In the second of our Euro 2016 Blog Network instalments, Anton Boström of Eurosport Sweden reflects on Ireland’s opening opponents’ interesting international break and their ongoing search for the perfect partner for Zlatan Ibrahimovic
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The matches against Turkey and the Czech Republic were supposed to be a starting point for the Euro 2016 preparations but much of the focus ended up elsewhere.
The decision to play against Turkey in Antalya in the wake of several suicide bombings – and just days after the Turkish derby between Fenerbahce and Galatasaray was cancelled due to terrorist threats – was heavily criticised in Sweden.
Despite Turkey deploying 1,000 police officers and 600 security guards during the game, concerns for the safety of the players were raised.
“My mum was worried when we said goodbye. What’s happening in Turkey and in Syria is a tragedy but if the Swedish FA, the embassy and the ministry for foreign affairs says that it’s safe then I trust them. We wouldn’t go if there was a threat to Antalya”, said Hamburg midfielder Albin Ekdal to Fotbollskanalen before the game.
The broadcasters of the game, TV4, decided to move their studio from Turkey to Stockholm and only send their commentators while SVT, the Swedish public service company, didn’t travel to Turkey at all.
“The decision is based on the current situation in Turkey. The national team has three more games before the Euros that we will attend as normal”, said SVT head of sports, Per Yng.
In the end the game went ahead and Sweden managed to get a 1-1 draw despite Zlatan Ibrahimovic being rested. Marcus Berg and John Guidetti started together up front, with the pair competing for the starting place alongside Ibrahimovic against Ireland on the June 13th.
The Celta Vigo striker Guidetti was the one playing the better football in the game. Despite trying a bicycle kick in the first half he is still waiting for his first goal in the national team. Notwithstanding the lack of goals, the supporters wants him to be the one to play with Ibrahimovic but the manager Erik Hamrén seems to prefer the work rate of Berg.
The Panathinaikos striker further helped his cause when he scored Sweden’s only goal of the game against the Czech Republic in Stockholm in front of just 18 000 people in the 50 000 capacity national stadium./
The forward was once thought to be a future superstar. Hamburger SV paid €10.5 million for him in 2009 but the career in Germany never took off and he has since rebuilt his career in Greece. Lately he has been the preferred choice but it’s getting harder to ignore Guidetti.
The former Manchester City player has been getting more and more playing time for Celta Vigo in La Liga this season and has scored seven goals so far. One of them this screamer against Atletico Madrid.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFrV4MhqHoI
Even if Berg gets the nod in France this summer it is Guidetti, six years younger than Berg, who is the one for the future. With Ibrahimovic likely to bring down the curtain on his international career after this summer, the new manager of the national team will surely build his team around Guidetti.
For Ibrahimovic it was a quiet week on the field. He was rested against Turkey and didn’t look very interested against the Czech Republic More headlines were made from his press conference, where he openly stated that the Premier League is a possibility after his contract with PSG has ended this summer.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic ratchets up Manchester United rumours with press conference admission https://t.co/lOsQpHCxPB
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) March 28, 2016
“I’m not having any discussions regarding this at the moment. I will not lie to you, my agent, handles everything regarding my future right now. I am playing football and he is focusing on that. Then, in the summer, we will look at all the options.
“I have a contract until the end of June, when contracts normally run out. And I believe I have a lot of options. A lot of big things will happen this summer.”
There will be reasons to talk more about Zlatan Ibrahimovic in this blog ahead of 13th June.
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