The terrier who’s now a technician
Lots more to Brown’s game than blood and thunder, says Mjallby
AN AC Milan side featuring Andrea Pirlo, Rino Gattuso, Clarence Seedorf and Kaka? Check. A Barcelona team boasting the talents of Sergio Busquets, Xavi and Andres Iniesta? Check.
In terms of a cast-list, it reads as a who’s who of midfielders to have graced European football over the past decade.
Scott Brown probably has some of the jerseys pinned on his wall at home; mementos from evenings when he has battled — and also conquered, in the case of Milan — some of the finest technicians on the continent.
Yet, from the moment he burst on to the scene as a 17-year-old at Hibernian in 2003, Brown has struggled to shake off the firebrand reputation he forged at Easter Road. Some still see him as the hot-head with a penchant for moments of utter lunacy.
The red-stripe hairstyle he sported in those early days often mirrored the colour of the cards which pockmarked his obvious talent.
The critics still see that young thruster, rather than the titlewinning terminator which Celtic fans will argue he has since become. The suspicion being that the Parkhead skipper’s second touch was often a tackle, that he could not cut it with the elite.
When he was giving his marching orders for a wild challenge on Ross County’s Liam Boyce on Sunday, it seemed like the old Brown had returned. The red mist had descended after Alex Schalk’s dive to win a late penalty and Brown couldn’t resist lashing out in frustration.
Johan Mjallby’s career is intertwined with Brown’s; the big Swede coming to the end of his career at Celtic Park in 2004 just as Brown was carving a reputation as one of the most exciting midfielders in the country.
Mjallby would then go on to work alongside Brown for four years in his role as assistant manager to Neil Lennon. It was then he realised that there was more to the Fifer than just blood and thunder.
‘I don’t think Scott gets the credit he deserves for the technical side of his game,’ said Mjallby.
‘As a footballer, he is better technically than many give him credit for. In the four years I worked with him, I was impressed with him whenever we did technical skills.
‘He has that reputation as a running, aggressive midfielder, but there is so much more to him. He is going to be great for Celtic in the coming years, as well.
‘I played against him when he was a young kid at Hibs, only 17 or 18, and, even then, you could see he would become a really good player. But maybe not this great.
‘He has had a fantastic career for Celtic. Over the years, he has got more and more positive reviews and more credit.
‘He was known as hot-headed, someone who will always give you everything. But after working with him, I found out there is much more to him.
‘It’s great to have him in your team, not only for his leadership skills, but because he is a very good footballer.’
Despite his red card in Dingwall, Brown will be free to face Rangers in this weekend’s Old Firm Scottish Cup semi-final after Celtic announced their intention to appeal the decision.
Don Robertson, the referee who gave Brown his marching orders, will be one of the assistants at Hampden this Sunday, but Mjallby insisted that should not be of any concern to Celtic fans.
‘We could all see that it wasn’t a penalty,’ said the 46-year-old, who is now manager of SK Vasteras in his homeland.
‘Scott was carrying that emotion with him and, unfortunately, he reacted like that and it was a bit of a lunge.
‘He has not done that in a few years because he has really matured. But I also like that side of him and I definitely would not try to take it out of his game.
‘I have credited him with being a very good footballer, as well, but I don’t think you are ever going to see Scott not going into a game showing no passion or desire or aggression. That isn’t Scott. Those things are important to him.
‘Are Celtic exploiting the system? I think anyone would do the same if the option is available because he is such an important player.
‘The pressure should be there for referees because it’s no fun if there’s no pressure. So I don’t feel sorry for them. I think they should embrace the pressure.’
Heading into Sunday’s game, Rangers have kept three clean sheets in as many games as the Pedro Caixinha era has started to gather momentum.
In defence for those three matches have been 20-year-old David Bates at centre-half, and 18-year-old Myles Beerman at leftback. It remains to be seen whether Caixinha will place his trust in the youthful duo or revert to experience as Rangers bid to halt Celtic’s march to a Treble.
Mjallby made his full Celtic debut in the 5-1 defeat of Rangers back in November 1998, adding: ‘I wasn’t a kid at the time. I was 27 and quite experienced being thrown into that game.
‘Fergus McCann signed me in the office late on the Thursday night. He was a great businessman, although a little tricky to deal with. I thought I was going to go back to Stockholm to pack some bags and maybe watch the Old Firm game on the telly.
‘Then I trained on the Friday with Jozef Venglos — and found out on Saturday I was going to play. I was told to play at centrehalf, which I hadn’t done for a while. So I wasn’t just nervous. I was s*** scared! Being from AIK, I was quite used to big crowds in the Stockholm derbies.
‘But I couldn’t believe the atmosphere for the Old Firm game. People told me it was going to be, not mayhem, but it’s going to be brilliant and you won’t be able to hear your team-mates.
‘The first ten minutes, I was a bit shocked. We won the game 5-1, but I didn’t have the best of starts. My first few touches weren’t the best.
‘Then I had a 50-50 challenge with one of the Rangers players. I was the one standing up after it, so, after that, I felt more confident.
‘It was one of Lubo’s (Moravcik) first games. It didn’t help us because Rangers were already 10 or 12 points clear, but it was certainly a nice game to be part of.’
Johan Mjallby was speaking at a William Hill media event. William Hill is a proud sponsor of the Scottish Cup.
He has not reacted like that in a few years because he’s matured