
Sweden can be very dangerous
January 21, 2017
As usual the national team tournaments are a big summit of former superstars. ย I went to Paris this past Monday, to attend the Scandinavian classic between Sweden and Denmark. ย As expected the arena was crowded with some of the all-time greats. ย Lars Krogh Jeppesen, Lars Christiansen and Ljubomir Vranjes were too fast for me, but Staffan Olsson had lost a step so I was able to catch up and have a little chat with him in the media center. ย Here is what he has to say about Team Sweden, his new superstar at Paris St. Germain – Uwe Gensheimer -, and safety issues in the French capital.
First of all, what’s your role here in Paris during the tournament?
SO: I’m working as an expert for Swedish television.
Alright, let’s see how much expertise you have for us. How do you like the level of play so far?
SO: It’s hard to judge for me because I haven’t seen enough games until now besides the matches of the group here in Paris. Denmark has played quite well, Sweden too, a bit surprising for all of us – I guess. ย All the teams will improve later on in the tournament. ย I think that the level of play will improve as well. ย Usually the players are not in top form early on.
Before the start of the tournament I didn’t expect a lot from the Swedish team, what kind of expectations did the people in Sweden have prior to the start of France 2017?
SO: ย Actually we don’t know where the team might be heading, but if you take a look at the players, some of them are playing for bigger teams and have some experience. ย It’s a young team, but there are players who already played at two or three major tournaments, or even more. ย They have proven what they can do in certain games and I think that they can play without pressure. That’s usually much easier than the other way around. ย Sweden can be very dangerous.
Let’s talk about your club, PSG Handball, a little bit. ย How much has the style of play changed since Uwe Gensheimer joined you in the summer? ย Usually your game plan is designed around Mikkel Hansen and Nikola Karabatiฤ.
SO: ย Well, if you take a look at him as a single player I think that he brings the most quality of all left-wings in the world to the table. He’s a heck of a handball player and obviously he plays a major role at PSG now. ย He has done a great job so far. ย He scores a lot of easy goals for us which is quite important.
Where are the biggest differences between the French league and the Bundesliga? ย The game in Germany are fast and physical, how would you compare it to the Lidl Star Ligue?
SO: ย I think the game is maybe a bit faster, because players in France are smaller than in Germany. ย It also means that the handball game relies more on technical aspects and on skill, but it’s definitely not as physical as in Germany. ย The quality of many of the ย teams is quite high, which actually surprised me when I first came here.
You have lived in Sweden and the cozy town of Kiel for most of your life, so it’s totally different compared to Paris. Unfortunately the city suffered a lot from the terror attacks in 2015. ย Do you feel unsafe at all?
SO: ย No, I don’t. ย Obviously what happened was anything but nice. ย I don’t feel unsafe, but at the same time you recognize during such events like a World championship that the level of security is much higher than usual, it’s not what I’m used to. ย But I’m not afraid.