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This compilation of Swedish youngsters only have one regulation. All
players have to be born 1981 or later, which means they´re all eligible
for the national U21-team for the up-coming UEFA-qualification (though
some of them will probably be too young still).
The ranking itself is, of course, only a matter of personal choice,
though carefully done during December 2001.
1.
Name: Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Present Club: Ajax (Hol)
Born: 1981-10-03
Position: Striker
Former Clubs: Malmö FF, Flagg, Malmö BI, Balkan
The biggest talent to come out of Sweden for decades. Combines a
splendid, almost artistic technique with great strength, measuring 192cm
/ 85kg. He´s amazingly quick for his size, has good pace and a hard,
precise shot.
But what really makes his talent exclusive, is that, despite all he has
achieved already, he can still develop his game considerably - with
better timing, his aerial-game could become really strong being that
tall, and he has to start working a lot harder when not in possession of
the ball. He´s also seen as a trouble-maker, though he has matured
rapidly since moving to Holland.
Also his team-play is under heavy development, at times his
one-touch-passes gives an image of a brilliant vision, while he also
might act as he doesn´t know there is ten team-mates around him who
could be of good use.
Joined Malmo FF as a 14-year-old but took his time to bloom. In 1998 he
wasn´t even a regular starter with Malmo`s youth-team. Now he´s capped
three times and a likely choice for the Swedish World Cup-squad.
In the summer of 2001 he was purchased by Ajax for £ 5.5 million, by
then the highest fee ever paid for a Swedish player.
2.
Name: Kim Källström
Present Club: Djurgården
Born: 1982-08-24
Position: Central midfielder
Former Clubs: Häcken, Partille
For the past two years the teenager has been completely dominant for now
relegated Häcken in the Swedish Premiership, and considered top-three
among midfielders in the whole league.
Therefore it might have come as a surprise when he, being in the
spotlight of Parma, Roma, Feyenoord, Tottenham etc, decided to sign with
Premiership runner-up Djurgården, for a fee of £350,000!
It´s of course a career-strategic choice, since he´s worth five or even
ten times that money, if going abroad. But Källström has always acted
very purposeful and simply thinks he could learn from playing another
year or two in Sweden.
His chances for playing in the World Cup in Asia should be bright, since
there is no other Swedish midfielder with his potential, though his
international inexperience, he´s only capped once, could be the
obstacle.
Källström has excellent understanding of the game, is a great passer,
has fine technique, is extremely fit and strong, and works harder than
most others - a dream coming through for most coaches.
It´s also a fact that Källstrom is no speedball, and maybe his future
position should be a bit more defensive, on the other hand he´s working
hard on getting faster, and there has been some obvious results made.
Has had his father as a personal coach and together they´ve practiced
more disciplined than any other footballer in Sweden, this has brought
a successful result so far, and a lot more will come.
Seems destined to become the future captain of the National team since
he also has great leader-character.
3.
Name: Björn Runström
Present Club: Bologna (Ita)
Born: 1984-03-01
Position: Striker
Former Clubs: Hammarby.
Among the finest striker-prospect to come out of Sweden for many years.
Often described as the modern version of Kenneth Andersson, due to his
fantastic head-game. But there are also several other qualities in his
game.
Had his biggest moment of his career in June 2001 when he, almost on his
own, won Bologna their first Italian youth championship in two decades,
scoring Bologna`s only goal in the 1-1-draw against Roma and then
deciding it all with his final penalty-kick after over-time.
He was choosen "Man of the Match" and Corriero dello Sport wrote that:
"The Swedish striker is physically strong, has superb technique and is
very pacey. He´s the favourite player of every Italian talent-scout and
all the young girls of Bologna. Good looking and impossible to get".
Runström is now a member of Bologna`s A-squad.
He left Sweden and Hammarby in summer 2000, and didn´t cost Bologna a
single penny since he was too young for having a contract, according to
Swedish standards, but promised that he himself will donate £100,000 to
his native-club once he get his first full pro-contract.
4.
Name: Andreas Isaksson
Present Club: Djurgården
Born: 1981-10-03
Position: Goalkeeper
Former Clubs: Juventus (Ita), Trelleborgs FF, Östra Torp.
Came back to Sweden last winter after one and a half year with Juventus,
and immediately proved that he had developed from a great talent to a
solid and classy goalie. Isaksson stood out as arguably the best keeper
in the Premiership during 2001, being a big part of the success of
newly-promoted Djurgarden who finished second in the league.
Isaksson had the highest saving-percentage and fewer goals against him
than any other keeper.
He will probably be the third goalkeeper in Sweden`s World Cup-squad in
2002, and in a near future he will also fight Magnus Hedman for the
starter-role.
Isaksson has always impressed with his "insane reflexes" and acrobatic
saves, but has now improved his game all over, as his game with his feet
and the work in more remote areas of the penalty-box.
Left Juventus when they bought Fabian Carini, which made him understand
that the club wouldn´t give him any real opportunities to play
A-team-football for a long time.
Will stay at least another year in Sweden before he´s ready to go abroad
again.
5.
Name: Labinot Harbuzi
Present Club: Feyenoord (Hol)
Born: 1986-04-04
Position: Central midfielder
Former Clubs: Malmo FF, Falkenberg, Malmö BI
Simply an amazing prodigy and by many described as the best 15-year-old
ever in Sweden, and only his young age keeps him from being listed even
higher at this list.
Therefore it was no surprise that he recently signed a five-year-deal
with Feyenoord, since Malmö FF had already stated that they had little
hope in keeping him since his talent is so exclusive.
In January 2002 Labinot will move to Rotterdam and his eventual problems
to adapt will be eased by that his whole family will move with him.
Labinot is both a great footballer, including an extraordinary
technique and a mastermind-vision, but also a loyal, hard-working
team-player with a great attitude towards the whole of the game. Except
for a better head-game there´s actually not much more to ask for from
this Wunderkid.
Someone described his outstanding qualities as: "The only thing that can
stop this guy from becoming a world-class-player is that the earth
starts turning in a different direction, and the laws of gravity changes
in a fundamental way."
6.
Name: Johan Elmander
Present Club: Feyenoord (Hol)
Born: 1981-05-27
Position: Forward / Attacking midfield
Former Clubs: Örgryte, Holmalund
Has proved that the hype around him in the early part of 2000, was no
fluke.
Has had his ups and downs since he joined Feyenoord late in 2000 and
temporarily lost his spot when Pierre van Hooijdonk came from Benfica.
But lately it seems like he´s having a big break-through, in the
Champions League and in the Dutch league with Feyenoord.
When he left Örgryte their was 10 clubs ready to bid for him, but
Elmander decided to go to a club where he knew he would have a fair
chance of enough playing-time. His choice was therefore Feyenoord.
Before that he had a sensational period in the Swedish Premiership that
took him close for a spot in Sweden´s Euro2000-squad.
Elmander is a big, strong attacker with lightning pace, but he´s
actually more of a play-maker than a finisher of chances. But he should
take more advantages of his physical preferences and sometimes find a
more direct way towards the goal.
The lack of goal-scoring is actually his only big minus, though he
scored the vital goal that took Feyenoord to the UEFA-cup over Spartak
Moscow in October 2001.
Has become a lot tougher since arriving at Rotterdam and is an outsider
for a spot in Swedish World Cup-squad.
He was purchased for £1.5 million by Feyenoord, but his value seems to
have gone sky-high according to Italian sources, rumours says that
top-clubs in Serie A are willing to pay £ 8-10 million for his
signature.
7.
Name: Per Nilsson
Present Club: AIK
Born: 1982-09-15
Position: Central defender
Former Clubs: GIF Sundsvall, Timrå, Stigsjön
The likely successor to defender-star Patrik Andersson in the National
Team.
Per Nilsson is in many ways close to a copy of the Barcelona-player.
Extremely mature, cool and intelligent in his defensive game, with
excellent positioning, lots of strength, great passing-game and of
course, superior in the aerial-game, measuring 190 cm. Even his
leadership-character is comparable with the National Team-veteran.
He also has the same weak side to his game, a certain lack of pace.
In the season 2000 he stepped in and organized GIF Sundsvall`s central
defence in the Premiership at the age of 17! He was also a nominee for
the "Rookie of the year" - award, won by Kim Källström.
In 2001 he joined AIK half-way during the season and proved that he can
be a major impact also for a top-club. His opportunities with Sweden U21
has been reduced to two caps so far, but he will certainly be the
corner-stone of their defence in the up-coming qualification.
8.
Name: Martin Fribrock
Present Club: Helsingborg
Born: 1984-08-28
Position: Right-midfield / Left-midfield
Former Clubs: Askeröd
Mostly noticed for his dizzying pace, but the best about Fribrock is
that he also has an advanced technique that makes him handle the ball
excellently in a very high speed.
Sweden has had very few natural wingers lately, that plays well in both
ends of the game. In this aspect Fribrock stands out as almost
exceptional, and being equally good with both feet doesn´t reduce the
expectations.
As long as working along the side his precise touch-on-the-ball makes
him hit the finest cross-passes, and when going for the goal his very
hard and unannounced shot is a lethal weapon.
Even if he needs to gain some strength before playing regularly in the
Premiership, he will certainly get his opportunities with top-side
Helsingborg`s A-team during 2002, though he needs to recover well from
the knee-injury that has troubled him during 2001.
9.
Name: Bojan Djordjic
Present Club: Manchester United (Eng)
Born: 1982-06-02
Position: Left-winger
Former Clubs: Brommapojkarna.
Recently signed a four-year-contract-extension which indicates that he´s
an important piece of United`s future. Which he should be after being the
choice as the clubs "Best young player" in 2000.
Though his appearances in the A-team has been few, with the competition
from Ryan Giggs and Quinton Fortune still a bit too stiff for the
Belgrade-born prospect.
Djordjic has always been best known for his amazingly sensitive
left-foot, rapid moves and smart dribbles, but has now developed his
all-over-game and physique to a high level. His weakest side is his
right-foot, that makes his dribbles a bit predictable at times, and his
defensive game is not that impressive.
In Sweden he´s famous for his cocky and impatient attitude, which first
made him threaten to accept the Yugoslavian nationality he was offered, if
Sweden didn´t pick him for the U21-team, and then after only three caps,
he boycotted the team if the coach wasn´t replaced. The reason was that
Djordjic had to start one game from the bench.
And the boycott might have produced some result - since the coach was
later sacked for the reason that he couldn´t co-operate well with
neither the media, nor some of the star-players.
10.
Name: Alexander Farnerud
Present Club: Landskrona
Born: 1984-05-01
Position: Forward / Attacking midfield
Former Clubs: -
A well-known prospect for years and reckoned as one of the best players
in the talent-stuffed generation born in 1984.
2001 meant a minor break-through for the younger Farnerud, playing
almost 20 games in the First Division when Landskrona was promoted to
the Premiership.
Comes from a true football-family, where his older brother Pontus is a
star of Sweden U21 and playing successfully for AS Monaco, and his
father Hans works as a talent-scout for Ajax. So when Alexander decides
for leaving Sweden, the Dutch club has a fine situation for
negotiations. One indication might be that Alexander recently turned
down Alex Ferguson`s invitations for a trial with Manchester Utd and said
the same to Jean Tigana at Fulham, who once purchased his brother Pontus
to Monaco.
Though Alexander doesn´t have the same dazzling technique as his older
brother, many see him as the better player in the future. Alexander is a
lot faster and stronger and also an equally intelligent footballer as
Pontus, and he´s still technical enough to turn most First
Division-defenders inside-out.
11.
Name: Stefan Ishizaki
Present Club: AIK
Born: 1982-05-17
Position: Attacking midfield / Right midfield
Former Clubs: Rågsved
Had a sensational break-through with AIK in 2000, arguably being the
best right-sided midfielder in the Swedish Premiership during his
debut-season. But injury-problems made it difficult for him to match the
expectations in his second year.
Though his finish of the season, when playing in his favourite position
as a central attacking midfielder, was momentarily very impressive.
Ishizaki is most of all reckoned for his very sensitive right-foot, this
combined with a high game-intelligence makes his passes cut through most
defence-lines. He´s also a strong and hard working footballer whose
explosive moves makes him difficult to get a hold on.
If injury-free it seems evident that Ishizaki will be the director of
AIK´s attacking-game in 2002.
12.
Name: Billy Berntsson
Present Club: Malmö FF
Born: 1984-01-06
Position: Right-back
Former Clubs: -
As a full-back-prospect, Berntsson stands out as exceptional in Sweden,
with very few equals during the last decades. Luckily for Malmö FF
Berntsson has a long-term-contract with them, but it´s no secret that
Bayern Munich constantly follows his development.
Berntsson`s defensive-game is all solid and tight, but what differs him
from the rest is that he also has all the qualities required for a great
modern full-back when going forward - has lots of guts, great pace,
beautiful and precise cross-passes and a "hammer"-shot with his
right-foot.
In the defensive game his aerial-strength and being extremely quick and
light is his big advantages. He´s also an all-over well-educated
footballer that probably will get his opportunities to play some
Premiership-football during 2002.
13.
Name: Andreas Dahl
Present Club: Helsingborg (on loan from Coventry City (Eng))
Born: 1984-06-06
Position: Central midfield
Former Clubs: Coventry City (Eng), IFK Hässleholm
Played Second Division-football at the age of 15, only to be close to
quitting the game by his own free will at the age of 17.
Dahl is a well-known prospect that felt persuaded to sign for Coventry
by his agent. What the English club never understood was that they paid
about £350,000 for a teenager that felt really insecure about moving
away from home. Dahl became depressed about living on his own far away,
and only when Helsingborg agreed with Coventry on a long-term loan-deal,
his career changed for the better.
Dahl has been named - "the new Jonas Thern" (team-captain when Sweden
took the bronze in WC-94), and really has very few down-sides to his
football-game, being an extremely clever, strong and technical
midfielder. He also got what Thern lacked, good pace.
On the other hand he totally lacks Thern`s leader-character, and could
improve his game heavily if he started to act with some real
self-confidence.
Already a member of Helsingborg`s A-squad, and is expected to get quite a
lot of playing-time in 2002.
14.
Name: Joakim Nilsson
Present Club: Malmö FF
Born: 1985-05-16
Position: Central midfield
Former Clubs: -
An hard-working midfielder who can carry almost a whole team. At least
that is his destiny in Sweden Youth, a team that seems dependent having
Nilsson on the pitch to get their game working.
After he got badly injured during the past season, the team only won one
out of their last seven games.
Nilsson could be described as the ultimate team-player. A
two-way-midfielder with all the passing-skills, work-rate and
game-intelligence that you could ask for. Strong, good technique and
quick moves, though he could improve on his pace.
If he recovers well from his knee-injury, there are talks about
up-grading him for the A-squad in Malmö FF during 2002.
15.
Name: Tonton Moukoko
Present Club: Derby County (Eng)
Born: 1983-12-22
Position: Attacking midfield
Former Clubs: Djurgården
The reason for Tonton being a professional footballer today, is actually
a real tragedy.
Ten years ago he was forced to move and live with his step-brother in Sweden after
both his parents were shot to death on a street in DR Congo, and it was
only in Sweden and Djurgården he started to play organized football.
In 1999 he opted for England and Derby, even if having offers from both
AC Milan and Juventus. Today he´s a starlet of the successful Derby
Youth Academy, and since spring 2001 playing with Derby´s B-team.
Tonton has a splendid technique and pace and can perform the most
astonishing dribbles in high speed, but mostly he acts as a team-player,
using his game-intelligence and hard-work-mentality.
Size is his main problem, being a diminutive player it might take some
years for him to become strong enough for top-level football.
He wasn´t a regular starter with Sweden Youth before moving to
England, because of his lack of strength, and since then he´s actually
been ignored by the coaches due to the lack of time and money to check
out his recent standard. He could probably have made quiet a big
difference for the team, if included.
He´s also had several injuries over the past years that has been an
obstacle for his development.
16.
Name: Johan Wiland
Present Club: Elfsborg
Born: 1981-01-24
Position: Goalkeeper
Former Clubs: Rydboholm
Born in the same year as Andreas Isaksson has forced Wiland to stand in
the shadow of the even greater goalie-talent, but during the past two
seasons Wiland has taken big leaps in his career.
He became Elfsborg`s first choice during 2000, and was a big part in
taking the team from the bottom to the top-region of the table.
In 2001 his record dropped, but it had a lot more to do with a weakened
defence-line instead of the goalkeeping.
Wiland has the right size (189cm/90kg) for a goalie, he´s both strong
and acrobatic and has a big portion of courage, at times he´s even too
brave since he already injured himself quite a few times not hesitating
to throw himself into any kind of situation.
His major issue to work on his timing in the aerial-game, otherwise he
has few down-sides to his game. On the other hand his feet-game stands
out as really great, probably an advantage from playing as a midfielder
before choosing the goalkeeping.
At 20, Wiland is already considered a stable Swedish Premiership-goalie,
but internationally his opportunities have been few, again Isaksson is
standing in his way, and Wiland has only been capped twice for the
U21-team.
17.
Name: Gabriel Petrovic
Present Club: AIK
Born: 1984-05-25
Position: Defensive midfielder
Former Clubs: -
The AIK-midfielder probably has the highest IQ of all the Swedish
prospects and only recently decided to go for a football-career instead
of a scientist-career. This has also developed his game in a prominent
way.
There is no other Swedish youngster that is even close to work as hard
as Petrovic does, he´s a real warrior at the midfield always taking
advantage of his extreme fitness and strength.
He will never be a glamorous footballer and has a lot to improve on his
football-skills, except his aerial-game and passing-game who are both
considered really good. But his enormous work-load combined with his
game-intelligence will probably make him the next Hakan Mild, whose
close to 80 caps for Sweden even though his football-skills have always
been questioned.
Petrovic had his debut with AIK in the UEFA Intertoto-cup during 2001,
and is now a full member of their A-squad.
18.
Name: Max Fuxberg
Present Club: Malmö FF
Born: 1985-07-23
Position: Central defender
Former Clubs: -
Has taken major steps the last year and suddenly and unexpectedly stands
out as a really interesting name for the future.
Fuxberg still needs to polish on some of his football-skills, and will
probably never become the great passing-genius. But instead he has all
the attitude and physique that is required for a defender. Actually he
reminds quite a lot of National Team-defender Olof Mellberg (Aston
Villa).
Fuxberg is speedy, tough and strong. But most of all it´s his attitude
and guts that impresses. He never hesitates to do whatever has to be
done to win the ball.
He also has a very strong head-game, and is a real threat when moving
forward on corners and free-kicks.
19.
Name: Lars Nilsson
Present Club: Elfsborg
Born: 1982-01-03
Position: Striker
Former Club: Brage
A striker with tremendous pace and a well endowed sense for scoring.
Was among the top-scorers in the First Division in the past season, with
13 goals, and his signature was chased by every top-side in Sweden
during the autumn.
Therefore it was a big surprise that he finally decided for Elfsborg
over teams like IFK Göteborg, AIK, Halmstad, Hammarby etc.
Nilsson is a small-sized striker with lots of attitude and guts, who
always goes for the goal. But he has some work to do in the gym. Most of
all he needs to get stronger to develop his target-game, and even if
short, he could improve quite alot on his aerial-game.
Is the son of former Brage-starlet and National Team-player Thomas
Nilsson.
20.
Name: Colo Halit
Present Club: Brage
Born: 1986-01-01
Position: Left-midfield
Former Clubs: -
Has some impressive merits for being such a young guy. At 14 he was
invited to Manchester Utd for a trial. At 15 he played his first couple
of First Division-games, coming on as a substitute for Brage.
Above all, Halit is a very all-round player, having great skills at both
ends of the pitch, which means he could be used on a number of positions
from left-back over different midfield-positions to left-wing.
Though his strength, physically and mentally, and a very sound defensive
game certainly differs him from most players in his own age-group.
He also has a really good touch-on-the-ball with his left-foot, fine
technique and doesn´t hesitate to put in a massive rate of work.
It´s easy to see why there is comparisons drawn between Halit and
Norwegian left-back John-Arne Riise.
21.
Name: Andreas Drugge
Present Club: Elfsborg
Born: 1983-01-20
Position: Forward / Attacking midfield
Former Clubs: -
Had a major break-through during the latter part of the past season,
when not only being a regular starter for Elfsborg, but also among the
more influential players that certainly helped stop his team from being
relegated, with some great games and important goals.
He also turned into one of the most vital players for Sweden-83, that in
the end struggled against Germany and Turkey.
Drugge plays an aggressive and intelligent game and always put in a lot
of effort. His courage and "never-stop-running"-attitude always seems to
pay off. The team-play is his top-priority and his passing-game is of
high quality and he´s difficult to beat in longer runs.
But to get more out from all his work he should definitely add some
muscles, and to be more efficient inside the penalty-box he needs to get
quicker. If not, he should maybe return to his original position as a
central midfielder.
22.
Name: Bovar Karim
Present Club: Feyenoord (Hol)
Born: 1984-05-04
Position: Forward
Former Clubs: Malmo FF
He kind of started the Swedish talent-exodus to Holland when signing on
for Feyenoord in spring-time 2000. The fee, approximately £400,000, was
by then the highest ever paid for a Swedish youth-player, and Feyenoord
got the signature they had chased for a long time.
Malmo FF tried to persuade him to stay put, but when Karim was offered a
month-salary that was twice what both his parents earn per month, they
gave up.
Since his arrival in Rotterdam, Karim has been very successful. He was
almost immediately up-graded from the U17-team to the U19, and has
constantly proved his sense of scoring.
Karim, an original Palestinian, has great pace, is technically extremely
gifted and is strong both mentally and physically, actually he has most
characteristics of a great footballer to come.
But if there´s little to complain about Karim`s football-skills, he
definitely needs to work on his personality.
His team-play can be less than minimal at times and his huge ego is not
always appreciated, which is one of the reasons that his appearances
with Sweden Youth has been cut to only seven caps, though he has scored
in six of them.
Feyenoord are not unaware of Karim`s attitude-problems, but seems
convinced in while maturing these problems will pass. It might be of
interest that Karim comes from the same tough neighborhood as Zlatan
Ibrahimovic, and not so long ago few thought Zlatan would ever adapt his
attitude enough for becoming a professional.
23.
Name: Christian Hemberg
Present Club: Örgryte
Born: 1981-12-06
Position: Striker
Former Clubs: Torestorp
Explosive, speedy and very technical striker whose sense for scoring has
few competitors in the Swedish Premiership.
Hemberg, an original Colombian, was the natural choice as replacement
for Johan Elmander when he left for Holland, though he in some aspects
is the contrary to his predecessor. While Elmander is big and strong,
Hemberg is short and thin, though he has a lot bigger nose for scoring
goals, and could very well become the top-scorer in the Premiership
already next season.
The diminutive (172cm) striker will certainly have a fine future, but if
to succeed on an international level he has to add quite a few kilos of
muscles, which might take a few years.
Has only had a few appearances in the U21-team by now, but will
certainly be a set piece in the up-coming qualification.
24.
Name: Patrik Jönsson
Present Club: IFK Norrköping
Born: 1982-04-08
Position: Central midfield
Former Clubs: -
Plagued by a serious heart-condition during the past season that forced
him through some difficult medical operations, and therefore his
participations with Norrköping was cut to only 14 appearances.
Otherwise he was thought of as an important part of Norrköping`s
midfield, where he became a regular late in 2000. Even though his
illness has been an obstacle in his development, AIK, Sweden´s biggest
club, made some serious offers to lure him away from Norrköping for the
2002-season, but Jönsson decided to stay put.
Born in the same generation as Kallström, Djordjic and Ishizaki, but has
only played a few caps with them in Sweden Youth, since Jönsson is
something of a late-bloomer that took his major career-steps only during
2000.
Jönsson has a lot of stamina, a sensitive left-foot and reads the game
fluently, and plays equally well in both ends of the game. He´s also a
sharp shooter.
25.
Name: Johan Andersson
Present Club: Landskrona
Born: 1983-08-22
Position: Attacking midfield / Forward
Former Clubs: Fram
Andersson is tricky as few others with his technique that is close to perfect.
During the past two seasons Johan Andersson has developed into one of
the most exciting players in Swedish top-football. Helping Landskrona to
promotion to the Premiership will now give him the chance to compare
his skills with best players in the country, and it will give the
Swedish audience the opportunity to watch one of the best dribblers to
come forward in years.
But to succeed he absolutely needs to visit the gym more often, since
his lack of strength is obvious. Andersson is a tall and quite speedy
player, measuring 188cm, but his weight is only 70 kg, which says about
everything of how any defender will try to stop him.
Being that thin has earlier been more than a football-problem for
Andersson. A couple of seasons ago he had such serious back-problems
that it was impossible for him to practice football, but since he
overcame those problems his game has developed substantially.
Kenny Akesson
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