'Zaha? I know Saha?' - Sweden coach Hamren admits surprise over England starlet

14 Nov 2012 09:15:00

The Scandinavian boss admits he is oblivious to the skills of the 20-year-old and will scout him before their friendly to get up to speed with the Three Lions' latest sensation

Sweden coach Erik Hamren has confessed that he does not know anything about surprise England call-up Wilfried Zaha.

The Crystal Palace winger was surprisingly selected by Roy Hodgson after a number of withdrawals and Hamren admitted he has no knowledge of the Three Lions' latest recruit, even mistaking him for Sunderland's French striker Louis Saha.

"Wilfried Zaha? I know Saha, but I don't know if it's the right one,” Hamren told reporters.


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"No, I don't know about him. Sometimes you get carried away. Sometimes. But that's also something that, in sport, we need those heroes or those stars.

"Sometimes, you make a star too early. It's better to make him a star when he is a star in world football. I hope he's not a star tomorrow but in the future.

"We have a lot of 'new Zlatans' here in Sweden. Maybe he's the new Zlatan [Ibrahimovic]. Maybe. But, so far, we only have one Zlatan."

Hamren went on to confirm that one of his scouting team will help him assess the dangers the 20-year-old might pose to his team.

When asked if he would be getting a report on Zaha, the 55-year-old added: "Of course, when you have a young and inexperienced player, there have to be some changes.

"I'm sure he'll want to play his way of football too. I hope I don't have a bad surprise tomorrow with the player."

Hamren also hailed Three Lions coach Hodgson, who has spent a large part of his football in Scandinavia, revealing the amount of respect held for the former Fulham boss from all in the Swedish game.

"Roy Hodgson has a good reputation here," he said. "I really like him as a coach and as a person. He's someone I've always spoken to. I was a young coach when I first met him and he gave me his knowledge and experience.

"He has been really good for Swedish football and a really big name in Sweden in football, acclaimed by all our coaches who have learned a lot from him.

"There's big respect for him."