Malmö FF hasn’t given up on SM gold – and now awaits the indispensable match against Hammarby.
Sportbladet had a chat with Isaac Kiese-Thelin before the fateful meeting, where he talks about what surprises him.
– Of course I get upset when I hear talk that we’re going to be full. He says: I came home to win titles.
Isaac Kiese-Thelin has opted to return home to Malmö for this season. The two-time gold winner has signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with MFF and will now, six months after signing the contract, move into a new home he and his family bought.
Now he’s also waiting for a bit of a fateful match against Hammarby, where the MFF is whipped to victory for a good chance of catching up in the battle for gold.
– It feels great to be at home here in Malmö. I’ve signed a long contract and I’m enjoying the club a lot. Now I wish I could play here longer than that, but you never know how it will end, he says.
You were born in Örebro and have Karslunds IF as your parent club, but you seem to have developed strong feelings for yourself. Malmo FF?
– Yes, it’s the third time I’ve been here now, and as I said, I feel like I’m coming home. I had my best moments as a footballer here at the club and I hope to try more.
– Then you are also recognized by supporters, that you feel appreciated and have a lot of love.
You’ve scored 13 goals and four assists since your comeback. How do you see the return for yourself?
– It’s been ups and downs, I say. As soon as I arrived, things went well, I scored some goals and we won. Then I had a groin injury, which was frustrating. He was there when we had a lot of injuries and I got a little nervous and wanted to get back as quickly as possible to help the team.
– Then things went really fast there and I suffered a setback. Then everything went well after the summer and we got rest. We beat Helsingborg and everything was fine. Then I went to Corona and went for a while.
To sum it up, he was good in terms of goals and stats, but I didn’t play as many games as I wanted, which was frustrating because we’re not where we want to be in the table either.
You are now eight points behind Djurgården and it looks like a must-match against Hammarby. How does the team feel about it?
– We have good feeling and good form, especially in the Svenscans. We have confidence there and I think we feel better now than before. We are entering an interesting period with the end of the Allsvenskan as well as the matches in the European League. Then we also face the top teams, so I think we have good chances to get something good out of this.
You did not give up gold?
– I will be completely honest and say that I never checked the table before, because it was not a pleasant reading for us. But in theory there is an opportunity and then of course we go for it. We’re up against a lot of top teams, like I said, and we’re going to make a real effort.
I still believe in it, even if we have to take it game by game.
What can you say about Agee Hared?
– It came with energy. The voice of the new age, the coach who is also very demanding, is good at motivating his players and I think he pushed us forward.
It’s your third role in MFF. What would you say is the MFF you’re back with?
I would say we have a good mix of players. A fairly good mix of old and young, we brought in some guys who have been really good this summer. There are a lot of players at different stages of their careers and I hope we put it together well. feel it.
– It was good that fresh blood came this summer, which I think we need. It was like a new flare for many, considering we didn’t perform as much as we wanted during the spring.
Describe your role in the team?
– No, of course it has changed since I was here before. I am older, more experienced and one of the leaders on the team. I accept this responsibility fully. Of course it was very difficult when I got injured. I saw that the team was suffering, but I tried to join in and push the team as far as possible.
There are many of you in the current MFF squad who have won some SM gold and played in the Champions League. What would you say to those who think you might be full of success, if you know what I mean?
– Of course you get angry about this talk. Because I personally am not satisfied. If you’ve won SM gold once or played in the Champions League, you’ll want to do it again. I moved home to win titles and play in Europe.
– People can believe whatever they want, but yes, this talk pisses me off.
I have been abroad several times. Among others in Bordeaux, Bayer Leverkusen, Anderlecht and Kasimpaşa. What have you mainly learned from your time at these clubs?
– I learned a lot. Above all is the mental aspect. That you always have to keep fighting even when the going gets tough. Then there is a more individualistic way of thinking and a greater focus on statistics abroad.
– I didn’t think about it when he came out, maybe at first. If I had to do it all over again, I would have thought more about myself and my own stats already early in my career when I went to Bordeaux. It is almost necessary these days if you want to succeed as an offshore striker, because there you are judged mainly by stats.
– I’ll simply think more selfishly.
Were you disappointed when you didn’t make the national team by the way? Were you some of the strikers of the Svenscans who were present?
– Of course you want to be there, but the competition is tough. I’m fighting here and trying to do my best. There are many talented strikers that they have to compete with.
– I wouldn’t say I was disappointed, but of course you want to be there.
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