After the seventh place in 2022, Henrik Rydström was brought in to Malmö FF to take the club’s men’s team back to the Allsvenskan top. He succeeded in that – and salvaged the SM gold in the decisive “final” against Elfsborg in the last round last year.
The title thus meant that MFF took a big step forward, but at the same time that they did what is expected of the team every year: win.
So what exactly were the feelings that filled Henrik Rydström when it was all over last fall? He describes that, first of all, he was “incredibly satisfied”.
– It was no relief at all. Because I haven’t thought along those lines. I was up in the studio with Pontus (Jansson) after the final whistle and then he talked about relief, which I understand he felt. But I was probably mostly at ease, says the MFF coach.
– I wasn’t up in the clouds and I wasn’t: “Well, now we’re going to work again tomorrow”.
The difference between coming first and second is big, but Rydström doesn’t want to make it too big either.
– If you come second, you haven’t won, but of course I thought we had a very good season, just like Elfsborg might think now.
But you were screwed, right?
– Yes, I had received much, much, much more crap than (Jimmy) Thelin got. And what Elfsborg got. But that’s how we want it in Malmö. It’s kind of a sign of where we are and where the other teams are.
– But I don’t always think so much about winning. I think about how we play so that we can win.
But did the pressure on you and yours get to you before the match? Did you feel it?
– No, I would probably say that I split everything up. I wanted a decisive match at home. I wanted to make sure it lived. Many people perceived that we were so incredibly good during the first part of the season, but after 15 games, I think we were third. But we were the team that took the most points in the last 15 rounds and I don’t think that’s people’s perception.
– We said: “We have to make sure it lives”.
Rydström develops:
– It is clear that I am like everyone else and can think about consequences and the pressure. But in the end I conclude that it is one’s own anger, disappointment or happiness that becomes decisive. Against Häcken (in the penultimate round) I despised myself after the match. At the same time, I’ve been good at redirecting focus in such situations, I started thinking: “Okay, next season”.
– But during the season I actually didn’t think much about it (the importance of winning). Because those of us who are in it must have more variables than that, that it’s crap if we come second and great if we win.
But the symbolism of being a winner is important, isn’t it?
– Yes, exactly like that. Because in the end it will still be what I am judged on the basis of in certain contexts. It’s the same for the players. Some had not won before. We benefited greatly from the experience of those who won before and now everyone else has won too.
Rydström explains that he felt a sense of calm when the Lennart Johanssons Pokal was secured and he says that he made sure to enjoy the triumph. But he also says he likes “when it becomes everyday” after a success.
– This year when we win, it will be the case that we have a group stage and matches (after the last round) in the Champions League. Then there won’t be space like last year to enjoy and cozy up for two weeks before the players go on leave.
You say when?
– Yes. Heh. That’s what we have in our target image. It would be strange not to say so.
The Malmö coach embraces the fact that the expectation for MFF is for them to win constantly.
– I don’t think you know how to handle it until you’re in it, but I already think last year that it suited me well. It’s quite nice. Because there will be no doubts. I don’t have to think about anything. I usually get that question before kick-off: “The pressure is on you, are you going to win?”. Haha, yes, it’s as usual, sort of.
– What you have to be vigilant about, and that’s what we’re trying to navigate, is that it won’t be the only thing that we inwardly talk about. To win. Part of the fact that I have felt a great calm is that we are dealing with it internally. “Danne” (Daniel Andersson, sporting director) never comes to me and says: “Damn, we have to win today”.
You didn’t feel like you’d be fired if you didn’t win against Elfsborg, did you?
– No, I knew 100 percent that the club was very happy with very many pieces. In the end, it’s the result that counts, but I was also hired to make a team work and to make the people I work with feel good. I am also judged based on that.
Rydström explains that he skipped a thing with the MFF squad that he did, for example, in Kalmar FF as a coach.
– I don’t need to have any goal-setting meetings with the players here in Malmö, about how many points we want to get and so on. We must win and enter the group stage (in Europe).
– Then I delve into that, together with the people I work with, about what it means and what we have to do. For me, it will always be everyday life, the training environment and how we are towards each other (which is the focus).
He continues:
– It’s also about enjoying this. That’s what I mean by navigating. Sometimes it can happen that we ourselves block the demands so that in the end we just feel: “Wait, we have to win”. Then you have taken away the joy. Then you try to be in a future that doesn’t exist or a past that doesn’t exist, while the only thing that exists is here and now. My task will be to bring the players back there.
– It’s great that “Ponne” thinks we have a “cheating team”, but he needs to block that shot in training and so on, says Rydström and laughs.
Last year, MFF did not participate in any European qualifiers at all. This year they will try to get into the Champions League.
– So the challenge for us will be to perform even in everyday life in the Allsvenskan.
He says that they work based on an image that they should get to the Champions League of the European tournaments.
– That is the objective. But we are very aware of the challenges that lie ahead.
“At home” in the Allsvenskan, he also sees challenges:
– Blåvitt is hungry, AIK is dissatisfied after last season, Hammarby is dissatisfied and hungry, Djurgården is hungry, Häcken had a perfectly okay season but will be hungry and Elfsborg will be hungry. We will be hunted.
Do you include Blåvitt?
– I’m just saying that they will be hungry, says Rydström and smiles.
– If you look at resources, audience interest and know-how in the group, they will be better than last year. That’s how I look at it.
Malmö FF started their competitive season this weekend, by winning 2-0 at home against Östers IF in the Swedish Cup. The next cup match awaits on Saturday, against IFK Luleå.
FOOTNOTE: The interview was done at MFF’s training camp in Spain, at the beginning of February.
All matches in the Swedish Cup can be streamed via TV4 Play.
2024-02-20 09:13:00
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