The skies cleared up just in time for the arrival of Sweden's UEFA EURO 2008™ squad in Lugano on Wednesday. Whether or not that proves a good omen remains to be seen but Lars Lagerbäck and his men certainly enjoyed a heartening start to their Alpine adventure – greeted by the sight of hundreds of locals, many clad in yellow and blue and chanting "Svezia! Svezia!" as they stepped on to the tarmac at Lugano airport.
Elmander absent
Local support was evident again later in the day at the Centro Sportivo Cornaredo, Sweden's training base for the tournament. Fans and media braved the downpour to watch a light session from which the only player absent was Johan Elmander, still nursing a foot injury picked up in last Sunday's friendly loss to Ukraine. The Toulouse FC striker worked out in the gym instead, but is expected back in training with his team-mates in a matter of days.
Focus changes
Now the Swedes have reached their base, the focus of their training will change according to experienced defender Olof Mellberg. "We've trained hard before our friendlies, but from now on it's going to be less physically demanding and with more focus on tactical preparations for the coming matches," the Juventus-bound player told euro2008.com.
Alexandersson warning
Mellberg's first experience of a major tournament came eight years ago at UEFA EURO 2000™ and another veteran of that campaign, Niclas Alexandersson, warned that the dividing line between success and failure could prove wafer-thin. Sweden lost on penalties to the Netherlands in the quarter-finals in 2004 and Alexandersson said: "We've got enough experience to know that very small details decide if you'll be successful. We need to have those margins on our side. In several tournaments, we've lost out on penalty kicks and golden goals."
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