Unique solutions in the absence of collective agreements create the conditions for elite football stars.
Sportbladet can tell you that the voluntary retirement pool attracted a player from the Australian national team to Vittsjö and that parenting scheduling was crucial when the national team veteran extended his career.
We also accompany a woman to the gym and talk to a blue-yellow star who experienced complications after her pregnancy.
Get to know the soccer moms.
VITTSJÖ. Little Harbor is in safe arms as mom Katrina Gorey trains.
A group of voluntary retirees made the Australian national team player exit other European clubs and land in Viso.
– Harper loves them, as soon as we come here, she stretches out her arms towards them. We get good support here, says Katrina Gauri.
Inside the club there is a homemade sponge cake on the table and it smells good. A large mattress and children’s toys are spread on the floor.
Sweet girl Harper looks happy. She turns her head and looks curiously at all the friendly eyes that surround her. Continue into a soft ball.
In the background, Mother Katrina Guri sneaks out with a water bottle in her hand. She just said goodbye to her daughter and handed her newly breastfed daughter with a dry diaper to babysitter Lena Brauer. As Mother Katrina trains and prepares for the upcoming match in Damallsvenskan, Harper is in good hands.
– She is a little girl who is easy to take care of. She is happy and positively interested in everything that happens. It’s short, Lena Brauer says, just a few hours a day.
Lena Brawer, 72, has worked with children for 50 years in child health and is a trained pediatric nurse. She is one of three retirees who volunteer in the pool as a coach for Vicho Thomas Martinson rearranged.
Lena Brauer shares responsibility with Karen Pearson, 76. They set a schedule, and if any of them had to quit, Marianne Larson, 69, quit.
When Sportbladet visits Vizgo, all three are in place. Harper is very happy, and she seems to appreciate the commitment.
The solution with voluntary retirement became decisive for Katrina Guri. A big salary was a prerequisite, but not the most important thing.
When the Australian player comes after the training session, she talks about the decision to move to the other side of the globe. National team friend and now club friend Claire Polkenhorn’s words about the family’s feeling at Vicho weighed heavily in choosing between several other Damallsvenska clubs, a British club and two Frenchmen.
– Harper is my top priority. Money means nothing if you are not happy. I knew I would find happiness here. Being in a small club means that you get support and care, says the proud mother and continues:
When you have a daughter, you have to consider all the factors. It must be safe at all times and taken care of. She’s here. Harper has three wonderful babysitters who take care of her as well as the girls on the team. They can take Harper a few minutes until I get some time for myself or to pack my things, says Katrina Gauri.
compared to messi
For now, it was said, little Harper is rambling among his teammates and rambling on graceful shoulders. Lunch after training was followed by a long tactical review and shocks come when you yawn.
– I felt welcome here from the start. The players and the club were fantastic. I went through an emotional roller coaster once the decision was made. It was difficult to leave my family, Harper and my mother have a very close relationship, but now I promised the family that I would join the World Cup team and it was a step in the right direction, says Katrina Gorey.
When Sweden beat Australia in the Olympic semi-finals last summer, Katrina Gouri had two weeks pregnant.
She is a creative midfielder and coach Thomas Martinson compares Lionel Messi. Her spell at damallsvenskan will give her a place in the Australian Sweden national team captain’s squad for the World Cup at home (and New Zealand) next summer.
He communicates after every match via text message and tells me what I can do better and work on it. It really makes it easy for you to connect with the leader of the league. I’ve been away from the national team for a long time, so I feel more important to me.
Katrina is Harper’s single parent. The decision to try to get pregnant artificially was a good basis and was implemented in Norway, when Katerina played with Avaldsens.
I’ve always felt, since childhood, that I wanted to be a mother. Then as a player, there are always big tournaments and you have to find the right time. I felt like I was a little grown up and wanted a baby, and I felt that something was missing in my life, she says and continues:
– I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I was in Norway thinking about what was holding me back. I didn’t want to be in a relationship just to pressure someone to start a family. I decided to have children and it was the best decision of my life. I know she is a happy child, loved by many.
– You have completed IVF in Norway. There have been many injections associated with it and the body has become a little different. I drove until the 10th week, but then I felt pain in my pelvis and decided to quit football
How would you describe the medical conditions surrounding pregnancy?
– It was difficult, but the body was very strong. After the pregnancy, I felt stronger and loved football. I was barely any close to a nine-month plan and that mattered. It was a difficult birth, but it was worth it.
She has slowly but surely been back on the field with the support of her Brisbane club and National League.
Lena Brauer and Karen Pearson have known mother and daughter in no time. Katrina Guri is happy that the solution was so flexible.
– You are always a little anxious but immediately when I met them I felt a warm feeling and a nice welcome. She takes good care of her and tires her (laughs) so she falls asleep when we get home, she says.
Vichou’s special spirit
Little Harper escorts the team to outdoor matches and spreads the joy by bus at the player’s hotel. Sports director Erika Nelson takes care of the girl when her mother tries to extract points from Vitgo.
– Coach Martinson assures that the weather will be nice with Harper.
All parties involved agree that the strange solution is the result of the good spirit around Vittsjö’s damallsvenska team.
I haven’t lived here that long, but the women’s team in Vitgo is a unifying factor and a tight-knit environment. People here are talking about football, says Karen Pearson, and points out:
– It’s great confidence. When Thomas called and said I asked, I thought it was a wonderful confidence in taking care of a young life, as Karen Pearson thoughtfully pointed out.
Women should have the same status and opportunities as men. We’re helping the feminist movement in sports here, says Lena Brauer with a smile.
Katrina Guri sees her young daughter walking from arm to arm. The club is like a living room at home with a small family with children.
The environment is perfect for Harper.
Having a lot of strong women for inspiration will affect her well. Katrina Guri says letting henna grow up in an environment like this is inspiring.