The midfielder Bolin, 21, has taken the Allsvenskan by storm this season. When the national team was hit by a number of withdrawals over the weekend, Jon Dahl Tomasson was quick to find Bolin's mobile number.
He called, but got no answer. Bolin was in the middle of a training session ahead of Sunday's Allsvenskan match against IFK Värnamo.
"A dream"
I called him up and he said he wanted me. It's big, I got really happy. It's a goal you've had since you were little and a dream, said Hugo Bolin after the 1-1 match.
In it, he scored his eighth goal of the year.
Bolin was set to serve in the U21 national team. Instead, he had to head to Stockholm and the Nations League gathering for further travel later in the week to Slovakia and then to Estonia.
Tomasson has not been afraid to directly bring in young players, despite limited experience with the national team or none at all.
"Does the right things"
Bolin is obviously a player he likes.
I of course know him well. When he was really young, I brought him up to the A-team's training sessions. His playing style... he's an intelligent player, he does the right things with the ball. He has the ability to play with two touches, he has good runs behind the backline, you can rely on him defensively.
He's a player I liked. It was the same with Sebastian Nanasi, whom I also brought up during my time at Malmö FF (2020-2021).
Nanasi appreciates that friend Bolin showed up when the national team gathered.
Well-deserved. As everyone has seen, he has shown his skills in Malmö and what qualities he has, so I'm not surprised in any way.
The trio Nanasi, Bolin, and Hugo Larsson are tight since their MFF days.
It's sick fun. It's not long since we were all in Malmö and now we're gathered here, says Sebastian Nanasi.
