GOTHENBURG. He nobbed Malmö FF last winter.
Against Häcken, Carl Gustafsson, 23, was the match winner for Kalmar FF – in front of a dozen or so foreign clubs on site.
– The goal has always been to play abroad, says the midfielder to Sportbladet.
After three minutes, he caught a wrong pass from Häcken and served Simon Skrabb with a precise deep pass to make it 1–0.
Seven minutes later, Carl Gustafsson slipped and tackled the ball to Noah Shamoun, who scored 2–0.
If he gets both assist points, the defensive midfielder is already up to the scoring levels he usually reaches – in a whole season.
– It’s good for confidence and it’s good that the points come in a match against such a good opponent as Häcken, says Gustafsson.
One of the plan’s best
The 23-year-old continued to be one of the best players at the Bravida Arena with his great ball control, passing game and work capacity. According to Offside he was the player who ran the longest, 322 kilometers, in Allsvenskan 2022.
Year after year after the breakthrough in 2019, he has been interesting to bigger clubs. He has on several occasions been compared to Rasmus Elm.
Hammarby has tried to sign him and last winter, according to Sportbladet’s information, former Kalmar coach Henrik Rydström wanted to attract Carl Gustafsson to Malmö FF.
– Malmö is a good club, but it was never very interesting to me. The goal has always been to play abroad for me.
Without going through another Allsvenskan club, even if it had been MFF?
– Yes, I said early on that it was not relevant. I enjoy Kalmar FF very much, I like the players and the friends I have here, the people around the club. I have a good dialogue with our sporting director, Jörgen Petersson. It is up to me to prove what level I am in order to reach the goal of coming abroad.
Made his debut in the national team
After 11 international matches for the U21 national team, he made his debut in the A national team with two matches during the January training session in Portugal last winter.
At Bravida Arena’s stands in Kalmar’s 3–1 victory against Häcken on Saturday evening, at least 12 foreign clubs were present. They scouted not only Häcken’s stars but also Carl Gustafsson.
According to Sportbladet’s information, he is being followed by clubs such as AZ, Club Brugge, Fiorentina, Ajax and Eintracht Frankfurt. The contract expires at the end of December.
Are you still in Kalmar FF after the summer window?
– I understand why it is asked. There is a lot that must be right with the right type of club, the right league, a reasonable but good step and Kalmar FF must be satisfied as well. There is no stress.
Kalmar can threaten everyone
– It may sound boring, but for me it’s about doing well in the next training, staying healthy and in shape, and the next match against Kalmar. Then we probably have to show different qualities than we did in the first three games.
– Against Häcken, we show that we can be sharp with a lot of ball possession, also against a really good opposition. We feel we can beat everyone, says Carl Gustafsson.
