Lars-Åke Lagrell's and Thomas Ravelli's roads were crossed for the first time long ago.

- He has meant a lot to me.

He's an old Smålander like me.

He was the old type of leader, who may no longer exist, who came from the earthy sports world where people rolled up their sleeves, says Ravelli.

The former goalkeeper lifts would like to emphasize Lagrell's humor.

- You could always have fun with him.

You could laugh and tell stories, flare up a bit.

But then when it really mattered, he grabbed things.

Swedish football today is two national teams that often reach championships and a lot of people in the all-Swedish stands as there is no pandemic.

According to Ravelli, Lagrell and Lennart Johansson, also deceased, will take credit for that.

- I remember that we played an international match in 1991 against Austria at Råsunda and there were 1,900 people and watched that match.

Swedish football had major problems during that period.

Then came the European Championships in 1992, which built up the whole thing, and then the World Cup in 1994. It is Lennart and Lars-Åke who have built up Swedish football.

Really, he says.

KLIPP: That was Lars-Åke Lagrell's career in SvFF

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Lars-Åke Lagrell was chairman of the Swedish Football Association between the years 1991 and 2011, before that he was general secretary for eleven years.

Photo: Bildbyrån