It could be said that Sweden, England's next opponents, are a one-man team who are better without the one man – Zlatan
The statistics suggest Sweden are a better team without Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Photograph: Khan Tariq Mikkel/AP
Erik Hamren's appointment as national coach three years ago was supposed to be Sweden's "Germany moment". It was time for a fresh approach with a team built on the emerging talent of the successful under-21 team. For Joachim Löw, read Hamren. For Mesut Ozil, read Ola Toivonen. The Swedes were ready to take on the world.
The plan, however, has not quite worked out. The Sweden team who are England's next opponents at Wembley on Tuesday is a mix of new and old. There is the promise of Martin Olsson (Blackburn), Behrang Safari (Anderlecht) and Toivonen (PSV Eindhoven) but Olof Mellberg (ex-Aston Villa), Anders Svensson (ex-Southampton) and Andreas Isaksson (ex-Manchester City) remain key players in Hamren's team.
The hope that a raft of new Zlatan Ibrahimovics would be seamlessly integrated into the national side has evaporated but at least Hamren's is a more attacking team than Swedish line-ups over the past decade.
The previous coach, Lars Lagerback, was a tough act to follow, having taken a country with a population of nine million to five straight major tournaments, but towards the end of his nine-year reign Sweden had fallen out of love with his safety-first tactics. Hamren prefers a 4-2-3-1 formation with attacking full-backs (too attacking, some say) and the team scored an impressive 31 goals in 10 games as they qualified for Euro 2012 as the best group runners-up – beating the world's then No1-ranked team Holland in the process.
But while it is possible to talk about how Johan Elmander has improved since joining Galatasaray from Bolton Wanderers and how the hugely talented Toivonen is likely to overcome his blip in form sooner rather than later, there is a huge shadow cast over all the Sweden players – the considerable pall of Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
The 6ft 5in Milan striker, who has 28 goals and 72 caps, is omnipresent, towering above any other squad member, whether he is playing or not. Hamren has made Ibrahimovic captain but has not been repaid in kind yet. If anything, the forward's form for Sweden has nose-dived since the appointment.
It is, in many ways, difficult to think of a player who is less captain material than Ibrahimovic (though, in fairness, he did once invite the whole national team for dinner at his house, where he served wild boar, which he had shot himself).
His body language when on Sweden duty recalls the attitude of the former Brazil forward Romário, who once looked around the PSV Eindhoven dressing room and thought: "How did I end up playing with this lot?"
As one of Europe's outstanding strikers, the former Ajax, Barcelona, Juventus and Internazionale forward is clearly a cut above everyone else in the Sweden squad but – rather ominously – they perform better without him. They can appear nervous around him and often try to pass the ball to him although other players are in a better position.
Before the decisive Euro 2012 qualifier against Holland, for which Ibrahimovic was suspended, the Swedish media produced statistics that showed that Sweden had a 100% record in Euro qualifiers in games without the forward. They had not dropped a single point in 10 years since Ibrahimovic made his debut. In contrast, in games with Ibrahimovic, Sweden had won 55% of the games. A staggering figure and Sweden went on to beat Holland 3-2 to qualify for Poland and Ukraine with Elmander working tirelessly up front on his own. It could be said that Sweden are a one-man team who are better without the one man.
This past week the Zlatan-hysteria reached new levels with the publication of his autobiography. It is, by all accounts, a good read. Parts of the book go some way to explain the enigma that is Zlatan, especially when he talks about getting a slap in the face from his mother after falling down a roof rather than a cuddle and when he opens his father's fridge to find only beer, no food. "I looked everywhere for one macaroni or a meatball but there was nothing," he writes.
He also talks about how Mido (formerly of Spurs and Middlesbrough) threw some scissors at his head while they were at Ajax, and that he subsequently thumped the Egyptian. He says that Freddie Ljungberg was a prima donna ("This, you see, is how we do it at Arsenal and that is actually the way to do it because we know at Arsenal. Oh and I can't go on that bus because my back hurts") and that he threw homemade bombs at a friend's shop in Malmo. He also claims that he was praised by Fabio Capello after punching Jonathan Zebina in training while at Juventus, with the Italian manager saying "it was good for the team". With such a character, it is easy for the team to be lopsided.
Hamren confesses that he has a very un-Swedish outlook on coaching, in that everyone should not be treated the same way, that it is not all about the collective. "I treat everyone differently," he said after being appointed. "How I treat someone depends on their qualities, their ability, their experience. There are a few things where the same things apply to everyone, for example, the rules I set, otherwise it wouldn't work at all. But there are clearly players who do the hard, dirty work, the so-called water carriers, and then there are those who are star players. Zlatan is a star player. I don't understand the debate in Sweden that we would be better without Zlatan, I just don't understand it."
Tuesday night will show how England, who have not beaten the Swedes for 43 years, can cope with Zlatan and Hamren's new-look side.
Martin Olsson (Blackburn Rovers) The 23-year-old has come a long way since trashing the away dressing room at White Hart Lane after being sent off against Spurs in 2008. Aaron Lennon tore him to shreds that day but he has wised up defensively since then. Versatile and one of Blackburn's more consistent players this season.
Emir Bajrami (FC Twente) Born in Serbia, Bajrami's family moved to Sweden when he was four. The attack-minded 23-year-old midfielder was part of the Sweden Under-21 team that reached the semi-finals of the 2009 European Championship and he moved from Elfsborg to Twente in 2010. Left-footed and skilful but can drift in and out of games. MC
The plan, however, has not quite worked out. The Sweden team who are England's next opponents at Wembley on Tuesday is a mix of new and old. There is the promise of Martin Olsson (Blackburn), Behrang Safari (Anderlecht) and Toivonen (PSV Eindhoven) but Olof Mellberg (ex-Aston Villa), Anders Svensson (ex-Southampton) and Andreas Isaksson (ex-Manchester City) remain key players in Hamren's team.
The hope that a raft of new Zlatan Ibrahimovics would be seamlessly integrated into the national side has evaporated but at least Hamren's is a more attacking team than Swedish line-ups over the past decade.
The previous coach, Lars Lagerback, was a tough act to follow, having taken a country with a population of nine million to five straight major tournaments, but towards the end of his nine-year reign Sweden had fallen out of love with his safety-first tactics. Hamren prefers a 4-2-3-1 formation with attacking full-backs (too attacking, some say) and the team scored an impressive 31 goals in 10 games as they qualified for Euro 2012 as the best group runners-up – beating the world's then No1-ranked team Holland in the process.
But while it is possible to talk about how Johan Elmander has improved since joining Galatasaray from Bolton Wanderers and how the hugely talented Toivonen is likely to overcome his blip in form sooner rather than later, there is a huge shadow cast over all the Sweden players – the considerable pall of Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
The 6ft 5in Milan striker, who has 28 goals and 72 caps, is omnipresent, towering above any other squad member, whether he is playing or not. Hamren has made Ibrahimovic captain but has not been repaid in kind yet. If anything, the forward's form for Sweden has nose-dived since the appointment.
It is, in many ways, difficult to think of a player who is less captain material than Ibrahimovic (though, in fairness, he did once invite the whole national team for dinner at his house, where he served wild boar, which he had shot himself).
His body language when on Sweden duty recalls the attitude of the former Brazil forward Romário, who once looked around the PSV Eindhoven dressing room and thought: "How did I end up playing with this lot?"
As one of Europe's outstanding strikers, the former Ajax, Barcelona, Juventus and Internazionale forward is clearly a cut above everyone else in the Sweden squad but – rather ominously – they perform better without him. They can appear nervous around him and often try to pass the ball to him although other players are in a better position.
Before the decisive Euro 2012 qualifier against Holland, for which Ibrahimovic was suspended, the Swedish media produced statistics that showed that Sweden had a 100% record in Euro qualifiers in games without the forward. They had not dropped a single point in 10 years since Ibrahimovic made his debut. In contrast, in games with Ibrahimovic, Sweden had won 55% of the games. A staggering figure and Sweden went on to beat Holland 3-2 to qualify for Poland and Ukraine with Elmander working tirelessly up front on his own. It could be said that Sweden are a one-man team who are better without the one man.
This past week the Zlatan-hysteria reached new levels with the publication of his autobiography. It is, by all accounts, a good read. Parts of the book go some way to explain the enigma that is Zlatan, especially when he talks about getting a slap in the face from his mother after falling down a roof rather than a cuddle and when he opens his father's fridge to find only beer, no food. "I looked everywhere for one macaroni or a meatball but there was nothing," he writes.
He also talks about how Mido (formerly of Spurs and Middlesbrough) threw some scissors at his head while they were at Ajax, and that he subsequently thumped the Egyptian. He says that Freddie Ljungberg was a prima donna ("This, you see, is how we do it at Arsenal and that is actually the way to do it because we know at Arsenal. Oh and I can't go on that bus because my back hurts") and that he threw homemade bombs at a friend's shop in Malmo. He also claims that he was praised by Fabio Capello after punching Jonathan Zebina in training while at Juventus, with the Italian manager saying "it was good for the team". With such a character, it is easy for the team to be lopsided.
Hamren confesses that he has a very un-Swedish outlook on coaching, in that everyone should not be treated the same way, that it is not all about the collective. "I treat everyone differently," he said after being appointed. "How I treat someone depends on their qualities, their ability, their experience. There are a few things where the same things apply to everyone, for example, the rules I set, otherwise it wouldn't work at all. But there are clearly players who do the hard, dirty work, the so-called water carriers, and then there are those who are star players. Zlatan is a star player. I don't understand the debate in Sweden that we would be better without Zlatan, I just don't understand it."
Tuesday night will show how England, who have not beaten the Swedes for 43 years, can cope with Zlatan and Hamren's new-look side.
Ones to watch
Ola Toivonen (PSV Eindhoven) The skilful No10 was watched by Liverpool in 2010 but recently signed a new contract with PSV, where he was appointed captain at the start of this season. With Sweden his role is to support Zlatan Ibrahimovic in attack and he scored the winning goal against Holland in the final Euro 2012 qualifier.Martin Olsson (Blackburn Rovers) The 23-year-old has come a long way since trashing the away dressing room at White Hart Lane after being sent off against Spurs in 2008. Aaron Lennon tore him to shreds that day but he has wised up defensively since then. Versatile and one of Blackburn's more consistent players this season.
Emir Bajrami (FC Twente) Born in Serbia, Bajrami's family moved to Sweden when he was four. The attack-minded 23-year-old midfielder was part of the Sweden Under-21 team that reached the semi-finals of the 2009 European Championship and he moved from Elfsborg to Twente in 2010. Left-footed and skilful but can drift in and out of games. MC
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