Thanks for your insight. Thats an interesting perspective! What kind of a player has Bjorn Johnson been so far for Litex? How does he play for you guys besides the goals?
Could say that he had a bad start for the team. But new team, totaly new and very hard language, the communication is hard. Johnsen is a typical central forward. He is getting in back positions, to take the ball and move it till the goal. I thinked he will play just like Chicharito, but he is moving a lot more, have better technique and dribbling and when the team don't have the ball he is not staying in front and waiting. I don't know is he ready for the NT still, but i believe that if he work like that, he can make a very good career and get place in USMNT.
Posted this in the wrong thread earlier. Post match comments from Bjorn. A lot riding on the CSKA match next week to get into Europa. That should be a pretty good match btw so find a stream if you can. http://litex.gong.bg/bg-football/a-...acha-v-lovech-maars-otboryt-mi-pomogna-329819 Interesting side note is an Inter scout was at the match to watch Ludogorets defender(Terziev), who Bjorn obviously got the best of. Wouldn't be surprised if Bjorn caught his eye.
I watched the whole game. The reports on him are correct. The dude bosses any high ball, his headers are with purpose, he combines well, when he defends he can be a pest because of his long legs. Most of all, he does have a nose for goal.
Here is how he's mentioned in a report on this Inter news website: At the beginning of the second half Terziev was at the center of the most controversial episode. With Ludogorets leading 0-2 the defender seemed to be on the receiving end of a foul by Litex forward Bjorn Johnsen, but the referee awarded the penalty to the hosts and booked the Bulgarian. http://www.fcinternews.it/news/ludogorets-ko-giallo-terziev-davanti-a-scout-inter-185577
Creepy tattoo on that thigh, Bjorn! When you blow up the imagine it looks some sort of gypsy snake girl. I wonder the meaning behind it. Creepy but on the cool side of creepy -- if you will.
Ya, he looks like a pretty well rounded player. Looks like an actual footballer rather than so many of our "athletes" still attempting to learn the game in their mid 20's. Also clearly looks like he could play at a higher level, likely will in the next couple years which is why I don't think it's a knock against him for playing for Litex. Hope they get into Europa.
You know what -- you might be spot on. That very well may be Medusa. If my memory is correct Medusa was once beautiful then turned ugly and her hair tuned to snakes after some sort of shameful incident.
Which is funny because BMJ is more or less doing that - at least more so than most American soccer players.
Going with the old school circa 1940's boots there. Looking at some of the highlights above, he has a bit of a weird stride when running. He has a Crouch type stride, so I would imagine the guy isn't a speed merchant, but hopefully the guy can learn to put himself into the right positions and score with his first touch.
I dig 'em! Gaudy neon boots are the norm so when a player busts out the black-out boots he's now the talking point. He's the "character". Huge fan of black-out boots. Even if they are modern design they scream old-school by the lack of color(s).
Yes, his stride is awkward but I think is mostly by design because he plays in tight quarters since he is the CF. I would like to see him sprint in an open field and see his full stride.
There's continued development which most players go through, and there's looking like you're still learning how to play the game and don't come off as a well rounded player. This isn't a new phenomenon in sports. I compare it to basketball. There's smarter players who come through the ranks who appear to have a higher basketball IQ, then there's those who have a lot more to learn and have relied more on athleticism to get where they are. Guys like Zardes or Yedlin to me are two prime examples of athletes who have a great deal of learning to do and relied more on athleticism thus far in their careers, can add a guy like Shea to that too who became an MLS MVP candidate while being incredibly tactically naive. From what I've seen from Bjorn, tactically he's a decent amount superior. A better thinker of the game.
Bjorn was a product of high school soccer in North Carolina before a successful season at Triangle United in Raleigh. He wasn't much of a student so then he bounced around the extreme lower levels of Norway, Spain, and Portugal. How much of Bjorn exactly have you seen? You know Bulgarian soccer but it's hard to find a stream there and he's played only about 11 games. His games in Portugal were completely off the grid.
I personally think being overseas had improved him tactically and it's noticeable compared to a number of guys who've been stateside from 19-23. To me he thinks the game more like a guy who's been in a more tactical setting. That's not to say he doesn't have more to learn but I don't see the same movement/ideas from guys stateside like a Zardes or JacMac or Bruin. Portugal, clips. At Lovech, roughly 5 times but I get Bulgarian tv in my household due to the wife and me trying to learn the language. I'm able to stream many A Group games not available on the net without paid subscription to Bulgarian tv. That's how I watch Levski too.
I was sitting at home yesterday trying to pass a kidney stone so I watched the whole 90 minutes against Ludogorets. Thoughts *He checks a lot of boxes for team-concept defense. Always engaged and alert defensively, understands what his pressing does tactically. Brings good energy all game and is a handful for defenders to pass around. *He is a TARGET big man. Stays high, stays middle. Litex aimed a 70-yard ball at his head more often than not, and he won the great majority. (Basically they didn't want to get countered on, and were thus able to skip the midfield by using Johnson) I would have liked to see him try to bring the ball down more than just winning headers all the time because when he WAS able to receive and control the ball, he was useful with it. His second goal, although it was a follow up on a spilled rebound, started with him playing the ball with his back to the goal. *He lives in the six-yard box. When the ball gets anywhere wide he sprints to the goal mouth. He's a good run-maker too, starts them early and varies them. *His touch isn't quite feathery, but its pretty damn good. He had a very nice touch to bring the ball down when he earned the pk, and generally his touch is good and reliable. *He finished three chances and missed one bad one, a sitter just out of his reach. He had another chance blocked and was wide on another. But he had an appetite for the goal, I counted 8 chances to score, even though Ludogorets looked like a team Litex were playing up to. *He looks like he could still score a little bit without service, but could score tons with good service. *Speed....He is not slow. I saw him open his stride exactly twice and he's actually pretty fast after the first five yards. Had one great run through defenders where he looked WAY quicker than I thought he'd be. Nimble in tight space. Not too dissimilar to how Brek Shea runs fast and is physically intimidating. But he is a target striker very clearly in mentality. He looks like a small forward in basketball shuffling defensively with his longass legs until he opens up and runs. He is EFFECTIVE with how he moves. *His passing and creating for himself and teammates looked like a strength of his too although he didnt get to show too much of this. *He picked up a stupid yellow for delaying a goal kick and immediately seemed remorseful, I doubt temperment is an issue. He seemed like a good, honest, goal-hungry, team-first personality. *The game was good quality, technically good, and very tactical. Comparable to the better games you'll see in MLS from two teams with established quality. Litex was not the more talented team and relied on him quite a bit. ****Johnson has lots of great building blocks to be a long-term successful pro and the quality to be a good international player potentially, he seems to also have the fortitude to go to strange leagues, plug in and score goals. We all know how rare that is. I think Jurgen would be right to court him and call him in soon. He could add some quality depth to our forward line. Pure target forward with energy, commitment, and quality. And that badass hair....I'm sold.
I don't know I just watched one game. It was a decent level. There was a little bit of a concious idea to concede possession to avoid being countered on and players were disciplined in their roles. Ludogorets is a good team, they kept the ball and stayed narrow. Johnson looks like he has a good soccer brain, which is what I was looking for.
http://silversporttv.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2015/03/14/be-tough-or-you-will-be-dead-bjorn-maars-johnsen/ Good stuff in here. Don't know if its been posted yet (From March) He speaks Spanish and English, his dad was a soccer player so he played, and when asked if he would play for Norway or USA... "Let's see who calls first."