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What has Lars-Åke Lagrell meant for Swedish football?
– He was not only one of Swedish football, but one of all of Sweden’s greatest sports leaders of all time. During its more than 20 years of rule, Swedish football went from being a broad popular movement with little money to being part of a global entertainment industry. From watching your local team once a week to watching world stars almost daily from your TV couch. With the result in hand, it can be said that he did quite well, despite the fact that Swedish football is not in the same economic division as many other countries.
Who was Lagrell and what was he like as a person?
– He was a great class traveler in soccer. His father was killed in an accident when Lars-Åke was just two years old, and he has recounted how he asked if some other kind of adult could pay for his admission to enter Stadsparksvallen in Jönköping when he was little. And from there he went on to lead the Swedish Football Association for more than 20 years. He was a disciple of Lennart Johansson, but Johansson’s great and strong position in Europe made it difficult for Lagrell to step into the best football halls. He often said, “This is not the time for a Swede to put himself in that position.”
– For us journalists, it was very special dealing with him. It was easy to interview and difficult to interview. An interview could last twenty minutes, but it was not easy to get concrete answers from him, he was good at talking to journalists.
Is there something else you are thinking about?
– One thing that is a bit forgotten is that she was involved in women’s football betting early on, which meant that Sweden got involved and competed among the biggest football nations. This was probably one of the reasons why he was often upset when criticized that he was too slow and too little invested in gender equality work within the union.
Read more:
Lars-Åke Lagrell is dead – he turned 80
Lagerbäck reminds Lagrell: “A president committed to football”
Tribute to the national coach: “Lagrell brought women’s football to light”
