Ljungberg Leaves Shimizu S-Pulse

Former Swedish national, Arsenal, & Seattle Sounders midfielder Freddie Ljungberg has left the J-League's Shimizu S-Pulse after only six months to return to europe. Ljungberg and Shimizu president Yasuhito Takeuchi mutally agreed to end his contract citing differences in vision. ほんと? Ljungberg scored some 46 goals for Arsenal and another two for Westham United before signing in 2009 to the MLS's newest team the Seattle Sounders FC. There he would go onto to score another two goals before being traded in 2010 to a brief stint with the Chicago Fire where he would score another two goals before leaving the MLS for Celtic where he didn't score at all. Ljungberg has had a history of injuries to his hamstring which has plaugued his more recent career. In Seattle he was regarded as prickly amoung his team mates which contributed to his trade for Columbian Striker Fredy Montero. In 2011, Freddie Ljungberg appeared in only eight J-League games and three cup matches with Shimizu S-Pulse without scoring. Nowhere on the net has the language barrier been cited as the issue just differences in vision. Ljungberg has stated his utmost respect for Japan and his team mates but it takes more than respect to be on top in the J-League. Shimizu finished 10th out of 18 teams during his tenure there. Shimizu S-Pulse has put out a statement moving forward with players that share the same vision. We are not sure if that was a swipe at Ljungberg or not but after not getting their 60 Million Yen per year's worth on an 18 month contract we can't blame them. Personally, Shimizu is being awfully polite - very Japanese. While Freddie may not have felt this was the right project for him all we can say is さよなら Swede!