News
FRI 13.05.2016
On May 28 2016, the biggest club football match in the world, the Champions League final, will once again be a battle between the Spanish capital rivals Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. This will be just another example demonstrating the strength of LaLiga, after FC Barcelona – and not Madrid or Atletico – were heralded as the big favourites to win the Champions League this year.
As early as 1960-62, Agne Simonsson, a silver medallist in the Sweden 1958 World Cup, played for Real Madrid and Real Sociedad, but it was not until the 1990s that Swedes could watch LaLiga on TV. Since then, interest in LaLiga has grown substantially in Sweden, thanks in large part to some really successful Swedish players. Stars from the national team, such as Patrik Andersson (Barcelona), Joachim Bjorklund (Valencia CF) and Olof Mellberg (R. Racing C) were all appreciated by their clubs’ fans, but the one that played the most crucial role for his team spent a lot less time out on the pitch than the others.
Henrik Larsson joined Barcelona at the age of 33 and was the oft eschewed substitute behind world class players like Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o. When he played, however, he was often a game changer, and no Blaugranas fan will ever forget his two late assists in the Champions League final against Arsenal in 2006.
Barcelona gained many new supporters in Sweden during that era, and even more jumped aboard when our biggest player of all time – Zlatan Ibrahimovic – joined the club three years later. Despite Ibra's failure at Barcelona, interest in LaLiga was now greater than ever in Sweden.
The culture of its supporters, its attractive attacking football and its star players are just some of the reasons why LaLiga is now really challenging the Premier League for attention among the Swedes. With Viasat and Viaplay showing every LaLiga match, the fans can pick and choose from among many great games.
Perhaps a bit surprisingly, it is not only the teams at the very top that receive the greatest following on TV nowadays. Since John Guidetti moved to Galicia, viewers of RC Celta's games have increased significantly in number. The very charismatic "Super-Guidetti" is a personality who likes to be seen and heard and is a perfect ambassador for LaLiga, bringing it even closer to Sweden. Who knows, maybe next year they will be able to challenge the top four for a place in the Champions League? Regardless, Sweden's football fans will continue to follow LaLiga closely for many years to come.
© LALIGA - 2016