In the Women’s National Team, the Swedish Pia Sundhage has two compatriots at her side who share the responsibility of leading the team. These are assistants Lilie Persson and Anders Johasson.
Pia and Lilie have worked together for over 20 years. In the curriculum, the two were together in the Swedish National Team and, now, in the Brazilian National Team. With different personalities, the assistant stands out in the extroverted dynamics of leading the training sessions.
Responsible for commanding the attack of the Brazilian team, the Swede is relaxed and always excited, vibrates with each move and bid of the cast. Joy is also one of his strengths when facing the responsibility of leading Canarinho in the search for the first star.
“That’s a good question because there are people out there who might think you need to be serious all the time, but for me, it’s easy to change the key from serious to lighthearted. It’s easy for me to change that and for some people, but for me it’s easy when I need to enjoy and have fun”, says Lilie.
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There are 11 days left for the World Cup debut, Lilie highlights how the environment has been important in preparing for the competition. This will be the first World Cup for the Swedes in charge of Canarinho.
“It’s been really good, first of all the atmosphere is fantastic, almost the same climate as in Brazil, and also the training sessions are going really well too”, says Lilie.
For Lilie, Brazil has a very special element in the search for the first title: the mixture of generations. With a team that has experienced athletes like Marta, Rafaelle, Tamires and Bárbara, the cast also gives space to World Cup debutants, like Kerolin, Ary, Ana Vitória and Bruninha.
“I like when groups are like this because some of them are very experienced and some are very young and not so experienced, so when you can share that is the best and this group is like that. This is very special,” she concluded.
In preparation for the World Cup, this Thursday (13th), the Brazilian team faced China in a training game and won 3-0. Carinho’s goals were scored by Luana, Kathellen and Rafaelle.
