He's hot in Sweden, even hotter in England... no it's not Sven-Goran
Ericsson. We are proud to present an interview with Fredrik Ljungberg.


Can you tell me something about the place where you were born
and where you grew up?
- I am born in a city called Halmstad and it's in the south of
  Sweden, what we call the beach side. It's a bit of a tourist
  town and yeah, I love the beach.



And how was your childhood, can you tell us a little bit about
your family?
- My childhood was all right, what can I say? My family supported
  me all the time and I can't really complain about anything. My
  life's mostly been about football all the time so I haven't seen
  that much.

What role did sports play in your family?
- We're very interested in sports, my father played football,
  my brother plays football and I play football. So it's been
  a lot of football talk at the dinner table.

And your room as a child, how did it look, did you have any hero
posters on the wall?
- I somehow got hold of Socrates' shirt in Brazil, so I had that
  on my wall but otherwise there wasn't that much football stuff
  on the walls.

You played football at a club you said, but was there also an area
on the street where you were you played football after school?
- Yeah. I sure played all the time, of course it was organized in
  the evening, but during the days all the kids just met up and
  played.

How do you look back on your first club? Can you tell me a bit
about your experiences there?
- I started at the same club where I went professionally when I
  was five years old, so I have a lot of heart for that club.
  The president and some of the coaching staff were like my extra
  fathers so that's was very important to me.

So how long have you been with Halmstad BK?
- For 16 years, until I was 21 and I left for London.

So when you played at a club, how often in the week did you train
in Sweden?
- Just about every day. And in school there were special programs
  were we played football for some hours.

Was it hard to put other things aside for football?
- Of course. When friends went to a skiing holiday or something in
  Sweden, I couldn't go, because I had to play. But I think in the
  end it was worth it.

When was the last time you skied?
- I skied once. With the 21 national team we went for 2 days, that's
  maybe 6 years ago.

When did you really think you would become a very good player?
- It's difficult to say. I was just trying to be as good as I could
  during football. Of course I realized when you're under 15, 16
  and start in the national sites, you maybe have a chance to be
  a good footballer. I have never really been a dreamer; I just
  tried to do it as best as I can.

Which trainer influenced you the most?
- Mostly I think it was when I was between maybe 8 to 12 years old.
  Ole Ericson was his name and he let me know how to develop the
  skills that I have and he was really a good coach. He had been
  a national coach before and when he trained me he was about 70
  years old.

What skills did Ole Ericson have in particular?
- In Sweden they want always to teach only the tactical game when
  you're young, but he said: "It's better to grow your own skills
  and when you get older we're going to fix the tactical stuff".
  So his training was more individual for each player instead of
  the whole team. And I think that's very good.

How would you define yourself as a football player?
- I don't like to talk about myself but I am probably pretty fast
  and I like to dribble with the ball. I play pretty offensive
  in mid field so I score some goals every now and then.

Do you have some weak points?
- Yeah of course, everybody has weak points. I'm not that big and
  sometimes the big players can move me aside. And maybe my heading
  in front of goal is not the best.

What is your favorite position on a in the team?
- In my team I love to play behind the strikers, but at the moment
  we don't play like that in my club. I like a free roll on the
  right wing.

Why is that your favorite role?
- I played that role since I was a very small kid and you've
  got a lot of ball contact and I like that.

Is there anything you always think or do before you go to the
game/pitch? Are you superstitious?
- No, not really. I just try to be positive and think positive
  thoughts; that we are going to win. Furthermore I just try
  to enjoy my game.

When you're preparing or when you are in the bus, is there any
type of music you like to listen to?
- The buzz in the coach is so high that you really can't have
  your own music.

And if you would have a chance to choose?
- I don't really have any special music. Probably I would like
  to listen to something with a bit of speed in it. When it's
  before the game, is must be not too slow otherwise I fall
  asleep.

Do you remember your best match?
- No, not really.

Do you think you have one best match or do you have several
best moments?
- More moments. It's difficult to say the best match; there
  are many games when you feel happy about the way you
  played and to sort one out as the best, that is very difficult.

What is one of your favorite moments so far?
- One of my favorite moments is of course when we won the League,
  that's very nice. And when I came to London, I scored in my
  first game after I had been on a pitch for five minutes, that
  was very special and a good memory.

What does it take to be a really good player?
- Of course you need talent and determination and you have to be
  able to sacrifice other things to be a really good player and
  to just enjoy yourself and be positive. That's what I think
  you need.

So when you're on the pitch and you pass and score or you're
just giving a decisive pass, how does it feel, can you describe
that?
- No, I don't think so. It's just a very special feeling that you
  can't really describe, you have to experience that moment and
  then you know what I mean.

What's the difference in playing for your club and for your
national team?
- It's very different in Sweden. We maybe play a bit more
  defensively sometimes and I like to play a bit more
  offensively, but that's life and in Arsenal we play very
  offensively. Yeah it is a different style of football.

If you would be a coach, what would be the first thing you would
teach your team?
- Teach my team? At the moment I think most players know what to
  do, that is to get them motivated. To get them in a positive
  mood and like Ericsson has done with England, I think that is
  a very important thing for a coach.

Do you play any other sports?
- No, not at the moment. I used to play handball and ice hockey
  but I had to stop because of football.

No golf?
- No, I am not into golf. I am not that type of person.

Do you have many friends among your fellow football players?
- Yes of course we are friends and sometimes we socialize outside
  of football, but I think it's important as well to have other
  friends that don't talk football and have other jobs, so it's
  good to a mix I think.

You still see people from your childhood?
- Yes, I think that's very important. They usually come to London
  and stay for a week or so, that's nice.

Let's talk a bit about the World Cup. What do you think does it
take to win the World Cup, is it quality, is it luck?
- It's a bit of both probably. Of course you need a very, very
  good team to win the World Cup. First you have to qualify and
  you need luck in the draws with what team you get to play. And
  when you qualify from the group still anything can happen, but
  in the end it's always the talent and the best team wins.

Which World Cup do you remember the best?
- The Italian one in '90, where I was very disappointed because
  Brazil lost against Argentina. I didn't understand how, but they
  did. And then probably when Sweden played the United States in
  '94. They became 3rd it was a very big thing in Sweden.

Has there ever been a national team that has been unique according
to you?
- I don't know about unique, but I always loved the way Brazil
  played. As a kid I always supported them or tried to see their
  games. Now I play in the Swedish National team so I stopped
  thinking about the Brazilian team and how they played and I
  support the Swedish team.

What are your hopes going to Asia?
- First we want to qualify from the group and then it's a lot of
  luck in the draws. I have the opinion that anything can happen
  and we need some luck, but we'll try to go as far as we can.

Have you been to Asia with Arsenal?
- Yeah we've been in Asia.

How is it to play there, how are the circumstances?
- It's alright, it's very hot and very humid; wet at the same time.
  So it's a bit different. When we played there people were eating
  sweet and sour food in the stadium and I remember the smell was
  very dominant.

Is it tough to play there, was it tough to adapt?
- Usually when we went on tour, we arrived maybe 2 days before the
  game so we really did not adapt to the weather circumstances. You
  easily get very tired, but now with the World Cup we'll probably
  be there a couple of weeks before to get used to the climate

What does the World Cup mean to you as a player?
- It's very big. I mean of course Sweden for as well. It's not sure
  the Swedish team will qualify for World cup and so it's a very big
  thing for the players and for the country.

Any favorite teams to win the World Cup apart from Sweden?
- What can I say, I think France, Argentina and even Brazil have
  suffered a bit in the qualifications.

What is your dream World Cup final?
- Of course I would like to see Sweden in the final and yeah, we
  can meet Brazil, that would be nice.

So who would wear the yellow then?
- Yeah that's the question.