Johnsen leaves chaos of his career well behind to put down roots at Tynecastle
AT the relatively tender age of 25, Bjorn Johnsen’s credentials as a soccer nomad are firmly established. A veteran of seven clubs in five different countries, the Americanborn halfNorwegian striker knows all about career chaos. In that context it’s interesting to hear him describe Hearts as an oasis of stability. The idea of Tynecastle as a refuge for footballers seeking an escape from tumult would have been laughable during the Vladimir Romanov years in which the club burned its way through millions and discarded dozens of players on the road to insolvency. Such has been the calming and transformative effect of the supporterbacked regime of Ann Budge that, to someone such as Johnsen, the Edinburgh institution now offers a soothing and protective environment.
‘I’ve settled easy here,’ said Johnsen. ‘Even the weather is nice, so I’ve been lucky.’
Happy off the pitch, Johnsen is now starting to show his form on it. Signed in August, it took him several weeks to be considered for Robbie Neilson’s first XI but he scored a couple of goals in October and has started the club’s last two matches.
After a chequered journey that saw him start with the youth team at Norwegian side Valerenga and then progress to clubs in Spain, Portugal and ultimately Bulgaria, he may even be showing signs of wanting to put down roots.
Litex Lovech, Johnsen’s previous club, was the proverbial basket case and the striker played a central role in its bizarre demise. Litex were demoted from the Bulgarian top flight after a fractious encounter with Levski Sofia last December, a match which ended in manager Stoycho Stoilov hauling his players off the park after the sending off of two players.
Johnsen was first to see red. ‘It was so funny because if that game had been played in Scotland then it wouldn’t have been a red card,’ shrugged the striker.
‘It would have been a talking to, a “don’t do that again”. It was just hectic and it was a derby game so the blood was flowing. There was an altercation — I pushed him, he pushed me, so I pushed him again.
‘I was in the dressing room and I thought they had all come in for halftime but the manager had been upset after the second red. The Bulgarians were really angry because that was a TV game, one of the biggest of the year.
‘We were first in the league at that moment but we were not supposed to win it. Ludogorets is supposed to win the league every year.
‘It’s the same in any country where one club generates so much income for the league, like Celtic here.’
Following the abandonment of that match, Litex left the country for a preplanned training break. On their return the players discovered the club had been kicked out of the division.
‘In Bulgaria you have a break in the winter time, so we went to play in Spain and Greece,’ explained Johnsen. ‘It was normal and we were told they would put us back in the league. We had just finished pre-season in La Manga and had played really well so we were on a high — then they put us into the Second Division.’
In the circumstances the rescheduling of Hearts’ Premiership match with Hamilton following a weekend junction closure on the M74 seems a minor inconvenience.
‘To be honest it was more frustrating waiting to be under contract than waiting to play,’ insisted Johnsen. ‘The stability here will help my consistency.
‘That is what I really needed. My goals-to-games ratio was really good when I played in Portugal but it was so hectic in Bulgaria.’
Given the political shockwaves emanating from the other side of the Atlantic, it seemed remiss not to ask Johnsen one topical question. Trump or Clinton? ‘I will not say,’ he quipped. ‘Perry (Kitchen, Hearts captain) and I were on the same voting side. It’s done now — I think Scottish people are more scared than us Americans.
‘But I thought it was strange that people in Scotland were actually helping in trying to get people to vote for Hillary. I really don’t mind either way because I don’t live there at the moment.
‘Maybe it affects people in Scotland more because he has golf courses…’