On Monday, 20 October, Graham Potter was announced as the new manager of the Swedish men’s national team. The appointment came a few days after the previous manager, Jon-Dal Tomasson, lost the confidence of both the Swedish people and the football federation due to a dreadful run in the World Cup qualifiers.
Sweden, with a rare generation of big stars, are playing worse than ever before. A team that has always been able to build a strong collective with average players now struggles to do the same with a world-class squad consisting of Premier League starters, such as Alexander Isak, Viktor Gyökeres, and Lucas Bergvall.
After losing to Kosovo for the second time in as many months, and with one point after four games, Sweden are dead last in a group that also includes Slovenia and Switzerland.
Potter comes into the job after a similar disastrous run at West Ham United, managing to secure only three points after five games. Two years ago, he was seen as unattainable by the Swedish team in its search for a manager, but has since been humbled by a bad run of form.
So is the match between a shattered team and a ridiculed manager the perfect next step for mutual redemption, or merely the next chapter in both sides’ demise?
There are many reasons for Swedes to have hope. While the dream to go to next year’s World Cup should be over due to the terrible results in the qualifiers, Sweden will get a second chance thanks to their first place in Nations League group C. This does mean, however, that they’ll meet the toughest of opponents in the March playoffs, with two away games likely against Italy and Turkey.
Additionally, Potter is no stranger to Sweden, having managed Östersunds FK for seven years, taking them from the domestic fourth tier to victory in the Swedish Cup and playing in the Europa League. He can speak the language relatively well, especially compared to the Danish Tomasson, and two of his children were born in Sweden.
While his work there is impressive, it also highlights the main risk of picking Potter. In his most successful stints at Östersunds and Brighton, Graham Potter has been given time and trust to slowly build a team up to success.
Sweden don’t have time if they want to play World Cup football. For this job, Graham Potter needs to prove that he can deliver in the short term; he needs to change things fast.
“Graham Potter, Brighton & Hove Albion vs RCD Espanyol, 30 July 2022 (1) (cropped)” by jamesboyes is licensed under CC BY 2.0.