Updated 07.48 | Published 07.47
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MALMÖ. MFF are superior in the Allsvenskan because the other teams are too bad.
That view has been aired from time to time this autumn.
Now the MFFs are responding.
– You always want to win, but you get better because it’s tight and competition over time, says Oliver Berg.
Tomorrow, Malmö FF can secure the SM title despite three rounds remaining. A victory against table giant Västerås is all that is needed (a draw can be enough, but then you have to wait for the Stockholm derby on Sunday).
MFF has led the Allsvenskan from the start and already early last autumn it was practically clear that they would defend their gold.
When MFF faltered during the season, the teams just behind haven’t taken the chance to tap in either.
When we sum up the Allsvenskan, there is a small risk that the runner-up stands at the lowest points yield since the 16-team series was introduced in 2008 (Elfsborg’s 51 points from 2020 is the bottom record right now) and during the autumn it has been said from time to time that the reason for MFF’s superiority in Allsvenskan depends more on the challengers being bad than MFF being outstanding.
“I don’t buy it”
What do the MFFs say about this the day before you can secure a gold in superior style?
– We think first of all about ourselves and then it’s up to the other teams to keep up. But we have to hope for the Allsvenskan and Swedish football that they get better and that they also push on, says Oliver Berg.
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fullscreenOliver Berg. Photo: Petter Arvidson / Bildbyrån
Would it have been fun if there was a little more tension?
– You always want to win, but you get better because it’s tight and the competition over time. There has been a lot of talk about how Liverpool and Manchester City, with Klopp and Guadiola, pushed each other to new heights. I think there is something in it. At the same time, we want to win and we are quite happy if we do, says the midfielder.
Taha Ali on MFF being superior because the other teams are too bad:
– I don’t buy it. I think we have developed extremely much and have been more consistent and scored even when we were at our lowest level. We have developed many parts of our game, such as set pieces, and we have become heavy in the box.
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full screenTaha Ali. Photo: Petter Arvidson / Bildbyrån
“Can play in several different ways”
Anders Christiansen is on the same track as Ali.
– We have done incredibly well and are still developing.
Are you better than last season?
– We can play in several different ways depending on the opposition and which players we have available and our defense has improved. We have scored more goals from set pieces.
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full screen Anders Christiansen. Photo: Petter Arvidson / Bildbyrån
Henrik Rydström remembers how the competitors thought MFF should have won by a bigger margin last year.
– Then we received criticism for it. I heard both Kim Bergstrand and Stefan Andréasson point out that we didn’t win by more and that it was a penalty to us in the last game that decided. But I mean that it was Elfsborg that had an incredibly good season last year, says the MFF coach.
What do you think they say this year then?
– That we have a lot of money. Unlike them, because they have no money at all and have not recruited anything at all, Rydström says with clear irony.
He continues:
– Of course money is important, but by Swedish standards Djurgården has a lot of money, as does Hammarby, Häcken and Elfsborg…Norrköpig too if they haven’t run out by now.
Malmö FF: Dominating the Allsvenskan or Just Surveying the Badlands?
Updated 07.48 | Published 07.47
Welcome, dear readers, to the world of Swedish football where Malmö FF seems to be strutting their way through the Allsvenskan as if they’re the only team that remembered it was matchday.
We’re in Malmö, where the temperature’s rising, not just because of the weather, but because MFF is apparently so superior that some have started suggesting the competition is, well, a bit rubbish. Oliver Berg, in a valiant attempt to save face, claims that competition is the lifeblood of improvement. “You always want to win, but you get better because it’s tight,” he says, channeling his inner motivational speaker. To which we might quip: “Tight? More like a pair of skinny jeans on a sumo wrestler!”
Uncertain Glory Ahead
MFF is on the verge of their SM title tomorrow—they only need to trounce the mighty Västerås. And let’s be honest, what a way to make it look easy! If they draw, they might need to sit on their hands and pray for a Stockholm derby outcome. But who needs excitement when you can dominate your league like a cat among a pile of very confused mice?
So, what’s the scoop? It’s been said that MFF’s status as top dogs is less about their own prowess and more about how woeful the others are. And let’s face it, when your nearest competitors are sounding like a broken record full of excuses, it’s easy to understand why folks are raising an eyebrow. Could the runner-up this year achieve the lowest points tally since the league introduced six degrees of separation—sorry, I meant 16 teams—in 2008? Elfsborg’s record of 51 points could be in serious jeopardy! Talk about raising the bar… or lowering it.
“We Think First of All About Ourselves”
Oliver Berg isn’t buying the “other teams are bad” narrative. He argues that it’s on their shoulders to step it up. “We have to hope for the Allsvenskan and Swedish football that they get better,” he says, probably hoping that none of those teams hear this before their next match. Taha Ali quips that MFF has improved significantly, insisting they’ve developed tactics like set pieces—because apparently, just kicking a ball around isn’t enough these days.
“I don’t buy it,” says Taha. “We have developed extremely much and have been more consistent, even at our lowest levels.” Well, Taha, I suppose consistency is key—like serving bland food every day without failure.
The Coaching Perspective
Even the coach, Henrik Rydström, joins the discourse with a dash of sarcasm. Remembering last year’s “criticism” that they didn’t win by a bigger margin, he admits to a touch of irony when he observes that other teams seem to be struggling. “Of course money is important, but by Swedish standards, Djurgården has a lot of it. Just look at the Swedes–they’re big on collective bargains!”
In short, while Malmö FF prances through the league with the swagger of a peacock in full plumage, the truth is they might just be benefitting from a league that seems a bit pedestrian this season. With teams scrambling around aimlessly like toddlers in a toy store, it leaves one to wonder: Is it Malmö’s greatness, or merely the mediocrity of others? Either way, one thing’s for sure—quite the spectacle, isn’t it?