Lagerbäck ends under the microscope until 2020 – VG

In disappointment that another final match is coming for the Norwegian soccer masters, especially after little or nothing worked against Serbia, it is easy to think that “something new” must come in, that everything old must be thrown away. .

The reactions were very spontaneous on Thursday night: Lagerbäck knocked out the wrong team, he didn’t change fast enough. And Norway never used their strengths: the offense, with Martin Ødegaard and two dangerous forwards.

Most things are fine in hindsight. And therefore it is also too easy to say that Lagerbäck has to step aside, now. At the same time, there is no national team manager since Drillo who has had at his disposal such a promising group of footballers as Lars Lagerbäck now has. So we have to demand that you make the most of this generation, that’s your job.

If you are not successful, someone else must have the opportunity.

Now it may appear that Lagerbäck also opened up to step aside, in what he declared after the game against Serbia. But the Swede really only logically responded to one question: “I have no problem walking away if the employer wants it or if I have to do it myself.”

What else should I answer?

Lars Lagerbäck continues. But the hawk’s eye will probably be a bit stronger in the future. Every time it seems that Lagerbäck has something in order with the Norwegian team, there will be a weak match again, or a weak period in matches. Stability is alarmingly weak, leads strong and thus points were lost against Sweden and Romania at home, the match against Austria at home was terribly tame, then everything was successful against Northern Ireland, before Norway crashed into Serbia in the most important match.

Why is this happening?

1) The team is relatively young. So logically you change more often than you would with a more experienced team.

2) The Norwegian team lacks natural leaders. The captain hardly joins the team and is substituted in almost every game (16 of 21). This is not a strength for the team, even though Stefan Johansen is a good leader off the field.

3) Norway lacks defensive players. This is a point that I have taken into account in several comments, the most recent after the defeat to Austria, and it has not lost relevance after the game against Serbia. Several of the former defensive champions of the national team, such as Henning Berg, Brede Hangeland, Erland Johnsen and Rune Bratseth are also (obviously) concerned, especially since it is perceived that it is not “great” to train in defense games in 2020. What you do with the ball – also there.

It is difficult to “take” Lars Lagerbäck at this point. Get the best plugs. The problem is that the selection is lousy. It is the clubs, possibly the association, that should do the work for Lagerbäck / other directors of national teams here. Development must take place in clubs.

4) The system. Is Lagerbäck’s 4–4–2, the classic Swedish model, a bit outdated? The truth is that at least hardly a selection or a club selection with success, plays this system. If you look at the Norwegian team, how they are organized, it seems more suitable for a variation of 4-3-3. There’s something about the midfield constellation in Lagerbäck’s 4–4–2 that I don’t quite discover. Against Serbia, he was arrhythmic on both defense and offense, easy to play and uncreative.

5) Young people are the leaders. This can be an advantage, in the long run. Guys like Kristoffer Ajer, Sander Berge, Erling Braut Haaland and Alexander Sørloth can quickly regain the captaincy in the next qualifying, after all the experience they have gained in recent years.

Lars Lagerbäck has won half of the games as coach of the Norwegian national team. But who has Norway really beaten in the 16 games Lagerbäck won with Norway? Azerbaijan, San Marino, Northern Ireland (twice), Australia, Albania, Iceland, Panama, Cyprus (twice), Slovenia, Bulgaria, the Faroe Islands (twice) and Malta (twice).

Is there something more than it should be?

I mean, no. And Lars Lagerbäck has a job to do in the next four games this fall: against Romania (twice), Northern Ireland and Austria.

We must see something, progress. We must see a way of playing that allows our good young players to shine in the football sky, also in the national team.

Lagerbäck’s job is to provide. If he doesn’t succeed, then there is a man in Copenhagen who should be the next coach of the Norwegian national team, either in 2021 or at the latest in 2022.