If the Swedish tourist board need someone to promote the life-giving properties of its nation, they could do worse than Graham Potter. Refreshed, revitalised and rejuvenated. Free from the chaos of life at West Ham and Chelsea.
Potter stands on the brink of a World Cup. A national hero in his adopted Sweden after leading them to the summer tournament via the playoffs in euphoric style.
‘Just a dream,’ says the 51-year-old from Birmingham as he tries to sum it up by tracing his earliest football memories back to the summer of the Mexico World Cup in 1986. ‘Watching Diego Maradona rip football up. That’s when I started to go, wow, this is amazing.’
Potter took over as manager of Sweden in October, less than a month after his sacking from West Ham. Too late to stop them finishing bottom in a qualification group with Switzerland, Kosovo and Slovenia.
But with time to prepare for the playoffs in March, a last-gasp loophole courtesy of good results in the UEFA Nations League. The Swedes eased past Ukraine with a hat-trick from Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres, who then scored an 88th-minute winner against Poland to spark wild celebrations in Stockholm.
‘One game, boof,’ recalls Potter. ‘How many times will you get the chance of a playoff game in front of your own people to go to the World Cup? The country stops. Everyone is watching. You’re the only show in town. Imagine that in any country.
Arsenal’s Viktor Gyokeres scored the goal against Poland that sent Sweden to the World Cup
‘Then to win the game. And what it means to Swedish football. From an economic perspective it has a big effect on the finances of football.
‘You know what it means to everybody. You’re doing something with more soul. You know families will be watching, kids will be watching.
‘Everyone around the telly. The summer is better if your country is in the World Cup.
‘Businesses like restaurants and bars will benefit. You can inspire people to play football. All those things.’
After the turmoil at West Ham and Chelsea, Potter admits it is nice, ‘on a human level’ to ‘experience positivity through football’ once again. Although he has never been one to get carried away.
Not even when his stock was soaring at Brighton and he was tipped as a future England boss before Chelsea paid a fortune for his services and sacked him inside a year. ‘You’re never quite as good or as bad as people say,’ says Potter. ‘You’ve got to find some way of keeping perspective.’
After a journeyman playing career, he studied the concept of failure as part of a Masters degree in leadership and emotional intelligence at Leeds Metropolitan University.
This background made him a thoughtful and innovative coach when he first emerged, years before he hit the Premier League and everything was stripped back and reduced to the win or the loss.
‘I’ve lived failure, studied failure,’ Potter laughs, when reminded of it. ‘I’ve had quite a bit of success as well, you know. When you’re in the top level, it can go well or of course it doesn’t. And you have to deal with that. That’s life.
Gaham Potter was sacked after a difficult eight months at West Ham, leaving them 19th
… but he has found joy as Sweden boss, posting this picture celebrating after they qualified
‘Try to put things into perspective. Take the feedback from people that are important to you and relevant. That can help you improve. And, yeah, in the end, try to find some way of being grateful for everything.
‘Sometimes in football you just can’t rationalise it. You just go, “OK, well maybe it wasn’t meant to be”. And then you try to move on with your life. That’s it really.
‘The learnings you take from these experiences are painful. I won’t share them because it’s f****** hurt me to get them, you know what I mean? It does. And it should because that’s how you improve. That’s how you get better.’
Perhaps it should be no surprise that Potter found his peace again in Sweden, where his coaching career took off leading Ostersunds from the fourth tier to the top flight for the first time, winning the Swedish Cup, qualifying for the Europa League, and winning at Arsenal.
In an understated navy-blue sweater over a white cotton shirt, he smiles about starting to look ‘a bit Swedish’ and adds: ‘Two of my kids were born in Sweden. I had seven unbelievable years there, memories that will stay with me for life.
‘I’ve got an incredible amount to be grateful to the country for. It was my home. I’m working for the Swedish FA. I’m the head coach of the national team so I feel very Swedish when I’m working.’
Potter’s Swedish is fluent and he belts out the national anthem before games. Even so, the emotion gripping him has taken him by surprise. ‘Really, in your stomach,’ he gestures with a clenched fist.
Thomas Brolin celebrates Sweden’s third-place finish at USA 94 – a summer Potter says everyone in Sweden remembers
He is across Swedish culture and understands the relevance of a World Cup in North America. Sweden came third at USA 94, beaten 1-0 by eventual winners Brazil in the semi-finals. ‘Everybody remembers that summer,’ he says. ‘The World Cup song was massive. There were a lot of sunburnt Swedes.’
His team will start against Tunisia in Monterrey, Mexico. The Netherlands and Japan are in the same group. Their warm-up friendlies comprised a 3-1 defeat by Norway and a 2-2 draw with Greece and they are braced for unfamiliar logistical challenges relating to training, travel and a sweltering climate.
The rhythms are different to the Premier League. These bursts of great intensity come with time for reflection between fixtures. No doubt all part of the appeal for the four ex-Chelsea bosses at the World Cup.
The others are Mauricio Pochettino with hosts USA, Carlo Ancelotti with Brazil and Thomas Tuchel with England. But the heat will be on once the tournament starts. ‘Because you’re away with the national team it’s a bigger thing,’ says Potter. ‘The intensity and emotion is different. That’s what’s beautiful about it.’