Pontus Dahlberg, 24, returned to IFK Gothenburg last summer and played in four games when Blåvitt finished in eighth place in the Allsvenskan. The goalkeeper, who broke through as an 18-year-old in 2017 and then moved to Watford with several loans as a result, is again the first goalkeeper in IFK this year.
When Dahlberg last played in Blåvitt, the squad looked different, while he feels that it was a bit more pressured then than it is now – after the team had been beaten at the top in 2015 and 2016.
– Blåvitt always wants to be at the top, and there was perhaps a little more pressure then because you came from having fought for the SM gold going into the last match in 2015, and had been in the top in 2016. Maybe supporters somewhere had those expectations of us In 2017 and 2018, but then it didn’t happen like that and then it was a little disappointing, he tells Fotbollskanalen and continues:
– In recent years, we haven’t been up there and beaten, and then perhaps supporters have a different understanding of how the situation is, even though we always want to be up there and should be up there. Of course, we hope to be this year as well.
Dahlberg sees himself today as a clearly much better goalkeeper than he was when he left in 2018.
– Generally speaking, I am at a higher level. I have accumulated experience after several years abroad with training at a higher level, which makes you get better and better in daily activities. Then you also become better in all different parts, but also calmer as a person and player. When you live abroad, you have to take care of a few other things around you in a different way, and then you also become calmer as a person and also on the field. If I compare to when I broke through in 2017, I am calmer and know more what to do and not chase situations, he says.
Dahlberg was with Watford for a total of four years, but did not get playing time at the club and was instead on loan at Eredivisie side Emmen, reigning Swedish champions BK Häcken and League One clubs Doncaster Rovers and Gillingham FC in England.
The 24-year-old thinks it was the right time to leave Watford last summer.
– There is a lot to consider, everything is possible, but then and there when we talked to Blåvitt it felt like it was the right timing and the right decision to find a new way to take a gamble and drive again. By then I had still been at Watford for four years and Watford in itself is a bit of a special club, he says.
– Four years there is almost like 14 years elsewhere, as there is a lot of ruljang a lot that happens. Then it felt like it was the right decision to try something else and go from there. I’m glad I did it and I’m glad to be here, he continues.
Dahlberg now thinks it’s nice to be able to focus fully on one and the same place – Blåvitt.
– Loans are a very good thing in the short term to gather experience and get matches, but in the long term it may not be as optimal and it does not last in the long run. There are both positive and negative parts to it, but it is clear that it is positive and nice to be in one place, focus fully on it and put all your energy into it, he says.
Dahlberg said in the autumn of 2021 that Watford had then shown that the club believes in him, as a future number one, and when asked if he feels cheated by the club, the answer is:
– Deceived is the wrong word, as you can never be promised things in the football business, but it didn’t turn out exactly like the plan they presented when I signed. What that means, I can’t really answer, as there was a lot of ruljang in the club and still is a lot of ruljang. When I left now, there were probably two or three people left, apart from the owner and so on. There have been a lot of new people who have come in and of course they want to leave their mark on the team, the club and the players. There was a lot going on and it’s a club, where there’s a lot of ruljangs.
What would be most important to you in choosing a club – if you were to move abroad again?
– It is of course that there is a clear plan, that you are careful about it and talk to the club in such cases and get a clear plan about how they look at it, what they want and how everything is simply set up. At the same time, they have to show a lot of confidence, but that’s not something I’m focusing on right now. I’m in Blåvitt now and focusing 110 percent on this.
At the same time, during his time in England, Dahlberg was selected for several Swedish A national team meetings, and says that it was big for him. However, he has not been involved since autumn 2021.
– It was great fun and great fun to be part of those gatherings. It’s something all footballers want to be a part of and represent their country, as it’s the biggest thing you can do. It was great fun to be there and feel the environment, the surroundings and how everything works. It was very helpful and I’m working hard to get back in there.
Was it tough when you didn’t come along then?
– You always want to be in, so in that way it was boring, but it’s a tough competitive situation and I’m working hard to get back in there.
Dahlberg goes on to say that national team captain Janne Andersson contacted him when he wasn’t going to be selected, which he thinks was a nice gesture.
– I spoke to Janne, and he said that it is a competitive situation, which I buy and respect. There were no strange things, he says and continues:
– As players, you appreciate that there is openness and communication. Then you get more understanding, both from the player’s side and probably from the coach’s side as well, that you can have that dialogue. It is only positive.
Now Dahlberg therefore focuses on performing in Blåvitt to strengthen his shares in the national team discussion, and above all to help the big club to new success.
– I am now focusing 110 percent on Blåvitt and doing as well as possible here, both on a personal level and a team level. We, as a team, have to do as well as possible, and there I am very motivated for the coming season, that we set a foundation, build from there and work from that. We’ll see what happens in the future, but it’s not something that’s on my mind right now. I’m focusing on doing the best I can here and now and then we’ll take the rest from now on.
