On the eve of Sweden’s friendly with England, Fulham winger Alexander Kacaniklic is convinced he made the right choice to leave Liverpool at the start of Roy Hodgson’s reign.
Following Hodgson’s arrival at Anfield in the summer of 2010, Kacaniklic was offered to Fulham as part of the deal that saw Paul Konchesky head to Liverpool.
While Konchesky now plies his trade in the Championship with Leicester City, 21-year-old Kacaniklic has burst into the Fulham first-team this season and has enjoyed an impressive start to the campaign as the Cottagers sit ninth in the Premier League, four places above his former club.
He has also broken into Sweden’s senior side and is regarded as one of the country’s most exciting prospects. The pacey winger was part of the Sweden side that rescued a miraculous draw against Germany having trailed 4-0 with less than 30 minutes left to play.
Kacaniklic came through the ranks at Liverpool having signed as a youngster from Swedish club Helsingborg.
And as he prepares to face Hodgson for the first time since leaving Liverpool, the winger admits he had to leave the Reds to develop his career and while the England boss decided to sell him, Kacaniklic insists there are no hard feelings.
“I didn’t speak to Roy Hodgson that much at Liverpool. I was only there for a month or two when he was manager,” Kacaniklic said.
“It was my decision to leave and go to Fulham and he let me go. It was up to me if I wanted to go.
“I had to move to develop my career. It has gone very well at Fulham and it feels like I made the right move and it was a good decision.
“I am not out for revenge. Like I said, it was my decision and Roy is a good coach. He’s done a lot of good things in football and is well respected throughout the game.”
Kacaniklic revealed how he is looking forward to a reunion with Steven Gerrard after admitting the England captain was a big help when he was coming through the ranks at Liverpool.
He added: “When I was young I trained with the first-team squad at Liverpool, with people like Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard.
“Steven was a great help, passing on good advice about things like passing. He is one of the players I look up to.
“It will be nice to meet him again and to get to 100 caps is a fantastic achievement.”
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