Friday, December 11, 2009 10:57 am
SWEDE IN SEATTLE
Ahead of this year’s World Cup, Swedish and former Arsenal star Freddie Ljungberg shows America how to play the beautiful game.
By Sebastian del Marmol; Photography by Andy Batt
Talk about picking the right guy to build a Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise around. Even at the advanced age (in soccer years) of 32, Freddie Ljungberg is everything you want if you’re looking to create a soccer-mad city. Supremely talented, refreshingly modest and honest, and more than willing to impart his considerable knowledge and experience on fledgling teammates. Oh, and the Swede ain’t half bad-looking, either.
It’s easy to get lost in the former Calvin Klein underwear model’s good looks, but the truth is the winger with the shaved head, dueling puma tattoos and blue eyes is more “football” than flash. It’s no coincidence that the Seattle Sounder’s brand of soccer in the team’s inaugural campaign was characterized by slick one-touch passing and ball possession, not unlike Freddie’s former team in London, Arsenal—a team that won just about every domestic title and once made vaunted Manchester United its whipping boy for a good stretch.
“If you look at Seattle this year, and I’m not trying to praise us, but they say we played a nice brand of football. That’s what they told me when I got here. They wanted us to play a bit like Arsenal did. Keep the ball on the floor.”
Freddie is feeling five years younger than he did when he left England, thanks to surgery that fixed a broken hip before his MLS career. And his play is reminiscent of his best years, when he was named Premiership Player of the Year in England—that would be the best soccer/football league in the world—and played with the Swedish national soccer team in two World Cups. His impact has been quick and decisive, not unlike his best characteristics on the field.
Learn more about Freddie’s impact on American soccer and read his step-by-step guide to performing a scissor kick in the January/February 2010 issue of SOBeFiT Magazine.