“Be done with everything called football”

Lina Hurtig opens up about tough times

ÅHUS. The penalty against the USA is classic Swedish football history.

For Lina Hurtig, 29, it is a painful memory.

“I was done with everything football,” she says.

• Lina Hurtig considered quitting football after a mentally tough period, but eventually found joy in the sport again.
• During her break from football, Hurtig received support from Arsenal and she pays tribute to the club’s support during this time.
• Although the penalty that decided the match against the USA in the 2023 World Cup became a classic, it led to difficult emotions and mental challenges for Hurtig.

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The Swedish national team begins its European Championship play in just under two weeks and, as usual when championships are at stake, Lina Hurtig is part of the squad.

But it wasn’t obvious a year ago that she would even play football.

In the spring of 2024, Hurtig did not play a single match for Arsenal, but had a long break until she started training with the team again during the summer.

“Couldn’t go any further”

Hurtig has not wanted to say exactly what happened or how she felt during that period, but during the European Championship warm-up in Åhus, Skåne, she opens up a little more – and says that she felt finished with football when she took a break.

– It was a very tough period for me. Right then and there when I left Arsenal it was over. I was done with everything football. Then there comes a time when you slowly but surely find yourself again and realize that “damn, football is pretty fun anyway,” says Hurtig.

She says that the mental problems began many years ago.

– I don’t really want to go into those details, but it has been built up over a long time. In the end, it just couldn’t go any further, says Hurtig.

The punishment is a painful memory

In the round of 16 of the 2023 World Cup, Hurtig became a hero in the penalty shootout against the USA, when her penalty went over the goal line by the smallest possible margin. But a triggering factor for her not being able to play football anymore may have been that penalty.

– It’s possible, says Hurtig and continues:

– There were a lot of emotions involved there and I felt after that championship that I was quite empty.

The goal camera image of Hurtig’s penalty going over the goal line became a classic.

– It’s still being talked about today, which I understand. I have so many emotions connected to that situation that it’s still like, “uh, I don’t want to talk about it,” says Hurtig.

She pays tribute to Arsenal who supported her throughout the difficult period.

– It took time but in the end I found my way back to myself and to the joy of football. And to life in some way.

Quick is feeling better now.

– It’s wonderful and I feel very happy and harmonious inside. And I enjoy playing football, says Hurtig, who would like to be a support for others who are feeling unwell.

– The first step is to admit to yourself that something is wrong. It’s so hard and so difficult before you take that step. But once you’ve taken it, it’s like the hardest part is done.

Ready for Fiorentina

Hurtig’s last match at Arsenal was the Champions League final, which Stina Blackstenius decided.

– Wow, that’s probably the highlight so far actually. It was big considering it was my last match and that I was injured during the season. The fact that I got to come on the field in that match was big, says Hurtig.

Now she moves on to Fiorentina, where she becomes a teammate with Madelen Janogy, 29. The two also play in the national team together and Janogy, who herself has had mental problems and has taken a break from football, praises Hurtig’s journey back.

– It’s incredibly powerful. I’ve made that journey and I know how it feels. It’s so incredibly strong. I really hope she feels it herself, and that she can enjoy being back and come in here with pride in the hard work she’s put in, says Janogy.

Unfamiliar without family

Hurtig and his wife Lisa recently had their second child. Therefore, it is an adjustment to live the hotel life at a national team gathering.

– There’s always a circus and chaos around you when you’re at home. Then it becomes completely silent. I can like it for an hour or so, but then I start to miss the life around me, says Hurtig.

The rest of the family will probably not go to Switzerland and the European Championship.

– It’s tough of course, but I understand her too. It’s not super fun to go out and travel with the little monsters all the time.