StabaekFotball

The season is over for Stabæk Football, and the team is ready for a well deserved Christmas Holiday.

The season is over for Stabæk Football, and the team is ready for a well deserved Christmas Holiday. We had a chat with Jan Jönsson about this season – and a little bit about 2010.

Reigning champions.

2009 was the year Stabæk were “reigning champions”. Historically, the winners the past five years have all struggled in the season following their gold medal, and at the start of the season it seemed very likely that Stabæk was going to continue this trend – not figuring anywhere near the top of the leaguetable. After 11 matches, the team had won two, drawn five and lost four games. Jan admits that the beginning of the season was tougher than expected – “There were several factors that influenced the team and made it underperform. We had lost profiled players such as Veigar and Alan, and Johan and Pontus Segerström were injured. But the most important factor was probably that we did not have a complete squad before the start of the season. Too few players in the squad affected our practices, and at la Manga we actually had to “borrow” players from Lyn in order to play 11 against 11. It was only in April that we had enough players to practice in a proper manner. Given this, it was not really surprising that we had a slow start. We knew it would take time to settle the team – and get used to a new stadium and a new playing surface”.

Highest “lowest-level”.

But if the first 1/3 of the season did not go quite as hoped, the last 2/3 went very well. Only RBK was better during the last 20 games of the season. We were in contention for the silver, and ended up with the bronze. All in all, that is a result we are very happy with, says Jan. – “That we came back after a slow start, shows mental strength. In addition, I think we have a high “lowest level” in our game. We did not play any really bad matches, and that is important when everything is not going as planned. We never lost faith in how we play football, and that is important.”

International experience.

“We also got some valuable international experience during 2009, playing qualification for Champions League. Though we lost for FC København, we played well in both matches. That is valuable experience that we will take with us in our effort to improve”, says Jan.

Most positive in 2009.

Jan is in no doubt as to what is the most positive experience of 2009, besides the bronze medal: That Stabæk has brought forward so many promising junior players. Not only as part of the squad, but they have also done an excellently job during matches. “Vegard has secured a position as a starter on the team, Thomas Rogne has done well as a central defender when he has gotten the chance, and Mix has had a solid season. Others have also taken the opportunity to give a good impression when given the chance. That is very, very positive”, concludes Jönsson.

Least positive in 2009.

What Jan could have done without was the late assembly of the squad. “I would have liked to have had the entire team in place at an earlier time. It takes time to make a squad play together and we need a full preaseason with full intensity on the practice field. With did not have that this year”, says Jan.

Biggest dissappointment in 2009.

Looking at the Tippeligaen for 2009 in general, Jan was most dissappointed by Fredrikstad. “That Fredrikstad should go from a silver medal to relegation was very surprising. I am not that surprised that Bodø Glimt were relegated. They overperformed in 2008 - but Fredrikstad with their squad of players, a new stadium and enthusiastic and lojal supporters – they should be able to aim for the top half of the league table. But a lot of things went wrong in Fredrikstad this year, and it ended with relegation to the Addecco league”, says Jan.

Biggest positive surprise in 2009.

The biggest positive surprise in 2009 was not Molde. “No, Molde had a good thing going already in 2008. They did not loose any players and they strengthened their squad with new and exiting talent. They could continue to build on what they had, and with continuity and stability I expected them to be among the top teams, and was not surprised that they came in second. The team that did better than expected this year was Odd Grenland. Coming directly from the Addecco league, they were in the run for a medal untill the very end. Even though Odd does have Tippeliga experience from before, I still think they performed very well this year, playing a lot of very good matches in their first year back in the top league”, says Jan.

About 2010.

Even though it is early, Jan and Stabæks management has already begun to think about next season – “ We always evaluate the season after the last match, and there are several things we can do better next year. I hope we will have the complete squad ready as early as possible, so that we can be well prepared before the season starts again in 2010. There are still things we do not know with regard to new players, and whether some players are leaving after this season. But I do hope most things are in place within the next couple of weeks.That does not necesarilly mean that all players are in place when we start practicing in January 2010, but that we have a squad that can give us the best possible basis for the 2010 season. We have an exciting preseason, with training camp and good practice matches leading up to the league start in March. And I am happy with our plans so far, concludes Jönsson.

The future.

Jan’s future as manager for Stabæk has been discussed for some time – “I have been in meetings with NFF (Norwegian Football Association) and was part of the discussion when the Swedish Football Association were looking for a new manager for the Swedish team. Outside of that there has been more speculations in the media than real conciderations on my part. I am, and will continue to be, the manager for Stabæk, concludes Jan.

Good news for all with a blue heart.

We wish you all happy holidays, and look forward to 2010.

Foto: Scanpix