Updated 07.48 | Published 07.47
share-arrowDela
unsaveSpara
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.
expand-left
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 even and scored points 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.
expand-left
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.
expand-left
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.
