ANDERS SVENSSON may have spent the past month rubbing shoulders with the likes of Fernando Torres and Andrei Arshavin but today the Swedish ace insisted he'll have no trouble swapping the glamour of Euro 2008 for the InterToto Cup.
And, while many may continue to look down their noses at what is regarded as Europe's Cinderella competition, the midfield star believes it can help IF Elfsborg rekindle memories of last season's Champions League and UEFA Cup glory.
Having made it
all the way to the third qualifying round of the Champions League, Elfsborg lost out to Valencia, the defeat sending them into the group stages of the UEFA Cup where they faced the might of Villareal, Fiorentina and AEK Athens. And today, as he prepared for Sunday's clash with Hibs at Easter Road, 93-times capped Svensson revealed he has his eyes firmly fixed on a return to that stage.
Svensson backed Hibs boss Mixu Paatelainen's assertion that entering the InterToto Cup not only provides a possible avenue into the UEFA Cup but invaluable European experience.
He said: "We played some good football in Europe last year, knocking out a couple of really strong teams. We had a lot of luck as well but it was good for us, especially our younger players, to get the experience of playing such opposition.
"Our aim is to be where we were last season, to be playing in the group stages of the UEFA Cup."
While Svensson admitted such a scenario was "a long shot," he could well point to the success of Danish outfit OB Odense who, having knocked Hibs out of the InterToto Cup only on the away goals rule, achieved that particular goal.
But, while Paatelainen has stressed his side are at a disadvantage because Elfsborg are midway through their season, Svensson insisted Hibs would still provide tough opposition to a team which currently sits second in the Allsvenskan, beaten just once in 12 matches.
He said: "Although Sweden were at Euro 2008 and Scotland weren't, the Scottish league is stronger. We don't have any teams who can match Celtic or Rangers.
"It's probably to our advantage that we are halfway through our season but we are anticipating two very tough games against Hibs because we know they will fight hard for the full 90 minutes of each game.
"So it is too early to start talking about the UEFA Cup far less making the group stages. The InterToto gives you that chance but for both teams it's a case of focusing on this Sunday and then the next weekend and seeing what happens. It's a long shot and you need a lot of luck."
Svensson admitted he doesn't know too much about Hibs although he expects that to change drastically before he and his team-mates run out at Easter Road in 48 hours' time as Elfsborg boss Magnus Haglund brings his side up to speed on what to expect.
But he admitted he was impressed by the string of home-grown talent produced in recent years by Hibs even if the likes of Garry O'Connor, Derek Riordan, Gary Caldwell, Steven Whittaker, Kevin Thomson and Scott Brown have all moved on while Steven Fletcher's name has been continually linked with Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona among others over the past few months.
He said: "I understand it is difficult for any club in Scotland, other than Celtic and Rangers, to keep their young players but to have so much young talent at one club shows that, even although many of them have left, it must be a good academy for youngsters to evolve into top football players.
"We have a few good young players in our squad as well but I don't think we've had Real Madrid or Barcelona linked with them."
Paatelainen was in Stockholm to watch Elfsborg maintain their charge for the Swedish title with a 2-0 win away to Djurgarden, a result which keeps them hard on the heels of leaders Kalmar.
Svensson opened the scoring after just 61 seconds, his first goal of the season after nine last year, before Stefan Ishizaki added a second from the penalty spot with barely 14 minutes on the clock.
Ishizaki was identified by former Hibs goalkeeper Daniel Andersson as the biggest threat to his former club, and Svensson admitted he wasn't going to disagree with the Helsingborgs' star.
He said: "Stefan is in good form right now. He is always creating chances for us with his good crosses. He takes all the set-pieces and it was actually his corner I scored from.
"It's always nice to score a goal and to get two in 14 minutes away from home was very good for us. We can only hope to do the same in Edinburgh on Sunday."
The match against Djurgarden was the first in the Allsvenskan after a month-long break to accommodate Euro 2008 although Elfsborg also recently won a Swedish Cup tie, on penalties following extra-time at Halmstad, a game watched by Hibs coach Gareth Evans.
And Svensson admitted he was delighted the enforced break had, seemingly, no effect on his side's impetus while the victories had, he revealed, helped lift his spirits after the disappointment of being knocked out of Euro 2008 following defeats by Russia and eventual winners Spain.
The 31-year-old said: "It's always disappointing to be knocked out of a big tournament but to come back and win our first two competitive games is good for the confidence.
"Before the break we had been doing very well in the league, we didn't really want it to stop for Euro 2008, but we've come back and done well which was important for us ahead of coming to Edinburgh tomorrow."
The full article contains 969 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
