AIK is looking for a new head coach and has already interviewed a number of candidates.
Who would be a better fit in AIK today?
Andreas Pain, of course. It’s actually exactly what the club needs right now.
Last Saturday I turned on the TV to see Andreas Zakat Odense vs UEFA Champions League FC Copenhagen. Judging by the reports from Denmark, it was only a matter of time before the pressured Alam was sent off, as Odense had a difficult start to the season and was knocked out of the cup against first-division team Nyköping FC last week. I was expecting a game where Odense would be pushed back and play somewhat cynical football.
This was not the case. Admittedly, FC Copenhagen took a 1-0 lead through Victor Claesson, but Odense continued to press hard, playing superb attacking football, with Armen Djegovic being really sharp.
It was also a 2-1 victory for Odense and could breathe a sigh of pain. At least temporarily. Club manager Björn Westström is said to give him continued confidence after that. At least for longer.
Meanwhile, AIK lost 2-0 to Varberg on Sunday, in a match players and fans would prefer to forget. No shadow should fall on Henok Goitom here. He would be a great coach no matter what. But it was brought up a little too quickly at a very high level. He felt good about having a mentor by his side. And that’s where I think Andreas Allm would fit right in.
Well, I also know what the last time at AIK under Alm looked like. It was a steady, ironic, boring soccer ball with long balls and boos and surrenders (surprise) reverberating loudly above the friends. It becomes easy when the same coach stays at the same club for more than five years. Very uncommon in modern AIK, only Roffe Zetterlund has remained in his position longer than Alm. SM’s gold as a coach was also missing. It was a “pain” at the time and then there he encountered AIK. He made it to the end of the road, despite the fact that he lined up at the top, not least, was an important part of investing in young players. which later led to the sale of Robin Quaison and Alexander Isak. But for 2016, the requirements were very stringent, and only gold counted. Then the opening with 12 points in eight games was not enough.
In the end, athletic director Bjorn Westström had to dismiss Pain. It was a farce when Pain held his last training session without receiving an official notice that he was fired. While it has already been written that Rickard Norling will take over as the new coach and details of the new AIK coach’s contract have been revealed.
So that was about six years ago.
Since then, Alam made a short stay at Vejle before leaving the club and later taking over BK Häcken. There he won the Swedish Cup before leading the high-stakes team to last place in Allsvenskan and where he avoided the sack when he was bought by Danish Odense in June 2021. In Denmark he was fine the first time, but he started the season in fiasco, but as he has now saved with three wins in The last four matches of the league match.
Mastering talent production
For now, I’d say he’s the trainer that fits him like a glove in AIK. It was Alam who developed talents such as Alexandre Isaacs and Robin Quassion. Without pain, there are neither 90 million sales of Dortmund nor an equally successful investment along the Blue Line. Elam is a master in highlighting and developing young talents, which is highly valued by the current AIK Board. Pain also knows what pressure AIK training means. No starting distance is needed here. He knows the genes of the club, with all that it means from communication with fans to everyday life in Karlberg. Judging by the way Odense players, he has also developed his tactical mind and now wants to play more attacking and faster football.
He has also amassed international experience and has already proven himself a winner. A trophy title with BK Häcken doesn’t sound quite as loud as SM Gold, but it’s still a huge achievement. In addition, he finished first after first in AIK during his five years as head coach at the club with a much lower budget than Rikard Norling and Bartosz Grzelak had.
Budget signatures only
Many say that Alam has been fired or left at the clubs he has been working for since he came to AIK. Yes, but f? Find out what the world of football looks like right now. Last week we got proof that it’s a little crazy that Thomas Tuchel has to leave Chelsea, despite the Champions League title in late May 2021. And here at Allsvenskan, Malmö FF, Gif Sundsvall, AIK and Helsingborgs IF have only dismissed their coaches this season. . Patience is decreasing more and more, and the fact that the coach has been fired several times should not say anything about how good he is.
No, for me “Pain” is the best option for AIK right now. Besides the above arguments, he knows Henok Goitom well. Personally, I don’t want to sit in the same place too far and talk about football, tactics and analysis with the duo, it just got too weird for my taste. But I think their spherical brains would fit right in with this version of AIK. Especially now that the club has a thriving economy and a good core of players to rely on.
Then if Odense agrees to his release or if the board of directors of the AIK and the Sports Administration agree with me, that is a different matter entirely.
