Munich (dpa) – The world-class soccer players Pernille Harder (31) and Magdalena Eriksson (30) have been playing for FC Bayern Munich since this summer. Together. This was also very important for the Danish-Swedish couple in their private lives.
In an interview with the German Press Agency, Harder, striker and recently recovered, and Eriksson, defender and currently injured, talk about communication in a long-distance relationship, Tetris when disposing of waste and two kisses that made history.
Ms. Eriksson, Ms. Harder, you met ten years ago at Linköpings FC in Sweden. What was your first impression of each other?
Eriksson: I initially thought Pernille was great as a soccer player. She really impressed me, she was next level for me. I had never played with a player as good as her before. I was also surprised at how humble she was despite having so much talent. And she’s a nice person too (laughs). We became good friends and then had a mutual circle of friends who did a lot of things together.
Harder: We are both very interested in mathematics and then took a math course together. We got to know each other even better. After a few months we became a couple.
They had a long-distance relationship for a few years. How difficult was that for you as a couple?
Harder: It was difficult. You have to work really hard to make it work. But the time we were apart was also good for our relationship. Luckily we have developed in the same direction. Since we lived apart for three and a half years and are still together, it shows that our relationship is really deep and resilient. We both had the feeling that this relationship was worth fighting for, even though we often only saw each other once a month. Magda used to often fly from London to Wolfsburg for a day and a half.
Eriksson: You learn a lot about communication when you’re in a long-distance relationship because that’s key. If you don’t communicate, then you actually have nothing because you don’t see each other, you’re not physically close to each other. We learned over the years that we had to get better at talking to each other and expressing our feelings with words. This helped us grow into our relationship. We communicate much better now than we did before our long distance relationship. We have also become much stronger in this respect.
The distance has been eliminated at Chelsea FC, where they played together from 2020 to 2023, and now also at FC Bayern Munich. Did you have to get used to being so close again?
Eriksson: It really went from zero to 100 (laughs).
Harder: The fact that we lived together for two years before I went to Wolfsburg in 2017 meant that we knew what our routines were.
Eriksson: We had to sort out more practical things: who does the dishes, who does the laundry?
Harder: And who takes out the trash… (laughs)
Eriksson: In a relationship, one partner always thinks that he or she is doing more housework than the other.
How do you divide that?
Eriksson: In England I did the dishes and Pernille took out the trash. Now it’s more balanced. But there was a point where I thought she was playing Tetris with the trash, she was trying so hard to balance trash in the trash can just to avoid having to take it out right away (laughs).
Harder: It’s funny how people can have different opinions when it comes to washing dishes, whether something is already clean or still not (laughs). But we are now of the same opinion. Apart from that, it was completely natural to get back into a common rhythm.
Can you imagine parting ways again professionally to change clubs?
Harder: I really like it here. FC Bayern is a great club, Munich is a great city. I’m enjoying it, even though I’ve been injured for two months now. We have a contract for the next three years and I can well imagine staying here longer.
Eriksson: It’s the first time we’ve moved to a new club together. It’s really nice to have the security of having Pernille with me. Football can be quite lonely when you are away from your family and perhaps your partner too. Having started a new adventure here with her is inspiring and cool. Like Pernille, I couldn’t ask for a better environment.
In 2019, during the World Cup, they kissed in the stadium after Eriksson’s Sweden won against Canada. It was just a kiss, but the photo of this public kiss caused a stir around the world.
Harder: At first I didn’t realize that the photo had such a wow effect because I was simply at the World Cup to support Magda. It wasn’t our first public kiss after a game either, we had kissed a few times before (laughs). The photo quickly attracted huge attention on social media, became popular and attracted many positive comments. It was interesting for me to see how much this image seemed to be needed by society.
Eriksson: We were surprised at how necessary such a photo apparently was for football. We’ve kind of lived in our own bubble before and have been open about our relationship for a long time. But after this special moment, we realized how important it is to be visible, to do things that come naturally to us and to be proud of them. I believe the best way to be a role model to others is to express yourself and be yourself. That’s exactly what we did. I’m happy and proud that the photo of our kiss became such a big topic because it was obviously something that football really needed.
When you were a teenager, did you have role models to look up to who made you feel like your sexuality was completely okay the way it was?
Eriksson: My older sister Amanda has always been very important to me. She encouraged me to be comfortable as I am and not to think about what others might think of me. When I was growing up, she was always this calming voice that said, ‘You are good just the way you are. Be yourself.’ I came out when I was 16. My sister was very important to me in the first few years so that I didn’t feel like an outsider.
Harder: My parents, Annie and Mogens, always let me know that it doesn’t matter who I love or who I bring home. They are happy as long as I am happy. I don’t know if they expected me to bring home a girl one day (laughs), but they always gave me the feeling: I can be who I am. I was really lucky in that.
How far do you think football has come today in terms of diversity and inclusion among women and men?
Eriksson: Women’s football has always been a safe space for me and a place where I can be myself. I never felt like I had to hide any part of my sexuality or myself. I have never been discriminated against because of my sexuality by fans either.
Harder: That also applies to me. I never felt like I had to hide, I can always be myself in football.
Eriksson: There are more and more players who use their platforms and also speak out on social issues. But we still have a lot of work ahead of us. We must continue to create this safe space so that men’s football becomes even more diverse, including when it comes to sexual orientation.
Harder: The next generation is growing up in an environment of increasing acceptance and is therefore more open. Therefore, I hope that men’s football can also continue to develop as a traditional sport. Unfortunately, in the next ten or 20 years there will probably still be people who are not happy about a gay man playing football.
Is it easier to exchange ideas with younger people about such topics?
Harder: I think when you’re younger, your own values compass isn’t quite set yet, so you have the opportunity to give input on what can be valuable for an open society and what isn’t. Older generations, on the other hand, have often already established their values and opinions on certain things. Then it becomes more difficult to change the setting.
Do you find it strange that sexual openness is normal in women’s football, but not in men’s football?
Eriksson: Women’s football is a much younger sport. A lot has become established in traditional men’s football in more than 100 years. Women’s football is therefore more influenced by modern views. I hope that the more women’s football grows, the more men’s football can learn from it in certain aspects.
There was your famous photo at the 2019 World Cup. There was a contrasting photo at the 2023 World Cup when the Spanish association boss Luis Rubiales, who has since resigned, kissed national player Jennifer Hermoso on the mouth at the award ceremony. Hermoso saw the kiss as an act of violence, Rubiales, who also has to stand trial, speaks of mutual consent. What do you think about it?
Eriksson: They are the two ends of a spectrum. I always try to see things positively, even in a situation like this. Since then, something has actually changed for the better for the Spanish national team. They began a fight against their association almost a year ago to change the culture towards greater safety and respect. They’ve done that now. I don’t know whether that would have been possible without this attack.
Harder: The fact that the change has taken place shows how far we have come in society and how we are moving in the right direction. We take action when something unacceptable happens. The Spanish players fought for their cause, which was noticed worldwide, and brought about change.
Eriksson: A kiss like the one at the World Cup this year might not have been a big deal ten years ago because times were different back then and the team might not have felt like they were in a position to commit such a disgusting act address and criticize them. That kiss may have felt like a huge step backwards for women’s football at the time, but everything that happened afterward shows that we are becoming more and more confident and can really make our voices heard when we want to.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:231226-99-408345/3
2023-12-26 10:04:06
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