Coach acknowledges incident between Swedish pair

BREMEN, Germany, June 13: Sweden coach Lars Lagerback acknowledged that captain Olof Mellberg and midfielder Freddie Ljungberg were involved in an incident after Saturday's 0-0 draw with Trinidad&Tobago.

Lagerback previously denied media reports of a rift in the camp while Ljungberg had described the incident with his skipper as a ''normal discussion''.

''I wouldn't say it is normal but it happens,'' said Lagerback when asked about the incident today.

''If it had any effect on the team, I think it has had a positive effect,'' Lagerback told reporters without offering precise details of what happened.

''I don't really want to comment any more than that,'' he said.

Swedish media had reported that Mellberg and Ljungberg had a verbal bust-up in the dressing room after 10-man Trinidad held Sweden to a draw in their Group B World Cup game.

Mellberg and Ljungberg fought during a training session ahead of the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan after a rough tackle on the midfielder by the defender.

Lagerback said Sweden had no injuries ahead of Thursday's match against Paraguay in Berlin.

First-choice goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson, who missed the game with Trinidad, is fit again after suffering mild concussion in training last week.

''Everyone is fit,'' Lagerback said. ''Everyone trained 100 percent today.'' He said he would not announce his team until the match but hinted Isaksson would be back in goal in place of Rami Shaaban.

''If you look back at last year, at the qualifiers, he (Isaksson) has always been our number one,'' Lagerback said.''

REUTERS

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