The Kiss of Kim

By: Inara | July 10th, 2007

Most of the time, Kim Kallstrom is overlooked in Lyon’s midfield. But it’s been a few weeks since I last profiled a player (Fred), so this time, it’s Kallstrom’s turn to be in the limelight.

Kallstrom is your typical Swede (shame on me for generalizing): big, strong, blond, and possessing a powerful shot (he once gave NT teammate Andreas Isaksson a concussion). He reminds me of a farmboy (or pornstar – see the picture on the left), but then I remember he drives a Jaguar XKR. His nickname is Kongo Kim, which he earned due to his physique – though I will affectionately refer to him as Kimmy on occasion.

He has a lot of GREAT qualities. Kallstrom is an excellent tackler, tactically intelligent, strong, and has a cultured left foot that consistently produces good crosses. He has a talent with free kicks (he often takes them for Sweden) and is very composed with penalties (he also takes these for Sweden), though at Lyon, those duties go to Juninho.

Kallstrom’s other main quality is his versatility. Not only can he play anywhere in midfield, but he can play “in the hole” off two strikers, and he’s recently showed so much promise at LW that Aulas stated that Lyon would not look for Florent Malouda’s replacement.

His weakness is his lack of pace. He’s not particularly fast, which is why I don’t think he would do well in the EPL. In a more technical league, such as in France or in Spain (I think he would be a great addition to Valencia or Sevilla, should he ever decide to leave France), his slower speed would be compensated by his other qualities.

He’s not a regular scorer for the Swedish NT, and his tally at Lyon so far is lower than it was at his previous clubs (he had an excellent scoring pedigree at Rennes and at Djurgårdens IF), but the goals he scored this year were absolutely beautiful, and along with providing several assists, he’s proved to be an influential player when allowed. In fact, Lyon purchased Kallstrom with one eye on the future. He may never become as instrumental as Juninho is, but with the power of Number 10s dying away as the game modernizes, Kallstrom can certainly evolve into a playmaker’s role.

Kallstrom could eventually replace Juninho

At Rennes, he was an unquestionable starter and one of their star players, but upon moving to Lyon, he was barred by Tiago and Juninho in the pecking order, though as a Houllier favorite, he played the most number of games this past season and clocked in a lot of playing time.

Yet despite being on the bench, he’s very professional in his attitude (Alou Diarra, you could learn from him), gets along with all his teammates, and thanks to his English speaking skills, his BFF is Milan Baros. But his relation with frienemy Zlatan is still bit tender from this incident.

Kallstrom is a key player in Lagerback’s plans for Sweden.

It hurts me to say this, but Kallstrom’s position is an awkward one. He is (to my mind) too talented to be a bench player at Lyon, but I doubt he would start at any of the bigger clubs. In a smaller club, certainly, but I don’t see Kallstrom giving up the Champions League to hang out with UEFA Cup contenders. He’s shown no desire to leave Lyon either, despite interest from Sevilla and Tottenham. Lyon of course won’t give up Kallstrom without a fight, and if they do sell him, they won’t sell him cheaply.

Some Kallstrom clips: