For the third straight year, SoundersFC.com sat down with Gustav to learn more about Gustav. The 33-year-old defensive midfielder has been a star for the Sounders since joining the club in 2017.
Fresh off a 2019 MLS Cup run – and an offseason vacation spent in Zanzibar and Tanzania with his family – we were gifted with more Svenssonisms.
DEEP THOUGHT #1: Gustav almost went back to Sweden, but he’s just too happy in Seattle
"Me and my wife, in the beginning of the year, we were pretty firm that we were going back to Sweden and 2019 was going to be our last year abroad. And then go back and start building a future for us in Sweden. We have our house there, we have family and friends, and a future there with kids and school. We’ll start our life and that will be our plan for the rest of our lives. The longer the year went on, we realized that we really like it in Seattle. We weren’t ready to settle yet. Seattle has become like a second home for me. I like it here, my family likes it here. The longer the year went on, the more we decided to stay here. When we started thinking like that, the more we wanted to stay. We like Seattle too much."
DEEP THOUGHT #2: Gustav misses Chad
"Chad was a great player, great guy in the locker room. It became an empty hole when he left last year. Luckily Brad Smith took over for a while – we carpooled together. Now he’s gone, too, so now there’s no more carpool. So now I don’t know what to do. Buy a bicycle or something. I’ll convince Garth to buy another Swedish guy."
DEEP THOUGHT #3: Gustav’s national teammates don’t know much about MLS, but want to play there
"There’s not that much knowledge of MLS, especially in Sweden, even with the national team players that I play with. Mostly because it’s too difficult to see the games because of the time difference. There’s not much knowledge of it – I don’t think people know how much it’s grown and how much better it has become, but they know that life is good. You can get anything you want in America, it’s just a matter of how much money you have. A lot of friends I have in the national team want to come play in the U.S. because it’s a good lifestyle. MLS is growing, it’s better than when I came here."
DEEP THOUGHT #4: Gustav wants to make sure the Academy players are focused
"I like to shout at the young kids because they are so relaxed. It’s just a generation – nowadays I have to hold the door for the young kids. I remember when I was young, I had to wait for everyone to come in before I could. Times are different now, I know that. But I try to sometimes remind them they are young and they are privileged to be with the First Team. It takes a while for them to be accepted because they have to show they are here to put on gear for battle and I have to make sure they are ready for that. It has given me more time on who I am as a reflection, on and off the field. And I enjoy that because it has given me more peace."
DEEP THOUGHT #5: Gustav wants you to have a good life
"Seattle is the city who is most like Scandinavia in the U.S., but it’s still pretty far away from Scandinavia, where you have so much more taxation. We have, I would say, a more loyal way to look over your neighbors to make sure everyone has a good life. We have free schools, we have free health care, free education, free shelters – even though there are homeless people, there is a better life for the lower income and for the poor. It’s also so much more difficult to make it to the top in Sweden because you pay so much in taxes. We have a little bit of different methodology in Sweden: To become rich is not the main priority, it’s just having a good life. We are willing to pay a lot of taxes because we want to make sure people have a good life. That’s probably not the priority in the U.S. – maybe more so in Seattle than other places."
