The ECHO’s Chris Beesley continues his daily series of articles on Everton and the World Cup running throughout the tournament in Qatar.
After turning out in the 1992 Olympics, Everton winger Niclas Alexandersson had to wait a decade to play in his first World Cup but he made up for lost time by firing in a spectacular equaliser against an England side managed by his fellow Swede Sven-Goran Eriksson. Competing in the Japanese city of Saitama, Sol Campbell had headed England ahead on 24 minutes but just before the hour mark, Alexandersson pounced to earn his side a share of the spoils, picking up a loose ball from Danny Mills’ clearance on his right foot outside the area before cutting inside and scoring with his left.
He told the ECHO: “Whenever it’s the World Cup or Sweden are due to play England, I tend to come across my goal again. It was a bit of a wobbler as you say.
EXCLUSIVE: Inside the mind of Jordan Pickford with the man who knows him better than anyone
READ MORE: Fans hail Everton legend Neville Southall as he tackles Nigel Farage
“It hit it quite well with my left foot but it sort of moved in the air and I don’t think David Seaman could see it very clearly as one of the defenders (Rio Ferdinand) was in front of him but to score in my World Cup first game was something special. I guess Danny (Mills, father of Everton youngster Stanley Mills) was disappointed at the time because he’d made the initial clearance but it ended up landing straight at my feet.
“There were quite a few factors that made it special. Obviously I played my club football in England for Everton but England also had a Swedish manager in Sven-Goran Eriksson.
“It doesn’t happen very often to have a Swede as the opposition manager in the World Cup given that we don’t have a lot of Swedish coaches working abroad. We had two joint coaches at the time, Lars Largerback and Tommy Soderberg knew each other quite well but it was a special feeling to face a fellow countryman on such a stage.
“We had met England quite a few times before, it felt like we often ended up against each other (there had been European Championship qualifying matches in 1998 and 1999 plus a friendly match just seven months before) and in Sweden we are brought up watching the English league on the telly every Saturday, betting on the football coupon.”
Alexandersson was already 30 by the time he made his debut in the World Cup finals having played in his first major international tournament (Euro 2000) two years earlier but after starting all four of the Swedes’ matches in Japan and South Korea he’d move to right-back and go on to face Eriksson’s England again in another draw (2-2) in the 2006 tournament in Germany where he was also an ever-present, before turning out for a match against Greece in Euro 2008 by which time he was in his 39th year. Such longevity came after a mixed start to his time with the national team back in the 1990s.
He said: “I went to the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 but football isn’t really the main event there and it was difficult to focus on our games at times because there was so much going on around us. We were only just young players starting out and we were eating in the same canteen as the likes of Merlene Ottey, the famous Jamaican sprinter.
“We made it through the group stage but then got knocked out and I remember it more for the whole experience than just for the football tournament. I just missed out on Sweden’s 1994 World Cup squad when they went on to finish third.
“I’d made my international debut in the last qualifying match against Austria and went on a winter tour ahead of the finals (playing against Colombia in Miami and the USA in New Jersey) but then I got an injury and couldn’t quite find my best form. It was between Jesper Blomqvist (who would later become his Everton team-mate) and myself and he took one of the last places in the squad and I just missed out and then we didn’t qualify for 1998 so I had to wait almost nine years after my international debut to finally play in the World Cup.”
Alexandersson arrived at Everton in a £2.2million transfer in 2000, a summer in which manager Walter Smith was forced to revamp his midfield, also bringing in Thomas Gravesen, Alex Nyarko and Paul Gascoigne after selling Nick Barmby, John Collins and Don Hutchison. Having already played three years of Premier League football with Sheffield Wednesday, he had just suffered relegation with Sheffield Wednesday but the Blues boss remembered him from a chastening experience at the start of what proved to be his final season of his first spell in charge at Ibrox.
Despite a bright start on Merseyside after crossing the Pennines, Alexandersson admits that things don’t go quite to plan for him with Everton and said: “When I was at IFK Gothenburg, we knocked Rangers out in the last qualifying round before the group stage of the Champions League. It was a big surprise and they had a couple of Swedes in their line-up with Jonas Thern and Joachim Bjorklund plus Brian Laudrup from Denmark but we beat them 3-0 at home and I remember having a good game so I think that was one of the reasons Walter was still interested in me after my time at Sheffield Wednesday.
“It was special getting to play for Wednesday but when I came to Everton, everything around the club was a bit bigger. The support was really passionate and you could feel the rivalry between Everton and Liverpool.
“When I first came, I had a really good pre-season and it looked very promising. I’d scored five goals over the summer including two (in the first 25 minutes) in a testimonial (for Joe Parkinson) against Manchester City and that set the tone a little bit as I was struggling a bit with injuries.
“That’s my big regret from my time at Everton is that I didn’t find the kind of form I’d previously shown at Wednesday during my time at Goodison Park. The first two seasons were ok but the last 18 months were disappointing as for different reasons I didn’t perform the way I knew I could.”
Now 50, Alexandersson remains in the game by coaching football at Anglagardsskolan, a sport-centric school back in Sweden but he still follows the Blues’ fortunes.
He said: “We have a big indoor full-size pitch at the school I work at in Gothenburg. I’m one of the coaches in the football section and I’ve done that for over 10 years now and still enjoying it.
“Everyone connected with Everton, including myself, would love to see them back to the way they were in the 1980s and be one of the 'Big Five' again but with the situation today with the amount of money that has gone into some of the clubs, it’s hard to be up there and be consistent.”
READ MORE FROM OUR EVERTON WORLD CUP SERIES:
Everton legend cannot forgive Diego Maradona and still has nightmares over World Cup goal
'Best stadium in my life' - Eusebio loved World Cup experience at Everton
'An unbelievable feeling' - Everton midfielder made World Cup history in his home city
Ronaldo hailed Everton history-maker for netting 'one of the most beautiful World Cup goals'
Everton nearly signed World Cup goalkeeper after 'unbuyable' star slapped in three transfer requests
Pele made quit threat after painful World Cup exit at Everton
Everton legend's hidden role in beating Lionel Messi for World Cup's biggest ever shock
Brazil hopes dampened at Everton after bold claim 'This is the football city of England'
Scousers given drink warning as Everton embraced Brazil World Cup carnival and Pele's artistry
Midfielder who could have been an Everton hero got David Beckham treatment after beating Pele record
Everton legend Kevin Sheedy lifts lid on World Cup 'derby game' and crucial penalty advice
Everton fans take Jordan Pickford jibes to heart but can benefit from more England heroics from him
World Cup proved the end of the road for Everton trailblazer
