Vice-captain of the national team on the unknown injury that threatened his career, the missed move to Djurgården and the success of younger brother Hjalmar
La Spezia. A hard-to-treat foot injury was close to breaking Albin Ekdal, 33.
The vice captain of the national team considered whether he should retire.
– I was worried about whether I would be able to play, he said in a longer interview with Sportbladet about the club team Spezia, its own form, the national team’s ongoing ambitions, the success of his brother Hjalmar and why he didn’t. They end up in Djurgården this summer.
The atmosphere is cheerful at Serie A Spezia Calcio’s headquarters in Centro Sportivo Verdeghini in the eastern parts of La Spezia. The players of the first team and the club’s management mingled with the Al-Ittihad youth team, who came there for training on Monday evening.
But it’s not heels on the roof.
On Saturday, Spezia missed important points after Empoli beat Empoli at home, trailing 0-2 in the first half, to make it 2-2 after equalizing in the fourth minute of extra time.
Seven losses in overtime
It was the seventh time in the season that Spezia had lost points in overtime.
– The team went up and down. We’ve had some good achievements. Then we were a lot careless, especially in the last five or ten minutes of games. All the points we lost in extra time are a bit unlucky, but it’s also our fault that we didn’t manage to finish some games, says Albin Ekdal as we settled into Spezia’s modest trophy room.
Lella Spezia Calcio, new to Serie A in the 2020/2021 season, and owned by American financier Robert Plattack, occupies the seventeenth place, just two points behind Verona in the relegation zone.
– You obviously go and worry a little bit about it. Not least the last game. There are only 16 games left, and we have three teams behind us now, so it’s out and running, says Albin Ekdal.
The Swedish national team star played 15 out of 22 rounds in the Italian League, five of which were from the start.
How was your season?
– I am not completely satisfied with what I have done. I know I can do better once I have continuity and a lot of responsibility.
– So I am simply not satisfied with what I have done. It’s just a matter of continuing to work hard and trying to find form quickly.
Partial explanation is the injury to Ekdal that not many people knew about and which ruined much of last year.
– I came here with a really bad foot. So bad that I was worried about whether I’d be able to keep playing at all.
Can’t run
– I had it from December 2021 until I came here this summer. It was really bad. I needed to get treatment and got good help here.
what is wrong?
It’s called plantar fasciitis and it looks like a heel spur. But Spezia helped me with that and now it still feels very good. But there are always some other small drawbacks. It’s a little tricky with continuity, says Ekdal.
Have you had any surgery on your foot?
– No, but I had a special treat here which finally worked and I had never experienced it before in Sampdoria. I rested a bit over the summer and it got better.
– It feels good that I got rid of this. It was pitch black going out and trying to spring train. I couldn’t even run like that. But it’s completely gone now.
completely gone?
– Yes, more or less, so it looks very nice.
When she was at her worst, were you unsure if you could keep playing?
– Yes, I felt impossible to exercise, and I could hardly run. Playing football was very boring. I couldn’t play anywhere near its maximum capacity, even with injections or pills.
Do these or other injuries affect your desire to play with the national team? Breaks with the national team can be a good opportunity to rest.
– No, I want to play in the national team, if I am healthy and rise to the level of Yan. There are many good players in the big leagues and in the big clubs.
– I had a great time in the national team and always had a lot of responsibility and had to start. But nothing I ever take for granted. If I feel I can contribute, if I feel healthy, I want to continue.
Dreaming of another championship
– This is my thinking. I haven’t analyzed it much deeper than that. You have to take it game by game.
How far are you looking forward in terms of football now?
– If I’m being completely honest, it’s a week or two. Every practice, every game coming into the weekend. And just try to stay fresh and do my best.
Euro 2024 finals in Germany?
– It was magical to win the fourth championship. I think Sweden has players to participate and compete in a European Championship.
Suddenly, teammate and former IFK Gothenburg player Emil Holm, 22, appears in the Spezia Cup and boardroom. Entertaining banter begins between the two Swedish national teams, with Ekdal asking with sarcastic exasperation why Holm from Gothenburg hasn’t visited Stockholm for anything other than to play matches when Holm is happily touring other European cities.
After two gestures, Holm left smiling and Albin Ekdal shook his head.
– I love Holm, but the younger ones need to broaden their horizons sometimes.
Why wasn’t Djurgården yours this summer?
– Because I am still interested in the Premier League, which is one of the best. I didn’t feel quite ready to move home.
– Then it wasn’t as if Boss Anderson was on his knees and told me to move into the house. I felt like I still wanted to continue at the highest possible level.
Will Super Boss be on his knees in 1.5 years when your contract here ends?
– I have no clue about that. Djurgården is my team. These are the ones I work on. It’s Djurgården which I followed in Allsvenskan when I was young. The first idols were in Djurgården.
Do brothers play together?
It was obviously nice to play for the teams, but I wouldn’t play at Djurgården if I didn’t feel I could contribute.
Could you have ended up in Djurgården this summer if Bosse had been on his knees?
– Given that I want to live in Stockholm and that my family also wants to do so, it might be appropriate.
The move did not happen and thus the club-linked opportunity to play with brother Hjalmar Ekdal, 24, who is almost ten years younger than him, has expired.
Another opportunity was available when the younger Ekdal appeared in the A national team in the Nations League last summer and then played in the fall. But then the older brother was injured.
– Last summer and fall, I had to be a little selfish for once and think only of myself and my feet. It was also about showing respect for the club I work for here and who pay my salary. I had to think of Spezia first.
At the end of March, the Swedish men’s national team started the EC playoffs with home matches against Belgium and Azerbaijan.
– Of course it would be really nice if we had the chance to play together, says Albin Ekdal.
Successful transfer to Burnley
Hjalmar recently moved to the Championship team Burnley, which was on its way to the English Premier League in full swing, and at its debut the youngest of the three brothers (Joel, journalist, 39 years old, the eldest) also scored a goal. Goal.
– I am very proud and happy. Albin says with a wide smile that he feels like my little boy is successful.
– I understand how a father feels when a son or daughter is doing well in the big picture. I am very proud and try to support him as much as possible and at the same time be a sounding board. Hjalmar often says that I am critical, but I don’t think I am as decisive as he would like to be.
– I’m honest in a good way. Lately, he’s been getting nothing but accolades all the time. Choosing a club feels just right in hindsight. He was allowed to start immediately despite coming from recess and having a short pre-season.
Who is the best football player in the Ikdal family now?
– It’s getting harder, I’ve been all these years and you keep telling me. But I hope Hjalmar can reach a much higher level than I have.
Have you given him any advice in choosing a club in any way?
– Yes, I did. I have always loved English football. He came to a very thriving club running on his own. I think it’s very easy to go in and perform when everything is going well. But it’s obviously hard to go abroad, to come from Stockholm safely with your friends and family and do it yourself. I remember when I moved it was hard. I’m obviously helping him and he knows the whole family is there for him.
Information about the little brother
In Ligurian La Spezia, with the tourist magnet Cinque Terre to the north of the city and the natural border with Tuscany and the Viareggio estate just to the south, Albin Ekdal lives with his wife Camilla on the hills above the sea town and port with a view of the bay and the Mediterranean. Together they have two daughters, Alma and Alicia, who have just started an all-Italian pre-school.
Did I lie to Spezia that they were going to sign Hjalmar?
– You mentioned it several times. They may have some regrets now. Obviously I spoke to them and asked them to take a look, it just didn’t happen that way.
Could Spezia match his wages at Burnley?
– I don’t know, I’ll have to check with them. I had to give up part of my salary. Then Hjalmar could have lived with us and paid some of the rent.