World Cup Summer
World Cup Summer
Magnus LjunggrenThis is a novel about football, friendship, falling out, love, betrayal, and, not least, morality. Why do we end up in awkward situations where there seems to be no way out?
Magnus and his friends witness the notorious and violent members of the Ridge Gang hiding their loot after a robbery. Magnus considers going to the police, but decides not to in the end. He moved to Sundsvall only recently and doesn’t have many friends, so he starts hanging out with the two toughest lads in the class, Matte and Krister. Along with them he embezzles quite a considerable sum of money from a school party they have organised. Somehow they have to replace the money, and Magnus is heading into something he can’t control. But then he remembers the loot from the robbery, which solves the problem – at least until the Ridge Gang find Magnus…
Magnus feels at home playing football; he is good and capable of challenging himself on the field. When it comes to Ylva, he is not quite so brave. He fell in love with her on his very first day at the school, and she seems to be flirting with him too. But somehow she and Krister end up together at the school party…
The narrator is an adult, looking back to the summer when these events took place. He has had a fulfilling life as a professional footballer playing for his country, but he tells this story to show how differently things could have gone with just a few steps in the wrong direction.
