It is international and cheeky by Malmö FF.
But the one who loses from this luxury problem is Ricardo Friedrich.
Honestly, I don’t understand the brass’ choice to go to MFF – because as long as Johan Dahlin is healthy, I have a hard time seeing Henrik Rydström poking him.
I don’t know if my favorite team Valencia CF was first, but the Spaniards from the east coast were early on the ball anyway.
In 2011, the team invested in two completely equal goalkeepers, Diego Alves in the league game and Vicente Guaita in the cup and Europe.
Barcelona and Manchester City later caught on to the same trend – and PSG tried the Keylor Navas/Gianluigi Donnarumma firm before the former got tired and left.
Because yes, there is a big risk that a goalkeeper who is too good for the bench, regardless of level, is no longer satisfied with his situation.
I don’t know Ricardo Friedrich and don’t know about his ambitions, but I have a hard time understanding his choice to go to Malmö FF. Because the brass is too good to sit on the bench in MFF.
Marko Johansson and Ismael Diawara, however, didn’t think it was satisfactory enough to be second behind Johan Dahlin – and they are a notch lower in terms of quality than Friedrich, who in recent years has been one of the best goalkeepers in the Allsvenskan in Kalmar FF.
Ricardo Friedrich’s contract with MFF runs through 2026.
Now, it is true that both Johansson and Diawara had to play quite a lot in MFF anyway due to Dahlin’s injury concerns, but the veteran seems to have overcome the previous injuries and this means that Friedrich will probably have to settle for sitting on the bench this year.
Super luxurious for MFF to have the 31-year-old as backup, but since Valencia experimented with this in 2011, my opinion has always been that level-wise there should be a clear first and second.
It is possible to debate who is better in terms of quality between Dahlin and Friedrich, but there is so much MFF DNA in Dahlin after all the years as first keeper at the club that makes him somewhat immortal between the posts. We have also seen that in Rydström’s selection so far in the Swedish Cup.
Friedrich has only been allowed to play one match so far – and that away against Luleå when Dahlin didn’t even travel north.
If the brass finds itself in this situation over time, it is only to applaud both MFF and Friedrich, but it CAN also be a difficult situation – because if we look internationally, this solution with two equal goalkeepers has rarely lasted very long.
Johan Dahlin after Malmö FF’s exit in the Champions League qualifier away to Zalgiris 2022.
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Finally: MFF looks a little uncannily good and the width is, as sports director Daniel Andersson himself has been, really, really good. Above all, I am impressed that Jens Stryger Larsen was signed, you know the Dane who just a few seasons ago got plenty of playing time at Udinese in Serie A with both Rodrigo De Paul and Nahuel Molina as teammates – two players who shortly later left for Atlético de Madrid and who in December 2022 won World Cup gold for Argentina.
Stryger Larsen has also impressed so far and he is one of the players I am most curious to see all season long in the Allsvenskan.
But first, MFF has to make it to the final in the Swedish Cup, and it will probably take a lot for them to tremble on the cuff away against HBK on Saturday.
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