When I started to play football, when I was around 15, 16, I remember the players that played on the national team and noticed that it was only typically Swedish guys.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
My Mother is Swedish and my Father is Scottish, he played for Charlton in the 1960's and was in the Army, he captained the British forces team. We then moved to S.A. because a lot of players did that at the time.
I've never seen anything like it since. Some of the Canada Cups came close, but by then a lot of European players came and played in our league so we were more familiar with them.
Some guys practice like all-Americans but they can't play!
Growing up as a kid my father was British and a soccer player. His idol was a guy that passed the ball a lot, Stanley Matthews. Our family thought if you could be unselfish your teammates would always like you.
I always identified myself as non-Swedish. I was never discriminated against, because I looked Swedish and speak without an accent. But I had an outsider's perspective.
I come from a family where soccer has always been very present. My uncles, my father and my brother were all players.
I started out in Scotland, not as a footballer of any note, and I didn't play to draw the attention of people abroad.
At the moment there are some England players who are the stars of their club teams, but not for their country. It's difficult to explain.
When I was a kid, I remember playing hockey outside and whenever you did, you thought about playing for Finland vs. Sweden. That's just the way it was.
There is a history of footballers in my family; my granddad played for Notts County and my dad played at county level.
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