Jesper Karlström made his national team debut this spring and earned his playing time straight away.
But after losing the World Cup to Poland this spring, the midfielder has received plenty of threats on social media.
There are many fools who sit at home writing strange things behind a curtain, he says.
Jesper Karlström made his competitive debut for the national team during the playoff against the Czech Republic this spring. He replaced the midfielder in the 107th minute and was behind the 1-0 goal that led to the victory.
Since then, he has been allowed to play from the start.
– If you had asked me a couple of months ago, I might have been a little surprised. I’ve been involved now and I think he has gone well in training so I feel good. He’s just to follow up, he says the next day for the 2-0 win away to Slovenia.
Karlstrom got his chance right from the start when Sweden lost their play-off match against Poland this spring and missed the World Cup. It was the midfielder who withdrew the penalty that Robert Lewandowski made 1-0 and after the match he and Marcus Danielson received hate and threats on social media reported by the Swedish Football Association to the police. Players also had to close their comment fields.
“Almost like tanning it”
Now Karlstrom tells how he lived the event.
– You came to the locker room after the match and it’s not the first thing you do to check your mobile phone immediately after a loss. But I understand very well, it is normal for such things to happen nowadays unfortunately. But I didn’t see anything. I gave my cell phone to Jakob and he had to do what he had to do. I’ve been in situations like this before, so nothing actually crossed my mind. He says: I was very disappointed because we lost the match and did not move.
What do you say about players who almost expected hate after the match?
– it’s boring. There are many fools sitting at home writing strange things behind a curtain. Unfortunately, you are into it. I don’t really know what to do about it.
It feels like most (players) are quite used to it. It’s almost like tanning people to write such sick things. But it is easier to deal with it if you have gone through it, but the first time it will not be pleasant.
messy party
Karlstrom had a solid season in Lech Pozna and was nominated for the Midfielder of the Year award. The club also won the league for the first time in seven years.
– It went very well, both for me and for the team. When I arrived, we finished eleven in the table and changed coaches. There was a little crunch there for a while. So we put in a great performance and went to the cup final as well. Karlstrom says it’s been a great and exciting season to qualify for the Champions League.
How was the celebration, Boss Anderson said in an interview that you are good at celebrating gold?
– it was good. We were champions a week before the last game in the locker room. It was such a great feeling with everyone together in the locker room. After the last game we had a fun bus ride, it was strong. It was a bit chaotic actually, but it was a really good memory.