It was after a duel just before half time in the meeting with Elfsborg on May 20 that Ola Toivonen ended up on the grass and lay there. The 35-year-old had for the first time in the spring been poked from Malmö FF’s starting eleven in the 3-1 victory against Kalmar FF three days earlier – and the week would get worse.
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MFF won 2-1 against Elfsborg but Toivonen’s season was over. A serious knee injury forced the offensive midfielder to an operation, and the dream of qualifying and reaching the Champions League for the first time fell apart for Toivonen.
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– Then I felt good: “Wow, this is going to be tough”. The first reaction was almost that if it is going to an operation, I do not know what will happen. Then when you got some distance to it, I would go back and did not want to end like this, by not being allowed to play in front of an audience for the club you like. I still want to be an important player for the club and still feel that I can contribute a lot, both on the pitch and in the locker room, says Ola Toivonen to Fotbollskanalen.
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Since a few weeks ago, the 64-time A national team player is back in lighter training with the ball and aims to increase the intensity this winter.
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– I do not play this year, I do not dare. We’ll see when it’s time to start next year. Maybe go into training in February? I’m not very keen on going out on the artificial turf in January when it’s a bit cold and so on. I do not know, but just being part of the group from January would have been very fun, says Toivonen.
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– The hard part has probably been to be in there and see when the others tie their shoes and have fun. It would have been almost easier to train elsewhere than to train here and see them go out. It has been a good plan all the time, I think with Jesper (Robertsson, physiotherapist in MFF) above all, who is the boss, in consultation with Dahan (Rickard, physiotherapist at Kulan) who I trained a lot with.
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How hard has this period been for you?
– In the beginning, this summer it was hard. Then when all the fun started and when the operation happened it was hard. Everything that comes into play, you get a serious injury and have just won gold, we had started the series well and then the fun begins with the European Games and all that. Just before we go into the fun – then it happens.
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It can be said that Malmö FF did well without last season’s great prestige acquisition. They top the Allsvenskan before the three final rounds and play, as is well known, in the Champions League group stage, despite a form dip and lots of injuries in recent months. With this in mind, is there still a place in the team for Ola Toivonen?
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– There is always it for me, I do not doubt it. My skills, my experience and quality – I know it will exist and I’m not worried about that. There are many who have asked, but what has felt difficult has been to sit in the stands when things are not going well. Then it almost feels like it’s my fault. When things are going well, I just clench my fist and think: damn, now I just want to join the team, says Toivonen and emphasizes that he was needed for MFF to avoid the valleys of the season.
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Coach Jon Dahl Tomasson has on a number of occasions highlighted the leadership role that Toivonen took during the injury absence. The player himself describes it as if he has been there, but still not as part of the group during the last six months.
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He has sat by himself in the stands and analyzed MFF’s matches – the way he likes to follow the game. Toivonen has supported his teammates with a more nuanced picture from the side, he says, and tried to make them realize that heavy matches can be a reference point for something better.
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At one point, one’s own temperament and frustration at not being able to participate and influence has put a stop to the feedback. When MFF received a penalty against IFK Gothenburg on 14 August and lost the match in extra time, an insane Ola Toivonen got up from the grandstand and started shouting. A commotion arose in the player corridor after the final signal and Toivonen was suspended in four matches for “inappropriate conduct”.
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– In the end, the cup ran over there. I could not be silent anymore when the judge passed by and just thought they were making a mistake. Then I do not even remember what words I used – apparently it was not such a good word, says the MFF player.
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You did not quarrel in the aisle?
– No no. I do not think it was a quarrel, but I was against the judge.
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Ola Toivonen has one year left on his contract in a Malmö FF where the competition is already fierce in the offensive midfield places. He has still not played in front of an audience at Eleda Stadium – Toivonen left the club just before the arena change in 2009 – and says that the audience return was a big carrot during the rehabilitation period.
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However, he is not saying to become the same player again as after the knee injury.
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– Oh no. That is probably the biggest question mark, how much will a long-term injury affect me when I return? I managed the intensity that Jon demanded of me the first year. The second year, what we saw a little of, it felt a little harder. Now all you have to do is get on the horse and ride hard and train. The intensity we have in Malmö FF, it is incredible indeed. It requires a lot from the player, says Toivonen.
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Does it even stand out compared to your previous clubs?
– Yes I think so. But as I said, it is a very Dutch way of thinking. Sometimes we play very directly and win by pushing the opponent in a very good way. When it succeeds, it looks very simple, but it requires an incredible amount of the player. I think we did fantastically well when Jon came here. Gold, Champions League and possibly gold again. Just lift your hat.
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The Degerfors product spent a large part of the summer acting as an expert in SVT’s European Championship studio and was praised for its efforts there. When he thinks about the future, however, a role in the television box is not obvious to Toivonen.
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– Both yes and no. It was a lot of downtime and a lot of traveling up to Stockholm. I really do not know. It’s not impossible that I will do more TV eventually, because I liked those I worked with and thought we were a good bunch and I had a lot of fun. But a full-time job after his career as a TV guy? I actually do not know.
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You want something that you influence more in?
– Yes exactly. Every day. More feel that I really work for an employer. I’m a little scared to try something new maybe, but what’s been so good – that I had an employer I work for – it feels quite nice. I’m probably interested in quite a lot – especially in football, it’s good to develop how not to lose talent so quickly, how to make them tougher, how to make youth players tougher and more determined.
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In an interview with Aftonbladet, Ola Toivonen confirmed that MFF will be the end station of his career – an end at home in Degerfors is thus not relevant. After the success during his return last year and with this year’s disappointment fresh in his mind, the motivation for year three on the contract is high at Toivonen. 2022 will not necessarily be his last season in sky blue.
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– I feel this hunger in my head above all. “Sebbe” (Larsson, AIK) had an expression after a match where he said: “If you are not passionate about it – then you should quit”. As you have seen, I am still passionate about it, even if I am injured, Ola Toivonen concludes.
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He also played in MFF between 2007 and 2008 and has scored 28 goals in 87 matches at the club. Toivonen has also played in Örgryte, PSV, Rennes, Toulouse, Sunderland and Melbourne Victory.
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