Fresh off her second-half substitute appearance VAVEL talked to Chelsea new-girl, Magda Eriksson about corners, attacking and her move from Swedish champions, Linköping.

Corner specialist

Brought on late in the day as a substitute for full-back, Jonna Andersson, Eriksson slotted into the vacant left-back position instead of joining Linda Sembrant and Nilla Fischer in her usual centre-back role. Having been used at left-back against Mexico the former Linköping woman knew there was a chance she could deputise for Andersson, the left-footer the most logical choice in a team that only brought three natural full-backs to the Netherlands, but already familiar with the role, Eriksson is more than happy to rotate into the full-back role,

I’m normally a centre back in my club team but I used to play left-back when I was younger, I think I still have the pace to get down the wing, I haven’t played there for a while but I feel like I’m in good shape.

Well-known as one of the best deliverers of the ball from a corner, Eriksson had to sit in the dug-out and watch a flurry of first-half corners for Sweden, the delivery from Olivia Schough mixed, a Sembrant header the best chance of the first-half. But the 23-year-old admitted she was itching to get on and put her left foot to good use,

My legs were like ‘I want to take it’,” she laughs, “but we got a lot of corners which was really good, I’m sorry we couldn’t make more out of them but we had two quite dangerous chances out of, I don’t know how many we had, five or six, so that’s quite good.

Solid foundations to go far

It wasn’t a win but any time Sweden take points off of Germany is invariably a good result for Blågult,

Yeah of course, we’re happy with the draw against Germany, they’re a tough team so we had to work really hard on our defence so which we did really well but next games we should be more focused more on attacking and finding better ways to pass the ball but it’s a good result in the first game of the Euros.

On the back of a roaring Olympic campaign that saw the Scandinavian nation break their duct to scoop silver in Rio, Eriksson and her teammates are looking to kick-on and tap into their collective best, as seen in Brazil last summer,

“I think we have a mutual goal that we know what we can do and we saw what we can do at the Olympics and we want to take that feeling here, for the Euros and if everything is right we can go for the medals.

Summer switch

Announced as a Chelsea player the day before the tournament got underway, Eriksson mused that the move was akin to the third bowl of porridge; just right,

I just heard about all their professional facilities, the way they think of football and the plan they had for me to develop, I felt like it was the perfect step for me to develop even more and just try a new experience. I’ve been playing in Linköping for four years so I was ready for something new and this was just perfect.

Whilst the new WSL season will run from September to the Summer, mirroring leagues like the Frauen-Bundesliga and Division 1 Féminine, the Swedish Damallsvenskan runs from April to November, the league currently taking its’ usual summer break at the mid-way point. With Linköping riding high and sitting atop the table, and a mouth-watering Svenska Cupen final against Rosengård on the horizon, their former captain admits it’s easier to leave when the team are doing so well,

Actually it was easier to move when we’re top of the table, I felt like I could leave with a clear conscience; I’ve done everything for the team so I’m happy that we’re at the top of the table and it feels easier to leave but of course it’s hard to leave the girls in the middle of the season – many of them I’ve been playing with since I joined so that was the hardest part.”

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About the author
Sophie Lawson
Neutral football fan travelling around Europe, covering matches and bothering footballers for interviews