Dominic Fifield talks to Jesper Blomqvist about his chequered career as he prepares to grace the biggest stage since landing one of soccer's greatest honours, a Champions League medal
If Jesper Blomqvist still succumbs to the occasional wistful glance at his Champions League winner's medal, pondering where it all went wrong, it does not show. "Fans probably hear my name and ask: 'Blomqvist, whatever happened to him?'" he says, smiling .
"Well, I've been away for a while. I'm back now." Blomqvist is 28, no age to be bitter, and attempting to make up for two empty years spent recovering from a career-threatening knee injury.
This afternoon the forgotten man could grace his biggest stage since Manchester United's late show rocked Bayern Munich at the Nou Camp in 1999. Everton, the club he joined in December, make the short journey to Liverpool travelling in hope rather than expectation; Blomqvist is thankful merely to be involved.
"I had spells where I was in great pain and the knee was swollen," he recalled. "At those times I doubted whether I'd recover. It was frustration more than anything but I had to consider the prospect of whether I'd ever get the chance to play again. That was no way to think.
"If I couldn't have made it here I would have gone back to Sweden and started all over again but Walter Smith gave me the chance to resurrect my career. We've agreed it'll be until the end of the summer and, if it works out, maybe longer. This is not a small club but in some respects it is; it's close knit and easier to prove yourself. Even so, I'm amazed how well it's gone personally. I knew the quality was still there; it was just the fitness but I can still play."
Evertonians would testify to that from the flashes of the old pomp they have glimpsed since the winger arrived on Merseyside. Blomqvist has made nine appearances, flitting from one flank to the other depending upon the availability of his close friend Niclas Alexandersson. He scored the winner from his compatriot's cross against Sunderland - Everton's only league victory since mid-December - to rekindle faint hopes that he might add to his 29 international caps at this summer's World Cup.
Yet the relegation scrap in which he has become embroiled is a far cry from the glorious path his career might have followed. As a youngster at IFK Gothenburg, Blomqvist singlehandedly destroyed United - not to mention David May's credibility as a top-class defender - in a Champions League tie back in 1994. Darting down the left, he scored once, laid on another and earned a penalty in IFK's 3-1 romp.
That prompted Alex Ferguson to try to sign him, though Blomqvist preferred an Italian adventure with Milan and Parma before landing at Old Trafford for £4.4 million sterling in 1998. He was seen by many as a stand-in for the injury-prone Ryan Giggs - the Welshman replaced him to score his "chest-hair goal" against Arsenal in the 1999 FA Cup semi-final - yet the Swede played 38 times and ensured that, for once, United's shape did not depend on the Welshman's fitness. FA Cup, Premiership and European triumphs laboured that point.
"Just to have been a part of that success against Bayern was an honour," he said. "I can remember the tension well [the Swede was substituted for Teddy Sheringham, who scored United's last-minute equaliser]. We thought the game was up. Who wouldn't?
"People always remember Ryan's contribution and in one sense I was always in his shadow but I played when I was fit. My being there allowed Giggsy to play up front and there was only one occasion when I genuinely couldn't get into the team. Ryan is part of the furniture at United; they talk about the left wing and they talk about Giggs. It was a tough challenge to dislodge him but I did myself justice. I knew I had more to show but the injury put paid to that."
The Swede ruptured knee ligaments on a pre-season tour of Australia and his Old Trafford career is defined by the subsequent spell on treatment tables across Europe. Surgery in Croatia was followed by a relapse which left him contemplating retirement.
"By the time I was ready to return to training my contract at United had expired but Sir Alex let me play in the reserves," he said. "He spoke to Walter and a few other coaches to encourage them to take me on. I owe Sir Alex a lot; people who don't know him stitch him up but he's always got a smile, a laugh or a song for everyone. He sings all the time."
Guardian Service
