The new mission of the handball legend – to become the captain of the national team

Magnus Weislander, 58, has a new assignment.

The handball legend is the captain of the new national team in goal soccer.

A little challenge and something new for an old man, he says.

Chosen as the best handball player in the world, he has been a longtime expert handball coach and commentator.

Now must Magnus Weslander Try something new.

On Saturday, the 58-year-old will make his debut as the new captain of the Sweden national football team when the team gathers for a training camp in Stockholm.

– It seemed fun to jump on something else. You are in a little bit deep water and you have to convey something to people in a visual language rather than showing it. Weslander says it feels challenging, fun and, above all, there has been a good tradition in Sweden where people have been kind and want to try again.

Goalball is a team sport for people with low or no vision. All players wear blindfolds so that conditions are as equal as possible, regardless of players’ visual impairment.

Wislander compares his new assignment to being a handball expert for Radiosport.

– This job ends the same way. There, no one sees, but there it must be conveyed to people who only hear. It gives guys a little bit more that way, it would be a bit of a challenge and something new for an old man, he says.

Duplicate records

In parallel, he will continue his work at Postnord, where he works as a production manager.

The contract was written during the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. There is no stated goal for the Swedish team, whose next B-EC tournament will be in Portugal in November.

– First is the B-EC in Portugal that applies. Then there is a theoretical, but very challenging, opportunity to qualify for the Paralympic Games in 2024. We’ll see what target we set, says Weislander.