micand57@gmail.com

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“Delaney – No, Dolberg – No. We have never played as badly as this season as long as I have been a fan of Sevilla FC. And I have been since I was 8 years old. The team lacks skilled players like Poulsen. But I will always have my club in my heart – no matter how many matches we win or lose”. Laura, a faithful and loyal member of one of Sevilla FC’s fan groups – “Peña Sevillista Tito Poulsen” – accurately expresses her views on the Spanish club’s current performances, both in LaLiga and the Champions League, when I meet her outside the stadium a few hours before kick-off between Real Club Deportivo Mallorca and Sevilla Fútbol Club in LaLiga – one of the world’s best football leagues. The friendly, middle-aged woman is a huge fan of Christian Poulsen, who played for Sevilla FC for two seasons more than 15 years ago. Christian Poulsen, who is today an assistant national coach and achieved 92 international matches, won the Europa League and Copa del Rey with Sevilla FC. On the other hand, Laura does not believe that the two current Danish national team players – Thomas Delaney and Kasper Dolberg – are of great benefit to her club. Sevilla FC’s new head coach Jorge Sampaoli, who has been national coach for Argentina, apparently also finds it difficult to spot Delaney and Dolberg’s qualities, as neither of them gets a single minute on the pitch in Sevilla FC’s 0-1 away win on a nice long shot by Serbian international player Nemanja Gudelj.

Sevilla FC – Big club in crisis

Founded in 1890, Sevilla FC has been represented in Spain’s best football tier for a total of 78 seasons and only 13 seasons in the second tier since the first national championship was held in the 1928-1929 season. The club’s only national championship goes all the way back to the 1945-1946 season, but especially in the last two decades, Sevilla FC has achieved impressive results, both nationally and internationally. In the last 20 seasons, the club has always been placed in the top-10 in LaLiga and twice (2006-2007 and 2009-2010) the club has won the Spanish cup – Copa del Rey. In addition, Sevilla FC have won the UEFA Europa League 6 times in just 17 seasons, which is unmatched by any other European club. Currently, Sevilla FC occupies a distinguished position as No. 17 on UEFA’s official club ranking – ahead of clubs such as F.C. Porto, S.L. Benfica, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur F.C.

Sevilla FC’s away win against a very defensive Mallorca team was only their second win of the season in 9 games, placing the club in a modest 13th place in LaLiga. The team has particular difficulty in creating scoring chances and profiles such as Ivan Rakitic, Papu Gomez, Isco and Erik Lamela seem far from the strength of yesterday. The club’s results in this season’s Champions League have been very poor, i.a. two big defeats (0-4 and 1-4) at home against Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund. If Sevilla FC fails to conquer 3rd place in the group – ahead of FC Copenhagen – it will undoubtedly be one of the club’s biggest international failures.

RCD Mallorca – Golden period followed by sporting and financial decline

RCD Mallorca, which was founded in 1916, does not have the same results and status, either in Spanish or international football, as Sevilla FC. The club achieved the best sporting results in the late 1990s and the beginning of the new millennium, when the club was No. 3 in La Liga in both 1998-1999 and 2000-2001 and won the Spanish Cup – Copa del Rey – in season 2002-2003. Among the team’s biggest profiles was Samuel Eto’o from Cameroon, who subsequently became one of the world’s best strikers for FC Barcelona, ​​Inter FC and Chelsea FC. The Serbian international player Jovan Stankovic and Miguel Angel Nadal – uncle of the tennis player Rafael Nadal – were important players for RCD Mallorca in that period.

In the past 15 years, RCD Mallorca has had a particularly turbulent period, both sportingly and financially. Both players and head coaches have been replaced after a few months, among them Michael Laudrup who in 2010-2011 managed a single season as head coach for the club.

In the 2012-2013 season, the club was relegated to the second-best tier and at the start of 2016, due to financial problems, the club was very close to relegation to the third-best tier. However, the club was saved at the finish line, with American investors buying the majority of the shares for 20 million euros. It was only in the 2019-2020 season that the club returned after 6 seasons in the second best tier. Last season RCD Mallorca was also very close to relegation and this season the club has unfortunately maintained a very defensive style of play. For that reason, it is usually about avoiding losing – instead of trying to win.

LaLiga – Huge difference between top and bottom teams, both sporting and financial

LaLiga has been among the world’s best football leagues for decades, but always with a big difference between the 20 clubs. Real Madrid FC with 35 and FC Barcelona with 26 national championships have been by far the most dominant clubs who have also dominated European club football. Since the UEFA Champions League was established in the early 1990s, Real Madrid FC has won the title 8 times, while FC Barcelona has won the biggest club trophy 5 times. By comparison, no other European club, either from England, Germany or Italy, has won the UEFA Champions League more than 3 times.

Today, LaLiga is the sixth largest professional sports league in terms of financial revenue, surpassed only by the National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB), National Basketball League (NBA), Premier League (PL) and National Hockey League (NHL). The reason is, that the matches in LaLiga are televised directly to many Spanish-speaking countries in Central and South America. However, it is also no secret that many Spanish football clubs are often in financial trouble due to crazy transfers and player salaries. It is estimated that FC Barcelona today has a total debt of more than 1,5 billion euro and that the big club has been “forced” to sell their TV rights to avoid bankruptcy.

Not a single word about Delaney, Dolberg and FC Copenhagen

On the way out of the stadium, I meet Laura again, who spontaneously exclaims: “Gudelj – Si. Poulsen – Si. On Tuesday, the match against Valencia FC at home at Estadio Ramôn Sánchez-Pizjuán must be a win. And then I’m going to the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu next Sunday. Real Madrid FC are a very strong team, but I will always have Sevilla FC in my heart”. She does not mention Dolberg, Delaney and FCK with a single word before we say goodbye.

You can get further information on the following websites:

Sevilla FC – https://sevillafc.es/en

RCD Mallorca – https://www.rcdmallorca.es/en

LaLiga – https://www.laliga.com/en-ES

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Everything has an expiry date – including life and the individual chapters in life. This fact also applies to the world stars of sports. For that reason, 41-year-old Roger Federer’s official farewell match in international top tennis a few days ago became an event with lots of emotions, both on and off the court. It wasn’t just Federer, who has won a total of 20 Grand Slam titles, been No. 1 on the ATP’s World rankings for 310 weeks, named “World Sportsman of the Year” as many as 5 times and earned more than 10 billion DKK in prize money and personal sponsorships – throughout his more than 20-year career. Federer’s biggest rival and good friend throughout his career – Rafael Nadal from Spain – was also very affected and let his emotions at Federer’s farewell to international top tennis.

It’s “only” tennis

A few days after Roger Federer’s farewell matches, the likeable Swiss said the following to the New York Times (28’th of September 2022): “Of course I was very touched when “Rafa” said to me: “I will do everything to be there with you when you playing your last international tennis match – even though my wife is pregnant”. His words and actions showed how much we mean to each other and how much respect we have for each other. It would just be a beautiful, amazing story for us, for tennis and for sports. And maybe we could also show how we can compete in a strong rivalry. But also show that it is “only” tennis. “Rafa” and I have always had very tough matches, but always fair. We have also shown that you can come out on the other side and still have a strong personal friendship. I will never forget what “Rafa” did for me in London”.

Rafael Nadal – The pride of Mallorca

Rafael Nadal was born and raised in Manacor on Mallorca. His parents were wealthy and very passionate about sports, just like the rest of his family. One of his uncles – Miguel Ángel Nadal – was a professional footballer who played for RCD Mallorca, FC Barcelona and 62 caps for Spain. However, it was another uncle – Toni Nadal – who quickly discovered “Rafa’s” unique talent of ballgames, both in football and tennis. When “Rafa” was 12 years old, football was rejected and all time was then spent on tennis, both nationally and internationally. Nadal’s international career started in 2002, where he was already among the world’s 50 best players as a 16-year-old. And three years later he – still as a teenager – won the first Grand Slam title at the French Open. Subsequently, the 36-year-old left-hander has won a total of 22 Grand Slam titles – more than any other tennis player in the world. And like Roger Federer, Nadal has won all four Grand Slams: Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open. The French Open in particular has been Rafael Nadal’s favorite tournament, which he has won no fewer than 14 times – most recently in June 2022 with a final victory over Casper Ruud from Norway. In addition, Nadal has won Olympic gold both in singles (Beijing 2008) and in doubles with compatriot Marc Lopes (Rio de Janeiro 2016) as well as the World Championship for national teams (Davis Cup) a total of 6 times for Spain.

Federer vs. Nadal – matches between two different playing styles

From their first match in 2004 until today, the two tennis legends have met a total of 40 times, of which no less than 9 matches have been Grand Slam finals. It can be difficult to single out some matches over others, but most tennis experts agree that the Wimbledon final in 2008, which lasted almost 5 hours before Nadal was able to win the last ball for 9-7 in 5 sets, is one of the most exciting and well-played tennis matches in history. Over the years, the matches between the two legends have also been a battle between two different playing styles: Federer as the “all-round player”, who masters both offensive and defensive play with elegant footwork and mental calmness against Nadal’s aggressive playing style with unique topspin in the forehand, fast footwork and a strong will to fight.

Rafael Nadal Academy – an impressive sports center

Yesterday I visited the “Rafael Nadal Academy”, which is located outside Manacor in Mallorca. The sports center, which was opened in 2016, contains a total of 26 tennis courts – both indoor and outdoor courts – Olympic-standard swimming pool, soccer field, medical clinic with doctors, physiotherapists, physical trainers and other professional experts. The center also includes a hotel, restaurant, bars and wellness with a spa, where both top athletes and talents can relax after training. Nadal still lives with his family in Manacor and he often invites young tennis talents, both from Spain and other countries, to training camps at the sports center. Among these is the 19-year-old Carlos Alcaraz, who a few weeks ago won the US Open and who is currently is No. 1 in the world ranking – just ahead of his role model: Rafael Nadal.

Life and sports career include everything

When the “accounts” of life and the sports career are to be calculated, it is essential that everything is included: Victories and defeats, losses and gains, joys and disappointments, diligence and laziness, realities and emotions, lifelong friendships and superficial acquaintances and much, much more. A few days ago, two of the world’s most professional and richest top athletes – Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal – showed with an emotional handshake in a short moment that (elite) sport can lead to one of life’s greatest and strongest qualities: A lifelong friendship.

Further information:

Roger Federer’s website: https://www.rogerfederer.com

Rafael Nadal’s website: https://rafaelnadal.com

Rafael Nadal Academy: https://www.rafanadalacademy.com

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A few weeks ago, I met at a reception at DOKK1 in Aarhus one of the “sports heroes” from my childhood: Niels Fredborg. Immediately, I recognized 75-year-old Fredborg and we had a good conversation about many different topics: financial advice, Saxild Strand – where both Niels and my parents had a summer house for a number of years – the difference between living in Copenhagen and Aarhus, golf and of course the experiences at Aarhus Cycle Track in the 1960’s and 1970’s, where the Sprint Grand Prix with the participation of e.g. the elegant Frenchman Daniel Morelon and the “Russian bear” Omari Phakadze as well as the Danish Championship finals in sprint and 1,000 meters time trial between the police officer Peder Pedersen and Niels Fredborg attracted more with 10,000 spectators. It was these experiences that made Niels Fredborg one of Denmark’s best track riders of all time. And which motivated a 12-year-old boy to take part in the “Young People’s Cycle Race” around Lake Brabrand and to spend many evenings by the railings on the Aarhus Cycle Track.

Niels Fredborg – Olympic champion and triple World champion

Niels Fredborg started racing at the Aarhus Cycle Track in 1962, where he won the first Danish Championship in sprint as a 16-year-old. Until his career as a professional track rider ended in 1980, he won a total of 27 Danish championships, participated in 4 Olympic Games (1964, 1968, 1972 and 1976) and became triple world champion (1967, 1968 and 1970) in his favorite discipline 1,000 meters time trial. It was also in the favorite discipline that Fredborg won 3 Olympic medals: silver in 1968, gold in 1972 and bronze in 1976. Especially the Olympic gold medal in Munich, which I followed closely to the family’s new color television, is still sharp in my memories today. After the Olympic silver medal four years earlier in Mexico City, Fredborg was among the favorites for the Olympic gold medal in Munich. And after the 30 riders had completed the time trial, it was clear that the 25-year-old from Aarhus had the fastest time – 1:06.44. Danny Clark of Australia (1:06.87) won silver and Jürgen Schütze of GDR (1:07.02) took the bronze medal. It would later turn out that Fredborg’s gold medal became Denmark’s only medal at the Olympics in 1972. The national competition was won by the Soviet Union with no fewer than 50 gold medals ahead of the USA and the GDR – or East Germany (1949-1990) – the communist state, which strategically used elite sport as political propaganda by scientific training methods and systematic doping.

1972 Olympics – The “cheerful” games and the legacy of Berlin ’36

From the end of the 1940’s until the end of the 1980’s, as a consequence of the collapse of Nazi Germany in World War II, Europe was divided into two spheres of interest: East with the Warsaw Pact and West with NATO as military alliances and especially the establishment of the Berlin Wall in 1961 as a ” anti-fascist protective wall” seriously intensified the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States as military superpowers. The buildup of nuclear weapons by the two superpowers escalated throughout the 1960’s and several times threatened a nuclear war. The Cold War did not only take place by military armrace, but also at international sporting events such as the Olympics. The “cheerful” games – as the Olympics in Munich were called – were for West Germany a welcome opportunity to show the rest of the world that the nation had risen up – democratically, economically and culturally – after Hitler’s National Socialist Third Reich, which used the 1936 Olympics in Berlin for one of the biggest propaganda numbers in world history. A few days after Fredborg’s triumph, however, the Munich Olympics were struck by a terrible tragedy which affected the whole world. And which put extra focus on a conflict which was also a consequence of Nazi Germany’s systematic genocide of 5-6 million Jews in the period 1933-1945.

Connolly Strasse 31 – Death’s waiting room

In the early morning of September 5, 1972, eight members of the Palestinian group “Black September” – a faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) – broke into the Olympic Village, killed two Israeli athletes and took nine other Israeli athletes as hostage. The terrorist group demanded the release of 236 Palestinians detained in Israel as well as the release of the two German Rote Armee Fraktion terrorists Andreas Baader and Ulrike Meinhof. The Israelis totally refused to negotiate with the terrorists and instead asked the German government for permission to send a special force to Munich, but this proposal was rejected by the German government. I still vividly remember the “live television” from Connolly Strasse 31, which were broadcast to more than 900 million viewers around the world. The 1972 Olympics were the first time that the games’ competitions were broadcast live on TV. For the next 21 hours, the whole world waited with intense tension for the actions of the terrorists, policemen and politicians inside and outside the Olympic Village. The negotiations ended without result, after which the terrorists and hostages were transported to Fürstenfeldbruck Airport to being flown to a country in the Middle East. The rescue operation launched by German police at the airport was a total failure, as all nine Israeli hostages were killed by the terrorists. German police managed to kill five of the terrorists, while three were captured alive. A few days after the tragedy in Munich, Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, with the assistance of the Israeli Air Force, chose to attack PLO military facilities and civilian Palestinians in Syria and Lebanon as revenge for the terrorist attack in Munich. And at the same time, the Prime Minister assured that the Israeli security service would in future kill all “Black September terrorists” – regardless of where in the world they were.

“The show must go on” – but everything has (un)changed

The terrorist attack had occurred at the worst imaginable time and in the worst imaginable place – during the world’s biggest “people’s festival” in Munich, which in the late 1920’s and through the 1930’s was Hitler’s favorite “home town”. The International Olympic Committee had to make decisions with far-reaching consequences at lightning speed. During Tuesday 5 September, more and more Olympic competitions were canceled and the Olympics were suspended for 34 hours after the failure at Fürstenfeldbruck Airport – the whole world waited in suspense. The IOC decided to hold a memorial ceremony for the victims, where the IOC president uttered the famous words: “The show must go on” – The rest of the Olympic competitions were held in the following days, but everything was (un)changed.

The conflict between Israel and Palestine, which can be traced back to several centuries of disputes between Jews and Arabs over the “Holy Land”, remains unresolved. The number of terrorist attacks rooted in the conflicts between Jews and Arabs and between Muslims and Christians has expanded in recent decades. And the Municipality of Aarhus has just decided to remove the Aarhus Cycle Track from the map – only a very few jubilant optimists now have hope and faith in a new indoor cycle track in Denmark’s second largest city. Even though Denmark has won Olympic medals in track cycling at the last 4 Olympics.

Literature:

David Clay Large: Munich 1972: Tragedy, Terror, and Triump at the Olympic Games (Rowman & Littlefield, 2012)

Simon Reeve: One Day in September: The Full Story of the 1972 Munich Massacre and the Israeli Revenge Operation “Wrath of God” (Arcade Publishing, 2001)

Kay Schiller & Chris Young: The 1972 Munich Olympics and the Making of Modern Germany (University of California Press, 2010).

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FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, which will be held in a few months in the authoritarian emir state, is the provisional “highlight” of authoritarian states’ use of international sporting events as a political tool. “Sportswashing” is called the phenomenon by journalists, researchers and politicians – in and outside of the world of sport – but there is no officially recognized definition of the phenomenon. Amnesty International describes “sportswashing” as an expression of “… that sport is used by states, organizations, companies or individuals to improve reputation and public perception – both nationally and internationally. “Sportswashing” is when sports are used as PR and propaganda by states known for systematic and severe suppression of human rights and to remove the focus of serious social problems and violations of democratic rights”.

“Soft power” is a more accurate term than “sportswashing”

It is more accurate to use the term “soft power” instead of “sportswashing”, as it is not only authoritarian states such as China, Russia, Saudi Arabia or Qatar that use mega-events such as the Olympics, World Championships, Formula 1, golf and tennis tournaments as political tools, both internally in relation to the states’ own populations and externally in relation to the world community. Democratic states such as Germany (FIFA World Cup 2006), the United Kingdom (Olympic Games 2012) and France (Tour de France) have also used sport’s mega-events for staged narratives about these nations’ advantages, qualities and contributions to the world community.

“Soft power” creates new and strong networks and alliances

The theory of “soft power” was developed by the political scientist Joseph Nye, who emphasizes that power and power relations between nations do not only consist of traditional factors such as military or economic power (“hard power”). “Soft power” is used to get what you want through attraction and persuasion in order to achieve recognition of a nation’s culture, political values and foreign policy. At the same time, Joseph Nye emphasizes that a nation achieves its greatest influence by combining “hard power” and “soft power” in a unified strategy, which he calls “smart power”. The theory of “soft power” can largely explain why states – especially authoritarian ones – “invest” gigantic sums in sports mega-events to create new and strong diplomatic networks and alliances.

“Soft power” as a political tool is not a new phenomenon

At Play the Game’s 25th anniversary conference (June 2022), “sportswashing” or states’ use of “soft power” was one of the main themes. Professor Jules Boykoff from Pacific University (USA) emphasized that the phenomenon has a long history with the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin as one of the most significant examples. Hitler’s Nazi Germany deliberately and strategically used the Olympic Games for a propagandistic self-presentation of the Third Reich: a staged party where the host nation presented itself as a peaceful and working nation to the world community. Only three years later, this illusion completely burst and set all of Europe and large parts of Asia on fire.

The United States and the Soviet Union: “Soft power” during the Cold War

The historical dimension of the phenomenon is also highlighted by senior analyst Stanis Elsborg from Play the Game. Elsborg emphasizes that the Cold War between the superpowers – the United States and the Soviet Union – from the late 1940s to the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s was not just a military arms race (“hard power”). The Cold War – or the race – was also fought in the sports arenas – not least in connection with the Olympic Games. The two superpowers used “soft power” to a large extent to convince the rest of the world’s nations – and not least the Western-oriented nations in Europe and the Eastern Bloc nations respectively – that they stood for the most attractive social system that could also produce the best athletes. The United States and the Soviet Union used the opening ceremony at their hosting of the 1980 Olympics in Moscow – where the US did not participate – and the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles – where the Soviet Union and most countries from Eastern Europe did not participate – to demonstrate space policy ambitions. The battle between the two “systems” should thus not “only” take place through military capacity and in the sports arenas – but also in space via modern technology.

China: A new superpower, both in sports and space

In the past two decades, a new superpower – China – has really emerged in international sports and space travel. Chinese President Xi Jinping has his own “space dream” and is convinced that the path to world domination goes through space. China has great space policy ambitions, which involves the idea of building a base on the moon and a manned mission to Mars. This message was communicated at the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, as well as by the mascot for the 2022 Winter Olympics: a panda dressed as an astronaut. Stronger symbolic value cannot be sent to all children and young people in the world’s most populous nation.

Qatar: Major user of “soft power” in connection with sports mega-events

After the turn of the millennium, especially China (Olympics 2008 and Winter Olympics 2022), Russia (Winter Olympics 2014 and FIFA World Cup 2018) and Qatar have used “soft power” as a political strategy – with greater or lesser success. Qatar has systematically and strategically used sport’s mega-events to gain political goodwill and, not least, to develop commercial networks within the global sports industry. Among the biggest international sporting events that have taken place in Qatar are the Asian Games (2006), the World Championship in team handball (2015), the World Championship in road cycling (2016) and the World Championship in athletics (2019). FIFA World Cup 2022 is the next showcase, but the “crown jewel” for Qatar will surely be to be awarded the hosting of the Olympic Games in 2036. Qatar was awarded the hosting of FIFA World Cup 2022, which has created an intense debate about the relationship between sports, politics and human rights, two reasons in particular. Firstly, the evidence that there was corruption in FIFA during the awarding of the World Cup hosts for 2018 and 2022. Secondly, international organizations – such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Sport for Rights – as well as journalists’ coverage of Qatar’s problems in respecting basic human rights, especially in relation to the many migrant workers who have since 2010 built stadiums, hotels and infrastructure to be ready to receive fans from around the world when the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 kicks off on 21 November 2022.

 

Literature on “soft power” and international sport:

Joseph Nye: “Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics” (2004)

Jules Boykoff: “Power Games – A Political History of the Olympics (2016)

Stanis Elsborg: “Sporten er en yndet arena for budskaber” – https://www.idan.dk/nyheder/sporten-er-en-yndet-arena-for-politiske-budskaber/

Francios Colin, Hein Meurs, Jurryt van de Vooren & Teun Meurs: No More Qatar (2022).

Amnesty International – https://www.amnesty.org.uk/search/sportswashing

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“Strikers win matches, but a strong defense wins championships”. This is what one of Italy’s greatest coaching legends – Arrigo Sacchi – stated after he was hired as head coach of A.C. Milan in the summer of 1987. Until Sacchi was hired by A.C. Milan had by far the majority of Serie A clubs and the Italian national team – “Gli Azzurri” – practiced the “Catenaccio system” with a “free” defender – “libero” – and 3-5 players, who followed the opponents’ strikers, most often everywhere on the pitch. However, Sacchi introduced a new defense system with zone coverage of 4 defenders in line and a high ball pressure when the opponent team was ball-possessed. Likewise, Sacchi stressed that the distance between one’s defensive and strikers should not be more than 20-25 meters. Sacchi’s new tactical concept with the iconic back chain – Franco Baresi, Alessandro Costacurta, Paolo Maldini and Mauro Tassotti – combined with A.C. Milan’s acquisition of the Dutch trio: Frank Rijkaard, Ruud Gullit and Marco van Basten as well as the Italian national team players Carlo Ancelotti and Roberto Donadoni – created in a short time one of the world’s strongest club teams ever. AC Milan won in the late 1980’s and through the 1990’s 6 national championships and 3 Champions League titles (1989, 1990 and 1994).

Sacchi’s defense system as inspiration for European top coaches

A number of top European clubs and coaches, including Jose Mourinho (F.C. Porto, F.C. Inter and Chelsea F.C.), Peb Guordiola (F.C. Barcelona, ​​Bayern Munich and Manchester City) and Jörgen Klopp (Borrusia Dortmund and Liverpool F.C.), have been greatly inspired by Arrigo Sacchi and A.C. Milan’s game concept. And today, virtually all Serie A clubs use defensive formations with 4 players in line. In addition, the defenders’ individual technical skills today are at an extremely high level. This is especially true of the S.S.C. Naples, as pt. leads Serie A with 32 points and who has only conceded 4 goals in 12 matches – 7 goals less than A.C. Milan and 9 goals less than F.C. Inter, which must be considered the biggest favorites for the national championship – Il Scudetto.

A “saviour” brings titles and pride to a poor city

Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli (S.S.C. Napoli) was founded in 1926 and the club has since spent the vast majority of seasons in Serie A. The club has always been the football pride of southern Italy, being exclusively S.S.C. Napoli, who have been able to seriously challenge the top clubs in Rome, Milan and Turin. However, it was not until 1962 that the club won the first title – Coppa Italia. Since then, the club has won the Italian Cup 6 times, most recently in 2020. S.S.C. Napoli’s acquisition of superstar Diego Maradona from F.C. Barcelona in the summer of 1984 for the record amount of 80 million. DKK, however, changed everything for the Neapolitans. The first two seasons were a limited success for the little Argentine and his teammates, but in the 1986-1987 season, S.S.C. Naples for the first time “Il Scudetto” with the Brazilian Careca and the Italian national team players Ferrara, Crippa, Carnevale and De Napoli in the squard. In the 1989-1990 season, S.S.C. Napoli won the Italian championship, while it became two 2’nd places in 1987-1988 and 1988-1989. Also on the international football scene, Maradona and his teammates strode all the way to the top of the UEFA Cup in 1989. In the spring of 1991, Maradona tested positive for doping, with which a long and painful downturn, both sporting and economic, began for S.S.C. Naples. In 2000, the club was relegated from Serie A and only three seasons later, the club was declared bankrupt with a debt of 80 million euros and forcibly relegated to Serie C. Despite S.S.C. Napoli played Italy’s third best football series, nevertheless attracted the club an impressive number of spectators to their home matches – often more than 50,000 spectators. In the 2003-2004 season, S.S.C. Napoli – as a Serie C club – the third highest spectator average in all of Italy after F.C. Inter and A.C. Milan, but ahead of top clubs Juventus F.C., A.S. Rome and S.S. Lazio. In addition, the club also has many loyal fans outside of Italy.

S.S.C. Naples – Rebirth and championship favorite

A rapid financial reconstruction, primarily funded by film director Aurelio De Laurentiis and who today remains the main shareholder in the club, brought S.S.C. Napoli back – first to Serie B in 2005-2006 and two years later to Serie A. And in the last decade, the club has continuously been among Italy’s best, 4 times (2012-2013, 2015-2016, 2017-2018 and 2018-2019) as vice champions. The club has especially profiled itself on a very strong defense with Kalidou Koulibaly from Senegal as the biggest profile and the playmaker Lorenzo Insigne as the dominant attacking player.

Italy’s best defense vs. best attack

On Sunday, the S.S.C. Napoli on one of the season’s most difficult matches against another championship favorite – F.C. Inter from Milan. The match is not just a duel between Southern Italy’s football pride and one of Northern Italy’s economically strongest and most sporting winning clubs. It’s also a match between Serie A’s best defense – S.S.C. Napoli – against the league’s best attack – F.C. Inter – who in the first 12 games of the season have scored the most goals of all Serie A clubs – a total of 29. I look forward – together with my good mates Tino, Jørgen and Thorleif – to follow the match at the Stadio Guiseppe Meazza in Milan. It looks like a match with very few goals in advance, but football matches without goals can actually (also) be both interesting and very intense.

You can read more about Italian football and the two clubs here:

https://www.legaseriea.it/en

https://www.sscnapoli.it/

https://www.inter.it/en

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Badminton is one of the few sports where Denmark has continuously been among the world’s best nations for decades. The unique position was confirmed last week at the World Mixed Team Championships – the Sudirman Cup – in Finland, where Denmark was the only European nation that qualified to the quarterfinals, where it turned into a 2-3 defeat against the later World Champions China.

Denmark is among the World Championships favorites

The unique position among the world’s best nations will also be confirmed next week, when Denmark participate in the World Men’s Team Championships – the Thomas Cup – and the World Women’s Team Championships – the Uber Cup – at homecourt in Aarhus. The women’s team is seeded for a quarter final, but it will be difficult to get there. However, there are several younger female players in Danish badminton with potential for international top level, including Mia Blichfeldt, Line Christophersen and Alexandra Bøje, but the level among the female players in these years is significantly lower than among the male top players, especially in the singles. I think that Denmark has really good chances of winning the Thomas Cup – for only the second time in history.

Denmark as the only non-Asian winner of the Thomas Cup

Former Danish top players, such as Jørn Skaarup, Finn Kobberø, Jørgen Hammergaard Hansen, Erland Korps and Svend Pri, already achieved impressive international results in the 1950s and 1960s at the All England tournament, which until the first official World Championships in 1977, was considered the unofficial World Championships. Denmark played their way to the first Thomas Cup final, which was held in 1948. The final against Malaysia was lost by 1-8 and subsequently there were no less than 7 further final defeats (1955, 1964, 1973, 1979, 1996, 2004 and 2006), before Denmark in 2016 for the first time won the Thomas Cup after a final victory of 3-2 over Indonesia. The triumph caused understandably large cheers among players, coaches and leaders in Danish badminton, as it was the first time a non-Asian nation won the Thomas Cup.

Four singles among the world’s 20 best

Only five nations have previously won the Thomas Cup: Indonesia (13), China (10), Malaysia (5), Japan and Denmark. And it will also be among these five nations that the winner of the 2021 Thomas Cup will be found. China and Malaysia do not have the strength of the past, so my final favorites are Japan and Denmark with Indonesia as the outsider. The Danish men’s national team’s greatest strength is 3 singles of world class: Viktor Axelsen, who has won both Olympic and WC gold medal, and the two Aarhusians: Anders Antonsen and Rasmus Gemke. The latter has unfortunately been injured up to the Thomas Cup, but then the veteran Hans Kristian Vittighus will be a perfect replacement as the 3rd single. The four top players are currently ranked No. 2, 3, 12 and 20 in the World rankings, which no other nation can match. The two Danish doubles also have a high international level, but most of the doubles from the Asian top nations have – unfortunately – an even higher level. Up to the Thomas Cup, several of the Danish doubles players have been injured, so the composition of the doubles will probably only be decided during the Thomas Cup. But what exactly is the explanation for the fact that Danish badminton can still develop world-class players among the male players. Let me highlight three topics.

The badminton hall as a unique training environment

Firstly, Danish badminton has always had a strong culture and many traditions, which have unfolded in the more than 700 clubs that form the foundation for the international top results. Many of the clubs have facilities specially designed for badminton. And then the badminton halls are usually available 24 hours – 365 days a year. Badminton halls, such as the hall in Godthåbsgade in the center of Odense, where Viktor Axelsen has spent lots of hours with training and social club life or the hall on Dyrehavevej in Aarhus, where childhood friends Antonsen and Gemke, have had their “badminton upbringing”, have been optimal talent development environments for many youth players. One of my explanations for the current difference in the quality of female and male top players is that the number of boys under the age of 18 who are club players is significantly higher than the number of girls, namely 23,692 vs. 11,162. More girls must simply be attracted – and not least retained as juniors – in the fascinating sport, if Denmark is to once again develop female players who can win WC medals.

World-class elite coaching education

Secondly, the quality of coaches in Danish badminton, both at club, district and national level – in relation to many other sports in Denmark – has always been very high. Education of children and youth coaches as well as the involvement of former top players as coaches is absolutely crucial for the development of the players’ competencies. As one of the latest initiatives, Badminton Denmark, led by sports director Jens Meibom, has just offered a new elite coach education, where new coaches will be included in the training of national team players at the National Elite Training Center (NETC) and where each new coach will have one of the existing national coaches as a mentor . In addition, the new coaches must participate in international tournaments in Europe and Asia, i.a. to gain competencies to develop players to international top level.

NETC – continuity and role models

Thirdly, back in the late 1980s, Badminton Denmark established the National Elite Training Center in Brøndbyhallen, where daily training combined with strength training, dietary guidance, mental training, prevention and treatment of injuries has been to the mutual joy and benefit of all. The training environment and culture has been – and continues to be – completely unique with role models such as Morten Frost, Poul Erik Høyer, Kirsten Larsen, Peter Gade, Camilla Martin, Tine Baun, Mathias Boe, Carsten Mogensen, Joackim Fischer, Jan Ø. Jørgensen, Kamilla Rytter Juhl, Christinna Pedersen and many, many others. It is both sad and extremely worrying if Danish top players opt out of NETC as a daily training environment. For that reason, I also hope that Viktor Axelsen – rather today than tomorrow – “returns home” from Qatar and contributes to the further development of new talents with international potential. I look forward to following the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals of the Thomas and Uber Cup at Ceres Arena next weekend. It is definitely not commonplace that world-class badminton can be experienced “live” only a few hundred meters away from home. And then a new Danish World Cup triumph may await at the end of Stadion Allé.

You can read more about Danish and international badminton here:

Forside (badminton.dk)

BWF Fansite (bwfbadminton.com)

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Did you know that European football clubs such as FC Barcelona, ​​Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain have more than doubled their financial turnover over the past ten years, so that their annual turnover today amounts to 6-8 billions .… pr. club. Did you know that the Spanish top club FC Real Madrid and the multinational tech giant Microsoft have entered into a strategic collaboration, where the two companies mutually have direct data access to 450 million fans from different cultures, continents and time zones. Did you know that megastar Christiano Ronaldo (CR7) has 148 million followers on Facebook or almost twice as many as the world’s two biggest sports equipment giants: Adidas (38 million) and Nike (34 million) have… combined.

New book fills a large gap within Danish sports research and teaching

You can get this factual information in the book “Sports management – Management and commercialization in the sports industry” (Hans Reitzels Forlag, 2021), which has just been published. The book is the first basic book in Danish and it fills in a very competent way a large gap within Danish sports research and teaching. In my opinion, the book should in future be a compulsory textbook for all students in bachelor’s and master’s programs at business academies, university colleges and universities that deal with the sports industry. But the book can also provide board members, directors, executives, athletes, sponsors and journalists with useful and relevant insights and tools to (further) develop their clubs, federations, organizations, companies and media.

Excellent interplay between professional knowledge and concrete cases

The book is edited by Ph.D. and Associate Professor at University College Nordjylland Kenneth Cortsen, M.Sc. com. and communications officer in the Players’ Association Michael Hehr and Ph.D. and external associate professor at Aalborg University Renate Nielsen. In addition, Danish and international researchers, experts and practitioners have contributed with a number of exciting cases, which support, expand and put into perspective the book’s theories, models and facts about sports marketing, sports management and sports economics. The interplay between the book’s research-based knowledge, theoretical models and concrete cases, both from Denmark and abroad, is excellent. Likewise, the range, both in relation to sports, cultures and countries, is impressive.

A new media agenda with the “global consumer” at the center

The book contains three main parts after an introduction to the sports industry, where the authors emphasizes that “the role of sport in society has developed explosively in recent decades. Association has become a business, and the time when sport was exclusively about what happened on the court, is long gone “competition” takes place not only on the court, where clubs nationally and internationally compete on the sporting parameter, but also off the field, where disciplines within e.g. Sports marketing, sports management and the sports economy have a decisive effect on the competitiveness of federations, leagues, clubs or individual athletes – not to mention the surrounding industry, which includes everything from agent and betting companies to equipment manufacturers and sports tourism players. The industry’s focus remains on classic areas such as management and branding, but the market’s changing mechanisms also have the effect that new disciplines require the attention of sports organizations. Innovation management, crisis communication and social media are examples of this. The development of the market is not least due to the interaction between industry-oriented innovation and consumers’ new needs. The fragmented media agenda that offers more and more communication platforms leaves consumers in a privileged situation. In the new media landscape, it is possible to follow and get very close to practitioners all over the globe and from places where we have otherwise previously been denied access. And the whole thing even a few clicks with the index finger away ”.

The sports industry has many different dimensions and perspectives

The first main part of the book focuses on themes and cases within sports marketing such as branding, sports as a PR tool, sponsorships, CSR in sports marketing, crisis communication and exit strategies, data-driven marketing, game entertainment, events and social media. The second main part of the book deals with sports management, i.a. themes and cases on leadership and management, organizational culture and sports management, talent management, venue management, leading innovation and volunteer management. The third main part of the book contains themes and cases in relation to sports economics, including supply and demand in the sports market, valuations, economic framework conditions, media, television rights, strategic analyzes and economic contexts, as well as earning capacity and distribution of income streams.

Collision between the logic of free market forces and the “internal logic” of sport

The sports industry is extremely complex with many different players, both local, national and global. One of the most important messages of the book, in my view, is that the goal, direction, content and form of sport are framed globally based on the logic of free market forces: The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. In short, this means that economic inequality, both between and within the individual sports, is getting bigger and bigger. And the logic of free market forces also demands that development happen faster and faster. The logic of the free market forces thus also collides with the sport’s “internal logic” with a focus on “equal and fair competition”. A collision, which is described and discussed in the book, but without precise answers and attitudes on the part of the authors. One of the many consequences of the logic of free market forces is that football today accounts for more than 80% of the sports industry’s total economy in Europe, that more than half of Denmark’s best football clubs today are owned by foreign private equity funds and investors and that Danish super league clubs boys of 8-10 years to play for their particular club. The global, commercial development thus has a number of significant direct effects on the development, structure and content of children’s and youth football in Denmark. The commercialization and professionalisation of the sports industry pressures and challenges not only Danish Football Association (DBU), the Association of the Ligaclubs (Divisionsforeningen) and the Superliga clubs, but also the local football clubs in Bøvlingbjerg, Brobyværk and Bjæverskov. In the longer term, this development, which has really gained momentum in the last two decades, will, in my opinion, lead to a number of very negative consequences in relation to e.g. public economic support for sport clubs, volunteer coaches and leaders, committed communities and democracy, which are core values ​​for Danish sports life and culture. However, the book’s authors are to be commended for articulating the sport’s – and not just football’s – current biggest challenge: The power of money.

A book with passion for sports

The authors should also be commended and recognized for the competent use of notes, an extremely comprehensive bibliography and a useful index. These three elements are far from always a matter of course, not even when publishing academic articles and textbooks. The book can be highly recommended to anyone who has a passion for sports – just like the book’s three editors and the many communicators of the book’s cases.

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“It is the story that the right circumstances and the right people in the right place can create lasting results.” Thus, one of the 37 contributors – professor and head of research unit Jan Hartvigsen – writes in the anniversary book: “From physical exercises to sports and biomechanics – 50 years with the body in motion” (Syddansk Universitetsforlag, 2021), which has just been published. This sentence fits very precisely the work of the Department of Sport and Biomechanics over the past five decades. The anniversary book, edited by the historian Jørn Hansen, describes and discusses both the circumstances, the people, the places and the results: From the pioneer period with 14 students and 5 permanent employees in 1970 to today, where more than 1,200 students and 180 employees are associated with bachelor and the master’s programs in sports, clinical biomechanics and physiotherapy at the University of Southern Denmark. And let it be said at once: The anniversary book is a “must” – not only for former and current students and staff, but for anyone who wants to get an overview and insight into education, research, dissemination and innovation in an interdisciplinary field .

Education and research with multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives

The book contains four main parts. The first part of the book describes the long lines in the department’s history, which are linked to social development, education and health policy. The first two articles are written by Jørn Hansen (Head of department 1993-1999) and Jørgen Povlsen (Head of department 2000-2021), both of whom emphasize the department’s interest in research into and development of educations with multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives. The two authors also emphasize the department’s ability, courage and willingness to initiate and develop education and research, both nationally and internationally, with other educational and research institutions, public authorities as well as private companies and foundations. In addition, the department has always focused on dissemination, knowledge sharing, networking and involvement of citizens, schools, municipalities, regions, associations and organizations. In this way, the department’s management, staff and students have often contributed with research results and practice activities that can improve the health, well-being and quality of life of children, young people, adults and the elderly.

Education and research are more than just New Public Management

The second part of the book consists of 9 personal stories from the history of Department of Sports and Biomechanics. The stories focus on special issues, i.a. the first year in which Odense University overtook Aarhus University in the “fight” for a physical education outside Copenhagen. The first interdisciplinary research projects in the 1980s, which were a strong contributor to a more diverse picture of sports, both in Denmark and internationally, are also exciting reading. One of the book’s most interesting contributions is written by Kurt Lüders – one of the department’s most competent teachers and researchers in practical-pedagogical subjects. Lüders describes and discusses with humor and enthusiasm the extent of hours and prioritization of academic resources between the sports subject three “core areas”: Biological-medical subjects (physiology, anatomy, biomechanics, etc.), Humanities-social science subjects (history, sociology, psychology, economics, etc. .) and Practical-pedagogical subjects (didactics, pedagogy, swimming, water activities, learning in water, etc.). Some of the answers to the very frequent changes of curricula in the subject of sports, including a markedly lower prioritization of the practical-pedagogical subjects, are of course found in new visions, new research results and new forms of learning. But the most important explanation for this development is in my opinion “New public management” (NPM) with i.a. taximeters for study admission and completion, “objective” accreditations, development contracts with a high degree of external funding of research, which in recent decades has “permeated” all educational and research institutions in Denmark. NPM is certainly an effective management tool for public authorities and not least the Ministry of Finance, but the value of NPM in terms of promoting and developing good quality education and research at the elite level is, in my opinion, highly questionable.

Strong professional and social communities

The third part of the book belongs to “voices” from the study period, where 12 former students from the minor, bachelor’s and master’s programs in P.E., the master’s program in biomechanics and the master’s program in physiotherapy with a mixture of anecdotes, memories, experiences and post-rationalisations look in the “rear view mirror”. The common denominator for the contributions is the experience of strong professional and social communities at the Department of Sport and Biomechanics, SDU. Of course, there have been both ups and downs throughout the department’s lifetime, but there have also always been visions, courage, energy and will – also to think differently and possibly fail. Personally, I often think of the period in the late 1980s, when the medical education programs at Odense University was very close to a closure. A closure that would certainly also have put the Department of Physical Exercise under tremendous pressure. However, professor Mogens Hørder, who was dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, took the lead in a new profile for medical education programs in Denmark, which averted the disaster. Hørder, who is one of the most visionary and professionally competent leaders I have worked together with, could also see obvious connections and potentials between sports and health. It was to a very large extent Mogens Hørder’s visions and merits that both research and education in clinical biomechanics and physiotherapy subsequently became an integral part of the Department of Sport and Biomechanics. And thus also one of the world’s strongest research environments in sports, prevention and health promotion.

Research must be for the benefit and benefit of people, groups and society

The fourth part of the book is a performance of the research units and centers at the Department of Sport and Biomechanics. The individual articles, which are authored by the research unit and center managers, describe both the background, content, partners and future perspectives for the individual units and centers. It is gratifying that both basic research and applied research have a high priority in the department’s research strategy. And that there is room for and need for both experienced and younger researchers of both sexes at the individual units and centers. It is also very positive that the department’s employees are aware of disseminating results from research to relevant target groups, so that the Department of Sport and Biomechanics can continue to benefit the individuals, social communities and society as a whole in the coming years.

Results are created by people – in the right places and times

Thank you for a fantastic study time (1981-1983), committed students, good colleagues and exciting partners (1984-1994). And not least a big congratulations on the results, created by the right people in the right place – Department of Sport and Biomechanics, SDU – over the past 50 years.

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The final medals at the XXXII Olympic Games have been distributed and 11,326 athletes from 206 nations are now returning home with victories, defeats, tears of joy and disappointment, new friendships, shattered dreams, hopes in new Olympic experiences in 3 years in Paris, a life without training and competitions and much, much more. For the five Nordic countries, the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo was a sporting success, regardless of whether the results are calculated according to the number of gold medals, the total medal count or top 8 ranking, which is a good indicator of performance level in athletes and teams in Olympic disciplines where competition density is become more and more intense and where the margins between the medal winners and a ranking like No. 4 or No. 8 are very often extremely modest.

Denmark wins the most Olympic medals

Denmark won – similar to the Olympics 2012 and Olympics 2016 – most medals of the Nordic countries, namely 11 (3 gold, 4 silver and 4 bronze) in 8 different sports. It was especially very positive that Denmark won 3 gold medals, which only in recent decades has been surpassed at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, where it became 4 gold medals. In addition to Viktor Axelsen (badminton) and Anne-Marie Rindom (sailing), Michael Mørkøv and Lasse Norman Hansen’s performance in track cycling (madison) was the Danish highlights of the 2020 Olympics. The 36-year-old Mørkøv, who won silver medal at the 2008 Olympics, proved to be one of the world’s most elegant track riders and 29-year-old Norman Hansen has now won medals at the last three Olympics in a row. The strong dane now has the chance to surpass the rower Eskild Ebbesen, who won 3 gold and 2 bronze medals at 5 Olympics in a row. Denmark achieved 135 top 8 ranking points at the 2020 Olympics, which is exactly the same number as at the 2016 Olympics, but 13 points less than at the 2012 Olympics (148).

Sweden wins more top-8 ranking points

Sweden was placed ahead of Denmark on the IOC’s official ranking list with 3 gold and 6 silver medals in 5 different sports. Both Armand “Mondo” Duplantis ‘gold medal in pole vault, Daniel Ståhl’s gold medal and Simon Pettersson’s silver medal in disco throw showed that Sweden can continue to develop world-class athletes in the Olympic Games’ most prestigious sport – athletics. Sweden was also very close to the gold medals in the women’s football tournament, but 4 burnt penalty kicks became extremely costly for Sweden, which, as at the 2016 Olympics, had to “settle for” a silver medal. The same carat of metal was won by swimmer Sarah Sjöström, who has now won a total of 4 Olympic medals. Sweden achieved 134 top-8 ranking points at the 2020 Olympics, which was 11 points more at the 2012 Olympics and 3 points more than at the 2016 Olympics.

Norway with the greatest progress

Norway (No. 20) was placed ahead of both Sweden (No. 23) and Denmark (No. 25) on the IOC’s official rankings despite “only” 8 medals (4 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze) in 6 different sports. The reason for Norway’s ranking in the top 20 on the IOC rankings was as many as 4 gold medals: Karsten Warholm’s unique performance in the 400 meter hurdles, only 20-year-old Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the 1,500 meter race, Kristian Blummenfelt in triathlon and Anders Mol and Christian Sørum in beach volley. Among the positive Norwegian surprises was also Eivind Henriksen’s silver medal in hammer throw, while – similar to the 2016 Olympics – it “only” became a bronze medal for Norway’s women’s team handball, which won Olympic gold medals in both 2008 and 2012. The 4 gold medals were also strong contributors to Norway achieved 84 top-8 raking points – as many as 38 points more than at the 2012 Olympics (46) and 44 more than at the 2016 Olympics (40). It is extremely rare for a nation to achieve such significant progress from one Olympics to the next, as Norway has done at the 2020 Olympics. I’m sure that Norway will definitely challenge both Sweden and Denmark even more at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

Finland and Iceland far behind the other three

Finland won 2 bronze medals at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, which was one more than at the 2016 Olympics. The medals were won by swimmer Matti Mattsson in the 200 meter breaststroke and 40-year-old boxer Mira Potkonen, who also won a bronze medal in Rio. Finland achieved 31 top 8 ranking points at the 2020 Olympics, which was significantly better than the 2016 Olympics (14). Iceland was represented by 4 athletes in athletics, shooting and swimming without it turning into either medals or top 8 ranking points.

The Nordic welfare model is the base – also for elite sports

But what are the reasons why 25-year-old Karsten Warholm won Olympic gold medal and improved the world record by 0.76 sec. in the 400 meter hurdles, that 27-year-old Viktor Axelsen won Olympic gold medal in badminton without giving up a single set and that 21-year-old Armand “Mondo” Duplantis won Olympic gold medal in pole vault with an impressive 6.02 meters. The main reason is that the Nordic countries have created strong welfare models, which are admired and imitated, also by people and nations outside the Nordic region and Europe. The Nordic welfare model is the starting point for values, norms, structures and organization of a number of areas of society, including sports. And the Nordic countries rank high on international rankings of e.g. economy, education, health, infrastructure and trust in public authorities and other people.

A strong network of sport clubs is crucial for talent development

The core values ​​in the Nordic welfare model are community and equality, which means that the public sector (state and municipalities) use many financial resources to create a good framework and conditions for citizens’ cultural and leisure life. In this connection, the Nordic countries have developed a diverse and well-functioning systems of clubs within e.g. sports, where a large number of volunteer coaches and leaders take on a variety of tasks for the enjoyment and benefit of the local community’s children and youth. A strong network of sport clubs constitutes the absolutely crucial foundation for the talent and elite work in each sports and the individual countries in the Nordic region.

Only 4 nations won more Olympic medals than Denmark among the smaller countries

The diverse network of sport clubs with competent children and youth coaches combined with high material prosperity and good sports facilities have been the main reasons why the Nordic countries have for more than a century been – and continue to be – among the best sports nations in the world, not at least in relation to the nations’ relatively modest population. At the 2020 Olympics, only New Zealand and Hungary with 20 medals, Cuba with 15 medals and Switzerland with 13 medals won more medals among the smaller countries with a population of less than 10 million. than Denmark.

Independent elite sports institutions make a difference

Another important explanation for the Nordic countries’ success in elite sports is the establishment and development of independent institutions such as the Olympiatoppen (Norway), Team Denmark (Denmark), the Swedish Olympic Committee (Sweden) and the High Performance Unit (Finland), which support athletes and coaches with resources for innovation and research, organization and management, educational guidance, expert services in physical training, sports medicine and physiotherapy, sports psychology, nutrition and not least finance for participation in training camps and international competitions.

Norway, Sweden and Denmark among the world’s 25 best nations

With rankings as No. 20, 23 and 25 on the IOC’s official rankings at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, athletes and teams from the Nordic countries showed TV viewers around the world that there are plenty of world-class athletes in Norway, Sweden and Denmark in many different sports. In just 6 months, the XXIV Olympic Winter Games will be held in Beijing. In advance, it looks like a medal party for Norway, which has been the world’s sovereign best winter sports nation for the past decade. Sweden will probably be among the 6-8 most winning nations, while Finland also has several medal candidates, including ice hockey and cross country skiing. There is reason for continued optimism for elite sports in the Nordic region, especially due to welfare models with a strong network of clubs, good talent development environments and well-functioning elite sports institutions.

You can find results from the 2020 Olympics here:

Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games (olympics.com)

Further information about the 2022 Winter Olympics:

https://olympics.com/en/beijing-2022

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On Sunday, July 25, it is exactly 10 years since I had one of my greatest experiences as a spectator at an international sporting event: the 14th World Aquatics Championships, which was held in Shanghai, China. The mood among the 18,000 spectators – almost all Chinese – in the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center was very special before the final in the 100 meter breaststroke for men. All sympathy, both among spectators and TV viewers around the world, was directed at 26-year-old Alexander Dale Oen from Norway. For one particular reason: A right-wing extremist terrorist from Oslo had 3 days before in a cold and cynical way carried out horrific acts that had resonated all over the world. One of the world’s strongest democracies – Norway – had been hit in the national soul when 8 people were killed in the bombing of government buildings in Oslo and 69 young people at a summer camp were brutally shot down on Utøya by a fanatical neo-Nazi driven by fear of strangers.

A unique swimming talent from Western Norway

Alexander Dale Oen was born and raised on the island of Rong in Øygarden Municipality, which consists of a number of smaller islands near Bergen. Together with his 5 year older big brother Robin, Alexander was 6 years old enrolled in the club Vestkantsvømmerne. And soon he displayed an unusually great talent for swimming, especially the disciple breaststroke. He set lots of national records as a junior swimmer and already as a 17-year-old he won the first national senior championship in the favorite discipline 100 meters breaststroke. The international breakthrough for Dale Oen came in 2005, when he achieved a 7th place at the World Championships on long distance in Montreal, Canada. In the following years, the unique swimmer from Western Norway achieved a large number of titles at international championships, both short track (25 meters) and long track (50 meters). Among the highlights was the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, where Dale Oen won Norway’s first ever Olympic medal in swimming, defeated only in the final by reigning Olympic champion Kosuke Kitajima from Japan.

The WC gold which was dedicated to the innocent victims

The silence among the spectators at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center was instantaneous before the start shot for the final in the 100m breaststroke for men. And the noise was extreme during and after the race, where the sovereign Norwegian put all the competitors in place. The time of 58.71 seconds was a personal record for Dale Oen and more than 7/10 seconds faster than Fabio Scozzoli from Italy (59.42) and Cameron van der Burgh (59.49) from South Africa. Dale Oen had fully lived up to both his own and everyone else’s expectations. At the subsequent press conference, he dedicated the gold medal to the victims from Oslo and Utøya, their closest and the entire Norwegian people. The day after the highly emotional experience, I met Alexander by chance at the hotel in Shanghai, where the Danish, Norwegian and Swedish swimming teams were accommodated. It was a short – but very memorable – conversation with an extremely sympathetic and modest world-class athlete.

An incomprehensible heart attack

Only 9 months after the World Championship in Shanghai – on April 30, 2012 – Alexander Dale Oen and his loved ones were hit by a personal tragedy and the whole of Norway was hit again in the national soul. The news of Dale Oen’s death in a hotel room during an altitude training camp in Flagstaff, Arizona in the US was – just like the terrorist attacks in Oslo and on Utøya – unreal and inconceivable: A 26-year-old well-trained top athlete does not die of cardiac arrest without prior symptoms. Two months after the tragic death, Olympiatoppen and the Norwegian Swimming Federation issued a press release on the autopsy report, which was published in accordance with US law. The report showed that Alexander Dale Oen died of a heart attack as a result of a blood clot in one of the three coronary arteries. The report also showed that Dale Oen had significant atherosclerosis and changes in the heart muscle with minor infarctions a few months before his death. Furthermore, Olympiatoppen’s doctor Ola Rønsen concluded that there was probably a connection between a shoulder injury that Dale Oen had sustained at the beginning of 2012, and the death. Despite reports from specialists in both Norway and the United States in the months before the death, no one had suspected a link between the shoulder injury and a possible coronary artery disease. The most common causes of coronary artery disease are smoking, high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity and inactivity. All risk factors that are not part of a world class athlete’s everyday life.

We do not give character, we develop character

Alexander Dale Oen’s sudden and premature death was, of course, a very great loss for his family, friends and sports mates, both inside and outside Norway. For Norwegian elite sports, Dale Oen’s tragic death a few months before the 2012 Olympics in London was also a loss of Norway’s clearly greatest Olympic medal hope. Alexander’s biggest dream was an Olympic gold medal in the favorite discipline 100 breaststroke. It was instead won by one of Alexander’s good friends: Cameron van der Burgh from South Africa, who set a world record in the Olympic final with a time of 58.46 seconds.

The memories of the swimmer and human Alexander Dale Oen are stronger today than ever before.

This is mainly due to the fact that his family, led by his big brother Robin, immediately after Alexander’s death, established the Dale Oen Foundation, which offers children and young people from 8 to 18 years activities and longer stays, where they get opportunities to challenge themselves – both physically and mentally – through the use of nature. The foundation’s motto is “We do not give character, we develop character”, which is an expression that mastery and learning are in focus for the activities. The foundation’s activities are primarily aimed at children and young people, who have often experienced defeats and disappointments in the established school and education system.

To live – both in the present and through the memories

Monday, July 26, 2021, the final of the 100 meter breaststroke at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Britain’s Adam Beaty, who is both reigning world champion and holder of the world record (56.88 seconds), is the big favorite for the Olympic gold. I will of course follow the swimming finals on live TV and wish all the best for the Danish Olympic swimmers. Also Jeanette Ottesen, who sensationally became world champion in 2011 in the 100 meter freestyle and now participates in her fifth Olympics. But I would especially like to send many thoughts to Alexander Dale Oen, who won the hearts of all Norwegians and – including mine – exactly 10 years ago at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center.