Johan Garpenlov’s first tournament as captain of the national team was painful. Three victories over Switzerland, Great Britain and Slovakia were not enough, and after losing to Russia on Monday night – their third group stage defeat – it can be said that Tre Kronor will miss this year’s World Cup qualifiers. .
Failed, according to many.
SportExpressen columnist and expert at C More Sanny Lindström is one of those who thinks Sweden has failed miserably.
I am amazed that such a good team has performed so poorly in so many matches. This is Swedish hockey’s biggest failure since the defeat to Belarus in the 2002 Olympics.
Union General Secretary Johan Stark suffers from the players and captains who are in Riga, but at the same time it is clear that it is not a good thing to be a Swedish national team.
– It’s very stressful and boring. It has not been approved, it just says. The Swedish teams will compete for the medals, but it was an intermittent tournament for the boys. If it starts off badly, it easily settles into the skull. Now I haven’t spoken to Garpenlöv but only to Olof (Östblom) about how men feel out there. We’ll do an evaluation when they get home.
Defended after the World Cup miss
Union captain Garpenlov has been in question since the tournament’s nightmarish start, when Sweden lost to Denmark and Belarus.
The inexperienced coach, who was only an assistant coach earlier in his career, is now backed by an employer, the Swedish Ice Hockey Association.
There is no hadith whatsoever other than that it should be continued. Johan Stark says the League Council is now appointing the league captain, but there are no such discussions at all (he should leave).
In other words, you are behind him.
– Yes Yes. To 100 percent.
Johan Garpenlöv’s contract with Tre Kronor extends into next season. Then there is the Olympic Games in Beijing and the World Cup in Helsinki.
Garpenlov himself says about his future:
– It is not me who makes the decision. I am happy to follow, but that is not my decision.
He also thanks him for the confidence that Stark has shown.
– He feels safe that they are supporting at this moment. Everyone knows what it means not to play in a hockey country like Sweden, so I’m happy about that.
“We must be sane now”
At the moment, Secretary General Johan Stark does not have a clear analysis of why Tre Kronor missed the play-off matches in Latvia.
– I really do not know. It was a little messy before with the player available but that was really the beginning. They put in some good matches, but I’m not the guy to analyze that now. I just sat and watched it on TV.
Would there be any direct consequences for not reaching the qualifiers?
– No, I can’t say that. We will look at everything and also see if we are abroad and have given the team the right conditions. We all have to think about what we’ve done, it’s not just about Jarbenlov and the players. We are all on the same team.
What does this say about Swedish hockey and its stature?
We must be careful in drawing any conclusions from this. I understand alarm bells are ringing but we have to be quiet and calm now, and look at this together.
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