Football Season Guide

Kalmar were one of the surprise packages in 2016 finishing in a very respectable 6th spot and it could be tough for them to improve on that. But Peter Swardh has built a solid core of players over the last season, the majority of which remains intact for this term. Indeed Kalmar have only signed a single player for this season - former youth graduate Melker Hallberg who is on loan from Italian Serie A side Udinese. He will link up with younger brother Hermann Hallberg who is a rising star in the squad. With the likes of Ismael Silva Lima and Rasmus Elm already in the squad, the midfield unit is very strong and that is by far the main strength of the team. The only significant player in the team to leave compared to last season is Jonathan Ring who was always a threat down the left flank and will be missed, but there are enough wide players to replace him at least. Swardh has managed to build a mix of youth and experience which could prove useful and the club sit exactly in the middle of the table in terms of average age. The biggest concern for Swardh this year will be injures. His squad had constant problems last term meaning a much weaker squad selection on a number of occasions and that has already been an issue in their cup campaign which ended at the group stage. Furthermore a reliable source of goals would be needed to push the team higher in the table and since Marcus Antonsson’s departure no one has stepped into that role. Mans Soderqvist and Mahmoud Eid are the two most likely figures in that respect, but neither were prolific last term with three and two goals respectively in the Allsvenskan. Swardh will hope that both of them will settle in quickly, otherwise a repeat of their Swedish Cup matches is possible where neither of them found the net. The question will then be whether one of the best midfield units in the league will be able to power the side forward, or whether mid table is their more likely destination.