How Graham Potter led Sweden to the World Cup: “It was the best night of my career”
By OnzeActu · · 5 min read
After a failed qualifying campaign, Potter replaced Jon Dahl Tomasson in October and, in four months, built a team capable of making the play-offs. Meeting with a coach who shares his methods, his meetings with the players and the emotion of the evening in Stockholm.
A few minutes after the final whistle of the play-off, when the euphoria had not subsided, Graham Potter gathered his players. “Look at that, it’s a fucking team,” he said, pointing at them, before showing a big smile. “And we’re going to the fucking World Cup, baby!” » This spontaneous cry, heavy with emotion and relief, well sums up the unique task of an international coach: to obtain the result, quickly.
The Swedish Federation had given him a clear objective: “Take us to the World Cup”. Potter had just four months to prepare for two decisive matches. And on the pitch, once the players were assembled, there was barely more than 48 hours before kick-off. “We don’t have time to develop complex ideas,” he explains. “What matters is to put the players who have the best chance of winning. So it becomes simple: how to win these matches? »
Replaced last October after a disappointing qualifying campaign, and launched in two friendly matches without stakes (a heavy defeat against Switzerland then a draw against Slovenia), Potter saw his last opportunity come via the Nations League play-offs in March. For four months, he traveled across Europe to meet his players: one week in Udinese to see Jesper Kalström, another in the Tottenham dressing room to chat with Dejan Kulusevski. Objective of these meetings: to understand each player, to know what motivates them.
Behind the scenes, Potter worked from his agency's headquarters in London but spent a lot of time at the FA headquarters in Stockholm, with a team of analysts, his deputies Bjorn Hamberg and Sebastian Larsson, and specialist set-piece coach Andreas Georgson, who officiates at Tottenham and is familiar with Swedish football and the Premier League.
The preparation paid off. In the semi-final, Viktor Gyökeres scored a hat-trick against Ukraine, giving Sweden a final in Stockholm against Poland. “How often do you have the chance to play a play-off in front of your audience to go to the World Cup? “, Potter marvels. The match was crazy intense: Sweden led, Poland equalized, then Sweden again, then Poland again. Then, two minutes from time, the ball dragged into the Polish area, bounced off the post and Gyökeres powered past his defender to score the qualifying goal.
“When Viktor scores, it’s like an out-of-body experience,” Potter says. The replacements rushed onto the pitch, the rules disappeared in the face of what was at stake: anything goes when it comes to going to the World Cup. Messages of congratulations poured in afterwards, including that of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. “What a guy.” Top, top,” Potter smiles when recalling the message from the legendary Swedish striker.
The man has been linked to Sweden for a long time. He convinced his wife to move to Östersund in 2011, where he transformed a fourth division club into a Swedish Cup winner and Europa League qualifier. “I feel very Swedish when I work,” he says. “My children were born in Sweden, I had an incredible seven years. I have a lot of gratitude to this country. »
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His trajectory then took him to Brighton, then to Chelsea and West Ham, experiences from which he claims to draw lessons, including difficult moments. “The learning comes from these painful experiences,” he admits.
When Sweden came calling, he chose to work again rather than stay in the media. “After West Ham, I could have done TV, or come back to work. It's not nice if you don't win, so you have to win. Fortunately, we did it. » His first nostalgia for the World Cup dates back to Mexico 1986 and Diego Maradona, and he also remembers Sweden's semi-achievement at USA 1994.
For the tournament in North America, Sweden is entered in a homogeneous group with Tunisia, the Netherlands and Japan. According to the Fifa ranking cited by Potter, Sweden are not clear favorites, but they rely on a successful attacking duo: Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyökeres. Tomasson, his predecessor, had struggled to get the two to play together correctly; Potter will hope to achieve this, with Isak having suffered form problems but expected to return to the tournament.
“They are different in their style, which is good for us,” he explains. “Viktor likes to attack spaces behind defenses. Alex played a little wider and sometimes in a ten at Newcastle. » Potter also praises the character of Gyökeres, whose club impact (four goals in two matches at the end of the season) helped Sweden qualify.
The selection also led to some difficult decisions. Telling certain players that they were not going to the World Cup “was probably one of the hardest conversations” he had to have. “You can’t underestimate the impact of telling someone, ‘You’re not going to the World Cup,’” he says.
The preparation accelerated after the play-offs. Sweden made its logistical choices late – it had the last choice of base among the Fifa offer – but Potter believes that staying in Stockholm for a pre-camp is positive: the players can be with their families before departure.
Work continues, including analysis of the three group opponents (Tunisia, Netherlands, Japan) and working out the details. But for Potter, there are moments he can never forget. “I will never forget that night in Stockholm, it was the best night of my career,” he concludes. “I can’t even explain, it was just incredible. »