Vernamo. Marcus Danielson started his first game in Djurgården since returning home when the league leaders drew 0-0 against Värnamo.
But Jan Andersson can forget about Danielson in the national team – despite the crisis in the central defence.
– The national team is a closed season, according to him.
When Djurgården visited Värnamo he did so Marcus Danielson His first game since the start since his return from China.
It’s been almost four months since I’ve played 90 minutes. He says I need this in order to get some kind of approach.
Djurgården only got 0-0 against the newcomer after nine straight wins in the Allsvenskan and European qualifiers.
Of course it sucks not to win. But we kept a clean sheet and in the last hour we played a very good game,” says Danielson.
Last spring, Marcus Danielson announced that he would resign from the national team.
In a press release, the 33-year-old cited all travel to and from China with associated quarantines during the pandemic as the main reason behind the decision:
It took a great deal of effort to get in and out of China during the ongoing epidemic of recent years. I had to do my best to get back in shape for the meetings and feel I don’t have the strength to invest in this way in Euro 2024.
There are other things in life.
Despite the fact that now Danielson is at home in Sweden and has signed a long contract (3.5 years) and it seems that there is an ongoing defense crisis in the national team, he has not changed.
My decision is firm. Nothing has changed.
But can you believe it when you avoid all travel to China?
– It has many parts (resolution). some had. I feel very satisfied playing at Djurgården and putting my focus there. The national team is a closed class.
He tries, somewhat reluctantly, to explain more why he chose to join the national team after only three years (the beginning came in October 2019).
I realized that I might not always have to make the decisions that would make my football career better. There are other things in life that I give a higher priority to.
His name is Janson – not Danielson
He is not worried about the position of centre-back in the national team and has great confidence in his current club-mates Isaac Hain and Hjalmar Ekdal.
We have a lot of good defenders. Isaac and Hjalmar did it fantastically. It seems that the path is open for both of them to enter the national team in the future.
The Nations Cup in June was the first gathering of the national team after Danielson’s resignation.
Did you follow them then?
– little bit. I didn’t watch all the matches.
Before the Nations Cup, Jan Andersson called up for the second time another center back who rejected the national team, Pontus Jansson.
Did Jan agree with you?
– No nothing. If I want to come back, I’ll call him. But this is irrelevant. Danielson says firmly that he will let me.
