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Known for his colourful, rooster-like hairdos (dyed
to match his team colours: red when playing with Arsenal,
yellow when playing for Sweden) and aggressive attacking
style, Freddy Ljungberg provides the spark in Sweden's
potent offence.
Although forwards Henrik Larsson and Marcus Allback
will rely on Ljungberg to get them the ball, the flamboyant
midfielder-winger is a potent scorer in his own right,
but "Fast Freddie" is perhaps best known for
his relentlessly energetic play that will see him determinedly
tackling and challenging for the ball after 90 minutes
of non-stop action.
The downside to playing that kind of game is that it
tends to make a player injury-prone, and Ljungberg's
current season has been plagued by injuries, from a
back problem that forced him to miss the last regular-season
game for Arsenal to the hip and groin problems that
are currently dogging him.
Ljungberg began playing professionally at the age of
17 for Hamstad in the Swedish League. Two years later
Arsenal brought him to the English Premiership, and
he's been a consistent performer there ever since.
Arsenal fans took to him immediately thanks to his
goal against archrival Manchester United in his debut.
If there is a knock against Ljungberg it's that he
can be inconsistent: sometimes dominating, sometimes
virtually invisible. Nevertheless, few players in Europe
are faster, or more dangerous, while in possession of
the ball.
The 25-year-old was particularly dangerous in the 2001-02
season, scoring seven goals in his last seven games
to lead Arsenal to its second Premiership-FA Cup double
in four years. But his game with the national team tones
down his offensive flourishes somewhat.
"If I compare the roles I have in Arsenal and
Sweden, they are very different," he said. "I
get a little bit more freedom with Arsenal. Maybe that's
why I haven't scored so many goals on the national team,
but at the same time I've missed some good chances,
as well. But that's up to the coaches to tell me how
they want to me play."
Foremost for Ljungberg, who was fighting to regain
his fitness on the eve of the World Cup, was to be in
the lineup for the Swedes for their opening "Group
of Death" match against England.
"It's a special thing for me to play England because
I play in England," Ljungberg said. But for me
personally, the biggest thing is that it's the first
game in the World Cup. For the team, it's very, very
important. I don't want to miss it."
With files from Associated Press
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