Transfer Rumor: Sounders Appear To Have Signed Sweden's Adam Johansson
by Jeremiah Oshan on Dec 27, 2011 8:47 AM PST
in Sounders: Trades, Transfers and Rumors
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It appears the Seattle Sounders have made their first move toward filling their hole at right back, signing Swedish defender Adam Johansson, according to this article in the Gothenburg Post. Erik Friberg first alluded to the signing with a tweet in which he said: "Congratulations Sounders for your new Sweeede... it will be perfect!!!"
Johansson is a currently out-of-contract, 28-year-old Swedish right back, who has made nine national team appearances since debuting against the United States in 2009. Johansson most recently played at IFK Goteborg, one of Sweden's top teams, but was apparently being wooed by teams in Belgium, Denmark and Norway before agreeing to a three-year deal with the Sounders. A knee injury in 2009, appears to have stunted his ascension to Swedish national team regular.
Johansson had this to say in the article (via Google Translate): "It's really fantastic. I knew very little about the American league, but I talked to several people familiar with before I decided and finally felt like this as the right choice."
This would seem to end the Sounders' search for a James Riley replacement and almost certainly ends their pursuit of Costa Rica's Heiner Mora. While Mora has plenty of experience at right back, he had played all over the field. Johansson is a much more pure full back, and he has played almost exclusively on the right side.
The signing would fill the last gaping hole on the roster and would give the Sounders 27 players under contract (assuming Cordell Cato has also been signed and Marc Burch will be signed). The Sounders could open the season with as many as four more players, but could also open with as few as 28. Assuming they keep at least one of their draft picks from the Jan. 12 SuperDraft, that leaves precious little room on the roster for additional signings.
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Mora
Does the three year contract mean they’re ending their pursuit of Heiner Mora?
I'd imagine
that they are both not particularly cheap, but in similar price ranges so I’d imagine that puts Mora rumors to rest.
by Adam Waltering on Dec 27, 2011 9:05 AM PST up reply actions
The mora thing is dead
I think we can bank on that.
Editor/writer at Sounder at Heart, MLS editor SB Nation. Follow me on Twitter. You'll Never Yacht Alone.
by Jeremiah Oshan on Dec 27, 2011 9:11 AM PST up reply actions
I don't know why...
but I like the signings that seem to come from nowhere. Probably because it means that the team is truly doing due diligence.
I'm a fan of the ticos
but this sounds like a great signing! A national team player in his prime? I’ll take it!
Calling him a national team player is an exaggeration
He had only 9 national team appearances since 2009, and it seems like only 2 appearances in 2011: Jan 19 against Botswana and Feb 2 against Cyprus. Both were so called “winter friendlies” where the Swedish team is gathered mostly from players in the domestic league and other players who are only just challenging for a role in the national team in competitive matches. Looks like very few players who play in competitive matches of the Swedish national team played in these two matches (Ola Toivonen and Martin Olsson were probably the biggest names that played).
That said, I have a very positive feeling about this signing.
I just think you are clearly biased against Swedes ;-)
...and you will hear us scream
by malcontentjake on Dec 27, 2011 10:04 AM PST up reply actions
He's not a regular, you're right
But his move to MLS was hung up on the ability for him to remain relevant while playing here. He was apparently told that this would only help his chances.
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by Jeremiah Oshan on Dec 27, 2011 10:22 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
If I could tell you that...
I’d have put it in the story :). Let’s just say a very reliable source.
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by Jeremiah Oshan on Dec 27, 2011 11:12 AM PST up reply actions
This article from December 15 talks about this
In there it is said that Johansson wants to choose a club that does not prevent him from participating in the January national team camp in Qatar. It is mentioned that if he were to choose a non-Scandinavian club in Europe, he would not be able to go to Qatar.
So clearly one sticking point was that the deal with the Sounders allows him to go to Qatar with the national team.
that would be another way of showing illustrating my point :)
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by Jeremiah Oshan on Dec 28, 2011 5:41 PM PST up reply actions
It does and it doesn't
Playing in the MLS enables him to continue to participate in these winter things, but playing in MLS can still be detrimental to his ability to otherwise be selected for the national team.
If you can elaborate on this
Was he told that playing in MLS would help his chances, or in particular, playing for the Sounders, e.g. MLS, Open Cup, CCL, would help his chances?
by Brougham Hooligan on Dec 27, 2011 1:23 PM PST up reply actions
I don't have super intense details
But look at this way: MLS is at least on par with Sweden if not better. If he’s choosing between playing in places like Belgium and Denmark, who have decent but not great leagues, it would make sense that playing here couldn’t hurt.
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by Jeremiah Oshan on Dec 27, 2011 2:37 PM PST up reply actions
The thing that has to hurt
is the time difference with Europe (8-11 hours depending on the country) as well as the long travel time and bad connections from Seattle.
As an example, the FInnish national team player Teemu Tainio decided to end his national team career when he signed with RBNY, and obviously New York is much better connected with Europe with shorter travel times. It is three time zones closer as well.
This is true
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by Jeremiah Oshan on Dec 27, 2011 3:11 PM PST up reply actions
Connections
Not to contradict unnecessarily, but typically you can get anywhere in Europe from Seattle with just one connection (via LHR, CDG, or AMS). I have to travel to Europe quite frequently for work. If you fly business class it’s not easy but it’s not terrible either. I do it about 6 or 7 times a year. I imagine an athlete in top condition could manage pretty well doing it just a few times a year.
There's also direct flights to Frankfurt and Reykjavik
But compare that with New York with direct flights to Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Belfast, Berlin, Birmingham, Brussels, Budapest, Copenhagen, Dublin, Dusseldorf, Edinburgh, Frankfurt, Geneva, Glasgow, Hamburg, Helsinki, Istanbul, Kiev, Lisbon, Madrid, Malaga, Manchester, Milan, Moscow, Munich, Naples, Nice, Oslo, Palermo, Paris, Pisa, Porto, Prague, Riga, Rome, Shannon, Stockholm, Stuttgart, Tel Aviv, Valencia, Vienna, Warsaw, and Zurich.
A direct flight to the country where you need to be makes a huge difference. And so does the shear availability of options, because then you have a much better chance of finding a good connection that does not leave you spending 6 hours at Heathrow (I have had to do that too many times).
An anecdote I like to say is that JFK has more daily flights to London than Seattle has to all airports in Europe combined. And that’s not even taking into account the flights from Newark.
Fair enough.
That’s right, Lufthansa goes direct to Frankfurt – forgot about that.
I think my point is that a professional athlete can probably manage a few trips a year from Seattle to even an obscure European destination without much trouble. I know Teemu Tainio said he might retire from his national team because of the travel but I have to think that’s only part of the story.
Especially when guys like the Nyassi brothers and even Steve Zakuani have been more than willing to take much more challenging trips to Africa in order to compete for their national teams.
I don’t know. I travel a ton and it’s taxing but I think it’s more due to the frequency of the trips then it is the distance/time zone change. And speaking of traveling, on Monday I’m off to Miami, London, Southampton, and Amsterdam for two weeks. Thankfully I have no national team duties on this trip. :)
I think the point is that when the coach can select between somebody who plays in Europe and somebody who plays in North America, the one playing in Europe has an advantage, Other things being equal, it is easy to choose the one playing in Europe. Moreover, players playing outside of Europe tend to fall off the map when it comes to national team consideration for European national teams.
I’m sure that most players are willing to take the long trips for their national team. The most extreme examples are probably the many Australian and Kiwi national team players playing in Europe.
You are probably right about Tainio. The Finnish national team is in a process of rebuilding because a lot of key players are getting old and are retiring. The stated goal is to make it to the EUROs in 2016, which means that the WC 2014 qualifiers are treated as a part of the rebuilding phase. Now 32 years old, Tainio probably figured he does not have a role that he likes in these plans. The probability of playing in the EUROs when he would be 36 years old is low.
But that is getting way off topic.
Thanks for tempering my enthusiasm.
I really needed to get back to work.
by butterGlory on Dec 27, 2011 10:29 AM PST up reply actions
This report has a IFK Goteborg supporter talking about how he has never returned to form after his knee injury
Apparently that was also why he fell out from the national team.
http://www.svenskafans.com/fotboll/Adam-Johansson-klar-for-Seattle-Sounders-428712.aspx
I love the Google Translation....
He was one of the club’s best players during his sojourn in, and was also rewarded in 2008/2009 with a starting place in the squad, where the operation away against Portugal when he left back who wiped out one of the world’s best player, Cristiano Ronaldo completely sticks out a little extra.
He also started the 2009 Championship in grand style and was one of the team’s best and most important player. Europe lay at his feet, but everything changed on a summer day at Rasunda. After a duel with an opponent, landed Adam unhappy and angry at the knee. Cruciate ligament was off and nearly 10-month absence, waited. Adam came sadly back in the good old kind, and even if the heart had always been there, it was the way to the old great shape for the long and difficult.
by ryanhealy on Dec 27, 2011 11:04 AM PST up reply actions 2 recs
I hope he gives iron for us, too.
Comments:
Glenn—Thanks for everything Adam. You have always given iron for blue and impressed with your high minimum level.
Good luck and welcome back.
@ritual605
by Greg Pirkl Lives on Dec 27, 2011 11:17 AM PST up reply actions 2 recs
Yeah, that is funny
The correct translation would be “Adam had an unlucky landing and twisted his knee”.
BORING!
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by DarthGreedo on Dec 27, 2011 11:19 AM PST up reply actions 4 recs
The same was said about Rosales
Fans said he sucked and was done. That turned out wrong.
by chrisperry1983 on Dec 27, 2011 11:23 AM PST via mobile up reply actions
Very true
I did not mean to imply that he would be no good. Hopefully he will return to his pre-injury form. And even if he does not, he is probably going to be a very good MLS player.
To be quite honest, without his injury he would not be coming to Seattle. He would be in a much bigger European league by now.
Also, Seattle has a great medical team
If any team in MLS can help him recover his form and spot on the national team it’s the Sounders.
I assume they share staff with the Seahawks?
I imagine the tempo of injuries gives NFL medical staff a bit more experience than the equivalent team from a European football club.
Pretty sure the staff is different
Michael Morris, MD is the Medical Director for the Sounders and is an ortho and section head for Virginia Mason Sports Medicine.
David Tenney is the lead fitness coach and he has a training staff which includes some part time sports medicine trained professionals.
Whereas the Seahawks Medical team is made up of physicians from the UW and Swedish. I know several of the docs who work as advisors for surgery or treatment with the Seahawks. My wife is a physician and it is a pretty small circle.
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Twitter has ruined me
Because he’s Swedish I thought you said “I’m a fan of the tacos.” Which outside the context of Friberg, makes no goddamn sense whatsoever.
by Derek Young on Dec 27, 2011 2:55 PM PST up reply actions 3 recs
Transfermarkt puts his value at about 800,000 euros
I’ve heard anecdotally that it tends to overvalue a little bit. According to twitter he’s also coming off an injury, so that may depress wages a little. There’s no chance he’d be a dp right?
He's definitely not a DP
You can bank on that. I’m betting it’s in the neighborhood of Friberg, maybe a bit more but not a lot more. Guy was playing in Sweden last year and is a free. That doesn’t exactly scream “breaking the bank.”
Editor/writer at Sounder at Heart, MLS editor SB Nation. Follow me on Twitter. You'll Never Yacht Alone.
by Jeremiah Oshan on Dec 27, 2011 9:35 AM PST up reply actions
Also,
aren’t trasfer values usually about 5x or more the players salary? Or did I just pull that outta my butt?
by Adam Waltering on Dec 27, 2011 9:40 AM PST up reply actions
it is merely a guide
remember it said Friberg was a free
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by Dave Clark on Dec 27, 2011 10:52 AM PST via Android app up reply actions
It claimed he left on a free
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Nice.
I like his age. Experienced but not over the hill. On paper, a great fit.
Still need some depth on the back line but I suppose the biggest piece has been taken care of now.
Can play left back
According to his Wiki page he’s started on both the right and left in the past giving us a little bit more flexibility going forward. The fact that he’s been capped recently by Sweden in a world cup qualifier is a big plus for me.
That was in 2009
Since then he has fallen from favor. No Euro 2012 qualifier matches for him in 2011.
He was injured for Euro qualifiers.
— was only left out because of a back injury he suffered in early 2011. He had recovered by fall. He might be injury prone though.
Adam was also the captain of IFK Goteborg
Article here. The article is from one of the tabloid papers in Sweden which means the information is not very trustworthy although it certainly seems like the deal is done. His agent is quoted as well. IFK Goteborg is very big club in Sweden – great tradition but they haven’t done so well recently.
He is not a regular on the Swedish national team.
so is he a good attacker and possession player?
that is the 64K question
...and you will hear us scream
by malcontentjake on Dec 27, 2011 10:05 AM PST reply actions
the first question about any defender
Can they Defend? see Ream, good passer, but
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by Dave Clark on Dec 27, 2011 10:20 AM PST via Android app up reply actions
No need to pack up your Swedish flags, folks!
@ritual605
by Greg Pirkl Lives on Dec 27, 2011 10:09 AM PST reply actions 1 recs
except that mine is signed by Ljungberg
and in “memorabilia storage” ;-)
...and you will hear us scream
by malcontentjake on Dec 27, 2011 10:10 AM PST up reply actions
I never got a chance to go when he was there
but I loved that Friberg did appearances at the Swedish Cultural Center on Dexter. Who knows, the hospitality they showed might have helped a bit in his description of the city to Johansson.
It looks like his lack of national team appearances in 2010-11
is due to an ACL injury he had at the end of 2010. Before that, he was attracting attention from Sunderland and Fiorientina, but his recovery is now pretty much complete. To those doubting his national team abilities, he’s with them in Qatar right now, so when not injured, it appears he’s at least in consideration
Sweden is in Qatar right now?
And I thought I read enough about soccer in Qatar…
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by Dave Clark on Dec 27, 2011 11:29 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
He played a couple national team matches in the winter of 2011 (Jan-Feb) as well. But as I wrote in an earlier comment here, these winter friendlies do not feature players that play in competitive national team matches. These matches are used to evaluate players who are just outside of making the national team in competitive matches. Often a few players that are in the competitive rotation are there, but the big stars (such as Zlatan) aren’t there.
"it appears he’s at least in consideration" ...
I agree with both of you. The fact that he’s called at all does at least make it appear that he’s still on the long list. However, if you look at the (unofficial?) roster for that Qatar game (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden_national_football_team#Current_squad), it is ALL players from the Swedish league except for one guy who plays in Norway (and now Adam). Of all the defenders on that list, the other 6 have a combined 3 caps (Adam has 9). This is clearly a match where the young guys (and one experienced-but-coming-off-of-an-injury guy) get a look. I agree that calling him “a member of the Swedish National Team” is a stretch. He once was on his way to that title and got derailed. Now he’s trying to make a comeback. He’s hoping that Seattle is his way back in. I hope so too.
The team that traveled is listed at the bottom of this link
http://svenskfotboll.se/arkiv/landslag/2011/12/herr-januariturne-2012/
Each player that was selected played in the Swedish league in 2011. In their last Euro 2012 qualifying match, only two players were from the Swedish league. They were Anders Svensson and Tobias Hysén, both of whom went to Qatar as well.
Come on man...
Can’t you see that Kenny Cooper is in that picture with Johansson, so clearly these are top-flight games we’re talking about :)
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by Jeremiah Oshan on Dec 27, 2011 12:01 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
I was gonna say
Maybe the pic is foreshadowing him putting the smackdown on Cooper in our three games against Portland this season. Look at that look of fear and frustration on Cooper’s face after he just got clowned by Johansson!
by chrisperry1983 on Dec 27, 2011 8:06 PM PST up reply actions
yep...Sweden has a season that more closely matches ours...
…so it makes sense. Hysén was Sweden’s leading scorer in 2011 with 4 goals and Svensson put one in as well. Svensson has 123 caps…Hysén has 18, Stefan Ishizaki 12, Johansson has 9 and no one else on that list has more than 2. 10 of the 21 have never been capped…so I think that pretty strongly supports your argument.
I like that he adds a bit of height
A small detail, but Johansson is a tad under six feet tall according to Wikipedia (about 2 inches more than Riley). Hopefully he can add a little more to our set piece defense.
Except for the whole Ljungberg wearing #10 thing.
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by c_dowley on Dec 27, 2011 2:06 PM PST via Android app up reply actions
Being on the "B" team of a nation as strong as Sweden
isn’t a bad thing. While he may be in Sweden’s team like Brad Evans is in the USA, Sweden is a very strong footbaling nation. SPI currently ranks it 12th. That is ahead of Croatia, France and Russia.
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I had never heard of SPI Rankings until now
FIFA has it Croatia 8, Russia 12, France 15, Sweden 18. Still not bad.
Soccer Power Index
by Nate Silver for ESPN. I even linked it in the Cato v Ngassa story
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How does it compare to FIFA/ELO rankings in terms of accuracy?
I hold ELO to a higher standard, not because I know it’s a better formula, but because it seems to make way more sense than FIFA’s rankings.
by chrisperry1983 on Dec 27, 2011 8:07 PM PST up reply actions
...and unlike Evans
It appears that, when he was in peak form, he was firmly on track to become an “A” team player, but was derailed by injury. Let’s hope that the Sounders FO has some good info on his healing…this could be a real find in a position of extreme need.
Note the common agent of Friberg and Johansson
Carl Fhager is the agent for Friberg, http://ssfc-rumors.blogspot.com/2011/10/face-to-face-carl-fhager.html and is quoted in the Swedish articles as being the agent for Johansson. Looks like Mr. Fhager is our current source for Swedes.
by Brougham Hooligan on Dec 27, 2011 12:51 PM PST reply actions
So we've got an inside guy now?
Sweden could be an untapped market for MLS talent, I like this.
Go banana!
Usually MLS loses players to scandanavia
not gets them
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Seriously though
Is this something that you see as being a regular occurence in the near future?
Could we see the tide shift, and have players outside of the big five leagues (England, Spain, Germany, Italy, France) come to MLS before those borderline leagues?
There are still many 'non-major' leagues clearly better than MLS
Russia, Turkey, Netherlands, Portugal, Mexico
probably Japan
Without a major increase in the salary cap the next 5-15 leagues will continue to have an appeal stronger than MLS. Although MLS does have benefits some of those don’t have (getting paid on time, quality of life)
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Do you think serious disruption in the European markets may affect this?
Note that Gspurning commented on the Greek instability and the constant riots and turmoil. If (more likely when) the Euro goes, one would think the US looks a pretty good destination.
One should also note the huge level of corruption and scandal that rock other leagues (Italy, anyone?). In fact, Anelka’s new gig may be derailed by a Chinese match-fixing scandal. The MLS doesn’t have that taint to it. I don’t think our salary cap needs to dramatically increase to starting tilting things in MLS’ favor.
by Brougham Hooligan on Dec 27, 2011 1:49 PM PST up reply actions
Out of curiousity, I checked average Premier League wages
Good grief, the average wage is $2,759,803 per year. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1345397/Too-average-footballers-millionaires—drive-Ferraris-deserve-Reliant-Robin.html The MLS salary cap is one average player in the UK.
by Brougham Hooligan on Dec 27, 2011 2:06 PM PST up reply actions
Dario Sala is a huge advocate for MLS
based on quality of life, safety and professionalism in payment. It’s starting to make a difference in pulling in internationals, but it isn’t helping Americans stay.
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Greater take home pay does though
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One thing working against MLS
is that it is not seen as a good stepping stone to go into the big European leagues. Indeed, players going from MLS to Scandinavian leagues probably are motivated in part because they think that they are more likely to get noticed there than in MLS. Scandinavian leagues are scouted more extensively and there is a lot of precedent of transfers to bigger leagues.
This is hopefully something that will change in the years to come. But for now, a move from the MLS to Scandinavia makes sense to a lot of players even if the leagues there are not better quality and do not pay better.
So... how firm is this deal?
You’ve put in the headline that it’s a “transfer rumor”, and I can’t help but notice the Sounders haven’t put anything on their page about a signing yet. Have you heard from Adrian about this yet? Is it a matter of paperwork at this point?
I’m quite pleased we managed to find a decent fullback out of contract, so we don’t have to pay a transfer fee, but I’m nervous he could turn into OBW in that we bring him in knowing he has a history of injury and his condition only gets worse with us. Problem is, we don’t have depth at his position, at least none I’m terribly confident in. As much as I love the Jolly Roger, he’s no rightback, and Zach Scott is only good in situations where he has a specific man to mark (a la Brek Shea in the USOC Semis).
Kind of disappointed that we’re getting him instead of Mora, but in the end he’s almost certainly cheaper, and his agent already has a connection with us so he’ll probably be willing to come and play good soccer. I also really want to see a Sounder in a national team uniform, and while I would most like one on the USMNT, I can settle for a Swede if he can get himself back to form.
All in all, as others have said, I’ve got confidence in our medical staff and I don’t think Hanauer would rush in to a deal for an injured player if he wasn’t confident he could return to form, or if his 90% form wasn’t good enough for us. I just hope our perennial injury bug doesn’t bite another knee next year, whether it be Johansson’s, Mauro’s, or Evans’.
I met a possum.
by s0merand0mdude on Dec 27, 2011 10:08 PM PST reply actions
His current Club
says he’s coming here.
http://www.ifkgoteborg.se/Nyheter/2011/December/Adam-till-Seattle-Sounders/
Just
to add remember last year when BK Häcken said friberg was coming here on their website.
The contract is not signed yet
That is clearly the reason why the Sounders have not announced this yet. In the Aftonbladet article from yesterday (Dec 27) his agent said “hopefully all the details are cleared tonight or tomorrow.” (http://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/fotboll/internationell/usa/article14134460.ab) and
I don't think that's it
The team can’t announced the deal until the league office approves it and they are on a skeleton staff right now. You really think Johansson and his agent would be running around telling everyone in the Swedish media about this if the contract wasn’t signed?
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by Jeremiah Oshan on Dec 28, 2011 8:43 AM PST up reply actions
This article from yesterday says that he will sign the contract "shortly" (Swedish: "inom kort")
- Yes it will be Seattle, says Adam Johansson, who will shortly sign a three year contract with the American club.
- Ja, det blir Seattle, säger Adam Johansson som inom kort kommer att skriva på ett treårskontrakt med den amerikanska klubben.
Anyway, I’m not sure what difference it makes whether it is his signature or league office approval that is missing. Both are just formalities after the terms have been agreed upon.
I suppose it's splitting hairs
But if the question is why hasn’t been announced by the team, the fact that the league office hasn’t approved it would be the reason. The point being that, either way, this sounds like a done deal.
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by Jeremiah Oshan on Dec 28, 2011 9:37 AM PST up reply actions
Very much so
I did not mean to imply that it wouldn’t sound like a done deal. I meant to say that all the formalities have not finalized, and the Sounders cannot announce Johansson until they are.
Indeed, if Johansson’s signature is what is missing, then the fact that he is telling everybody that he is going to Seattle makes this very much a done deal.
Mora + Johansson
Any reason Johansson couldn’t come in here, and have Hanauer still add Mora via DP slot? I thought all these moves were to clear some cap space, and bring in some $$ with which to make moves (with the exception of Friberg, which may have been beneficial at this point)?
If they brought in Johansson to play LB and Mora to play RB, they have really helped shore up the defense, and created depth at RB. Johansson has played both positions (admittedly not a ton at LB, but some), and either would back the other up at RB. With Zak and OBW coming back to bolster the offense, it would be an instant upgrade to the entire team, and a much stronger defense back line.
At some point, they’ll use that available DP slot…why not now, and why not where the team really needs to improve? We were the highest scoring team in the league, but we had major inconsistency issues on defense. If they locked up the defense, it would be the quickest way to creating a cup contender.
The reason not to use the DP slot on Mora
The team liked Johansson more than Mora and Mora is not a DP-type player. You’d be talking about paying him about $200k more than you’d have to otherwise.
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by Jeremiah Oshan on Dec 28, 2011 8:45 AM PST up reply actions
DP != Pay day?
I thought the DP slot didn’t necessarily guarantee a huge payday?
Technically, you're right
A player can be a DP without a huge salary. In those cases, though, it’s because of a transfer fee. A player can’t just be given the DP tag unless his salary+transfer fee passes a threshold of more than $335k (not sure on the exact figure it needs to pass to be DP). In any case, I don’t think the team wants to sign both Mora and Johansson, since one of them would be playing out of their ideal position.
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by Jeremiah Oshan on Dec 28, 2011 9:39 AM PST up reply actions
I do not get your point
Why would the Sounders give a DP slot to Mora if his salary (or transfer fee) did not require that?
by AAAA on Dec 28, 2011 10:04 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Couple things
This is very firm. Johansson was always their first choice. The injury you hope he’s recovered from happened more than two years ago. If he gets hurt, I really don’t think it has anything to do with his past injury.
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by Jeremiah Oshan on Dec 28, 2011 8:42 AM PST up reply actions
Terry Boss got international caps.
by yuniform on Dec 28, 2011 9:42 AM PST via Android app up reply actions
Still, if caps is what he wants, someone offered it last year.
I don’t care about that sort of prestige for the Sounders. If anything, it would drive their contracts up.
by yuniform on Dec 28, 2011 12:33 PM PST via Android app up reply actions
I had not realized the context
You had replied to a poster who said they want Sounders that play for their national teams. I agree that it does not make too much sense. A player like Alonso is ideal: high quality but we do not have to worry about losing him to national team duty.
What I’ve been looking at is that somebody who gets capped by Sweden must be a quality player.
I'll agree that a player like Alonso is ideal. For many reasons.
by yuniform on Dec 29, 2011 11:01 AM PST via Android app up reply actions 1 recs
Less than Johansson and for a weaker nation
I am not a Supporter | I am not a Fan | I am a Sounder
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This story reveals that he also had a back injury in early 2011
He seems to have recovered from it fully because in the summer and fall of 2011 he started consistently for IFK Göteborg.
http://www.sportal.se/fotboll/allsvenskan/darfor-lamnar-adam-johansson-ifk
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