Unless you're European, a soccer buff or a fan of Calvin Klein underwear ads, you might have no clue who Freddie Ljungberg is. To most of the rest of the world, though, the Swedish footballer is one of Chicago's most famous athletes.
Ljungberg, 33, is quiet and friendly. But don't expect a flashy, entourage-sporting jock who'll make noise in the club scene.
"I can say, I'm quite a shy person," Ljungberg admits, resting one arm over a folding chair at Toyota Park, where he now plays for the Chicago Fire. It's a blockbuster signing for the team, currently on the cusp of making the playoffs.
Ljungberg's $1.3 million annual salary makes him--along with teammate Nery Castillo--one of the highest-paid players in Major League Soccer, and one of only eight who make more than $1 million a year. But the midfielder is used to earning his keep.
Ljungberg, a former Calvin Klein model, must have felt something like a god back in England, where he played for Arsenal--one of the most high-profile teams in the English Premier League. Ljungberg not only had a blisteringly prosperous nine years with the club, but he won Sweden's top footballing honors, the Guldbollen, twice. After a year with West Ham United, he moved to the MLS expansion team Seattle Sounders last year and made the move to Chicago just last month.
It's been a cultural adjustment. In the U.S., Ljungberg says, "you get recognized and people talk to you, but it's not the same. Soccer, or, football, is religion back home."
And the culture is worlds apart. He remembers attending a meeting with Seattle business owners in which one man asked a question about what the U.S. might be able to do with some real athletes playing soccer. He laughed.
"The best soccer players in the world ... you have those people here, you just need to develop them and make them grow," Ljungberg says. "It's not that you have to take an American football player and basketball player and make him into a soccer player."
But no one has to convince soccer fans--or Fire players--how crucial of an addition Ljungberg can be to the team. Calen Carr, a Fire forward, is an early devotee.
"Freddie is a fantastic player. He has completely changed our team and the way we're able to play," Carr says. "He's a guy that I've watched for a long time. Arsenal was always my favorite team growing up, so to be able to play with him really is an honor."
And coach Carlos de los Cobos calls the Fire fortunate to have Ljungberg.
"He very soon, very fast, adapted to the team, adapted to the group and produced for the team," said de los Cobos, calling the Swedish player a joy to coach. "He's transmitting to these [other players] confidence. ... I think we are lucky."
For Ljungberg's part, he's still learning about Chicago, finding and settling in to his new home in the Gold Coast and figuring out what he'll do with his free time--once he has it. He said he's had to cancel trips to Sunda, a restaurant he's been hoping to try, three times because he was too tired. But the city has impressed so far.
"I lived 10 years, all of my grown-up life in London. It reminds me of London," he says. "You have a beach downtown, which is quite cool, I must say, to have in a big city. I do really like it."
He's been properly warned about the winter weather but doesn't seem worried. Maybe it's the Swedish blood. He's far more focused on helping the team reach the playoffs this year.
"That's the goal, and I think it's important to know what's at stake," Ljungberg says. "Even if that's pressure, I think pressure makes you play better sometimes. You know, this is serious."
Some might recognize Ljungberg from his modeling days, a time he acknowledges with humility and a wry grin. He said it took months for him to be convinced to do underwear modeling.
At first, Ljungberg says, "I was like, there's no way I'm taking off my clothes." He got more comfortable over the years with being the only half-dressed person in the room, but isn't sure if he'd take a similar opportunity again. "I always get some offers now and then to do things," he says. But "for me it's important that it's all authentic. It's quite often I say no."
And although he loves fashion and architecture and owns a bistrolike restaurant, Gastons Halmstad in Sweden, when it comes down to it, Ljungberg mostly indulges his one true passion.
"I like to have a coffee, then maybe a dinner in the evening, just socialize with my friends. That's what I enjoy. ... Apart from that, my life is football, or soccer, as you say it."
"I can say, I'm quite a shy person," Ljungberg admits, resting one arm over a folding chair at Toyota Park, where he now plays for the Chicago Fire. It's a blockbuster signing for the team, currently on the cusp of making the playoffs.
Ljungberg's $1.3 million annual salary makes him--along with teammate Nery Castillo--one of the highest-paid players in Major League Soccer, and one of only eight who make more than $1 million a year. But the midfielder is used to earning his keep.
Ljungberg, a former Calvin Klein model, must have felt something like a god back in England, where he played for Arsenal--one of the most high-profile teams in the English Premier League. Ljungberg not only had a blisteringly prosperous nine years with the club, but he won Sweden's top footballing honors, the Guldbollen, twice. After a year with West Ham United, he moved to the MLS expansion team Seattle Sounders last year and made the move to Chicago just last month.
It's been a cultural adjustment. In the U.S., Ljungberg says, "you get recognized and people talk to you, but it's not the same. Soccer, or, football, is religion back home."
And the culture is worlds apart. He remembers attending a meeting with Seattle business owners in which one man asked a question about what the U.S. might be able to do with some real athletes playing soccer. He laughed.
"The best soccer players in the world ... you have those people here, you just need to develop them and make them grow," Ljungberg says. "It's not that you have to take an American football player and basketball player and make him into a soccer player."
But no one has to convince soccer fans--or Fire players--how crucial of an addition Ljungberg can be to the team. Calen Carr, a Fire forward, is an early devotee.
"Freddie is a fantastic player. He has completely changed our team and the way we're able to play," Carr says. "He's a guy that I've watched for a long time. Arsenal was always my favorite team growing up, so to be able to play with him really is an honor."
And coach Carlos de los Cobos calls the Fire fortunate to have Ljungberg.
"He very soon, very fast, adapted to the team, adapted to the group and produced for the team," said de los Cobos, calling the Swedish player a joy to coach. "He's transmitting to these [other players] confidence. ... I think we are lucky."
For Ljungberg's part, he's still learning about Chicago, finding and settling in to his new home in the Gold Coast and figuring out what he'll do with his free time--once he has it. He said he's had to cancel trips to Sunda, a restaurant he's been hoping to try, three times because he was too tired. But the city has impressed so far.
"I lived 10 years, all of my grown-up life in London. It reminds me of London," he says. "You have a beach downtown, which is quite cool, I must say, to have in a big city. I do really like it."
He's been properly warned about the winter weather but doesn't seem worried. Maybe it's the Swedish blood. He's far more focused on helping the team reach the playoffs this year.
"That's the goal, and I think it's important to know what's at stake," Ljungberg says. "Even if that's pressure, I think pressure makes you play better sometimes. You know, this is serious."
Some might recognize Ljungberg from his modeling days, a time he acknowledges with humility and a wry grin. He said it took months for him to be convinced to do underwear modeling.
At first, Ljungberg says, "I was like, there's no way I'm taking off my clothes." He got more comfortable over the years with being the only half-dressed person in the room, but isn't sure if he'd take a similar opportunity again. "I always get some offers now and then to do things," he says. But "for me it's important that it's all authentic. It's quite often I say no."
And although he loves fashion and architecture and owns a bistrolike restaurant, Gastons Halmstad in Sweden, when it comes down to it, Ljungberg mostly indulges his one true passion.
"I like to have a coffee, then maybe a dinner in the evening, just socialize with my friends. That's what I enjoy. ... Apart from that, my life is football, or soccer, as you say it."
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