Barrling belief in late bloomers
Sunday, July 6, 2008
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Traditionally "late bloomers", whatever Sweden do at the 2008 UEFA European Under-19 Championship their coach Calle Barrling is certain the best is yet to come.
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Early front-runners
A mainstay in the coaching ranks of Sweden's womens' teams for a number of years, Barrling has been perfectly placed to run his eye on the national team's relative decline as a force at U19 level. The first six years of the competition brought a third place, two semi-final appearances and, in 1999, the trophy. Yet in the past five years they have qualified only twice, and not recording a victory since beating Germany 2-1 in the 2003 group stage. "We were pioneers in developing girls but nowadays people don't sit down and eat ice cream when we train," said Barrling. "That's good for ladies football. The other teams have improved."
No rush
There are also, perhaps, other factors according to Barrling. The Swedish system is more comprehensive than many, "working hard but a bit slower" and addressing the mental side of the game too. "We don't rush them," he continued. "We don't pick out players at 14 and say they'll be the best at 25. That's one reason. We work wider, with more players. We take the first step when we're in the Premier League – and we have a good league – but these girls aren't there yet." The presence of 55 foreign players perhaps ensures young Swedish players come through later, though when they do, Barrling underlines that the presence of the likes of Marta at Umeå IK means they can absorb a great deal.
Talent
Sofia Jakobsson has perhaps profited more than most as she has gained UEFA Women's Cup experience with Umeå, coming on off the bench when the Swedish side were edged out 4-3 on aggregate by 1. FFC Frankfurt in the final. Attacking pair Kosovar Asllani and Louise Fors as well as goalkeeper Nina Fellbrandt are also rated highly and Barrling is in confident mood. "This team has a lot of talent," he said. "Swedish sides are good at defending, they work hard and I hope you will see a lot of individual talent in this team. I hope you will see technical quality and speed going forward. We have different ways of attacking, which wasn't the case last year."
