Published 20.17
MONTERREY. Several thousand Swedes are in Mexico for the opener against Tunisia.
Janne Svensson makes his tenth straight WC – but the road to get there was a nightmare.
– Fifa has stolen football, says the Swedish supporter.
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He danced on a sofa with Thomas Ravelli after the World Cup bronze in 1994, hung out at Copacabana in 2014 and watched France win World Cup gold on site in Paris in 1998.
Now Janne Svensson is in place at his tenth straight WC.
But the beginning of the championship did not go as planned.
– It has been chaos, disaster. I so wanted to be there from the beginning and enjoy the atmosphere in Mexico City and watch the game in the fan zone. But there were 50,000 people there and total chaos. No security, no riot fences, it was just a matter of pressing. Wheelchairs and people were up in the air, he says and continues::
– In the end, the things you were wearing disappeared, including my mobile phone. You have everything there these days. I have the tickets, bank ID, all contacts. It’s definitely been the worst start, but I’ve had a lot of great experiences as well.
“The ticket prices are absurd”
Despite the problems, Svensson has made it to Monterrey where he will watch Sweden’s opener against Tunisia. He has no intention of going to the United States.
– Right now the USA is not an attractive country, it is too quirky in many ways. I had such an incredible experience in 1994 so there might be a bit of a backlash there. But anything can happen if you don’t have a lot of plans. I’ve already met new friends who have tickets to the Houston game and want me to come along.
What is your best WC memory?
– Every WC has its own thing. Ever since Italy 90 where everyone was talking about football. France World Cup where France got to win at home and there was an anthill of people all over Paris. The 94 WC speaks for itself. South Africa with the proud South Africans over their WC. But four weeks at Copacabana was perhaps the best.
How did it go when you celebrated the bronze with the team in 1994?
– I found a friend from Oman at the Romania match, he had a girlfriend from Norway but started cheering for Sweden when Norway went out. We took a car down to LA, but didn’t have tickets for the semi-finals. So we thought: “where do the Swedes live?”, we found the hotel and all we had to do was go in. I knew the national team doctor and got to meet Schwartz, who gave us two tickets to the semi-finals. After the bronze match we went back to the hotel and the guys were there, so we partied with them in the piano bar and danced with Ravelli on the couch.
Ten consecutive WC will become eleven for Janne Svensson. But then he may have done his part.
– Since Fifa has stolen football from us, Saudi Arabia is next and then I may have to say thank you to the World Cup. It has become so commercial, corrupt and everything is about money. It’s lucky that we have the grassroots people who are sticking up. It was great to see ordinary people in Mexico City, but in the stadium the celebrities sit and watch. For them, 100,000 is nothing. The ticket prices in this World Cup are absolutely absurd.
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