I'm kinda mad at MM/Chelsea for breaking up the league focus. AZ, "veen and Vitesse would be a good season worth of follow, throwing in the other yank minis here and there for fun.
On preliminary roster for Norway: 🇳🇴 Norge 📋 @BjornMaars, Svensson & Midtsjø zijn opgenomen in de voorlopige selectie van Noorwegen.🇳🇴 - 🇨🇾🇧🇬 - 🇳🇴#AZ @nff_info pic.twitter.com/PP04gplS2O— AZ (@AZAlkmaar) August 20, 2018
For those interested an analysis/comparison of former striker Weghorst and Bjorn by this Dutch site: http://www.elfvoetbal.nl/Binnenland/273164/AZ-kiest-met-Johnsen-voor-statistische-kopie-van-Weghorst
On the bench: 💥 Kick off:Heracles - AZ is begonnen!#heraz #coybir #AZ pic.twitter.com/1ZKMiaGhIS— AZ (@AZAlkmaar) September 2, 2018
Came on in the 63rd minute against "Hercules" when AZ were down 3-1, and Bjorn was able to pull one back in the 85th minute, but alas it was not enough as they still succumbed 3-2. Goal can be viewed around 9:30 mark, with a potential chance to draw at the end snuffed out by a questionable foul call imo on the long ball to him into the box.
https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman....on-hearts-az-alkmaar-and-ian-cathro-1-4791928 On his time with Hearts: “Being at Hearts helped me get to where I am now,” he said. “We were flying in the first half of the season so my memories of Hearts are not too bad. I really enjoyed that first half of the season. I was just starting to get on a decent run at Hearts but then a lot of things changed at the club. I think the managerial change was the turning point for me at Hearts. I was brought to the club because Robbie Neilson had scouted me and he took me under his wing and taught me a lot of stuff in just a few weeks that made me a better player. He made me feel comfortable and at home at Hearts and him leaving messed me up a bit. All the players were very fond of Robbie and the way he coached. I’d just won the player of the month award before he left which shows I was going in the right direction." Last year's breakout: “I think being given the confidence from the club and the trainer to play every week was a big thing for me,” he explained. “And also tactically, I was used as the main striker through the middle last season whereas at Hearts I was used more as a runner in the spaces behind. I’m capable of doing that as well but I think playing centrally in a 4-3-3 helped me. I got confidence from playing regularly and scoring goals against teams like Ajax. Getting picked regularly for the national team (Norway) also helped my confidence. That pushes you as well because if you’re seen as one of your country’s best players, you’ve got to work to keep yourself on top form and prove you deserve to be there. His move to AZ: “It’s a fantastic club with top training facilities, all the best technology you can think of,” said Johnsen. “The whole club is geared towards making players better and let them go on to have better careers which is why I picked this club to take my next step with." The future: “My ambition is to get to the Premier League or one of the top five leagues in Europe, and right now, for my current ability and where I am on my learning curve, I feel this league and this club is a good fit. I’ve got a four-year contract here and I’m happy with that but I also have ambitions to go even higher, so we’ll see what happens. I’m not satisfied yet.”
He better shows something with Norway because in three out of four friendlies with them this year he failed to shine. He scored against Iceland, had a couple of good moments vs. Albania, but against the Aussies and Panama (where he got subbed at the hour) he was not effective.
With Jonas Svensson, Fredrik Midtsjø and Bjørn Johnsen 3 players from AZ Alkmaar are in the selection. So he has been practicing and playing with them, which must result in a good understanding of each other in the Norwegian team.
All well and true, but it's not as if anyone scores for Norway consistently. Joshua King has 12 in 33 matches. Albeit, 8 in his last 14. Only 1 against a respectable side (Czech Republic).