Perfect MATCH
Ex-Parkhead star Johansen insists he only needed a short spell working with Rodgers to know that he and Celtic were meant to be
JUST as Scottish Cup semi-final defeat to Rangers two years ago sounded the death knell for the Ronny Deila era at Parkhead, it also signalled the beginning of the end of Stefan Johansen’s time at Celtic. Crowned the PFA Scotland Player of the Year in 2015, Johansen’s form dipped during his second full season in Glasgow and, by the time the Brendan Rodgers revolution was kicking into gear, he had decided to seek a new challenge.
By the close of 2016’s summer transfer window the Norwegian had secured his exit from Scottish football and has since carved a niche at Fulham’s Craven Cottage, where he is one of the most influential players for the form team in England’s Sky Bet Championship.
As a teenager Johansen moved from his hometown of Vardo in the Arctic Circle to pursue a professional career and offers no regrets over a path that has taken him in a progressively southerly direction through Stromsgodset, Glasgow and now London.
Buoyed by his match-winning goal against Reading on Tuesday night, he strolls out of the home dressing room to meet Sportsmail under the eaves of the building that gives Fulham’s charming stadium its name and jokes that he is happy to hear a rare Scottish accent.
Now 27, captain of his country and operating at a new level of consistency, he believes all parties benefited from his transfer.
‘I really enjoyed my time at Celtic and I learned a lot there,’ he begins. ‘Unfortunately my last season wasn’t my best but that happens in football. In the end we couldn’t agree on the new contract and it was time to move on.’
If it’s Johansen’s fate to forever be associated with compatriot Deila’s water-treading era at Parkhead, then that would be sorely unfair.
He actually played under three different managers at Parkhead and, at his best, was a dynamic goalscoring midfielder in the style preferred by the current incumbent.
It was Neil Lennon who sanctioned the £2million purchase that took him from Stromsgodset and he started brightly, using Lennon’s final months at Parkhead to tee himself up for his award-winning campaign under surprise appointee Deila, with whom he had won the Norwegian title a few months earlier.
He actually played competitively for Rodgers too, albeit fleetingly. Johansen’s involvement may have extended to a mere hour of football in a Champions League qualifier against Astana but over pre-season he developed a rapport with the former Liverpool boss.
Even as negotiations stalled over that extended contract and he decided to cash in his chips, he developed a strong admiration for Celtic’s new manager.
‘I had a year left and we couldn’t agree on a new deal, but Brendan was cool with it,’ he recalls.
‘He was brilliant for me. He understood my situation and we had a lot of chats about it.
‘Even though I only worked with him for a short time I really respect him. I knew he was going to be a good match for Celtic.
‘Through my conversations with him, I was able to understand how he has managed at a high level with that Liverpool team and also at Swansea. He is a brilliant manager and hopefully he will be at Celtic for many years.’
Should Rodgers’s team beat Rangers today they will be well placed to secure a second successive Treble, an unprecedented feat in Scottish football.
Rodgers has yet to lose a derby as Celtic manager but, although his time in Scotland coincided with Rangers’ absence from the top flight, Johansen experienced the full range of emotions across his two experiences of the derby fixture.
He was bang in form as Celtic cruised to a 2-0 victory in 2015 when first-half strikes from Leigh Griffiths and Kris Commons secured a place in the League Cup final.
Twelve months later, things descended into a struggle. Rangers twice took the lead through Kenny Miller and Barrie McKay and, although Erik Sviatchenko and Tom Rogic restored parity, the Scottish Cup tie went to penalties. Celtic lost the shoot-out and Deila was on the way out. ‘It’s hard to explain really but those games are something different,’ says Johansen. ‘Rangers were down when I was in Scotland but I’m glad I had the chance to play in two of those games. ‘You can’t play in a cooler game than that and I learned a lot from the two experiences. ‘I’ll be watching this weekend — I watch all the Celtic games when I have time. I’m a bit busier now that I have a little one, but I know most
Both Nir and Virgil came to my wedding and we still speak every week
of the guys at Celtic and I want to see them do well.
‘I hope they take another win against Rangers this weekend.’
Legend has it that the sight of Rangers directors celebrating boisterously in the plush seats at Hampden prompted Dermot Desmond to go out and land a big beast of a manager in Rodgers.
There were on-field consequences too with the likes of Charlie Mulgrew and Kris Commons also reaching the end of the road at Parkhead.
Johansen retains a live link to Celtic through his enduring friendship with Israeli midfielder Nir Bitton. The pair formed two thirds of an unlikely three-man gang
in Glasgow, with Virgil van Dijk completing the triangle. Van Dijk also sought pastures new through a move to Southampton and has since gone on to become the most expensive defender in world football with his £75m move to Liverpool.
‘My time at Celtic was brilliant and it will always be a big part of my career,’ reflects Johansen. ‘Both myself and my wife had a great time in Glasgow, we made great friends and I developed as a player.
‘Both Nir and Virgil came to my wedding in the summer and we still speak every week. Nir is one of my best friends. It’s unfortunate that he is out injured right now but he will bounce back.’
While Bitton rested up in front of the telly on Tuesday night, his two pals were engaged in two very different contests that could help define their careers. Van Dijk took centre stage as Liverpool held off Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City to ease through to the semi-finals of the Champions League 5-1 on aggregate. Less spectacular was Fulham’s 1-0 victory over Reading on the north bank of the Thames, but Johansen was the match-winner for Slavisa Jokanovic’s men as they extended an unbeaten league run to 20 matches to overtake Cardiff City in the automatic promotion spot. The most mobile component of a midfield trio that also includes Scotland caps Tom Cairney and Kevin McDonald, Johansen has scored eight times this term and looks to have added an extra layer of composure to his armoury.
Since losing to Sunderland on December 16, Fulham have been in stunning form. Although Wolves were already comfortably easing towards the title, Fulham came up on the rails to overtake Derby, Aston Villa and Cardiff in the race for the remaining guaranteed promotion spot.
A 90th-minute equaliser for Brentford in last night’s west London derby, coupled with Cardiff’s impressive 2-0 win at Norwich, may have handed the advantage back to Neil Warnock’s Welsh outfit, but there can be no denying Fulham’s remarkable run.
There is a financial imperative behind the Cottagers’ bid to go up. Relegation in 2014 was mitigated by parachute payments but just last week the club posted financial losses of £21.3m, a figure that takes into account the heavy squad investment in the likes of Johansen and McDonald.
Plans are afoot to increase Craven Cottage’s capacity by redeveloping the stadium’s Riverside Stand, but should Jokanovic’s team fail to restore Premier League status, the club’s American-based owner Shahid Kahn may feel the need to revisit the idea.
‘The Premier League is the dream and to get there with Fulham would be fantastic,’ says Johansen.
‘We have a good chance now, so we just need to keep going and focus on the last few games.
‘To be fair, this team could easily fight well in the Premier League. We strongly believe we can get automatic promotion, if not we have to concentrate on the play-offs.’
Should Fulham fail, it’s likely Cairney, a January target for West Ham, will be sold. Johansen, too, may become unsettled and hints that time is running out to fulfil his ambitions.
‘Coming to Fulham has been great for me,’ he adds. ‘To be honest I feel this season and last have been the best I have played in my career.
‘But I’m 27 now, so I only have a couple of years left!’
The Premier League is the dream. To get there with Fulham would be fantastic