After taking over the richest Russian team, Swedish expert Per Johansson pointed out that Rostov is a great challenge and Montenegro is an opportunity for the Olympic Games.
Finally, the name of the new helmsman „Rostov-Don“ is known, it is a famous Swedish coach who is at the head of the Montenegrin national team
- I think this is the best chance in my life to win the Champions League. My contract with Rostov-on-Don was a big event, especially for the Swedes. The most authoritative newspapers and internet resources blocked my phones. In team sports, I am the first Swedish coach to lead a club in Russia. That was not the case in football, basketball or handball. Before that, my compatriots were known only in the KHL. Interest is also stimulated by the fact that „Rostov-Don“ is known in handball Europe as one of the super clubs.
It seems that you didn’t say goodbye to „Bucharest“ this spring?
- Nothing like that. My departure has nothing to do with the conflict that happened between me and Florentino Pera immediately after the match between Bucharest and Valcea. It was really my last match as the assistant coach of the Romanian club, after which I immediately went to Podgorica to gather the Montenegrin national team. Then a pandemic broke out and I went home to Sweden. My contract with the Romanian club was short-term – from February 1 to the end of May. So, everything was planned in advance. At the end of the spring, „Bucharest“ decided on a new assistant, Vasile. It was the former handball player of the club and the Romanian national team, Julia Curea.
Do you mind becoming a part-time coach again? There is more – they work for two countries. For example, Ambros Martin broke off relations with the Romanian national team a little over a year ago and said that working with the club and the national team in different countries is completely unrealistic.
- I have excellent relations with the Montenegrin federation. There is a clause in my contract that allows me to work in parallel with clubs. Since I have been the head of the Montenegrin national team, I have twice accepted the invitation from Bucharest. And now there is a variant of „Rostov-Don“, which I could hardly refuse. In a key conversation with the director of the Rostov club, Anton Revenko, I was extremely honest and said that I wanted to continue working with the Montenegrin national team. He didn’t mind, which means that in the current situation, all parties are satisfied with my part-time coach status.
Are you sure that you will remain the coach of the Montenegrin national team until the Olympics in Tokyo?
- My current contract in Montenegro is valid until the end of the European Championship in December. I really hope that I will have a chance to take the Montenegrin national team to the Olympic Games. I started working there almost three years ago, just before the 2017 World Cup. Negotiations with the Montenegrin side are nearing the end, but I hope that during the next season I will have two extremely responsible jobs: in Rostov-on-Don and in the Montenegrin national team. I perfectly understand the scope and complexity of such loads. But in the case of the national team, it is still easier for me than for my colleagues from other countries, because the core of the Montenegrin national team traditionally gathers in Buducnost, and several other players play in Romania and Hungary. I feel that I can withstand the mode of operation in two places. „Rostov“ is a great challenge, Montenegro is an opportunity to take my team to the Olympic Games. If at the end of this season it becomes clear that I am not doing well, then I will have to set priorities and make a choice.
What can you say about Rostov-on-Don?
- I don’t think anything needs to change in the system built by my predecessor Ambros Martin. A decision has not been made yet, and I have not yet communicated about it with any probable assistants – Tomaš Glavaty and Tatjana Bereznjak. Moreover, I didn’t even talk to my compatriot Ana Lagerqvist, the new Rostov-on-Don pivotman. Ambros did a great job, and it would be foolish not to benefit from it. Among the first actions, I was in contact with my Rostov colleagues and Serbian physiotherapist Sasa Matic, who worked at Buducnost for some time. We need to hear from each other and decide on the nearest plans.
The most important question: when will you join the team?
- Both sides – the club management, my agent and the lawyer – will work in the same direction to speed up the paperwork. That’s at least two weeks. But maybe more.
Does reuniting with the team in the first match of the Champions League against Ferencvaros in Hungary seem like a good scenario to you?
- Coincidences have shifted here. When I first came to „Bucharest“, the first game was with „Ferencvaros“. This winter, when I was in Bucharest for the third time, the first match of the European Cup was again against Fradi. And now my debut match is scheduled there again – for the third time on my coaching journey.
No need to ask you about the goals in Rostov.
- It is not entirely correct to talk about my personal goals, because I am going to one of the most ambitious clubs in Europe. Even before my arrival, he was faced with the task of winning the Champions League. In fact, that was the reason why I agreed to the proposal from Russia.
