Varberg. Two passes from Hussein Karnell, 19.
Three zeros in a row for centre-back Johan Bangspo, 19.
After a 4-0 against Varberg, the young talent duo at Blåvitt were praised.
– They are very talented. They dare a lot, that’s okay, says Marcus Berg, 35.
He is not far from being as old as the two young dioceses all together. But the age difference doesn’t seem to matter on the pitch, Hussein Karnell and Yohan Bangspo have found their way to IFK Gothenburg that is now flying forward.
With Simon Tern injured in the long run, Carnell had to step in more centrally on the field against Varberg, a role he is happy to continue.
– This is where I see myself playing in a few years. And now, when Simon is gone. I’ve played as a number ten before, and only in recent years have I moved to the winger. But I like to play centrally, then I can go right and left and it becomes easier to cover areas and hit balls where the boys want them and where it gets dangerous.
I paid for Varberg. Having scored his first goal against IFK Norrköping last time, he has now played with Marcus Berg (1-0) and Gustav Norlin (3-0).
– exactly. This is where I want to play, he says with a smile.
Three games, no goals conceded
Berg’s 1-0 goal was also the fruit of a collaboration that had been forged over a long period of time. Center back Yohan Bangbo ran into the field and played forward to Karnell, who passed the ball to Berg.
Young players find each other well.
– It’s good to play with Hussein, he often stands between the back line and midfield, and I’m looking for him. We played a lot with each other at U17 and U19, and that’s where the chemistry took us.
He held a regular spot and played from the start three games in a row, since veteran Matthias Pearsmeier was relegated to the bench. Three games, no goals were received.
– Yes, I guess you could say it’s a hack for me? I hope to play more.
It’s hard to prove what the duo means to IFK Göteborg of course, but veterans love what they see.
It will be a good combination of experience, youth energy and drive. I think in the last few games we have found something that suits us well. We can rely on our experience, while at the same time we can provide us with youthful energy when needed, says Gustav Svensson.
“It’s a nice feeling”
Marcus Berg has seen many accomplishments during his career and knows what to expect:
– They work well. Then it comes to continuing to work hard and perform. It will go up and down for them, you know that. They’ve played some good games now, and now it’s important to continue like this this week. But we will support them and push them further. But I think they are incredibly talented and keep going every day. You feel good.
A few thousand Blåvitt fans praised their favorite team after the match, and sang SM Gold during the match. Gustav Svensson chose to keep expectations low.
– It feels nice, at the same time we didn’t say we’re going to SM gold, it’s incredibly far away. What we must try to maintain is the self-confidence that makes us dare to play better. Keep winning matches, then confidence comes and then comes the match and after that we keep winning matches, he says.
With 13 games remaining, Blåvitt now overtakes Malmö FF and is five points behind league leaders Häcken in fifth. A situation you are far from used to being in.
Marcus Berg:
It’s a fairly even streak this year and a lot of teams have a chance. We’re not exactly the favorites among the teams out there. But as long as we can be there and show what we want, I think we’ll have a chance to stay there for a while. To be honest, we haven’t done very well for a long time, so I’m a little surprised we were there. But we believe in it and do our best, but of course it takes a lot to survive until the end. It’s something we’ll be working on now every week.
