Amancel. The sun is shining – but there is still a bit of a cold shower on the national team.
The turf at the training facility is not up to par.
– We may have to look for alternatives, says union captain Jan Anderson.
A solid kick with the supporting leg and a large piece of grass immediately released.
– Peter Wettergren, assistant captain of the national team, warned during the first training session in Portugal.
In the past, the national team always moved the January tour outside the European continent to ensure good weather and perfect grass pitches. After several years in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, which were controversial destinations, Blågult is now on the Algarve coast.
– In general, it’s very good. We can’t count on the weather (sunny and around 15°C) to be this good at these latitudes. But the plan… sounds great but let’s go. We’ll see if it sticks, otherwise we might have to look for alternatives. Other than that, we know it’s better (with grass pitches and weather) in a place like Abu Dhabi, says Etihad captain Jan Anderson and continues:
– but it’s good enough so far.
Looking for alternatives – in vain?
Could there be a risk of infection?
– I certainly hope not. We’ve had rug slips before. But other than that we have to find an alternative. We analyze the situation, but it’s not a catastrophe, although, of course, we want the rug to continue.
The Finnish national team, which Sweden will face later in the camp, also trains on a non-slip surface, which puts extra pressure on the pitch. National team manager Stefan Petersson has already investigated the possibilities of training on better pitches. He brings grim news.
– It’s not optimal. Let’s go, plan, even if it looks nice. Unfortunately, there are very few options with the other plans here. So there is not much we can do. Maybe we can train in the stadium where the matches will be played (Estadio Algarve) but that can also affect him and we want him to be good when there is a match.
