

During the years in Norway, Lars Lagerbäck was asked about his discipline, and he then revealed that he always had three rules that the players had to adhere to.

– We must have the entire part of our hotel to ourselves, we must not invite any guests to team meeting rooms or lunch rooms unless they belong to the family. The players should also be at the hotel between dinner and breakfast, he said.

He then continued:

– And then the third thing, which I cannot control, is that I want the players to steer clear of close people. Family members, agents or whatever. They must not stay in the same hotel as us, although I cannot forbid it.

READ MORE: Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s completely unforgettable response to Ralf Edström who slaughtered “Ibra” live

Reveals the violation

Lagerbäck was then asked whether, in all his years, anyone had broken his rules, and he then revealed the truth.

– Yes, I have only had one violation in all my years as a coach for a national team.

160622 Sweden’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the soccer match between Sweden and Belgium during the soccer European Championship on June 22, 2016 in Nice. Photo: Joel Marklund / BILDBYRÅN / code JM / 87253

When curious journalists further asked whether a certain Zlatan Ibrahimovic was involved in the violation, Lagerbäck replied:

– He was part of that group, yes.

Lagerbäck then of course had the incident that happened during a national team meeting in 2006, when Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Olof Mellberg and Christian Wilhelmsson were sent home(!) from a meeting, after being discovered late out on the town.

READ MORE: Henrik Larsson now admits what he really thinks of Zlatan Ibrahimovic: “We are really different”

spbln-sports