The 29-year-old missed all of this year’s competitive matches until the restart against IFK Norrköping after the European Championship break. A back injury caused Oscar Lewicki to watch as MFF left the Swedish Cup group stage and lost the league lead to Djurgården. What did the midfielder do in the meantime? Lewicki began to think about how he could get better.
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– I think I tried to take the time I was hurt to develop a little my mindset and look at things that I could do better on the field. I think it has helped me once I get back. Then of course there is a lot of trust from the coach. Right when I was back and could play, I was matched in a good way with training and U21 matches. When I was ready for the Allsvenskan, I got the chance almost immediately – then it is clear that you gain self-confidence and grow. Since then, it has gone very well, quite simply, says Oscar Lewicki.
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He mentions details such as scanning his position before he gets the ball and knowing what to do with when receiving it, and thinks he has gotten better at it. Lewicki takes up the training method that Jon Dahl Tomasson has implemented as head coach, where the MFF players are drilled in exercises with high pressure and intensity.
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– It is a lot of “chaos training” where you have to make many quick decisions. It is probably also a part of thinking about it even more, says Lewicki.
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After the comeback against IFK Norrköping on July 7, it did not take long before he regained a given place in midfield. Lewicki has played all eight Champions League qualifiers from the start and also made six Allsvenskan appearances during the summer.
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The top form has been rewarded in the form of a national team selection. Lewicki was on the national team captain Janne Andersson’s gross list at the time of the decisive playoff meeting with Ludogoret’s last week, when he blocked a Bulgarian shot in the final stages of the match and at the same time twisted a ligament in his knee.
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The MFF veteran could start celebrating a Champions League promotion a few minutes later, but was then forced to inform Andersson that he was unavailable for the national team selection a week ago.
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The last time Andersson took Lewicki out was in the autumn of 2019. Even then, the midfielder had to say no due to an injury.
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– It’s boring. I think I was part of a regular collection under Janne – otherwise there has been a January tour as well. It’s damn fun that you were up to date again and I feel that it has gone well lately. It was a nice receipt to get that you have done so well that you are relevant to be there again. Of course, I hope that I will recover from the injury quickly and continue to perform, so that I can be relevant in the future as well, says Lewicki.
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He has realized that the chances for national team games have become greater since midfielders Gustav Svensson and Sebastian Larsson thanked for themselves in Blågult. Lewicki started in the European Championship premiere in 2016 and has played 14 A-national matches in addition to it. However, he does not go and set up the national team as a goal on the road.
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– The main focus is always on the here and now, Malmö FF – that’s what the thoughts are about. As I said, if you were to join the national team, it’s great fun, and once you get there you do everything for the country. But I think you have to live in the present and not think about any other match than the one you play next, says Lewicki and believes that the CL qualifiers have strengthened his shares:
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– It is probably an important thing, that he checks that you can perform on that stage, which is still the toughest possible resistance in those matches. I think that is definitely an important thing.
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The statistics tool Playmaker.AI shows a slightly more offensive Lewicki this year compared to 2020, who gets rid of the ball more often near the opponent’s goal but also shoots more. He is about as difficult to take the ball off but takes fewer free kicks this year. In the physical game, he holds the highest Allsvenskan class in all parameters, mainly in strength, resilience and balance.
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When MFF played with three central midfielders in the European matches against Rangers and Ludogorets, Lewicki has been given a freer role in the middle and handed over the distinctly defensive to Bonke Innocent. The MFF veteran believes that the training methodology has made the players in the team more flexible. Jon Dahl Tomasson has also on a number of occasions called Oscar Lewicki “Sweden’s Franz Beckenbauer”, for the ability to master several different positions.
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– There are many who have taken steps. I think many, not changed the style of play, but maybe got another thing in the arsenal to get even better. It feels like we as a team solve situations in an even better and faster way sometimes, Lewicki says about his teammates.
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The knee injury meant that he did not help them at Tele2 Arena on Sunday, where Malmö FF lost 2-1 against Hammarby. MFF’s and Djurgården’s somewhat shaky form has made AIK and Elfsborg invited to the gold race, and these four teams are within three points.
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Lewicki is asked which teams will hang with MFF during the autumn dissolution at the top.
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– I actually do not know. We will be there anyway, then the others can do what they want. I check very little on the others – it’s about us and we should be at the top when it’s over anyway, says Oscar Lewicki.
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He has belonged to Malmö FF between 2005-2008 and from 2015 to today’s date. In 242 A-team matches, Lewicki has scored seven goals for the club.
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