Swedish icon gives insight: “Gotta thank Fifa”
HOUSTON/MONTERREY. You have the best seats at the WC arenas, live in luxury hotels, fly around in business, hang out with the biggest players of the 90s – and get paid for everything.
Welcome to the Fifa Legends life – the World Cup’s most luxurious mission.
– Always fun to meet old opponents and talk about old memories, says Stefan Schwarz.
– It’s almost like home, smiles Stefan Schwarz.
He is ironic of course, the old 94 legend, when we meet at the luxury hotel he lives in in Monterrey.
Or at least that’s what we assume.
Because the 57-year-old doesn’t have one of his own bodyguard (as he calls his companion/fixer who accompanies him all the time) with him everywhere at home in Cascais, Portugal? Doesn’t he get driven around everywhere? Doesn’t he get VIP treatment everywhere he goes? Doesn’t he sit in the stands of honor at every game he sees? Isn’t he served breakfast, lunch and dinner at a luxury hotel or in a VIP box at an arena?
But Schwarz gets it here at the WC as a Fifa Legend.
As a Fifa Legend at a World Cup, you have by all accounts the most luxurious and comfortable existence anyone can have here.
Legends WC base: Miami
There are as many as 7000 Fifa Legends around the world. The absolute cream of the crop has been invited to the WC to spread stardom in the stands and various events.
Stefan Schwarz, who played in two WCs, was the only Swede in this year’s tournament until the match against Japan when two other bronze heroes, Patrik Andersson and Jesper Blomqvist, joined.
– I had thoughts of going here privately, but then I was invited by Fifa, says Schwarz.
Powerful men in the football industry flock around the legends. When Sportbladet encounters Schwarz at his five-star hotel in central Houston, he is sitting with the Portuguese who is in charge of Cristiano Ronaldo’s affairs, among other things.
– He seems to be doing a good job, as Schwarz puts it because Ronaldo is said to be worth just over ten billion kroner.
Fifa Legends is based in a hotel in Miami during the World Cup.
– New faces appear all the time. Everyone flies back and forth to different matches. The first person I ran into here was Hristo Stoitchkov, says Schwarz.
– Sweden and Bulgaria were always drawn against each other in the qualifiers in my time and we had our duels. We had the same winner’s skulls but he is a nice person and it is always fun to meet old opponents and talk about old memories, says Schwarz, who was also a Fifa Legend in the 2018 World Cup.
There are plenty of old opponents to reminisce with at the World Cup for the old grater in midfield who speaks six languages himself. The stars of the 90s, and some of the biggest of the 00s, dominate among the Fifa Legends at this year’s World Cup: Roberto Baggio, Patrick Kluivert, Edwin van der Saar, Fernando Hierro, Dejan Savicevic, Christian Vieri, Jorge Campos and Christian Karembeu to name a few – and the brass, of course.
The brass love the Fifa Legends life
No one seems to love the Fifa Legends life like the brass who are always diligent guests in these contexts. But they are not just anyone either, world champions all as they are. Fifa President Gianni Infantino, who likes to surround himself with Fifa Legends in the stands during the matches, was completely in his rags when he got to meet Roberto Carlos, Ronaldo, Cafu, Rivaldo, Kaka and Bebeto at once in connection with Brazil-Scotland earlier this week. Ronaldinho and Romario are also there. The former stood in a Brazil shirt and his backwards cap, hugging all the Brazilian players as they marched in for kick-off against Scotland.
In the older guard of Fifa Legends we find 70s giants like Rivelino and Mario Kempes and among the younger ones are Pepe, David Silva, Wesley Sneijder and Samir Khedira.
– Football unites. You have to thank Fifa that we can meet like this and can create an even better relationship with old players, says Schwarz.
His main task is to be present at Sweden’s matches, but he can go and watch any match he wants as long as it does not clash with Sweden’s matches. The plan is for him to stay as long as Sweden remains in the WC.
Here is a selection of Fifa Legends at the World Cup
Stefan Schwarz, Sweden
Patrik Andersson, Sweden
Jesper Blomqvist, Sweden
Roberto Carlos, Brazil
Roberto Rivelino, Brazil
Cafu, Brazil
Ronaldo, Brazil
Ronaldinho, Brazil
Rivaldo, Brazil
Cake, Brazil
Bebeto, Brazil
Romario, Brazil
Roberto Baggio, Italy
Christian Vieri, Italy
Patrick Kluivert, Netherlands
Edwin van der Saar, Netherlands
Wesley Sneijder, Netherlands
Aaron Winter, Netherlands
Dejan Savicevic, Montenegro
Christian Karembeu, France
Youri Djorkaeff, France
Patrick Vieira, France
Mario Kempes, Argentina
Pepe, Portugal
Luis Figo, Portugal
Sami Khedira, Germany
Hristo Stoitchkov, Bulgaria
Diego Godin, Uruguay
Diego Forlán, Uruguay
Diego Lugano, Uruguay
Marco Materazzi, Italy
Christian Vieri, Italy
Jared Borgetti, Mexico
Luis Hernández, Mexico
Jorge Campos, Mexico
Fernando Hierro, Spain
Sergio Ramos, Spain
Emilio Butragueno, Spain
Michel Salgado, Spain
David Silva, Spain
Iker Casillas, Spain
Carles Puyol, Spain
The national team
