Olsen will make his 70th cap if he is allowed to stand in the European Championship qualifier against Azerbaijan in Baku on Thursday. The 71st and final international could have been the qualifier against Estonia at home at the Friends arena on Sunday.
That’s how the tone went as recently as a month ago. Before the meeting with Belgium in Brussels, he expressed great doubt about continuing in the national team after the European Championship qualification.
In connection with Tuesday’s training, he declared a clear desire to play on.
– I have to take the family into account as well, but if I have to choose, I’m not ready. I absolutely want to continue. I think the wife at home also wants me to continue, he says.
Then it will be like that?
– Then it will be like that, when the boss says so, says Olsen and laughs.
That is if all three children are causing chaos at home while I’m away.
The 33-year-old has only missed a gathering with the national team since Janne Andersson became national team captain in the summer of 2016.
Always showing up has been both a matter of course and a pleasure. It shines in Olsen’s eyes when he talks about how much he values putting on the national team’s goalkeeper shirt.
– It means an incredible amount. I also think that I showed it in the matches that it means a lot. I find it difficult to get playing time at home in the club team (Aston Villa) and can still come here and perform.
– That is the motivation I have.
When asked what could make the family say no, he answers:
– It’s fine if all three children are causing chaos at home while I’m away. But I don’t think I’m done.
Janne Andersson and Robin Olsen. Archive image. Photo: Erik Simander/TT
It was former national team captain Erik Hamrén who was on and made sure that Olsen chose Sweden. Born in Malmö, with Danish parents, Olsen could have chosen to play national team football on the other side of the Öresund. He only became a Swedish citizen in 2014.
On 15 January 2015, he made his debut for the Swedish national team in a friendly match against Ivory Coast during the January tour in the United Arab Emirates.
A year and a half later, Janne Andersson took over as national team captain – with Olsen as the appointed first-choice goalkeeper.
Their relationship has deepened over the years.
– We have been to so many gatherings together. Now I was told how much time we have spent together in these seven years, which is amazing.
– I think it was a year, which is absolutely incredible. You get to know each other much better then.
What we can do is win these closing games and give him a nice ending.
Janne Andersson has talked about how it feels sad for him to quit. Do you also feel a sense of sadness?
– Yes I do. It is a special collection. What we can do is win these closing games and give him a nice ending.
What are Andersson’s main qualities?
– Nah, but when you get to know him, he is a fantastic person who I appreciate immensely, says Robin Olsen.
The disappointment of missing out a second straight championship sits in.
– We had hoped that it would live on, but at the same time we can only blame ourselves. It’s boring. I think Janne had an agreement until the end of July. It would have been the perfect ending. Now it won’t be like that without these two matches.
– Now we will give him these two wins, says Olsen.
Read more:
Andersson: If those people come to Baku, they are heroes
The referee decided the WC final – got the arena named after him
2023-11-14 14:52:27
#Olsens #message #finished #national #team
