The alternative was to destroy the next squad – VG

Without an excuse, externally, from Sørloth, it would have been impossible for Lagerbäck, who could lose much of his respect internally. Now the coach of the national team has shown that he can be diplomatic and come up with a kind of compromise, all so that the best players remain on the national team.

And Sørloth has realized that all argumentation and strong opinions must stop at a certain point. In the end, it is a man who decides, he is employed, he has paid well to make decisions, until he is no longer the coach of the national team.

The most important game is always the next one, not the previous one. Everyone was disappointed after the pale match against Serbia. But at some point, everyone has to move on.

Even an avid Alexander Sørloth must understand that. That NFF hooked up Stefan Johansen as a kind of mediator here, he was wise. Johansen is a “streetmart”, that is, a boy with good social skills. The captain of the Norwegian national team was guaranteed to use his skills here, in talks with Sørloth. In collaboration with the apparatus of the entire national team, this was resolved for the benefit of all, Sunday night.

Stefan Johansen should receive a big thank you. It has been important to restore trust between the player and the coach of the national team.

It just had to be a solution, so that the national team doesn’t take it to the next meeting. National team dealers / players / managers had to re-establish trust between them to continue the collaboration.

Some clarifications, or translations, of what the Norwegian Football Association sent as a press release on Sunday evening:

“The form of communication went wrong” means: Words were used that should not be used in such discussions.

“Agreement on the guidelines for the national team” means: This cannot happen multiple times.

“The temperature got too high” means: Everything got too irrational.

“The discussion went too far” means: Things were said that both parties understand should not have happened.

It is not known if it can be called “lost in translation” (missing in translation), but when the following is specified, it may seem that Swedish and Norwegian are somewhat more different than we like to think:

“Alexander and the coaching staff emphasize that he has not said that the coaches are incompetent, but Alexander regrets having argued in a way that makes them perceive him that way.”

It is an advantage that such “misunderstandings” are avoided in the future.

Finally, the standard phrase “now-we-are-all-friends”:

“Both Alexander Sørloth, the technical team and the captain team have spoken together and are ready to put the matter behind us and focus on the next national matches.”

Lars Lagerbäck will be asked about this matter when he presents the team for the meetings with Israel, Romania and Austria on Monday in a week. You must bear that. And the press is guaranteed to be curious about the continuation here; Will there be peace and tolerance now?

The next item, which Lars Lagerbäck is guaranteed to spend time on, is leaks. It has bothered him since he realized that the team’s lineup comes out earlier than he wants it to, almost every time.

Now you have experienced something that you think is much worse.

You need to get to the bottom of it.