Sounders FC midfielder Freddie Ljungberg said his migraine attack last week at the MLS All-Star Game was brought on by red wine used in a sauce at the team hotel.
“I asked, ‘Isn’t there red wine?’ And they said, ‘No, no, no, no.’ I check afterward, and yeah, there is red wine in that,” he said Tuesday. “... I can’t do much about it if I get cheese or red wine – that’s what I’m allergic to.”
Ljungberg started feeling the effects in the final minutes of the game. He said he informed the All-Star coaching staff – led by Houston’s Dominic Kinnear – but they apparently didn’t understand the extent of his discomfort. He was sent out try to a critical penalty kick. Everton’s Tim Howard slapped it away, clinching the win for the English side.
“I said I felt dizzy and I can’t see,” Ljungberg said. “I think unfortunately because it’s not my regular coaches, they don’t know about my migraines. I tried to read my name on my boots, and I just couldn’t see anything. That why I tried a chip, I thought at least in the middle of the goal, I can’t miss that. I should have definitely not taken it; but it’s difficult when the coaching staff don’t really know how bad it is. They’re like, ‘Just hit it.’ And I was like, ‘I can’t see.’ But that’s how it is.”
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Ljungberg was hospitalized briefly, then returned to Seattle on Thursday and resumed training with his teammates this week.
He is expected to play tonight when the Sounders meet FC Barcelona in a friendly at Qwest Field.
blogs.thenewstribune.com/soccer
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