“What is it like playing football?”, is a question I get asked on a daily basis, and I can tell you now that it is nothing short of an amazing experience in many ways.
It has been a busy and exciting couple of months for me, relocating from England to Sweden. This is the first time I have experienced living in a country where English is not the first spoken language. What I didn’t know until I arrived here, however, was anywhere you travel throughout Sweden, speaking English is second nature to Swedes.
I was a little disheartened when my time at Millwall came to an end, but I knew in my mind that when one door closes another one opens, and that’s exactly what happened.
Football can be a very spontaneous game. You can be in one place settled and playing, and before you know it you’re moving countries having to adapt to a totally new environment.
At times it can be stressful, but at the end of the day it’s all an experience and part of a journey for me. I have begun to enjoy the moment and focus on where I currently am.
My current club is Hassleholm IF (HIF).
Hassleholm is in the south of Sweden, an hour and a half drive from Malmo and only two hours away from my favourite city in the world, Copenhagen. Hassleholm IF is a Division 2 club where we play in a conference across the south of Sweden.
In my time here so far in Sweden I have been introduced to a new culture. When I first arrived at my new club I was afraid of not being able to speak Swedish and getting to know my teammates, but that was never the case.
(Tony Feder/Getty Images)
Some know English better than others but everyone is very welcoming and my Swedish is slowly beginning to improve. Swedes have a love for coffee, just like Australians do, if not a little more.
After training on Thursdays, we head to the coffee shop and spend time together as a team. It’s called a ‘fika’, or as we know it, as a catch-up coffee.
Hassleholm has a different feeling to my previous clubs. Instead of one head coach with a couple of assistants, it’s the other way around, with two head coaches and one assistant.
It took a little getting used to, but both of them have helped me understand the game, work on the technical side of my game and also learn small amounts of Swedish along the way.
Adapting to the Swedish style of play hasn’t been too difficult, because it is a combination of both Australian and English styles of football.
It has the technical focus of what Australian football is building and what I learnt at the Newcastle Jets, but it also has the physical side of the game which I very quickly discovered in England playing at Millwall.
Being in a country like Sweden has taught me so much in a small amount of time. My time away from home has had its ups and downs, but that comes along with everyone’s journey.
For me it is about focusing on my daily routine and how I can improve on my football both physically and mentally.
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