Am I hallucinating, or did Team Sweden just get some sort of odd nod to it during Sweden's Eurovision self-mockery skit? 'Our women know how to handle balls/The best kick line of all', complete with dancers in football togs and cleats?
Well it usually the best way to use the interval acts since up to now the best one was riverdance (and I found even that kind of boring after two minutes).
As a Celt, I think anybody "riverdancing" should be publicly derided. Real Irish step dancing is a much more dignified pursuit. But I digress; I watched the song-and-dance number on the internet to see what I'd missed, which turned out to be about 20 seconds of a handful of women leg-kicking in national team kit. It was indeed my loo break. I had headed off in protest at the lyrics claiming that Swedes like to queue. (Dear EURO visitors, be prepared! Swedes will tell you that they're very good at standing in line just as they come from behind to body-check you when you're getting on the bus.)
Team Sweden is about to take the field against Team Norway, and the announcers are getting nostalgic already about the complete fiasco in Helsinki in Euro 2009, which we may recall started with a practice match against Norway in another köping-plats (today it's Lin- instead of En-). Hanna Marklund is present again as commentator, and hopes that Asllani and Schelin can find each other up front today. Other starters of note include both Hammarströms and Samuelsson on defense. Fischer gets flowers before the national anthems. Ah, also Rohlin starts (good), and Konradsson and Göransson. Fischer in defense.
Snort. Well, that was quick. 0-1 to Norway in the 5th minute. Jösses. I do like watching these teams play each other, just for the jerseys, just for the colorful spectacle of yellow-blue-yellow against red-white-red on a field of green. Otherwise, nuthin' to see here. And really, calling the field 'green' is being kind. Is this Linköping's EM venue?? Yes. Yes it is. Well, the brown patches on the field ought to have time to brighten up into green over the next few weeks... Seating looks... cozy.
And Asllani and Schelin do find each other, in a very nice three-pass combo, in which Asllani did have to show a little toughness to fight off a defender while she held the ball to give Schelin time to run through. L8 makes it 1-1, and a nice-looking goal it was. 2-1 to Sweden now, after a nice long ball forward from Thunebro, held by Schelin, passed to Hammarström who shoots a daisy-cutter with the outside of the left foot, from well outside the box, that tucks in just inside the post. Nice, nice, nice. 'Long from her goal against France in the WWC', says the announcer, but then the slow replay shows it to be a very well-taken shot indeed.
The second half starts with Öqvist in for Konradsson. Stensland, still dangerous after all these years... and aww, Wrong-way Trine! Has she always had those tats?
And it's over, having stayed 2-1 to Sweden. Highlights of the second half included Öqist nearly scoring on two separate occasions, once off a corner (but was offside), once in the run of play on a rebound off the Norwegian keeper which missed the post by a whisker. She shouted something quite loudly and angrily after the miss, something that made the announcers chuckle and say, more or less, 'if we are to read her lips, well, she doesn't understand why that didn't go in.' And speaking of swearing, I see that 'The Norway Incident' in Euro 2009 was the start of this whole thread. Hmm.
Here's a three-minute video of highlights from yesterday's game. Lotta Schelin and Kosovare Asllani fans are especially encouraged to see their lovely goal, and as mentioned before Marie Hammarström's goal is no slouch either. Josefine Öqvist partisans will be pleased at her comeback effort. Fine passes from Sara Thunebro were of course ultimately behind both goals, and she is interviewed in close-up. All in Swedish, but with copious replays so plenty to watch.
Want a look at Team Sweden? Look no further than here. Who's your pick for Worst Studio Picture of the Year? Second place for me goes to Josefine Öqvist, just because she looks about 20 years older than she is (guess having both a kid and a hockey player at home could do that to you). First place goes to Johanna Almgren. Why? Go look for yourself, and see if you disagree. (Mind you, I'm not casting stones; that's about what happens to me too when someone with a camera tells me to 'Look happy!'.)
Recent News from Team Sweden: 36-year-old Therese Sjögran admits she's shocked to be along, but is glad that Sundhage is willing to take a chance on her (come on, sing along, everyone, don't pretend you don't know the words: ”If you change your mind, I'm the first in line...”) Lotta ”L8” Schelin has a cold. Well, she does need a vacation, according to her coach; hopefully this will force her to get some rest... edit, she did train some today anyway.
Everyone who likes babies, get ready to watch a video and say ”Aawwwwwww...” (after a few ads that you might not be able to skip) Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet profiles Team Sweden’s mommies Lundgren and Öqvist and their offspring Jack and Stella respectively. Stella, it is hoped, will be a midfielder, and she’s certainly an active little tyke, and don’t worry, she does manage to grab the big microphone foam thingy in the end (I think it was entrapment but nevermind). Jack looks a little more contemplative and therefore more goal-keeper-ish. Stella bounces a ball off his head at one point. If a video and Swedish is too stressful, there’s also a picture show (after the bold-face introduction). Not sure when it was done, but if you look at picture 5 of 6... hey, who is that tickling Jack’s foot, and what’s she doing there? (Hint: I think it’s the player who’s more well known is these parts for a certain sweaty locker room shot...) The news-worthy aspect of this story is that it is apparently a change from Policy; partners and family don’t usually tag along to training camps. Speculation is that Sundhage saw that it could work okay during her time in the US, and so allowed it. The mommies think it’s great. No other team members have offered opinions on the record. Edit: Well, this is what I get for reading things out of order: Sundhage herself doesn’t seem to have been too keen on the idea just a few days ago, on the 29th. She says here that it’s only month out of the players’ lives and, really, the families would survive this. (I’m pretty sure that I remember her being on record somewhere as not being particularly fond of kids...)
Time for new glasses, jocasta? That is, unless Olivia Schough is known for something other than a surname that almost nobody can pronounce.
Oh my gosh, that is eerie. I swear to you, when I looked at the team mug shots a few days ago, I thought 'Hey, Olivia Schough looks a little like Jessica Landström.' Well, here's proof that I wasn't making it up. (Think I could trade in my old glasses for new ones if I complained that they make me see Landström everywhere?)
Hey, she is famous for a great many other things including singing KGFC's anthem and scoring in her almost every Swedish Cup appearance. Well, she also sung for the Swedish Olympic team and made a video of it. And she did all those things as a blonde
But is she famous for a sweaty locker room photo shoot in a gay mag? Speaking of which: not sweaty, not locker-room, but the same gay mag as the Landström shoot! Nilla-with-the-boyfriend of yore talks about the upcoming EUROs and her plans for an Autumn wedding now she's Nilla-with-the-girlfriend. See what googletranslate does to this. (Fischer interview from page 18, then some Sundhage and fan stuff.)
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Check out tabloid Aftonbladet's review of the spa hotel that Team Sweden is staying in. In the 4th minute are the special beds; in some motels in the US, you'd have to pay by the minute (about a quarter) to get that kind of action!
As usual, thanks to Dandal for finding things... like this gem of a clip (get it, get it? nudge, nudge). Coach Sundhage, notorious cheapskate, getting Öqvist to cut her hair, using ankle-tape scissors! (Or maybe Öqvist offered, it's not clear to me.) And I'll add that Sundhage then asks if anyone has thought about the need for a vacuum cleaner (no, is the answer to that).
More Team Sweden fun! Sailing on a football-free day after playing England, and doing team building exercises, including something complicated involving ropes. And speaking of ropes, see the coaching staff go through an obstacle course! The physical therapist being interviewed is asked whether anyone is slagging off these days; she say maybe, but does want to name names, then the camera goes immediately to Sara Thunebro harassing Coach Sundhage out from under a tarp. Thunebro later consoles her. Sundhage looks exhausted, I have to say. And golly, I hope this one's not geoblocked... See (roomies) "oldster" Asllani and youngster Schough take a tour of team living quarters. Asllani complains about Schough's high energy levels, saying that she needs to be walked, like a dog. Schough visits the training room and makes fun of Therese 'Den Gamla Kärringen' Sjögran (I was taught to never ever ever ever call a lady that!). She then visits another players' room to point out the lovely view of the water; she draws back the curtain dramatically to reveal... bajs! http://www.svt.se/sport/fotboll/svt-sport-halsade-pa-hemma-hos-asllani-och-schough