Here is Sweden's European Championship weapon: "Should be world champion"

Admittedly, it is the European Championships that will soon start for the Swedish part.

But for Janne Andersson, it is not good enough to be the best in Europe - he aims higher than that and aims to be the best in the world.

And then the national team captain thinks of a special detail, which in turn will lead to success in the European Championships.

It's about the national team's "x-factor" - Andersson pronounces the word with a reinforced American accent - which is basically the team's cohesion.

- My goal with this championship is that we will be world champions in cohesion.

How to measure it, I have no idea but it is an important part.

"Making teammates better"

The work of creating a pleasant, creative and demanding environment is certainly nothing new for Blågult.

It is often mentioned as one of the parts behind the World Cup success in Russia 2018. Daniel Ekvall, the national team's and IFK Norrköping's sports psychology advisor, laughs a lot when he hears about Janne Andersson's talk about "x-factor", and is himself quickly starting to explain the importance of team cohesion and group dynamics.

"Ever since Janne started in 2016 and I had the privilege of being involved, we have worked on a theme that we call" making teammates better ", he says.

It is not just about positive body language but also about being a role model in the group and getting others involved, correcting if someone makes a mistake, helping each other, creating both well-being and achievement.

- These are the kind of pieces we work with and which hopefully enable us to have the world's best cohesion.

The great thing about football is that one plus one can become three.

TT: What do you mean then?

- I can perform at max, you can perform at max and if we also have a good collaboration, get to know each other - then we can get out more together than our individual max.

It may be a bit fuzzy, but there are things in cooperation, relationships and communication that are also important in a team's performance, says Ekvall.

TT: How do you measure this?

- The players' own experience will be important, how they value it all and hopefully it will be a contributing factor to performances in matches ... But then it is difficult to measure.

TT: What is your role?

- To work on building hope and positive expectations, discussing strengths, how we want to play but not be afraid to discuss what can be difficult during a European Championship;

what challenges may arise and how can we as a group handle those factors?

TT: What are the challenges?

- Being together for a long time can be a challenge, there is a risk that you lose the first match and how do you handle it then in match two, travel… it can be different.

TT: And now also the corona pandemic, with life in a virus-proof bubble.

- Yes, it is a challenge if you compare with the World Cup in Russia, where the players could go for a walk on the beach and have a coffee. It is important that we internally find activities to do in our bubble.