Jere Markus
Apr 24 2002, 08:16 AM
Can you tell me something about the place where you were born and where you grew up?
- I am born in a city called Halmstad and it's in the south of Sweden, what we call the beach side. It's a bit of a tourist town and yeah, I love the beach.
And how was your childhood, can you tell us a little bit about your family?
- My childhood was all right, what can I say? My family supported me all the time and I can't really complain about anything. My life's mostly been about football all the time so I haven't seen that much.
What role did sports play in your family?
- We're very interested in sports, my father played football, my brother plays football and I play football. So it's been a lot of football talk at the dinner table.
And your room as a child, how did it look, did you have any hero posters on the wall?
- I somehow got hold of Socrates' shirt in Brazil, so I had that on my wall but otherwise there wasn't that much football stuff on the walls.
When you played at Halmstad, how often in the week did you train?
- Just about every day. And in school there were special programs were we played football for some hours.
Was it hard to put other things aside for football?
- Of course. When friends went to a skiing holiday or something in Sweden, I couldn't go, because I had to play. But I think in the end it was worth it.
When did you really think you would become a very good player?
- It's difficult to say. I was just trying to be as good as I could during football. Of course I realized when you're under 15, 16 and start in the national sites, you maybe have a chance to be a good footballer. I have never really been a dreamer; I just tried to do it as best as I can.
Which trainer influenced you the most?
- Mostly I think it was when I was between maybe 8 to 12 years old. Ole Ericson was his name and he let me know how to develop the skills that I have and he was really a good coach. He had been a national coach before and when he trained me he was about 70 years old.
What skills did Ole Ericson have in particular?
- In Sweden they want always to teach only the tactical game when you're young, but he said: "It's better to grow your own skills and when you get older we're going to fix the tactical stuff". So his training was more individual for each player instead of the whole team. And I think that's very good.
How would you define yourself as a football player?
- I don't like to talk about myself but I am probably pretty fast and I like to dribble with the ball. I play pretty offensive in midfield so I score some goals every now and then.
Do you have some weak points?
- Yeah of course, everybody has weak points. I'm not that big and sometimes the big players can move me aside. And maybe my heading in front of goal is not the best.
Is there anything you always think or do before you go to the game/pitch? Are you superstitious?
- No, not really. I just try to be positive and think positive thoughts; that we are going to win. Furthermore I just try to enjoy my game.
Do you think you have one best match or do you have several best moments?
- More moments. It's difficult to say the best match; there are many games when you feel happy about the way you played and to sort one out as the best, that is very difficult.
What is one of your favorite moments so far?
- One of my favorite moments is of course when we won the League, that's very nice. And when I came to London, I scored in my first game after I had been on a pitch for five minutes, that was very special and a good memory.
What does it take to be a really good player?
- Of course you need talent and determination and you have to be able to sacrifice other things to be a really good player and to just enjoy yourself and be positive. That's what I think you need.
What's the difference in playing for your club and for your national team?
- It's very different in Sweden. We maybe play a bit more defensively sometimes and I like to play a bit more offensively, but that's life and in Arsenal we play very offensively. Yeah it is a different style of football.
If you would be a coach, what would be the first thing you would teach your team?
- Teach my team? At the moment I think most players know what to do, that is to get them motivated. To get them in a positive mood and like Ericsson has done with England, I think that is a very important thing for a coach.
Do you play any other sports?
- No, not at the moment. I used to play handball and ice hockey but I had to stop because of football.
Do you have many friends among your fellow football players?
- Yes of course we are friends and sometimes we socialize outside of football, but I think it's important as well to have other friends that don't talk football and have other jobs, so it's good to a mix I think.
You still see people from your childhood?
- Yes, I think that's very important. They usually come to London and stay for a week or so, that's nice.
Which World Cup do you remember the best?
- The Italian one in '90, where I was very disappointed because Brazil lost against Argentina. I didn't understand how, but they did. And then probably when Sweden played the United States in '94. They became 3rd it was a very big thing in Sweden.
Has there ever been a national team that has been unique according to you?
- I don't know about unique, but I always loved the way Brazil played. As a kid I always supported them or tried to see their games. Now I play in the Swedish National team so I stopped thinking about the Brazilian team and how they played and I support the Swedish team.
How is it to play in Asia, how are the circumstances?
- It's alright, it's very hot and very humid; wet at the same time. So it's a bit different. When we played there people were eating sweet and sour food in the stadium and I remember the smell was very dominant.
Is it tough to play in Asia, was it tough to adapt?
- Usually when we went on tour, we arrived maybe 2 days before the game so we really did not adapt to the weather circumstances. You easily get very tired, but now with the World Cup we'll probably be there a couple of weeks before to get used to the climate.
Any favorite teams to win the World Cup apart from Sweden?
- What can I say, I think France, Argentina and even Brazil have suffered a bit in the qualifications.
- I am born in a city called Halmstad and it's in the south of Sweden, what we call the beach side. It's a bit of a tourist town and yeah, I love the beach.
And how was your childhood, can you tell us a little bit about your family?
- My childhood was all right, what can I say? My family supported me all the time and I can't really complain about anything. My life's mostly been about football all the time so I haven't seen that much.
What role did sports play in your family?
- We're very interested in sports, my father played football, my brother plays football and I play football. So it's been a lot of football talk at the dinner table.
And your room as a child, how did it look, did you have any hero posters on the wall?
- I somehow got hold of Socrates' shirt in Brazil, so I had that on my wall but otherwise there wasn't that much football stuff on the walls.
When you played at Halmstad, how often in the week did you train?
- Just about every day. And in school there were special programs were we played football for some hours.
Was it hard to put other things aside for football?
- Of course. When friends went to a skiing holiday or something in Sweden, I couldn't go, because I had to play. But I think in the end it was worth it.
When did you really think you would become a very good player?
- It's difficult to say. I was just trying to be as good as I could during football. Of course I realized when you're under 15, 16 and start in the national sites, you maybe have a chance to be a good footballer. I have never really been a dreamer; I just tried to do it as best as I can.
Which trainer influenced you the most?
- Mostly I think it was when I was between maybe 8 to 12 years old. Ole Ericson was his name and he let me know how to develop the skills that I have and he was really a good coach. He had been a national coach before and when he trained me he was about 70 years old.
What skills did Ole Ericson have in particular?
- In Sweden they want always to teach only the tactical game when you're young, but he said: "It's better to grow your own skills and when you get older we're going to fix the tactical stuff". So his training was more individual for each player instead of the whole team. And I think that's very good.
How would you define yourself as a football player?
- I don't like to talk about myself but I am probably pretty fast and I like to dribble with the ball. I play pretty offensive in midfield so I score some goals every now and then.
Do you have some weak points?
- Yeah of course, everybody has weak points. I'm not that big and sometimes the big players can move me aside. And maybe my heading in front of goal is not the best.
Is there anything you always think or do before you go to the game/pitch? Are you superstitious?
- No, not really. I just try to be positive and think positive thoughts; that we are going to win. Furthermore I just try to enjoy my game.
Do you think you have one best match or do you have several best moments?
- More moments. It's difficult to say the best match; there are many games when you feel happy about the way you played and to sort one out as the best, that is very difficult.
What is one of your favorite moments so far?
- One of my favorite moments is of course when we won the League, that's very nice. And when I came to London, I scored in my first game after I had been on a pitch for five minutes, that was very special and a good memory.
What does it take to be a really good player?
- Of course you need talent and determination and you have to be able to sacrifice other things to be a really good player and to just enjoy yourself and be positive. That's what I think you need.
What's the difference in playing for your club and for your national team?
- It's very different in Sweden. We maybe play a bit more defensively sometimes and I like to play a bit more offensively, but that's life and in Arsenal we play very offensively. Yeah it is a different style of football.
If you would be a coach, what would be the first thing you would teach your team?
- Teach my team? At the moment I think most players know what to do, that is to get them motivated. To get them in a positive mood and like Ericsson has done with England, I think that is a very important thing for a coach.
Do you play any other sports?
- No, not at the moment. I used to play handball and ice hockey but I had to stop because of football.
Do you have many friends among your fellow football players?
- Yes of course we are friends and sometimes we socialize outside of football, but I think it's important as well to have other friends that don't talk football and have other jobs, so it's good to a mix I think.
You still see people from your childhood?
- Yes, I think that's very important. They usually come to London and stay for a week or so, that's nice.
Which World Cup do you remember the best?
- The Italian one in '90, where I was very disappointed because Brazil lost against Argentina. I didn't understand how, but they did. And then probably when Sweden played the United States in '94. They became 3rd it was a very big thing in Sweden.
Has there ever been a national team that has been unique according to you?
- I don't know about unique, but I always loved the way Brazil played. As a kid I always supported them or tried to see their games. Now I play in the Swedish National team so I stopped thinking about the Brazilian team and how they played and I support the Swedish team.
How is it to play in Asia, how are the circumstances?
- It's alright, it's very hot and very humid; wet at the same time. So it's a bit different. When we played there people were eating sweet and sour food in the stadium and I remember the smell was very dominant.
Is it tough to play in Asia, was it tough to adapt?
- Usually when we went on tour, we arrived maybe 2 days before the game so we really did not adapt to the weather circumstances. You easily get very tired, but now with the World Cup we'll probably be there a couple of weeks before to get used to the climate.
Any favorite teams to win the World Cup apart from Sweden?
- What can I say, I think France, Argentina and even Brazil have suffered a bit in the qualifications.