PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Leif Boork always says exactly what he thinks.
Like the time when he singled out Mikael Renberg as “overweight”.
And the outspoken coach was countered in the best way with a clear answer.
Both are two real profiles in Swedish hockey. The coaching legend Leif Bork has been all over hockey Sweden and coached teams such as Hammarby, Djurgården, Frölunda, Modo, Brynäs as well as being the national team captain for both the men’s and women’s national team.
Renberg in the NHL
He has done most things simply and so too Mikael Renberg who we mainly associate today as a hockey expert in SVT. But his playing career was both long and successful and included World Cup gold with Three Crowns and 464 points in 661 games in the NHL.
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Renberg was part of the legendary chain “Legion of Doom” in the Philadelphia Flyers but moved back home to Sweden in 2004 to play in the Elitserien with Luleå and Skellefteå AIK in the last years of his career. That’s when he was exposed and jumped on by the good Boork.
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Boork’s criticism
At this time he was the national team captain for Norway but was more than happy to fire criticism at Swedish hockey and once Renberg ended up in the firing line. In a column in the early 2000s, Boork was hard on the Swedish national team star who was in the fall of age.
“Sometimes he goes a bit anyway and it can’t be easy for his teammates to adjust their positions to Renberg’s flailing. In addition, he seems to be overweight, which means that he cannot cope with his style of play for very many seconds,” wrote Boork for the site Sportdirekt’s newsletter “4checking”.
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This caused Mikael Renberg to react immediately and forcefully. He was also clear in saying that he has been at the same match weight for years at 98kg.
– Just pathetic, answered the Luleå player in an interview with Norrbottens-Kuriren.
– I really wonder how many matches Boork has seen me and Luleå this year? But he must have something to write in his chronicles and everyone is entitled to an opinion.
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“Bulan’s” answer
Also Renberg’s teammate Thomas “Bulan” Berglund in Luleå received a lot of criticism from Leif Boork.
“Luleå is Norrland’s big club and does not allow others to enter their domains and rule and set things up. Listening to and watching “Bulan” pretty well personifies Luleåklubben’s attitude. I am always suspicious of small men who cast large shadows,” Boork wrote in his column.
“Bulan” Berglund, who after his career became head coach for both Luleå and Brynäs, responded in the best way with a clear answer to the Norwegian national team captain.
– Spongebob! Boork doesn’t have much else to do other than like a lot in various chronicles. He would need a better team to train with, said Luleåprofilen, who won a SM gold with the club, in a statement.
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