Alexander Larsson: Fotbollskungen

And we're back with another adventure. I'm not quite sure why, but here we are once again! Last time out, I actually finished a story with Kalle Koskinen and Peimari United of Finland. I might even finish another story this time....

Who knows!?! Each update will be styled depending on my mood at the time. They might be creative, they might be detailed, they might be light. You'll find out when you read them. Will updates be consistent? No. They never are when I am writing them.

This tale will follow Alexander Larsson, nicknamed 'Fotbollskungen'. Born in Stockholm to a Swedish father and a Swiss mother, Larsson enjoyed an illustrious, but short, playing career as an attacker for AIK, Arsenal and Real Madrid. However, his career was prematurely ended by injury in 2012, at the age of 21. He turned to management, where he set out on his ways in November 2019. This is his story.

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A festive cheer had lit up the north-eastern part of the United States despite the threat of increasingly-cold nights and a landscape shrouded in a veil of pale-white snow and engulfed by a crisp breeze which left throats rasping and teeth chattering. The winter solstice had come and gone and the new year brought with it the promise of a chilly couple of months to kick off a new decade.

It was a decade full of hope - the past forty years, in particular, had given the world much to be excited about and even more to remember with fondness. Despite the major economical meltdown of the early stages of the twenty-first century and the staggering increase in awareness of environmental issues, the world had become an incredibly stable environment for all four corners of life.

For the world of football, and in particular Alexander Larsson, the previous forty-odd years were full of joy, celebration and triumph. The Stockholm-born manager enjoyed unprecedented success in his field, revolutionising the sport he was born to be involved in. He left behind him a legacy filled with silverware, accolades and records. His ethics and his influences had become ingrained in the sport. He had become the king of football - 'fotbollskungen' in his native Swedish.

Of course, it hadn't all been plain sailing for Larsson in his football career. Despite being cast as the 'future of Swedish football' as a teenager, making his debut for local side AIK at the age of 16, his career was cut short by an unfortunate and rather bizarre injury. It was towards the end of the 2011/2012 season where, as a Real Madrid player, Alexander Larsson saw his career end. It was a bitter ending for a player who had fast become one of Europe's brightest products.

Larsson made his football debut for AIK in June 2007, as a 16 year old. Having been born on 25th December 1990, he had become one of the youngest players to ever turn out in Allsvenskan. His performances as a versatile attacker, known for his pace and directness, had seen him earn a call-up to the Swedish senior national team the following March. He made his debut as a substitute against Brazil in a 0-1 defeat at the Emirates Stadium in London.

Larsson's stock continued to grow and he was rewarded with further international call-ups. He made his first start in May in a friendly against Slovenia, scoring the only goal in the game. His performances earned him a place in the squad for the 2008 UEFA European Championship, where he formed a formidable partnership with Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He played a key role in the team's win over Greece, but couldn't do much to deny Spain and Russia victories in the other two group games.

Larsson's impressive European Championship campaign saw him earn a move to the Emirates Stadium, with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger picking him out as a potential star in the making. At the age of 17, he made the move to The Gunners for a mere €200,000. Competition for places was at an all-time high at the Emirates, with Larsson having to compete with Robin van Persie, Andrei Arshavin, Carlos Vela, Theo Walcott, Emmanuel Adebayor and Nicklas Bendtner for game time. In two seasons at the club, Larsson played forty-five times, scoring an incredible thirty-one goals in all competitions.

A move to Madrid beckoned for Larsson in the summer of 2010. Real Madrid signed the young Swedish attacker, still just 19 years old, for a fee of €3,500,000. It was at Madrid where Larsson learned from some of the best players in world football, with hotshot attacker Cristiano Ronaldo pulling all the strings in attack. With Mesut Özil, Ángel Di María, Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuaín also in the team, Larsson was at the best place to learn his trade and to develop his skills to become one of the best players in football.

Trophies were a certainty at Real Madrid and Larsson's two sole seasons at the club saw him help lift the Copa del Rey and the La Liga trophies as Los Blancos tried to peg back rivals FC Barcelona. A guarantee of more trophies on the horizon was promising for the side, but Larsson would not be able to taste any further success as a player. In a freak training ground accident, Larsson's career was ended by a severe knee injury. It was the end of a promising playing career for a man who was still only 21, and had made 55 appearances for his national team in the past five years.

For Larsson, the end of one path brought with the start of another. In the seven years that followed, he built up his coaching pedigree at youth level for clubs throughout Sweden, and even spent time working with Arséne Wenger at Arsenal, while earning coaching licenses with UEFA. In November 2019, at the age of just 28 years old, Alexander Larsson made his first step into senior club management, and the rest became history. Since then, he became 'fotbollskungen'.

Over forty years later, his reputation and success had brought him to Harvard University in the north-east of the United States of America during a cold month of January. He had been offered the opportunity to speak to a class of young, budding students who had nothing but excitement for the future. At Larsson's advanced stage of life, it was a chance for him to pass on lessons he had learned along the way and encourage the next generation of life to break new borders. It was an offer he could not refuse.

As he walked through the campus, he thought of how much the world had changed since he set out as a football manager. In truth, while everything had changed, everything also remained the same. Fashion trends had changed, technology had advanced to a level that would have seemed beyond the realms of possibility four decades previously and any long-standing infrastructure had either been redeveloped or changed entirely. The physical world was one of a parallel dimension to that which Larsson grew up in.

Despite all these changes, the world was still a familiar place. People were still people. They still had dreams and emotions, relationships and desires, jobs and hobbies. The world they lived in may have seemed unrecognisable at times to an old-timer like Larsson, but it was the innocence and the harmony of humanity which was set to stand the tests of the time. This was what encouraged Larsson as he stood in front of hundreds of students. This was what gave Larsson a burning desire to share his experiences as all eyes rested on him. As the room fell silent with eager anticipation, Larsson knew he was going to have a major impact on the lives of many with his next few words. As his lips parted and his deep, Scandinavian-born voice departed his mouth, he knew he would change the lives of these students.

"My name is Alexander Larsson. Over the course of the next four weeks, I will teach you how to become champions."

"ALEX! LOOK!" screamed an excited Zara. The young blonde-haired girl tugged on her cousin's hand as her excitement peaked.

The two year old, and her cousin Alexander, were witnessing a guard change at Stockholm's Royal Palace. It was a sacred ceremony which stood the tests of time and remained a regular tradition at the home of the Sweden's royal family. In the ice-cold night of the final day of the millennium, it was the last time of the first two thousand years of the modern calendar that his particular tradition was performed but it was only the first time the pair had ever witnessed it.

The royal guards, dressed in dark-blue adorned in gold, performed the change with an immense pride. They were leading a nation into a new millennium and out of an old one. They moved with conviction and delivered a performance of exquisite delight. In a mesmerizing display, the guards attracted and captivated a crowd of onlookers who brimmed with national pride. The performance was a statement of what was to come in the future for Sweden - greatness.

Alexander and Zara looked on in awe. Their open mouths gaped as they failed to blink in the wake of the trademark performance of the renowned professionals before them. The pair were wrapped warmly as the ground was covered in a thin veil of fresh snow and a cool breeze set a chill in the air. The cold did not stop them from enjoying the occasion. Regardless of the six-year age gap between them and their status as cousins, Zara loved Alexander like a brother and he loved her like a sister.

Despite being cousins, through Alexander's father and Zara's mother being siblings, the pair looked nothing alike. Alexander, nine years old, looked older than he was. He was tall for his age, standing at just under 140cm tall, and his face appeared to be chiseled into that of a teenager. His hair fell in straight, jet-black locks by his ears which were tinted red in the chill of the winter's day.

Zara was able to walk at the age of two years old, albeit with some clumsiness. Nobody could stop her from standing by her cousin's side for the event, and a sense of awe and happy emotions ran riot on her facial expressions. Her peachy-white skin glowed red with excitement as she gazed at the guards in front of her. She donned a hat upon her head as her white-blonde hair fell freely underneath it. She had known nothing but awe and wonder in her life and the final year of the millennium was no different for her.

Alexander's mother, Mia of Switzerland, and Zara's mother, Agnetha, stood behind their excited children. They were dressed warmly, deep in meaningless conversation as they witnessed an act that had passed them by countless times. They appreciated the display but had seen it enough times to recount each step before it happened. They were there for the children, and they were proud of how happy the two kids were in front of them.

After a perfectly-executed routine, the guards took their place back within the grounds of the Royal Palace. The street outside began to empty as people wandered on their way through the city, mingling in groups of jolly conversation. Mia, Agnetha, Alexander and Zara remained outside the palace's entrance, with the two kids in awe of what they had just witnessed. The two kids spoke excitedly to one another, although Zara was only able to string the most basic of sentences together.

The four began to make their way towards the centre of the old town area of Stockholm, known as Gamla Stan. Gamla Stan, along with the royal palace, was based on an island in the centre of the city. The island was connected to the rest of the city by a series of bridges. The island was unique in comparison to the remainder of the Swedish capital. It was known for a series of houses painted in bright and extravagant colours that set them apart from their surroundings. Cobblestone paths led through alleys surrounded by old buildings that seemed to charm their inhabitants with a restless beauty that defied the age of the city.

'Voulez-Vous' by ABBA rang through the street that the quartet embarked down, from a speaker placed precariously on the ledge of an open window of a coffee shop. The parents stopped to look at a food menu nailed to the brick face facade that surrounded the window and an adjacent entrance. The two women oohed and aahed as they read through a menu which had the sole attention of making people hungry.

"Would you two like to eat some food here?" asked Mia to the two kids.

"I WANT MEATBALLS!" roared Zara, pulling on Mia's and Agnetha's coats to catch their attention.

"You can get meatballs here darling," laughed Agnetha who scooped Zara up in her arm and kissed her on the forehead.

As the four entered the coffee shop, a commotion could be heard behind them in the street. Two men, dressed in suits and ties, were storming down the street with two security guards in tow. They were both in their fifties, but had completely different auras. One had dark black hair, beginning to grey extensively, combed back carefully, and a brown pair of glasses covering his face. He had a cold expression and his eyes darted through the street with a methodical eagerness. He did not see the quartet entering the coffee shop in front of him.

The other man was balding severely, also wearing a pair of glasses. He walked briskly but with an air of authority about him. He held his head high, carrying responsibility on his shoulders. He did not look uncomfortable, but he appeared to be frustrated. It was he who spoke loudest.

"Money, money, money, is this all you care about Christian Schäfer? We cannot continue funding your operations without any real evidence of results that J.A.C.K. actually works," barked the balding man as they strode past Alexander, Zara and the parents and further into the streets of Gamla Stan.

Alexander, Zara and Agnetha paced towards the counter which had a fine selection of pastries and other delicacies on display. Mia did not immediately join them. Agnetha looked back at her and noticed that Mia was not herself. She had grown pale and appeared to be upset. Her eyes were fixed upon the floorboards in front of her and she was holding her breath.

"Is everything okay, Mia?" asked Agnetha with a degree of friendly concern.

Mia broke out of her daze and shook herself before smiling back at Agnetha and nodding her head. She joined the rest of the quartet at the counter, where they picked out the food they wanted before sitting at a table in a corner of the room, adjacent to a stove that was alight. They removed their jackets, placing them on the back of their chairs, while Agnetha located a cushion to elevate Zara in her seat. With a short period of time, a waitress from behind the counter arrived with a tray of hot drinks. She handed coffees to the adults before placing tall cups of hot chocolates in front of the children.

"Gimme, gimme, gimme!" exclaimed Zara as she reached for her drink. The excitement of the day had seemed to take its toll on her manners and grammar, but the other chuckled with an eerie delight at her innocence.

Alexander began to reminisce upon the events of the day. He had enjoyed a glorious time with his mother, his cousin and his aunt. Despite living in Stockholm for all of his childhood, Alexander had never witnessed a royal guard changeover before. It was truly a marvelous spectacle. It had capped off a brilliant day that he spent with the people he loved. He then thought further forward to the events which happened after.

"Mom, who was that man who was shouting at the other guy when we were walking into the coffee shop?"

"That man was Carl Gustaf, the king of Sweden. He is a very important man here and he lives in the royal palace which we saw earlier," said Mia with her mouth clenched. She spoke with a tense tone.

"He is a king? That sounds awesome, he must have everything he wants," said Alexander with stars in his eyes.

"Being a king is not always a good thing, Alex. They often have difficult choices to make and are not always happy with how their life is," warned Mia, hoping to no avail that her son would notice her tone of voice.

"I want to be a king one day," said Alexander with admiration. His mind began racing to thoughts of the luxuries available to royalty. He had his eyes set on a successful future.