It was in 2012 that Gustav Svensson signed for the Ukrainian team Tavrija Simferpool. Two years later, he was forced to flee the country after the Russian occupation of Crimea.
He remembers it as a tense situation and an unpleasant time, even though he never experienced any threat against himself and his partner.
– We were a little worried and nervous, but luckily we managed to get out of there before the airport closed.
Of the players he met he has only good memories. On Tuesday, he will face many of them in the European Championship round of 16.
16 of the players in the Ukrainian squad come from the two successful club teams Dynamo Kiev and Shaktar Donetsk, which provides a cohesive national team.
– A very good football team with a high top level, but which can dip in certain matches, says Svensson.
He is the loyal team player, whose task is often to get in at the end and kill surfaces and time. Svensson says that he finds himself in the unglamorous mission.
– You have the role you have and I do what I am good at. I try to push and give the team energy even when I sit on the bench, says the 34-year-old, who plays for Chinese Guangzou City, but who may soon be home in Gothenburg again.
He confirms that he is having a conversation with Blåvitt.
– We have discussed for a long time and it is difficult to say if it is closer now. My contract expires in December and I have an option year. I am set on going back to China, says Svensson.
Last year there was there is no place in Blåvitt’s midfield for him. Perhaps the situation has changed after the news that old national team mate Jakob Johansson is forced to stop playing football due to injury.
Svensson suffers with his colleague.
– It’s sad, but I’m sure Jakob will make a great career no matter what he does in the future, says Svensson.
But there will be plenty of old Blue and White friends at Kamratgården anyway. Best friend Marcus Berg returns after the European Championships as well as Oscar Wendt.
Svensson says that he and Berg have always said that they will end their careers together.
– It would be fantastic to get him home. We are very good friends, says Berg.
After being in the starting eleven against both Spain and Slovakia, Berg had to start on the bench against Poland. The competition for the attacking places is fierce after Dejan Kulusevski’s successful jump last time. Berg is prepared for everything.
– Many show good form. I can only focus on myself and it is clear that I want to play, he says.
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Graphics: Schedule and top of the shooting league in the European Football Championship
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