Varbergs BoIS på tjeckiska
I veckan blev redaktionen intervjuad om säsongen 2020 av Dominik Polášek på den tjeckiska motsvarigheten till Svenska Fans. Kul att sprida kunskapen om Varbergs gärning ut i Europa! För att underlätta läsförståelsen återges originalintervjun på engelska.
What was the goal for the club before the season?
-the first goal was to as soon as possible achieve 30 points and then take it from there. In other words secure the contract without having to be anxious. In the end Varberg ended up with 37 points, 9 points from relegation.
Which were the ig moments (for example big wins) in the season?
-a kick start with a 3-0 win away at Helsingborg, one of the bigger classic teams in Sweden. A 2-1 victory at home against Örebro SK brought back the faith after a reck of 8 matches without winning. 5-2 against Hammarby in the autumn secured the contract in practice. And of course 3-2 at home against the Champions Malmö FF.
How good is the coach and which style of football he likes?
-Joakim Persson has performed miracles with the smallest budget of all teams in Allsvenskan. More about that below. The idea of playing has been with high pressure and intensity where all players must be able to work hard, win back the ball and fast counter attacks.
Who were the most important players in the squad?
-39 year old goalkeeper Stojan Lukic had resigned but were told into comeback by Joakim Persson. He was meant as a "backup" but were mostly magnificent playing 19 matches during the season. The central defender Joakim Lindner is the commander in the line of defense. Midfielder Junes Barny is another player who made comeback after one year of absence due to injuries and he was crucial after joing during the summer. And of course the shining star, forward Astrit Selmani who scored15 goals, 6 assist and were sold to Hammarby for a record fee for Varbergs BoIS at the and of the season.
Does have the club talented young players?
-the whole idea of the club is to scout potential good and realtively young players in the lower divisions (mostly Division 1 which is the third tier in Sweden) and turn them into elite players. Astrit Selmani is an example of that. Another is 23 year old Gustaf Norlin who came this year from Skövde AIK and scored 5 goals as a midfielder in his debut season in Allsvenskan. 19 year old midfielder Erion Sadiku from the own academy is another interesting player. Gideon Mensah joined from FC Nordsjaelland (Denmark) U19 this summer and is a very fast young central defender.
The weak and strong spots?
-the weaker spots during the season was often the defense. Varberg conceded to many goals but during the autumn they managed to tighten the defense by a more "cynical" type of playing. Strong spots were the commitment to the idea of playing and the effectiveness in front of the goal. Varberg was in the bottom when it came to creating chances but in the middle of the table in terms of scoring goals.
What makes Varbergs special from other clubs in allsvenskan?
-with 37 points Varbergs BoIS is the best debutant in Allsvenskan ever. Their journey is quite extraordinary joining swedish elite football (Superettan) for the first time in 2012. 2018 the club was one goal from being relegated to Division 1 in the qualifier against Oskarshamn. After a late goal in overtime they got away with a 2-4 defeat away and then won by 2-0 at home. 2019 suddenly all pieces fell into place during Joakim Perssons second year as a trainer and BoIS sensationally advanced to Allsvenskan for the first time. The club has a pronounced philosophy of scouting unestablished developeable younger players cause they don´t afford to buy established players and this strategy has worked very well. It should not be possible to do what Varberg does with a body of players from the third division. But Joakim Persson is also very keen on rotating in the starting eleven giving so many players as possible experience from playing in Allsvenskan. For example 5 teenagers were shifted in in he second half against champions Malmö and Varberg came off with the victory. The main factor behind Varbergs sucess i would say is Joakim Persson who, with his ability to dare and challenge, is a quite unique trainer in swedish football.
