In revolver interview: New head coaches of Sweden and Finland, Franco Bergman and Tommy Österberg

Questions:
1. What does Super Cup means for you national team?
2. On what basis you will choose the players to the Super Cup?
3. What you think about your team?
4. What are the strengths of your national team?
5. What you have to improve that Finland will play in WCS final / Sweden keeps the WCS title?

Tommy Österberg, Team Finland

1. Super Cup is only preliminary tournament and possibility to have training camp before WCS’s. In Lappeenranta we have possibility to practice, to speak about match book and to pump up the team spirit and confidence.

2. The body of the team is clear but some of the places are still open. Before making the final roster, I have good possibility to see matches in Finnish Bandy League and in Swedish Elitserien. That is why there are some extra players in the Super Cup. They have to show more their expertise, and I want to see them in action. Marginal is really, really tight and the roles of players will make the final call.

3. In the team there is talent, attitude and experience but also “a bite of new blood”. I’d like to give a change for newcomers to make their mark. In the end, the roster in national team is narrow and there is not so much tolerance.

4. Our strength is team work and playing as a solid team. From match to match we have to work hard for the team. Things which we decide together, we keep together.

5. We need to improve the active grasp of the game and the playing with the ball. We also should to dominate the pace and tempi of match by our self.

Franco Bergman, Ruotsi

1. International interaction is always important, especially before WCS. We don’t have so much international events and national leagues are quite intensive, too. In addition, we can wait good matches in the Super Cup.

2. Always the best one. Team Sweden has so little time together, that every moment has to be used for best for the team.

3. We have quite young team. The generation has changed. In Sweden we have two very good generations: players who are born 1983, like Per Hellmyrs, and players who are born 1987. From the latter age group there are players like Daniel Berlin, Cristoffer Edlund, Tobias Holmberg and Linus Pettersson who have already put on the team jersey of Sweden.

4. The team itself is “strength” – we don’t have stars. Also the team work for both offense and defense is good at the moment.

5. Maybe we have to improve our own tactics, especially our offensive playing. Team Sweden will not reverse its own side but will defend already in opponent’s side of the field.