Saturday, August 14, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Ljungberg's job unfinished in MLS
So while the recent acquisition of Ljungberg appears to be quick fix to mold a championship-caliber season, Ljungberg said Wednesday that Chicago could also turn into a long-term option down the line."I definitely hope so," Ljungberg said. "When I went to America I really wanted to try to make a difference and see if soccer can establish itself as a big sport. And here, I think this is a perfect opportunity to do that. I'm going to try to do as well as I can and try to be a good ambassador for the Fire."
Ljungberg made his move to MLS and debuted with then-expansion Seattle Sounders FC last year. Ljungberg says he has weighed many options to either stay in the U.S. or go back overseas, and the Sweden midfielder wants to finish his task here in MLS.
"When I came to America, a lot of people said I was mad because I was too young to go and said I should have kept on playing and winning things in Europe," Ljungberg said. "I feel like I haven't done enough here yet and I want to do more -- win the [MLS] Cup, that would be nice.
"There was a lot of interest from Europe and in America, as well," he said. "I said I need to make a decision. I'm 33 years old and I need to make a decision with what I want to do. ... Chicago was very persistent in approaching me."
Ljungberg said that a couple weeks ago Fire owner Andrew Hauptman and technical director Frank Klopas started courting Ljungberg to make the move to Chicago. Apparently they made a successful pitch.
"Andrew said he is a winner and he wants to be in it to win things," Lungberg said of his talks with Hauptman and Klopas. "There's nothing else on his mind. We want to get winners in and go for it. They brought in [Nery] Castillo a couple days before me. [Hauptman] wants to build a great team and wants me to help them. The way he sold it, I thought, was great."
Ljungberg's tenure at Seattle ended prematurely, with his Sounders contract ending this November. Ljungberg said he did not having a falling out with the Sounders organization, but in a matter of weeks Chicago acquired Ljungberg for either a 2011 or 2012 MLS SuperDraft conditional selection.
"I always wanted to play for the team and train for the team," Ljungberg said. "That was the management, or the coaches, [who said] that I shouldn't train while that was going on [with my ankle injury]. ... No bad blood. They are still my friends."
Ljungberg only has one Fire training session and a second-half portion of a win over the Los Angeles Galaxy under his belt with Chicago. But he is eager to contribute toward a group that has needed some midfield experience and stability this season.
"I think it looks good," Ljungberg said of the Fire personnel on board in the midfield. "I think the important thing is to try and keep the ball as much as you can -- that's what the coach wants, to be a dominating team. And we have some great players that can make a difference. Like Patrick [Nyarko], [he] has a lot of speed, and I can try to play him in behind the lines, make him use his speed. [Collins] John and [Brian] McBride are big boys. They can hold up the ball and help us out. So I think it's going to be great."
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Fire Land Ljungberg
The Chicago Fire Soccer Club announced today that they have acquired former Arsenal midfielder and Swedish international Freddie Ljungberg from Seattle Sounders FC for a conditional selection in the 2011 or 2012 SuperDraft. Today’s move marks the first-ever trade of a Designated Player in the history of Major League Soccer. The 33-year-old midfielder becomes the Fire’s second designated player and will become available for selection by Fire Head Coach Carlos de los Cobos this Sunday, Aug. 1 when the Fire take on the LA Galaxy at The Home Depot Center in Carson, CA at 6:30 PM CT (FSC/FSE).Per Major League Soccer and club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“Freddie is an exceptional player, with world-class talent and we are thrilled to have him join the Chicago Fire,” said Fire Technical Director Frank Klopas. “He is a player with an illustrious career and as an attacking player he will help us towards our goal of bringing the MLS Cup to Chicago.” In 2009, Ljungberg tallied two goals and nine assists, including five game winning assists, as the former Arsenal great was named to the 2009 MLS Best XI. “I have been thinking long and hard about the next step in my career and I am extremely happy to become the newest member of the Chicago Fire,” said Ljungberg. “I had a very long and exciting meeting with Fire owner Andrew Hauptman and technical director Frank Klopas.
The creative midfielder’s first home match for the Men In Red pits him against former Arsenal teammate Thierry Henry, when the Fire host the New York Red Bulls at TOYOTA PARK on Aug. 8 at 8:00 PM CT
So, what does everyone think?
Monday, June 14, 2010
Great New York Times article!
Freddie Ljungberg
Age: 33
Occupation: Soccer player
Coming Project: Kicking off his instructional camp, Freddie Ljungberg’s Advanced Soccer Clinic at Suncadia, in Cle Elum, Wash., Aug. 20-22
World-Cup Adjustment: I retired from international soccer in 2008. It will be a massive thing for me not to be there when the World Cup begins this month in South Africa.
Place He Spends Most Time: My house is on Lake Washington, and I have a dock out back. I like to go sit there after training. Where I am from in Sweden was on the beach, so I love the sound of the water hitting the dock.
Pet: A Newfoundland named Amadeus. He weighs 150 pounds.
Morning Routine: I get up around 7:30 a.m. If I have time, I’ll have breakfast. My breakfast is oatmeal and quinoa mixed.
Bad Habit: I hit the snooze button a few times on my alarm clock. I’m not a good one in the morning.
Fitness Routine: I come into training with the club around 9 a.m. every day. We do soccer training for around 90 minutes. We’ll go in and get treatments for injuries or massages. Then in the afternoon I hit the gym. I do core exercises. I am not a big gym fan.
Home Workout: I have no home gym. I do enough of that at work.
First Sport: I played team handball when I was a child. It is a very brutal sport. People hit one another. You have big guys playing, and you can get smashed properly.
Early Start: In Sweden the professional soccer teams have junior squads. So I started to play for my first big-league team when I was 5. It is called Halmstads BK, and I eventually made my professional debut with them.
London Calling: I went to play for Arsenal when I was 20. I am small, and people told me to go to Italy or Spain, where the play is less physical. So I made a point that I wanted to go to England. It was daunting. My first game I was shaking like a leaf, but I did score.
Worst Thing About Playing in the States: You don’t have police escorts to the games.
Model Memorabilia: I was an underwear model for Calvin Klein for a few years. It is not something I wanted to do at first. I never regretted it, but I am a shy person, and to stand there buck naked in front of a camera was scary.
Always in Fridge: Apple juice.
Favorite Dirty Shirt: In soccer we sometimes exchange shirts with opponents at the end of the game. I have a shirt from the great French player Thierry Henry, who is with Barcelona.
He Wishes He’d Played Against: The great Brazilian midfielder Sócrates, who played when I was young. I would love to have played against the Argentine midfielder Diego Maradona.
Nagging Injury: For two years I played with a broken hip. I didn’t know it was broken. The muscles in my butt disappeared. I had my operation in December 2008, and now I feel like a million bucks.
Surprise Trophy: This year on my birthday, the team left me what looked like a gift box in my locker, so I threw it in my car. It lay there for a week. It turned out to be a trophy for being one of the MLS All-Stars. I had no idea. I had a good laugh.
World-Cup Prediction: I think Spain has an absolutely amazing team. And like most people, I think Brazil has a great team.
Favorite Tattoo: I only have three tattoos, but the last one I got is the one I am most happy with. It is a celebration of dead friends and family — a crucifix, dog tags, the Virgin Mary and clouds with rays of sun.
His Biggest Headache: I started to suffer from migraines when I was teenager. I lose my vision, I can’t feel my body and I throw up like 50 times. I have an injection that I can put into my leg, but I don’t often do it myself, because of my loss of vision.
Swedish Item He Misses: I love Swedish salt licorice, which you don’t have here. I have people send it to me from home. Right now it is all finished. I am waiting for the next visitor.
Best Recent Gift: I got a samurai sword for my birthday. Some of my friends did a surprise for me. It is beautiful, and I have had an interest in the samurai for years. I believe in honor, and the samurai believed in that, too.
Favorite Workout Gear: These shorts are used in muay Thai, which is a form of kickboxing from Thailand that is important to me. I train in muay Thai during the off-season, and I love it. It is one of the ways I stay fit. I wear a red pair. I also have a black pair with my name on it that was a gift from my coach.
Hobby: I love snowboarding. In my contract in Europe, I was forbidden to snowboard after I was 18, but when they tried to persuade me to sign in Seattle, they pitched me that I was allowed to snowboard.
Favorite Clothing Item: I have a polo neck sweater that is almost a yard long. It was made by a Japanese designer. I like Japanese designers; they fit my body quite well.
On Gossip: There’s been a gay rumor for a long time. I don’t mind at all. I am proud of that. I love fashion, and I think so many gay people have amazing style. So that is a compliment to me. I really don’t know why people are so interested. I just made a decision that I won’t talk about it.
Fantasy Career: My dream was always to be a fighter pilot. I was invited by the Swedish Army once to fly in a jet. It was the best day of my life.
Guilty Pleasure: I love Cinnabons. I really shouldn’t, but I can eat two or three at a go.
Evening Routine: I get home from practice around 3 o’clock. I take my dog out for a long walk. If I have time, I’ll try to have a nap, and then it is dinnertime. I’ll see friends. I go to bed around 12 or 1 o’clock.
Favorite Pastime: I have a game room downstairs, and I love my pool table. It is something that my friends in England made me play. I am not very good, but it reminds me of my time in England.
What He Drives: I have a couple of cars back home. Here I only have one car, a Hummer. It was the only car my dog could fit into. I felt I got away with having the car here, maybe in Europe I wouldn’t in the same way.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Ljungberg rocks the Mohawk!!!
It's official Freddie Ljungberg debuted his new Mohawk yesterday at training. It's been 7 years since the Seattle Sounder shaved off his famous locks. For those of you who aren't aware, the former Arsenal ace was known for his rather eccentric hair styles a la Dennis Rodman. The 33-year-old midfielder said, "Time for a change," on why he opted for the new do.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Freddie Ljungberg talks about his injury with reporters
(Q: How do you feel? What your status?)
"I don't feel great, because I had a kick in my lower spine and it is still swollen. We've had x-rays and MRIs on it and there's fluid in the spine and it affects the nerves a little bit so whenever I try to walk upstairs my leg buckles. I had the same problem in the game, I couldn't push off my right leg. But it's getting better and according to the doctors if we can get the fluid away I can play. So it's mostly get that away and I can play."
(Q: On the possibility of playing in the New York game)
"We don't know yet. If I can't the fluid away I can't play. We were off this weekend, I stayed in the whole weekend to get treatment and everyday to get treatment and hopefully it will help. But we don't know yet."
(Q: Thoughts on Peter Nowak's comments)
"What can I say. It's just laughable. When I heard it I laughed. I just think it's too low and pathetic to respond to."
(Q: Teammates motivated when you go down?)
"It shouldn't motivate. Soccer is a beautiful sport and it's supposed to be played in a technical way. But I think maybe when you feel like one of your teammates unfairly treated, then maybe you'll get together and try to protect each other a bit more. But it should never have to go to that stage."
(Q: Physicality of MLS play into your thoughts of staying here?)
"I don't want to go so far now. I love it here in Seattle and said I will try to do as good as I can for the league and try to promote it. And I said on my blog as well, I think the ref did - because I'm sometimes critical of the refereeing - but he tried to control the game and not let get them get away with too much. I think the people at the head of the league need to make a stance on how they want the game to be played. In England, every year before the season starts we have a meeting with all the referees, and this year they say we're going to push on this and that because he want the game to be cleaner or this way or this way. I'm not the guy the makes decisions. They have to make the decisions at the top on how they want the league to progress."
(Q: Is MLS too physical?)
"If you comment about these things, you always get some people who say you are moaning and this and that. I have done everything I can. I have put on six to eight pounds this season to try to, maybe what I think should be a foul when I've been pushed around last season, I didn't get fouled. I put on some muscles and hopefully that will help me. It's quite a delicate thing to talk about but I personally have the view that it is supposed to be a technical game. If you're not quick enough and you have to foul, that should be reprimanded."
(Q: How physicality compares to EPL)
"I think here, if you look at the game itself, I think it is as fast and strong and all that kind of things as the EPL. If you look at, for example, a player like [Wayne] Rooney what he does in that speed maybe people here can't do the same technical abilities at that speed. I think that's the difference. If you talk about how strong and stuff, it is the same thing. You probably get away with a little more here tackling-wise than you would in the EPL."
(Q: Do you think you'll be ready to go Saturday?)
"I really hope so. I think I turned a corner yesterday or overnight. I couldn't even walk up stairs yesterday and today I could have a small jog. It hurt a little bit but not too bad. Like I said, they say if the fluid gets flushed out, I need to move my body to get it to flush out, then I will be playing. But if the fluid doesn't get away . . . It has nothing to do with pain. It's mostly that my leg just wobbles when I try to stand on it."
(Q: When did you know it wasn't an injury you could jog off?)
"After about five minutes after the injury. Normally when you get a kick, it's like a bleeding or something. Five minutes then you start running. But it wouldn't go away, tried to push off my right leg. Just tried to stay on for the team, it was the first game of the season. I felt in the beginning of the game there was a bit of tension in the team, we were not calm. I just felt like it's better to keep my presence and we can calm down. Around the 60 minute, I felt it should be a man more. For me, it was annoying."Friday, February 26, 2010
Freddie in a Shakira video???
Football star Freddie Ljungberg will star in a Shakira video - mirror.co.uk
It's looks like she got another good looking star athlete to do the job!
Check out Shakira’s hot new video “Gypsy” featuring tennis champ Rafael Nadal. I would have preferred Freddie of course, but as I am a big fan of Rafa, I guess it'll have to do!