Jonatan Johansson (footballer)

Jonatan Johansson
Personal information
Full name Jonatan Lillebror Johansson
Date of birth (1975-08-16) 16 August 1975
Place of birth Stockholm, Sweden
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current team
 Greenock Morton (manager)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994 Pargas IF 23 (5)
1995–1997 TPS 32 (6)
1997 FC Flora 9 (9)
1997–2000 Rangers 48 (14)
2000–2006 Charlton Athletic 148 (27)
2006 → Norwich City (loan) 12 (3)
2006–2008 Malmö FF 55 (23)
2009 Hibernian 9 (0)
2009–2010 St Johnstone 6 (1)
2010–2011 TPS 19 (10)
Total 361 (98)
National team
1996–2010 Finland[1] 106 (22)
Teams managed
2012 Greenock Morton U20
2012-2015 Motherwell U20
2016-2017 Finland (assistant)
2017-2018 Rangers (assistant)
2018– Greenock Morton
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Jonatan Lillebror Johansson (born 16 August 1975) is a retired Finnish football player and coach, who is currently the manager of Scottish Championship club Greenock Morton.

His main position was a striker, playing most notably for Rangers and Charlton Athletic. Johansson was also a regular in the Finnish national team, earning a total of 106 caps.

Playing career

Club

Early career

Johansson was born in Stockholm, Sweden, and started his career in Finland in his hometown club Pargas IF. In 1995, he moved on to the Veikkausliiga club TPS Turku. He went on to score six goals in 32 league appearances in his first season and was chosen to play in the Finland Under-21 team. In 1997, he transferred to FC Flora Tallinn, becoming the first Finnish player to move to an Estonian club. During this time he broke into the senior Finland team – his blond, curly locks earned him the nickname 'Tintti' (Tintin) with national team supporters.

Rangers

He subsequently moved to Scotland to join top Scottish club Rangers for £500,000 the same year but found it difficult to get into manager Walter Smith's side. A change of boss, with Dutchman Dick Advocaat coming in, gave him more chances and he responded by scoring 17 goals in the 1998–99 season, including eight in the Scottish Premier League and five in the UEFA Cup. He scored seven goals the following term, taking his overall tally to 24 in just 37 starts, plus 38 substitute appearances. In his time at the club he was part of the squad that won the domestic treble and double in Advocaat's first two seasons.

Charlton Athletic

Johansson signed for English Premier League club Charlton in the summer of 2000 as Alan Curbishley sought to strengthen his forward-line for the club's return to the Premier League. Charlton paid £3.25 million for the striker with a further £250,000 owed if Johansson made 25 appearances and Charlton avoided relegation. Johansson enjoyed six excellent seasons at Charlton playing most games for the Addicks although he never scored as many goals as in his first season when he notched 14, even with an injury toward the end of the season.

Loan to Norwich City

Johansson moved to Norwich on loan for the rest of the season in the January 2006 transfer window wanting more chances for first team football and was officially released by Charlton at the end of the season. He started his tenure at Norwich promisingly, netting against Ipswich, Derby and Stoke.

Malmö

In July 2006 he signed with Swedish club Malmö FF for a transfer fee of €1.1 million, where he played alongside fellow Finn Jari Litmanen. He proved to be an instant success at the Swedish club. During his first season he scored 11 goals in 14 matches, creating a dangerous offensive line with teammate Júnior.

Hibernian

On 13 November 2008, Johansson signed a pre-contract agreement with Scottish Premier League side Hibernian.[2] He agreed an 18-month contract with Hibs, after his contract with Malmö FF expired at the end of the 2008 summer season in Sweden.[2] Johansson was unable to sign for Hibs until 1 January due to the transfer window rules, but he began training with the Hibs squad in December 2008.[3] He made his debut on 3 January 2009 against Hearts in the Edinburgh derby. Johansson scored his first goal for Hibs seven months after signing at East End Park against Dunfermline in a 4–0 friendly win, but he was expected to leave Hibernian due to the increased competition for places.[4] His departure was confirmed on 1 September 2009.[5]

St Johnstone

It only became apparent that Johansson had signed for St Johnstone on 27 October 2009 when he was named in the starting line-up for their Scottish League Cup quarter-final tie at home to Dundee United. He had previously been training with the club to maintain his fitness ahead of Finland's international matches earlier in the month. Johansson signed a short-term contract which runs until January 2010.[6] Johansson scored a winning goal for St Johnstone against Hearts on 21 November 2009, which was his first competitive goal in Scotland for ten years,[7] when he was with Rangers. St Johnstone did not renew his short-term contract and Johansson left the club.[8]

Greenock Morton and an unnamed German club made Johansson contract offers,[8] but Johansson rejected Morton's offer.[9]

Return to TPS

It was announced on 8 February 2010 that Johansson would return to his former club after spending 14 years abroad.[10] He scored his first goal (a penalty kick) for TPS in a Veikkausliga game against VPS Vaasa on 7 May. He also scored twice in the next match, against Inter, in the local derby of Turku. He also won the 2010 Finnish Cup, as TPS won 2–0 against HJK in the final. He finished the season with 10 goals, being the clubs second best goalscorer, only two goals behind Roope Riski. Johansson announced his retirement from professional football on 23 March 2011.[11]

International

Johansson made his debut for the Finnish national team on 16 March 1996 against Kuwait, scoring the game's only goal. He was a regular member of the Finland squad and earned his 100th cap in October 2009. Johansson made a total of 106 appearances for Finland and scored 22 goals. Only Jari Litmanen has made more appearances for Finland than Johansson. Johansson is third in goals scored for Finland, after Litmanen and Mikael Forssell.

After scoring the opening goal in a 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifying match against Wales, Johansson was the subject of verbal criticism by Craig Bellamy.[12]

Coaching career

Johansson worked for Greenock Morton as their reserve team coach in 2012. He moved to Motherwell in August 2012 to coach their under-20 team.[13][14] Johansson left Motherwell in July 2015 and was replaced by Stephen Craigan.[15] In December 2016, he was appointed as an assistant coach to Markku Kanerva for the Finland national team.[16]

On 9 April 2017, he was announced as an assistant coach to Rangers manager Pedro Caixinha.[17] After starting work with Rangers, Johansson left his position with the Finland national team.[18]

Morton manager

Johansson was appointed on a two-year contract as manager of Scottish Championship club Greenock Morton on 6 September 2018.[19]

Career statistics

Club

Club Season League Cup League Cup Europe Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
TPS 1995–1996
Total 326600000386
Flora Tallinn 1996–1997
Total 9900000099
Rangers 1997–98 6020001080
1998–99 2583321753718
1999-00 166002081267
Total 471453411667125
Charlton Athletic 2000–01 31110023103414
2001–02 305202000345
2002–03 313221000343
2003–2004 264102000294
2004–2005 264302000294
2005–06 4021000061
Total 14827103931016833
Norwich City 2005–06 123000000123
Malmö FF 2006–2008 552300000000
Hibernian
2008–09 90100000100
St Johnstone
2009–10 6110000061
TPS
2010 191000000000
Career total 3379323613417637199

International

Goals

As of 30 September 2010.[20] Finland's score first.

Jonatan Johansson international goals
#DateLocationOpponentResultCompetition
1.16 March 1996Kuwait City, Kuwait Kuwait1–0Friendly
2.5 February 1998Limassol, Cyprus Cyprus1–1Friendly
3.22 April 1998Edinburgh, Scotland Scotland1–1Friendly
4.5 September 1998Helsinki, Finland Moldova3–2UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
5.14 October 1998Istanbul, Turkey Turkey3–1UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
6.10 February 1999Ta'Qali, Malta Poland1–1Friendly
7.18 August 1999Bruges, Belgium Belgium4–3Friendly
8.18 August 1999Bruges, Belgium Belgium4–3Friendly
9.9 October 1999Helsinki, Finland Northern Ireland4–1UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
10.30 April 2003Vantaa, Finland Iceland3–0Friendly
11.8 February 2005Nicosia, Greece Latvia2–1Friendly
12.26 March 2005Teplice, Czech Republic Czech Republic3–42006 FIFA World Cup qualification
13.6 September 2006Helsinki, Finland Portugal1–1UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
14.6 June 2007Helsinki, Finland Belgium2–0UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
15.20 August 2008Tampere, Finland Israel2–0Friendly
16.20 August 2008Tampere, Finland Israel2–0Friendly
1710 September 2008Helsinki, Finland Germany3–32010 FIFA World Cup qualification
18.28 March 2009Cardiff, Wales Wales2–02010 FIFA World Cup qualification
19.1 April 2009Oslo, Norway Norway2–3Friendly
20.6 June 2009Helsinki, Finland Liechtenstein2–12010 FIFA World Cup qualification
21.5 September 2009Lankaran, Azerbaijan Azerbaijan2–12010 FIFA World Cup qualification
22.14 October 2009Hamburg, Germany Germany1–12010 FIFA World Cup qualification

Managerial statistics

As of match played 6 October 2018
Team From To Record
GWDLWin %
Greenock Morton 6 September 2018 Present 4 0 3 1 000.00

Personal life

Johansson married Jean Anderson, a former Scottish television presenter who is from Port Glasgow, in June 2008.[21]

References

  1. ↑ "Jonatan Johansson". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman.
  2. 1 2 Johansson agrees Hibernian switch , BBC Sport, 13 November 2008.
  3. ↑ Johnstone, Darren.Hibs hope to have Johansson fit in time for Tynecastle trip, Edinburgh Evening News, 17 December 2008.
  4. ↑ Hughes keen to keep Nish but warns of player exits, scotsman.com, 24 August 2009.
  5. ↑ Player update Archived 7 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine., Hibernian FC official site, 1 September 2009.
  6. ↑ "Jonatan Johansson signs short-term deal with St Johnstone". STV Sport. 27 October 2009. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
  7. ↑ "Hearts 1 – 2 St Johnstone". BBC. 21 November 2009. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  8. 1 2
  9. ↑ "Search for new striker goes on". Greenock Telegraph. 29 January 2010.
  10. ↑ "JONATAN JOHANSSON TEKEE PALUUN TPS-PAITAAN". 8 February 2010. Archived from the original on 11 February 2010. Retrieved 8 February 2010. Jonatan Johansson returns to TPS (in Finnish)
  11. ↑ Tintti retires Archived 18 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine. (in Finnish)
  12. ↑ "Bellamy writes off Wales chances". BBC Sport. BBC. 28 March 2009.
  13. ↑ "TV: Johansson confirmed as U20s coach". Motherwell F.C. 31 August 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  14. ↑ Jonatan Johansson, motherwellfc.co.uk, 31 July 2013.
  15. ↑ McGarry, Graeme (10 July 2015). "Former Rangers star Johansson quits Motherwell post and Craigan takes over". The Herald. Herald & Times Group. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  16. ↑ "Johansson Confirmed As Assistant Coach". Rangers.co.uk. Rangers Football Club. 9 April 2017.
  17. ↑ "Rangers: Jonatan Johansson to become assistant coach to Pedro Caixinha". BBC Sport. BBC. 9 April 2017.
  18. ↑ "New Rangers coach Jonatan Johansson says leaving job with Finland was difficult but he couldn't turn down chance to return to Ibrox". Daily Record. 11 April 2017.
  19. ↑ "Morton: Former Rangers assistant Jonatan Johansson named as manager". BBC Sport. 6 September 2018. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  20. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 25 May 2011. Retrieved 25 May 2011. (in Finnish)
  21. ↑ Hibs target former Rangers striker Jonatan Johansson, Daily Record.

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