Zlatan to quit international football?

[Klaus Daimler]

He's not in the squad for the upcoming international rounds. According to the new swedish manager Erik Hamrén it's because he's considering quitting the national team. According to Hamrén it's something he's been considering for a long time and is not related to the sacking of former swedish manager Lars Lagerbäck.

People are pretty upset about it over here, but personally I think he's doing the right thing. Zlatan is 27 right now. He'll be close to 30 when the next tournament is due, and that's if we actually qualify. He's better off getting the most out of his career in Spain. I wish more players would do like this to be honest.

 

[Gooner_Stu]

Not sure i agree with you Klaus, he is only 27 and means when the Euros come around which is still in his peak and looking at your alternatives he's arguably your most effective forward. And what are the reasons, maybe ive missed it in your post, but ive seen nothing to warrenting to just quit.

Dont get me wrong, if someone has a good reason to quit then thats fine. But when your the best striker availible to your national team, wouldnt you have a sense of duty to play for them? People like Carragher who quit because he couldnt make his way past those infront of him make me sick because it reeks of cowadice (where was he when Schteve McClaren needed him again Croatia??). Granted its Zlatans career, and he can do as he pleases, but I believe that he shouldnt just quit because he wants to.

 

[lazyfreak]

Didn't he say he was considering his international career a couple months ago? And that if Sweden made it to the world cup that would probably be his last? Since Sweden failed to do so and he's not in the latest Sweden squad, probably his time with the national squad is already up?

Anyway...

 

[USArsenal]

whatever.. good riddance.. not that i support Sweden, but I dont like him, never have, never will.. the less I have to see of him the better..

(sorry to all those Ibra-lovers out there)

 

[Klaus Daimler]

Dont get me wrong, if someone has a good reason to quit then thats fine. But when your the best striker availible to your national team, wouldnt you have a sense of duty to play for them?

I don't think so. Ideally perhaps, but I certainly don't blame him for a lack of national spirit - I celebrate it. I wish Ljungberg would have done the same when he played for us. This idea that the national team should have absolute power over players is all screwed up. Zlatan has said before that he doesn't see himself playing another tournament with Sweden, and in that case it's the right decision. Leave the qualifiers to the players that will actually play in the next world cup if they do qualify. It's a blow for Sweden, sure, but quitting the national team is probably the best decision he could make right now to prolong his career at top level.

 

[thegame24]

Watch him come back if sweden look half decent

 

[Klaus Daimler]

I doubt that it's about the state of the national team. According to sources he wanted to quit before the world cup qualifiers already (at a time when Sweden had qualified for every major tournament for ten straight years) but was talked into staying.

 

[bertlb2]

Hum... Maybe I am way off, but can one say this is another proof that the intl is not working, at least in Europe?

 

[kamikaze80]

i like sweden but ive never liked ibra and the swedish team kinda sucks now. all the talent seems to be in spain and the balkans right now.

 

[Klaus Daimler]

There are a couple of really gifted ones coming through right now, like Marcus Berg and Rasmus Elm. But yeah, on the whole the potential isn't really there right now. Said two players aside, I'd be surprised if anyone from the U21 team this past summer ends up at a top european club. It has got a lot to do with how swedish clubs have been run for the last ten to fifteen years though. They've only got themselves to blame.

 

[entropy13]

Well at least it's not like the case of Sebastien Frey, where his horoscope means doom and gloom to the squad (according to Raymond Dumbc*nt), yet he's the current best French goalkeeper.

 

[clockwork orange]

That's what happens if you let your squad be managed by an accountant: footballers runaway. Even when the accountant is already gone.

 

[Klaus Daimler]

To be fair to Lagerbäck he's done an outstanding job, qualifying for four straight tournaments. He's gotten a lot of stick at home too for the sometimes boring outlook of the national team but I don't think people quite realise how bad Sweden are at producing good talent. Perhaps it's something that's been partly overshadowed by the recent success of Ljungberg and Ibrahimovic coupled with Larsson's prolonged stay in the side. This current U21 generation is the first one that looks like it's worth a damn in god knows how long, and it's still full of averages. Generally Lagerbäck prefers to play good football though. Just look at the Euros in -04. Sweden were as good as I've ever seen them and could have won the game against Holland with a little bit of better luck. I think they hit the woodwork four or five times. I don't really blame him for missing out on the world cup this summer. It was painstakingly clear that the team wasn't good enough, and it had little to do with either selections or tactics in general.

 

[Segway]

whatever.. good riddance.. not that i support Sweden, but I dont like him, never have, never will.. the less I have to see of him the better..

Agreed. He's been poor for Sweden anyway so not the biggest loss.

 

[bertlb2]

That's what happens if you let your squad be managed by an accountant: footballers runaway. Even when the accountant is already gone.

So what do you make of having an economist as manager instead?

 

[outlaw_member]

Meh, he's an overrated bottler anyway.