At the international airport of Rio de Janeiro (GIG) I did run into the Swedish national team in soccer, that won the Olympic silver medal at a heroic performance in the final against Germany at Maracana yesterday.
I was there and watched the team play a really good game.
I asked the coach Pia Sundhage how she and the team experienced the game. She said that they really felt that they were close and could have won the gold medals. I agree.
I also got a chance to talk to the best Swedish player of the tournament, goal keeper Hedvig Lindahl.
Hedvig saved Sweden in the penalty shoot-out both in the quarterfinal against tournment favourists and reigning Olympic champions United States and in the semifinal against the favourite home team from Brazil.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has arrived to England. People has noticed…
Ibrahimovic has played four games for his new club Manchester United and he has score five goals so far. An overhead kick goal in his first game against Galatasaray. Then Zlatan scored the 2-1 winner in the Community Shield final against Leichester.
Last week he score another goal in the Premiere League win 3-1 against Bournemouth away.
Yesterday Ibra scored both goals in his premiere at home at Old Trafford – the Theathre of Dreams – when Manchester United won 2-0 against the last season league number six, Southampton.
The first goal on a magnificiant header and the second on a penalty. In total three goals in two league games.
What is most amazing to me is that English media is surprised that Ibra is dominating also the Premiere League. People said, he is too old, he will not be able to handle the more physical game in England. This was naturally totally crazy.
Ibrahimovic has dominated the leagues in Netherlands, Italy, Spain and France before. He has scored everywhere. He has now been involved in 53 goals in his last 32 league games (41 Goals, 12 Assists). He has 31 titles in five coubtries. He has won the league 12 out of the last 14 seasons.
He is not too old. As he said himself in a commercial, “I am just warming up”.
The creadible journalist Martin Samuel – who used to be a Zlatan-critic, writes in Daily Mail that there is a new sheriff in town.
“Rooney lives in Zlatan’s world now. And in Zlatan’s world only one man gets to take the penalties. Here’s a clue: it’s not Wayne Rooney”.
Yesterday the most expensive football player ever Paul Pogba made his first appearence in his new club. The result was outstanding.
With Ibrahimovic and Pogba in the team Manchester United will be dangerous both in the Premiere League and UEFA Europe League.
Which is the world’s most innovative country? Answering this question is the aim of the annual Global Innovation Index and a related report, which were published recently by Cornell University, INSEAD, a business school, and the World Intellectual Property Organisation.
The ranking of 140 countries and economies around the world, which are scored using 79 indicators, is not surprising: Switzerland, Britain, Sweden, the Netherlands and America lead the pack. But the authors also look at their data from other angles, for instance how countries do relative to their economic development and the quality of innovation (measured by indicators such as university rankings). In both cases the results are more remarkable. The chart below shows that in innovation many countries in Africa punch above their economic weight.
There are some very interesting trends in this years’ analysis.
“My country Sweden is doing well, as always”
The chart indicates that, even though China is now churning out a lot of patents, it is still way behind America and other developed countries when it comes to innovation quality.
My personal prediction though is that this is going to change soon. We work with some Chinese partners that definitely have the drive and creativity to spearhead towards the top. I am sure they are not alone.
My favourite professor of all times, Albert Einstein used to say, ‘Innovation is more important than knowledge‘. I agree with him and I am happy to live in a country at the top of this list. I also do my very best to contribute to the results.
You can read the entire article and check the details of the study here (click on the link): The Global Innovation ranking
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