When the footballers gathered at Bosön for the Nations League, Patrik Wålemark revealed what his time at Feyenoord was like after he joined from Häcken in the winter of 2022.
When you go abroad for the first time, there is a lot to take in. You think everything they say is a given. I listened very carefully and took in everything they told me, which made me feel like I lost a little bit of myself, he says and continues:
I don't regret anything, you learn a lot from it, but what I have taken with me is to above all never lose myself as a player and a person.
“Mental games”
It wasn't about teammates, but people at the club who behaved badly.
It felt like they were often testing me to see how I would react. It could be anything from not having my hair done in the morning, then I was told. It felt a lot like mental games. When you get there as a 20-year-old, it takes a toll on you, to be completely honest. But you learn, and today I sit here a better player and person.
"It was about little things. If I looked tired at breakfast, I had to come into a meeting straight away and get a little homework, much like at school," the winger continues.
You said you lost yourself as a person. How did that manifest itself?
When I was younger, I identified extremely strongly with what was going on on the football pitch. Today I have learned to differentiate more between my professional career and my private life. At that time, they were too closely linked. If football was going badly, I also felt bad off the pitch. I have learned to deal with that better now.
Most importantly: Remain yourself.
After a loan spell at Dutch side Heerenveen, Wålemark finally ended up at Polish side Lech Poznań in 2024. There, he has been responsible for a total of eight goals in 14 matches in the league and the club's European qualifiers this season.
A run that has earned him a place in national team captain Graham Potter's squad for the four Nations League matches.
What advice would you give to younger players who find themselves in a similar situation to the one you did in the Netherlands?
Above all, listen to your own instincts. Deep down, I probably also felt what was really right. But when you go abroad, you often listen a lot to what people around you say, because they have been in the environment longer. But remaining yourself is the most important thing in the long run.
Facts: Patrik Wålemark
Born: October 14, 2001.
Clubs: Qviding, Häcken, Feyenoord, Heerenveen (loan), Lech Poznań.
National team achievements: Was selected for the Nations League squad in the fall of 2022, but never got any playing time against Serbia and Slovenia. Has scored four goals in eleven U21 internationals.
Background: The Wålemark family became famous when Ljungskile climbed up the Allsvenskan in the 1990s. Grandfather Bror Wålemark was the team manager and uncles Jörgen and Bosse played for the team. Patrik's father Jens Wålemark has also played for Ljungskile in the lower divisions, but had previously played in the Allsvenskan with both Gais and Örgryte.
Sweden plays in the B division together with Romania, Poland and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The winner is moved up to the A division and the fourth place is moved down to the C division.
For the second and third place, promotion/relegation matches await in March 2027.
Sweden's matches:
September 25: Sweden–Romania 8:45 p.m. at Strawberry Arena in Solna.
September 28: Sweden–Poland 8:45 p.m. at Strawberry Arena in Solna.
October 2: Bosnia-Herzegovina-Sweden 20.45 at the Bilino Polje stadium in Zenica.
October 5: Romania–Sweden 8:45 p.m. at The National Arena in Bucharest.
November 14: Sweden–Bosnia-Herzegovina 8:45 p.m. at Strawberry Arena in Solna.
17 November: Poland–Sweden 20.45 at Tarczyński Arena in Wroclaw.
Source: Swedish Football Association.
