Former Liverpool wonderkid Finnish midfielder Daniel Sjolund has quit football and works in a bank after leaving Anfield in 2003.
The Merseysiders have hosted and nurtured many great talents and prodigies throughout history. But there have been quite a few youngsters who were not able to break into the scene.
And one of the lost boys is Daniel Sjolund who was signed by former Reds manager Gerard Houllier in 2001.
“Top Skills” – Liverpool’s Brazilian is full of praises for 27-year-old star
The Finnish midfielder was only 17 years old when the club signed him from West Ham United for £1M.
However, unlike many talents, his career at Anfield did not go as planned. He had to depart from the club in 2003 and never quite made it into the big stage of football. Currently, he is a banker in his hometown Sund, Finland.
Where is Liverpool youngster Daniel Sjolund?
Liverpool Echo did an exclusive interview with the former Finnish international. When he was asked about if he is still in contact with LFC, he said,
“I want to go back one day. I’ve not been back to Liverpool since I left.I’ve been to London a few times but I want to bring my kids back to Liverpool, to watch a few games. That’s what I am now, a big supporter of the team!
I’ve been following, watching with my friends who are also Liverpool supporters. It’s been really enjoyable under Jurgen Klopp. It was really nice to follow ex-team-mates playing also.
It’s even easier now to be a big supporter of old clubs I played for now that I’m not playing myself. I would like to go back as soon as possible. But we had the pandemic and it’s a little bit harder these days. Hopefully soon I can get back to Liverpool and back to Anfield.”
Since leaving the English giants, he spent most of his career in Sweden, and in 2019 he finally moved to his motherland. He recalled,
‘He told me that on the bench’: Former teammate of the Reds captain revealed what he said about Manchester United
“I moved back and played my last year for IFK Mariehamn, who plays in the top league in Finland.
Then I stopped playing for a while, started working at a bank here. Did that for two years, and then I started playing a little bit with this team in the third division.
Have a few friends there as well when I started. It’s really hard to drop football. I just felt like it was a good way to stay in shape instead of working out in the gym or going for runs. You can play football, it’s more fun.”
Sjolund on his second career spell as technical staff
The 40-year-old served FC Aland before hanging up his boots. And while he was in the final days of his career, he handled the responsibility of being a player-manager.
Return of ‘Thanos’: Liverpool midfielder returns for Manchester City clash
Currently, he is the club’s director of football as per FC Aland’s official website. About his responsibilities he said,
“Yes, of course (I’m proud). It feels like I can also give something back from everything I got from all the people who have been supporting me and helping me out in my younger years, living on the island.
Now I can do some coaching and help out as much as I can, with a lot of focus on the young players who live here and try to pick them up and do as much as I can for them. Hopefully bring them to the next level. We also have a team in the highest league in Finland, from this place, so that’s also really, really nice.”
Speaking about the future possibilities of his career, Sjolund said,
“At the moment I just enjoy this. Of course, if I would have a chance to be in a more professional level, I would probably take it and probably do the last pro-license as well.
I did C, B, and A courses before when I lived in Sweden. I also prepared a little bit when I was still playing myself. You never know if you’ll be interested in doing the coaching after your own playing career or if you’re just satisfied with doing completely something else.”
Peak of his career
In the conversation about what he misses the most about his prime years, he replied,
“I have a few (shirts) too. I remember I used to, if I played against an old team-mate of mine, I usually swapped with them. It felt more to me, even if the opponent had bigger names, it still felt more of a memory.
I swapped with Smicer when we played with the Czech Republic. I played against Sweden a few times and I swapped shirts with players I played with in Djurgardens. So I have a few old team-mates’ shirts.
I have a few of my own Liverpool shirts that are signed. I should have taken the opportunity when I was there to take more shirts from my idols. I don’t know why but I don’t have them.
I swapped with Ronaldo too, actually. I have his shirt! We had a lot of big games against Germany, the Netherlands, and Portugal. Games like that, they are big memories for me.”
‘He may need to leave’: Pundit says 24-year-old Liverpool player needs to get out of Anfield now
Liverpool youngster Daniel Sjolund is a perfect example of a talented prodigy not getting the right opportunity.
In sports, it is so important to have the right skill set but also to get proper opportunities. But he has progressed so much overall in life is the motivation for everyone.
An ardent football fan and a proud Red. I take immense pleasure in analyzing the intricacies of the game.
