PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Former goalkeeper Thomas Ravelli was part of a successful Swedish national team.
The WC 94 hero takes a gloomy look at today’s blue and yellow.
– There has to be a drastic change, says Ravelli to Sportbibeln.
Thomas Ravelli, 64, had a long national team career. Sixteen years passed between his debut and his last match in blue and yellow. During that time, Ravelli made 143 appearances for the national team. Most attention during the former goalkeeper’s time in the national team was, of course, the WC bronze in 1994, where Ravelli was a key player.
About the Swedish national team
During the championship, there were several decisive penalty saves, including in the quarter-final against Romania. After the World Cup, Ravelli made the team of the tournament, and was second on the list of the world’s best goalkeepers the same year.
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The 64-year-old thus knows a thing or two about playing in and representing the Swedish national team. And Ravelli is critical of how blue-yellow looks today.
– They have enormous problems, above all they have no backbone in the team. That you have a defensive game, and have three, four, five players who play in bigger teams and are regulars in those teams, he tells Sportbibeln.
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Ravelli’s analysis
The former IFK Göteborg and Öster player follows the men’s national team closely, and believes that better players are needed.
– We have no continuity in the game or in the team, instead you change midfielders and centre-backs. I think you have to have 3-4 players you can trust and then you build the team around them.
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Sweden has not made it to the last two championships, something Ravelli hopes will change.
– There needs to be a drastic change so that you can get into a game where you can get to the playoffs. There is something missing, I don’t really know what, actually, he says.
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