Working as a sports photographer it is great when you cover games with players you admire. In the last few years I have been very fortunate in that regard. I have covered both Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. I have covered the Italian national team. I’ve regularly covered Zlatan Ibrahimovic with the Swedish national team, as well as some of his Champions League matches. And so on and so on.
This week I am covering the World Cup qualification game between Sweden and the Netherlands which means I get to see Kevin Strootman in Stockholm. Kevin is a midfielder currently playing with the Italian side AS Roma. He is just now returning to playing regularly after a nearly two year long injury spell that included two knee operations. As a midfielder he is tough and physical player. In Italy you say that he is player with grinta which translates to grit or determination. But he’s not only tough, Strootman has a great tactical sense and is fairly versatile capable of playing both as a deep-lying playmaker or as box-to-box midfielder.
Last night I covered the Netherlands press conference. I was hoping Strootman would be the player to accompany coach in Danny Blind in the press conference but instead it was Wesley Sneijder who participated. After the press conference the team held an open training session which I also covered.
The Netherlands go into this match on the back of an embarrassing home loss to Greece. Meanwhile Sweden is making their post-Zlatan Ibrahimovic debut under the guide of their new coach Janne Andersson. Two sides with a lot to prove, so hopefully it makes for a fun game.
Thanks for stoping by!