david in sweden Posted 8 October, 2011 Share Posted 8 October, 2011 (edited) Yesterdays game, Sweden v. Finland saw the Swedes end up 2-1 winners and set themselves up for a runners-up place in Euro 2012, but also saw a record-breaking 119th. appearance for Anders Svensson who became the most-capped outfield player in Swedish football history when coming on as second-half sub. when he steadied up the shaky Swedish midfield as they hung on to a 2-1 lead against the " old enemy " Finland. Like David Beckham chasing Shilton's 125 cap record, Anders stands little chance of reaching former goalkeeping legend Thomas Ravelli (who got over 140 caps,) but nevertheless there are a striking number of similarities between the two players. Sweden (pop. 9 mill.) of course, is still regarded as a " minnow " in the footballing world and Anders (was once referred to, rather cynically, by a journalist)...as Sweden's David Beckham. But looking at stats. there are quite a few similarities (at least in the footballing world). David Beckham born May 1975. League record (Europe)... 487 games and 90 goals. England...115 caps. 17 goals. Anders Svensson born July 1976. League record (Europe)...420 games and 70 goals. Sweden ...119 caps. 18 goals. ..though both players have passed 35, neither looks like retiring and may well continue for several seasons to come. Edited 8 October, 2011 by david in sweden Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dellman Posted 8 October, 2011 Share Posted 8 October, 2011 One of the players we never used properly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CB Fry Posted 8 October, 2011 Share Posted 8 October, 2011 The main difference between the two was while David Beckham secured a mulit-million pound contract with Real Madrid, Anders was only successful in getting his agent to pretend he was being tracked by Barcelona. A really good acheivement getting to that many caps for his country though. I remember celebrating the free-kick he scored at the 2002 world cup nearly as much as anything the England team did that tournament. If you squint, he could be in our FA cup away kit.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark`` Posted 9 October, 2011 Share Posted 9 October, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dark Sotonic Mills Posted 9 October, 2011 Share Posted 9 October, 2011 The main difference between the two was while David Beckham secured a mulit-million pound contract with Real Madrid, Anders was only successful in getting his agent to pretend he was being tracked by Barcelona. A really good acheivement getting to that many caps for his country though. I remember celebrating the free-kick he scored at the 2002 world cup nearly as much as anything the England team did that tournament. If you squint, he could be in our FA cup away kit.... I was sitting watching the match on a tiny portable TV in Great Ormond Street Hospital whilst my 3 week old son was having an operation on his eye. It took my mind off the waiting for a short while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david in sweden Posted 10 October, 2011 Author Share Posted 10 October, 2011 The main difference between the two was while David Beckham secured a mulit-million pound contract with Real Madrid, Anders was only successful in getting his agent to pretend he was being tracked by Barcelona. A really good acheivement getting to that many caps for his country though. I remember celebrating the free-kick he scored at the 2002 world cup nearly as much as anything the England team did that tournament. I was in a roomful of Swedes celebrating it, that was pretty memorable, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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