Updated 08.20 | Published 08.10
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MALMÖ. Taking off the captain’s armband in the Premier League, saying no to big sums and moving down a level sportingly – only to move home to his own.
How about: Was it worth it?
– A day like this is worth everything, says Pontus Jansson to Sportbladet.
full screen Photo: Andreas Hillergren
It couldn’t be anyone else.
The Allsvenskan gold final in 2023 will be remembered for many things.
It was the night when the gold came home to a city that demanded it and a team that in a week rose from the dead, it was also the Sunday when active supporters took over the stage and broke a dream match into hour-long chaos. There are questions to ask about Malmö FF, and there are questions to ask about football supporters.
And here Pontus Jansson stands in a champagne-scented room, with his upper body painted gold.
He is both parts. MFF in the soul, supporter in the heart.
– Do you want a beer? asks MFF’s press manager Peter Sohlmér.
– Yes. But take a recovery shake too, says Jansson.
Carried and recovery potion – potion for a champion. A few minutes later, Sohlmér is back.
– Here’s the shake. Your friends had finished all the beer.
Pontus Jansson inquires about what was going on while he himself sat in the dressing room and waited. What actually happened? What did the supporters do in the Elfsborg stands? Did Malmö do something too? Were there police officers or security guards at the confrontations?
full screen Photo: Andreas Hillergren
He is “Ponne” with a city, he is us with the stands. When the others left the field after the first half, he was the one who rushed to the Norra stand to talk to the supporters, when the gold was salvaged, he was the one who made sure that the heel capo got to lift the trophy.
But if he is to draw a conclusion from the scenes at the Stadium?
Before he opens the champagne, he wants to sum it up.
– Even if I, as captain, say “it’s not good”, it won’t stop. But the way it was today… it doesn’t benefit anyone.
“The King of Malmö”
He hasn’t quite landed in the euphoria yet, more in a sense of relief. But when the questions come from the press, he talks, as always, both openly and at length.
Do you feel like the king in Malmö right now?
– Today I can do it, yes. I have won gold and come home. I say that with a twinkle in my eye too.
How much have you felt the pressure on you?
– I have always said that the most important thing is in the team. I want to do well for my teammates, I want to help Malmö. Then everyone else gets to keep going and review my efforts. I know what the demands are on me when I get home. But the most important thing was this and what I experienced.
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1 / 2Foto: Andreas Hillergren
What was it like when the fans stormed in at the final whistle?
– There was a form of panic. There were almost too many people. I had decided to meet my friends on the inner level. They got my shirt.
Who are they?
– It is all my active supporters with whom I have developed a close relationship.
You ran to the fans in the corner at halftime. Why?
– We played a good first half, but I know how the demands are here. Five more minutes in the second half without a goal from us and the sighs had started to come. So it was that we would have them with us the whole match.
– I told them that it is important that you are with us for 90 minutes. The response was good. There was a good atmosphere in the second half once it got going.
What did you say to Isaac Kiese Thelin before the punishment?
– Niklas (Hult, Elfsborgsbacken) wanted to destroy the penalty spot. I removed them and helped Isaac. Stefano (Vecchia) also helped. These are the games Isaac is going to win for us. I’m glad he got to do it.
The Allsvenskan epilogue in 2023 was not just a final between Malmö FF and Elfsborg. It was also a duel between two team captains whose careers ran parallel. Pontus Jansson and Johan Larsson broke through almost at the same time, both started as strikers but were retrained as defenders. Larsson was the first local product in ages to break into Elfsborg’s first team, Jansson has been sky blue since childhood at home in Arlöv.
full screen Photo: Andreas Hillergren
But only one of them got to lift the trophy.
– “Suffer with” is the wrong word, but I think Elfsborg should feel proud of their fine season. They won’t do it today, but they should do it later. Johan came home to win gold, I feel special for him.
– We broke through at the same time, played in the U21 national team and the A national team together, and we have always liked each other. There has been a mutual respect. He is a very nice person, kind-hearted.
full screen Pontus Jansson during the break Photo: Petter Arvidson / Bildbyrån
Johan Larsson, together with Elfsborg’s club manager Stefan Andreasson and chairman Sune Lundqvist, tried to calm down the active supporters in the away stands during the break, without success.
There were scandalous scenes, a stain on a unique season finale.
Pontus Jansson doesn’t need to stress how he sees the value in a live stand culture, but he sighs when he talks about what happened here.
What do you think about what happened during the break?
– It’s something you don’t want, of course. I checked my phone what was going on. Then when the fire alarm went off… I know how my daughter usually reacts. She usually gets scared.
– It was a very long break.
It was an intense start to the match. What did you feel out on the field?
– I know (Per) Frick well off the field, but on the field he is a real pig. He knows about that. He is doing great for his team. I thought Glenn Nyberg was a little early with the warnings. Otherwise, he is the best judge in Sweden.
– But if I’m being completely honest. I have very few memories of the matches. That’s how you play these games. You remember very little.
What does Isaac Kiese Thelin mean to the team?
– Isaac is one of those who have been close to me and the leaders in the team. I don’t think people from the outside understand how important he is in this squad. Isaac is a calm person. He instills a calmness in everyone else and in me, who is very enthusiastic. I get a sense of calm from being close to him. I am incredibly happy that he won the shooting league as well and gets to shoot home the gold to Malmö.
Aiming for games in the Champions League
How do you see next season and qualifying for the Champions League?
– When we gather in January, it is easier for me to make demands on my surroundings, on my teammates. That we together make higher demands on ourselves in the playing squad. It shouldn’t just have to come from Henke (Rydström) and the physical trainers.
– I want to see that we continue to take steps where we can switch between playing with a three- or four-back line. Where we can choose to be more offensive or more defensive. We must run more, be more intense. We will threaten even more behind the backline. Be more solid away from home and also in the artificial grass matches, because it’s a different football then.
Are you worried that some players will disappear?
– It’s probably players like Taha (Ali) and Sebbe (Nanasi) who are interesting. I don’t feel like it’s time to let Taha go quite yet. He has an incredible amount more to prove before he is ready for the next step. He is at a high level, but we can get a lot more out of him.
– Sebbe also has further steps to take if we can keep him.
What does he cost?
– I have to call Brentford and ask… I don’t know, it’s difficult to evaluate.
What did it mean to lift the dent with AC (Anders Christiansen)?
– I’m really looking forward to playing with him. I don’t think people understand how good we can be next year. We have AC, we have Anton (Tinnerholm), we have Oliver (Berg). We may not sell any, but we will bring in even more. AC deserves all the love he gets.
Why did you lift the dent together?
– We have had a shared leadership. AC was captain until I arrived. It’s not like we’ve wrested the captain’s armband from him. He has been close to me throughout the journey. Now we’ll see what happens next year…
– But AC has been our captain and that’s how I’ve always seen it. Even when I’ve been abroad. AC is my captain and our captain.
– It was both of us and Malmö who thought we could lift the dent. It was completely natural.
What is it like to see FC Copenhagen’s success in the Champions League?
– We gathered the team at my house on Wednesday. We sat and watched FCK against United. I didn’t sit and be calm. I wasn’t happy. We don’t like FCK. When they do it well, it hurts a little. We have to knock them out next year.
Was the whole team there watching the game last Wednesday?
– No. Twelve, maybe. It was good actually. It is important, we are many new arrivals during the season. We did a lot of that at Brentford too, there’s too little of that in today’s football.
full screenCelebrating the gold with coach Henrik Rydström. Photo: Petter Arvidson / Bildbyrån
Do you feel that you are a good bunch, a good group?
– Great. And we’re just at the beginning of something. That’s how I see it. Those who entered are extremely ambitious. From Derek (Cornelius) to Busanello, Lasse (Berg Johnsen), Otto (Rosengren), (Sebastian) Jørgensen… these are good guys, all of them. We are not even close to our peak level.
– Now we can gather this winter with a calm. We are champions, we have something to build on, everything becomes so much easier then.
Condemns – but wants to see dialogue
Considering your supporter feelings: how do you see everything that happened around the stands?
– It’s nothing that I can stand behind. I don’t even think they can do it themselves. No matter what I say, it won’t change anything. That it is not good, everyone understands that. It’s clear that no one thinks so.
– I don’t have the answer to that to be honest. It is an important thing because there is so much that is beautiful about our grandstand culture. We have to work together on these dark sides, because it has escalated in recent years.
– I have told Malmö that dialogue is the best way. It won’t change over a week or over a meeting, it’s probably a longer process.
Where is the limit?
– Throwing a bengal at a police officer is of course unacceptable, throwing at another person… I think that bengals are something good. I grew up with that kind of grandstand culture. As long as it is used correctly.
– Bangers and all this other crap, same thing there. It may be controversial for me as a captain to say Bengals are fine, but what can I do. I grew up in that part of the stand.
The matches take forever. That can’t be good for you players?
– I had a chat with the team before what felt like the third half. It was sick when the fire alarm went off after we had warmed up for the second half. It is not good in terms of football, for us players, but also not for Swedish football and the culture of the stands.
Surely that will not be accepted, and then there will be repression instead?
– It is difficult to put it into words. Without them, the fans, there is no Swedish football, but neither can it be that they feel invincible, that everything is on their terms. Where do you draw that line? I don’t have that answer.
– But I wouldn’t have moved home if this hadn’t existed. I love Malmö FF, but then I would have come home a few years later. It’s a million dollar question that you ask.
Seven months have passed since Pontus Jansson decided to return home to MFF.
He had high status in a newly established Premier League club, a high salary and a fine starting position to sign a new contract in the world’s best league. Nevertheless, he chose to come home, to his people, his association, his city.
You gave up quite a bit of money for this?
– Yes. But a day like this is worth it.
Have there been periods when it hasn’t been?
– Oh, yes. When you lose, it’s not worth a piss. But this is a process, that’s how I see it. I’m not here to play a season and a half. I was popular when I came home, but I know how it works: If we hadn’t won, I wouldn’t have been worth so much. That is the charm of Malmö.
Pontus Jansson has won SM gold, he has lifted the dent, he has worn gold paint over half his body and swiped a pink recovery shake.
He is king of Malmö. It was all worth it.
full screen Photo: Andreas Hillergren
2023-11-13 07:11:10
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