As kickoff approached in Foxborough, Massachusetts on Tuesday night Anton Tinnerholm was putting the final touches to carefully laid plans.
“The game should have started at like 7:30PM, and normally that's the bedtime for my daughter so I thought it was perfect, but my daughter didn't fall asleep,” he explained.
The defender admits his daughter is a bundle of energy, “She’s worse than me,” but she could be forgiven for feeling extra energized on a night when New York City Football Club sat one game away from a first-ever Eastern Conference final.
“Luckily the game was a little bit delayed and around the start of the game she fell asleep which means I can watch it with my wife,” he said. “The first ten minutes was crazy you know it was back and forth and yeah we were playing so well.”
By the time the evening had finished, excitement had been met with exhaustion. A pulsating affair that included 120 minutes of action and penalty kicks hit a crescendo when Alex Callens scored the decisive spot kick to send NYCFC through. If the Peruvian felt pressure as he put the ball down, it was a feeling shared with his teammate back in Manhattan.
“We are really close to our neighbors,” Tinnerholm said, “They are big NYCFC supporters and we heard them scream before the penalty. It kind of messed up my emotions a little bit too, because was it a scream of joy, or was it a scream like they missed it? When they scored, I got really happy and I was celebrating a little bit with my wife. I couldn't celebrate too much because our daughter was sleeping in the room next door, so we had to be careful but I was so happy.”
The 30-year-old would usually be out on the field with his teammates helping drive the Boys in Blue to victory, but an unfortunate Achilles injury suffered in October ruled him out for the remainder of the 2021 campaign. Tinnerholm admits the situation has been challenging.
“It's been tough for me to sit on the side and watch the guys,” he said. “I stayed in New York to push the guys on as much as I can. It’s been hell over two months here for me, maybe the toughest of my career.”
Tinnerholm’s teammates have done their best to mitigate any sense of isolation. He’s in regular contact with several members of the squad, and when trying to pinpoint why Ronny Deila’s side has managed to go further than ever before in the playoffs, he highlights the team’s togetherness.
“It is different this year compared to the other years and I think we have to give a lot of credit to Ronny for that,” he said. “We started our journey last year, but it was a crazy one because of COVID and everything that happened. We started the preseason this year with a lot of new things, new rules - like get together and know the guys in the team even better, especially the ones you don't hang out with all the time.
“It could be something simple like sitting next to someone different over breakfast and dinner to get to know everyone, even those who don’t speak English that good. I think that's the key thing that we had in in Malmo as well in Sweden [where we won three league titles], that you fight for each other on the on the field, and then you have to get to know that guy off the field.”
Deila’s consideration for small details has been reflected in the group and expressed itself in many ways this year. Even though Tinnerholm is not with the team on the road he does not escape their minds. They produced jerseys for both him and teammate Keaton Parks – who is also sidelined with a season-ending injury – expressing their support for both as they continue on their roads to recovery.
“That's these small things that can make my day,” he said. “Yeah, I'm not there but I'm still feeling a little bit included, you know, because that's like the worst part for me – I want to actually help the team on the field. I'm feeling like the whole team and staff and the club has supported me in this and even like, other players from other clubs and other countries as well. That helps me to start to rehab, but then in the end, it's up to me how strong I'm going to come back.”
Tinnerholm is speaking across a phone from near Linköping, Sweden, where he was born and grew up. A comparatively quieter place than New York City, it sits a little over two hours southwest of Sweden’s capital, Stockholm.
The time at home is affording Tinnerholm a chance to catch up with friends and family as he continues his rehab. It also allows him to welcome those same friends and family over on Sunday to watch the game - where kickoff will take place around 9:00PM local time – well past one person’s bedtime.
“She should be in bed by then, but with the time difference she’s not really into Swedish time yet, but hopefully yeah,” he explained. “When it's game time I like to watch the game so maybe I will invite some friends who are like kid friendly so they can play with our daughter and I can watch the game but hopefully we win and then I can book my trip back for the final.”
