Swedish-born Patrik Gustavsson is living the professional dream in Asia. This week, the 23-year-old made his national team debut for Thailand where he scored and assisted against Vietnam. In this interview with VM-fotboll.se the forward talks about his national team debut, his dreams for the future and his thoughts on returning to Sweden.
There are different ways to become a Swedish-born national team debutant. In Southeast Asia you can find the Swedish forward Patrik Gustavsson, born and raised in Oxelösund in Sörmland. The 23-year-old Gustavsson made his debut for Thailand’s national team in September in a training match against Vietnam, as he was called up to the senior squad for the first time.
“It has always been my goal, since I came to Thailand, to play for the national team,” says Patrik Gustavsson to VM-fotboll.se.
“It feels huge. Football is very big in Thailand so it feels like a huge honor to be selected to play for your country, and I have worked very hard for it.”
However, Gustavsson was not satisfied with just being a squad member. After a canceled match against Russia, Gustavsson got the chance in the starting line up against Vietnam in a training tournament on Vietnamese soi. And he rose to the occasion. In the first half, the Swedish-born Gustavsson first assisted a fine header to make it 1-1, and then gave Thailand a 1-2 lead with his first goal in a national team shirt.
“A very, very nice feeling. A good debut you could say…,” says Patrik and continues:
“But there and then, with the adrenaline, you don’t think about it being the first goal, you just want to win the game and do well. But afterwards there were a lot of messages and stuff, some publicity.”
Publicity yes. Football is a big sport in Thailand, even if the country hasn’t been that successful on the international stage. But behind Thai boxing, soccer is one of the biggest sports, and the national team players and the players in the domestic league get a lot of publicity. At Thailand’s World Cup qualifiers matches in the spring and summer, the National Stadium was packed with 50,000 spectators in the stands.
“I think that is a very big difference compared to Sweden. The publicity and the fans. There is a very large group of people who write about it and show support, and so on. At the same time, there are also 70 million people living in Thailand, so maybe that’s not so strange. But there are many people who are football crazy, so it’s very fun,” says Patrik.
If you follow Patrik Gustavsson on social media, you see him being praised and tagged daily by Thai fans, who appreciate the Sweden native as both a football player and a person. When you do a little research, you see Patrik as the main character in a prank (created by the Thai Football Association) with two young girls, who are big fans of the forward. When the girls are surprised by the 23-year-old, they go into ecstasy. In another video, a girl starts crying when she bumps into Patrik at the airport. About 34 thousand followers on Instagram testify to a loyal following. The fame began already when Patrik got the chance in Thailand’s U23 national team.
“In a football environment, for example after a match or before a match, people tend to recognize me.”
Are you more recognizable than others, such as former national team captain Teerasil Dangda? Is there anything that stands out about you?
“No, he and others are of course very, very popular,” says Patrik and continues:
“But what stands out is that a lot of Thai fans like half-Thai people, mainly by appearance but also in combination with performance, so to speak. So there are a lot of photos and videos with mainly girls who are familiar with football and so on.”
“It’s a completely different world when you’re in Thailand. Then you come back home to Sweden and most people don’t know who you are, which is actually quite nice.”
Although he had many eyes on him, making his debut wasn’t too nerve-wracking, although it did require some preparation. But he knew some of the players beforehand, including some others with Swedish origins.
“It’s something you train for all your life, football-wise. Mentally, it was a big difference compared to playing with the U23s, because you want to show your abilities and you want to get respect from the older guys and so on. ButI’ve played with most of the players in the U23 national team, so it was pretty much the same. It’s just about showing up and showing who you are, says Patrik.
In the starting lineup were also Elias Dolah and William Weidersjö, who were both born in Sweden. It helped Gustavsson a lot with getting familiar with the national team.
“We had five Scandinavians with us and I wouldn’t be surprised if two or three half-Swedes joined us at the next gathering. We speak a little Swedish on the pitch. Elias is the captain and a defender, and William is behind me in the midfield, so there will be some “right-left” commands in Swedish,” says Gustavsson and laughs.
“The right-back is Norwegian so he speaks Swedish too, then we have a Dane. So off the pitch it’s a lot of fun to hang out with each other and speak Swedish. It’s still like a little home away from home. It’s a sense of security.”
The move to Thailand
Patrik Gustavsson grew up in Södermanland and Oxelösund where he played senior football with Oxelösunds IK in Division 4 until the move to Åtvidabergs FF as a 16-year-old, just before high school. In Åtvidaberg Gustavsson got some chances with the senior team, before the big breakthrough came in IF Sylvia from Norrköping in 2021.
Ten goals in 29 games in Ettan Södra (Swedish third tier), and in came the offer from the Thai club BG Pathum United. The Bangkok club bought the Swede, who has since had his base in Thailand. After about a season and a half on loan in the Thai second division and short stint with the mother club BG Pathum in the Thai top division, he was loaned to Japanese Nara Club this season. He has scored two goals in 18 league games, with the loan ending at the end of November.
“It’s a new country for me, so it’s a new culture and a new language. It’s a different type of football, so in terms of football, you just have to adapt and do your best every day. But life outside of soccer has actually been quite lonely,” Patrik says about life in Japan and continues:
“There is a very big language barrier to the other players, because most of them don’t speak English. I guess you could say it gets pretty lonely.”
Is it also a good learning experience?
“Of course it is. The importance of taking care of yourself, being outside your comfort zone and trying new things. Mentally and as a person you develop a lot.”
What does a typical day look like?
“We have morning training with meetings and analysis. Then we’re off in the afternoon and the rest of the day is completely free. But since I don’t know anyone or have no family here, I’m often at home waiting for the next day and the next training session.”
While his family remains at home, Patrik Gustavsson has had to live in Bangkok and now in Nara, on his own. In Bangkok there is, among others, the Palestinian national team player Mahmoud Eid, originally from the neighboring Swedish town Nyköping, and about 15 other Swedish-born football players.
“The whole family still lives in Oxelösund. But in Bangkok (compared to Japan) it’s more my culture, I know the language and I live in the middle of the city with lots of Swedish and Thai friends, so it feels more like home,” says Patrik.
Whether the stint in Japan will continue or not, he doesn’t know yet.. His contract with BG Pathum United in Thailand expires in just over a year, and negotiations are underway to extend it. The next step is perhaps going on a loan again, or to hopefully get playing time in BG Pathum.
“I came to Japan to get a foot in the door of Japanese football. My club has a partnership with a team in the top league, so the idea of the loan was to be able to showcase myself and to adapt to Japanese football. So we’ll see what happens in the future,” says Patrik and continues:
“For me it doesn’t matter. I’m young and just want to play a lot of games, so whether it’s in Thailand or Japan doesn’t matter, we’ll see.”
Although it hasn’t been all plain sailing since the move, Patrik has made a name for himself in Thailand. He is a part of a club that plays in the Asian Champions League, makes a living as a full-time professional and plays in Thailand’s national team. After his breakthrough at Sylvia, it was easy to say yes when BG Pathum United got in touch.
“Yes, absolutely. I don’t regret at all that I took the step so young, when I was 20 years old. I got a contract that I couldn’t turn down so I just wanted to come here and show my best,” he says.
Having settled in Thailand and Asian football, Patrik doesn’t think he will return to Sweden, at least not in the near future.
“There have been talks with two Allsvenskan clubs and some Superettan clubs just when I arrived in Thailand, but then I was on a three-year contract. So then it was mostly talk about a loan. But I don’t think it’s that attractive, I’m very happy in Thailand.”
Is it that the difference is too big in economic terms?
“Yes exactly, it is a very big difference. It’s clear that I want to be more ambitious when I’m sitting here talking now, but I actually feel very good in Thailand.”
In January 2022, in response to a question from Norrköpings Tidningar (NT), Patrik said that he could become a “multi-millionaire” within a couple of years, as the salary is very good in Thailand. For a player who still worked full time while scoring goals with Sylvia, it was a big difference.
“In Sylvia, it was all about taking care of yourself. I worked in a warehouse and would dedicate myself to football after an eight-hour shift. So it was just working hard to do what you love,” says Patrik and notes:
“And now I’m a full-time professional. Back then, you just wanted to focus on the hard work and now I live the life I dreamed of. So it’s about not getting too comfortable, and just keep moving forward. In some way you should enjoy it of course, but with always wanting to move forward.”
The future in the national team
Patrik Gustavsson also wants to move forward in the national team. At least his debut in the Thai national team could not be better. A goal and an assist in a 1-2 victory over Vietnam also made the Japanese head coach of Thailand very happy..
“We spoke a little Japanese, because I know a little bit. So we spoke briefly and he was very happy. There is a national team break in Thailand in a month, so hopefully I will be with the team then too,” says Patrik.
In October, there is a new international break and new international training matches await. If Patrik Gustavsson gets another chance in the national team, it will be a final test before the Southeast Asian Championship in December/January.
“I still think there’s a good chance I’ll make the national team again. The coach is Japanese and keeps an eye on me every week here in Japan and tactically we play the same way in my club team and in the national team, with the same philosophy. So I just go for it and we’ll see what happens,” concludes Patrik Gustavsson.
