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Christmas is usually a time for families to enjoy time together. It is a time for giving, and it is a time to forget about the things that bother you. But not for all people. CSKA Moscow’s midfielder Pontus Wernbloom is known as a fighter on the pitch, and his incredible winning mentality has made him one of the most loved players for the Army Men. The best example of this mentality came one Christmas when Wernbloom was a teenager.

One Swedish Christmas tradition is to hide an almond in the dessert ris á la Malta, a dish made of rice, whipped cream and sugar, and the person who finds the almond gets a small present.

“I had placed two almonds in the ris á la Malta,” Wernbloom’s mother Anna-Karin recalled during an interview with Aftonbladet in 2012.”The one who gets them in their portion can count on getting a small present.” Wernbloom’s half-brother William found the first almond, while his mother found the second, and that was when hell broke out. “You have cheated and placed the almonds on your own plates,” Wernbloom yelled to his mother, and promised: “I’ll never eat ris á la Malta again.”

“When we played Monopoly or other games, I always let him win so he wouldn’t leave crying. He was so sad when he lost as a little one.” Anna-Karin also recalled.

At the time of the ris á la Malta incident, Wernbloom was playing for his local side IK Kongahälla. He would later move to powerhouse IFK Göteborg before joining Dutch side AZ Alkmaar and eventually the Army Men in January 2012.

Since moving to Moscow, Wernbloom has established himself as one of the best defensive midfielders in Russia, if not the best.

It was Wernbloom who, with a goal in the 88th minute against Rostov in the final game of last season, secured Champions League football for CSKA this season, and his lust for winning is obvious. In fact, it is so big that he isn’t afraid to step very close to the line to obtain the needed results, which is best exemplified by the fact that the Swede has received no fewer than 28 yellow cards in the previous two RFPL seasons. This season alone, he received five yellow cards more than number two on the list.

His will to go the extra mile to win became clear already as a youngster, when he played both football and handball at a high level.

“He took things from handball to football, and from football to handball,” his handball coach Johnny Larsson told Aftonbladet, “Of all the players I have coached, he was the only one who has ever dived.”

Despite the desire to win, Wernbloom rarely crosses the line, and since he left Sweden in 2009, he hasn’t been shown out.

“Pontus was incredibly good, a leader who made the rest of the team better,” Larsson recalled, “He was always on the winning team. It didn’t matter if we split the players into two teams or rolled a dice.”

Wernbloom has won three Russian championships since joining CSKA, and his defensive work allows players like Roman Eremenko and Alan Dzagoev more offensive freedom.

InStat, a company that analyzes football games, ranked Wernbloom as the third best player in the RFPL this season, and as the best defensive midfielder. Wernbloom has the highest number of defensive challenges in the league, while he is also the sixth best header, the fifth best tackler, and also in the top 15 in interceptions and recovering free balls on the opponents half.

His strong presence on the pitch and aggression in pressured situations allows the Army Men to press their opponents high up the field. CSKA finished the season with the second-highest number of recovered balls on the opponents half, and on average, they had the shortest way to the opponent’s goal after recovering the ball.

One should however not forget Wernbloom’s offensive contribution. He is not the kind of defensive midfielder who simply passes the ball and then falls back when his team attacks.

This season, Wernbloom has made four goals and two assists in the RFPL, while also averaging 1.5 key passes and 3.3 passes into the box each game. In comparison, Zenit’s Javi Garcia averages 0.1 key pass per game and 0.4 pass into the box, which underlines that Wernbloom is more than simply a garbage man for the more creative players.

Luckily for the Red-Blues, it looks like Wernbloom is ready to stay there for a long time. In September last year, the now 29-year-old midfielder signed a contract that would keep him in Moscow until the summer of 2018. “I really didn’t have any reason to leave Russia,” he told FIFA.com after in October, “I have spent my best footballing years and played my best games here.”

Wernbloom’s special relationship with the fans is best illustrated through the fan campaign #SmileForPontus, where the Red-Blue fans posted pictures on social media showing Pontus Wernbloom their smiles after he had said, that he felt the people in Moscow and other major cities were too introvert compared to the small Swedish city where he grew up. Shortly after the campaign started, Wernbloom extended his contract. However, it wasn’t all due to the fans.

“For me, Slutsky really is the best coach,” Wernbloom told FIFA.com, “I don’t think I’ll ever play in a team where I want to go to training more than I do at CSKA.”

Wernbloom has only represented CSKA for a few seasons, but the man from Kungälv in the Southern Sweden has certainly left his mark, and his hard tackles and winning heart should continue to spread fear among the opponents of the Army Men.

Follow Toke on Twitter: @TokeTheilade