Malmö FF lost 0–2 to Norwegian Odd BK in a training match in Spain's La Linea de la Concepcion. Stefano Vecchia and Johan Dahlin made long-awaited comebacks after injuries, but a strange penalty decided the game. Coach Miguel Angel Ramirez tested young players in the squad.
Malmö FF's training match against Norwegian Odd BK in La Linea de la Concepcion, Spain, ended in a 0–2 loss. Odd took the lead early through Joacim Holtan in the 9th minute. Just before halftime, a penalty was awarded to Odd following a situation in added time from a corner, where the referee deemed Stefano Vecchia had pulled too much on his opponent.
"Very strange. We both pull at each other. Johan [Dahlin] takes the ball, and it's so unnecessary, I don't understand why he blows," says Stefano Vecchia after the match.
Oliver Hagen converted the penalty confidently, and 2–0 held for the rest of the game. Vecchia, who hadn't started for MFF since the title-clinching match against Elfsborg in autumn 2023 due to back problems, was substituted at halftime.
"I want to play as much as I can of course. Always good to get 45 minutes, and you build match tempo with more games," says the 31-year-old.
Goalkeeper Johan Dahlin, 39, also made a comeback after long injury absence and played the full match. "It was a feat in itself," says Dahlin. He kept the scoreline down towards the end as Odd created chances.
Coach Miguel Angel Ramirez fielded a young team, including 18-year-olds Linus Larsen and Israel Anum as well as 16-year-old Vicente Ponnert Hidalgo in defense. "A good challenge for the young players to show themselves, and for us to see if we can trust them," says Ramirez.
New signing Bleon Kurtulus was on the bench without coming on, while Lasse Berg Johnsen started but was substituted at halftime. Salifou Soumah was not present. After the camp, MFF flies home to Sweden ahead of the Swedish Cup premiere against Varberg on February 22.
