[ad_1]
Published:
Updated:
IFK Gothenburg is doing exactly the right thing by bringing in Roland Nilsson as Poya Asbaghi’s successor.
There is a very simple reason for this that I think most people will soon agree with.
Obviously the U21 team have done something good considering how hot that activity suddenly got. First AIK took the assistant, then Blåvitt went to the captain of the national team.
The fact that it was distributed is due, of course, to the fact that both have backgrounds in each association: Bartosz Grzelak at AIK, Roland Nilsson at IFK Gothenburg. “Rolle”, 56, was, for those who remember, right-back in Blåvitt 1983-1989, won a UEFA Cup gold -87 and missed a penalty in the European Cup semi-final against Barcelona -86.
When Roland Nilsson now returns 30 years later, it is at different times.
Turbulent times.
Fate match immediately
After 0-4 against Hammarby, and with a fateful game against Falkenbergs FF on Sunday, the relegation threat is very real. IFK Gothenburg may drop out of the Allsvenskan 2020, that’s the truth for today. In that case, it would be the first time that Blåvitt played in a second division since the year I was born, 1976.
Changing coaches in football is difficult. Research says that it tends to have a positive effect in the short term, but that the results soon match the quality of the player roster, which is entirely logical.
In the near future, we have two examples where coach changes have worked in opposite directions. The aforementioned Grzelak has yet to put Gnaget in order, while Amir Azrafshan has performed great feats at Östersunds FK in short order, a loss in twelve games and a solid rise in the table.
Of course IFK Gothenburg expects an Azrafshan effect.
“Role” is suitable for Blåvitt
So to the burning question: is Roland Nilsson the right or wrong person for IFK Gothenburg in the here and now?
I’d like to put it this way: in the long run, I’m convinced that Jens Gustafsson was a better option, but not because of the opportunities to quickly scale the table outside of Jens’s great ability to develop young players and sell them for high money. Gustafsson has been phenomenal as a coach at IFK Norrköping from that perspective, selling players for more than 200 million. It’s no wonder that many Allsvenskan competitors have yearned for “Jensa”, including a financially bleeding Blåvitt.
But here and now, for IFK Gothenburg, it’s about avoiding leaving, and then I see few options available on the market that are more suitable than just Roland Nilsson.
To determine whether a change of coach is correct or incorrect, the successor must be better than his predecessor, and the answer is only when the average of points can be compared, but at the same time, a club must also be able to act when a coach It gets stuck.
Poya got stuck
No one can say otherwise that Poya Asbaghi got stuck. The club’s board and management made a difficult decision when they fired Poya, but it is the clearest decision made at IFK Gothenburg in recent years to put his foot down and show that Blåvitt is, and wants to remain, a great club that will win soccer matches on the first hand.
During Poya, the lack of results was constantly due to an ongoing process, which would all change if the process were given more time. All the time more and more. But it is a thinking trap, a scam. To get anywhere in a process, there must be developmental signs in winning soccer games. That was exactly what was lacking during Poyas’s three years.
It is in this context that Roland Nilsson has been working for more than two and a half years, an old winner who is recruited to win football matches, nothing more. The coaching profession is also a profession of experience, and when it comes to experience, Nilsson is far ahead of Asbaghi. He won the Allsvenskan with Malmö FF, was fired from FC Copenhagen and worked for the Swedish Football Association for a long time. All of that is useful teaching.
My image of “Role” is that it can be experienced as a bit frothy and indistinct on the outside, but mostly caring on the inside and self-assured. The latter should not be underestimated, only the desire to enter an association in such a vulnerable situation is a strength. At the same time, Roland Nilsson is a coach who often puts his personal career before that of his employer and, once again, suddenly leaves a task. I previously called him a “traitor” and he reminded me why.
Flexible and experienced
In terms of football philosophy, I consider Roland Nilsson to be flexible and, like all experienced coaches, I am convinced that he will allow the player’s material to control the formation and tactics to the extent that is best for Blåvitt. If I have to compartmentalize, “Rolle” is closer to Lasse Lagerbäck than to Pep Guardiola, but that should not be read too much in him.
This is not an easy task for Roland Nilsson. He takes over a team of players who have been brainwashed for three years to roll the ball sideways. Which now needs to be more direct forward and better organized backward. Somewhere Nilsson has to start.
One thing’s for sure: it’s about trying to comply immediately. Patience and processes are a luxury IFK Gothenburg can no longer afford, but right now I think no one at Blåvitt will miss out on that hassle either.
Published:
