Before the home World Championship in Malmö, the national team captain duo Niklas Nordén and Thomas Brottman wanted a decision about their future from the Swedish Floorball Federation.
The answer they got was that they would not get continued confidence despite two consecutive World Championship golds. The Brottman/Nordén duo felt that the communication had been "weak" from the federation's side, and national team player Niklas Ramirez said he would quit in protest against the decision.
"Tight group"
He stands by that decision after Sweden secured a third consecutive World Championship final via 6–1 against the Czech Republic in the semifinal.
We will finish with a World Championship gold and I will finish with that, he says.
Has the controversy made you a tighter group during the World Championship?
We have always been a tight group, so I don't know if you feel any difference. Then if it has helped us or not, I don't know. We know where we have each other and we get along extremely well together, both staff and players, says Ramirez, who scored the 3–0 goal against the Czech Republic.
"A little extra"
Team captain Tobias Gustafsson:
There was a bit of noise when we found out, but then we have obviously closed ranks even more. When you do a tournament like this, it's a unique group that will never exist again. You always give everything and love everyone equally, but it's maybe a little extra this time, says Gustafsson.
Does it make you want to take a World Championship gold a little extra?
Exactly. Of course, we want it, but we also want to do it for ourselves and the fans who are here. So there are many to play for, says Tobias Gustafsson.
