Jonatan Johansson (footballer)

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Jonatan Johansson (footballer) bigraphy, stories - footballer

Jonatan Johansson (footballer) : biography

16 August 1975 –

Jonatan Lillebror Johansson (born 16 August 1975 in Stockholm, Sweden) is a retired Finnish footballer. He last played for TPS in Finnish Veikkausliiga. His main position was a striker, playing most notably for Rangers and Charlton Athletic. Johansson was also a regular in the Finnish national team, earning a total of 106 caps.

He is currently a youth coach at Motherwell.

Club career

Early career

Johansson was born in Stockholm, Sweden, and started his career in Finland in his hometown club Pargas IF. In 1995 he moved on to the Veikkausliiga club TPS Turku. He went on to score six goals in 32 league appearances in his first season and was chosen to play in the Finland Under-21 team. In 1997 he transferred to FC Flora Tallinn, becoming the first Finnish player to move to an Estonian club. During this time he broke into the senior Finland team – his blond, curly locks earned him the nickname ‘Tintti’ (Tintin) with national team supporters.

Rangers

He subsequently made a move to Scotland to join top Scottish club Rangers for £500,000 the same year but found it difficult to get into manager Walter Smith’s side. A change of boss, with Dutchman Dick Advocaat coming in, gave him more chances and he responded by scoring 17 goals in the 1998/99 season, including eight in the Scottish Premier League and five in the UEFA Cup. He scored seven goals the following term, taking his overall tally to 24 in just 37 starts, plus 38 substitute appearances. In his time at the club he was part of the squad that won the domestic treble and double in Advocaat’s first two seasons.

Charlton Athletic

Johansson signed for English Premier League club Charlton in the summer of 2000 as Alan Curbishley sought to strengthen his forward-line for the club’s return to the Premier League. Charlton paid £3.25 million for the striker with a further £250,000 owed if Johansson made 25 appearances and Charlton avoided relegation. Johansson scored 14 goals in his first season for Charlton even with an injury in the end of the season. He was never able to repeat this form in later seasons, and subsequently had to settle for role as a squad player.

Loan to Norwich City

Johansson moved to Norwich on loan for the rest of the season in the January 2006 transfer window wanting more chances for first team football and was officially released by Charlton at the end of the season. He started his tenure at Norwich promisingly, netting against Ipswich, Derby and Stoke.

Malmö

In July 2006 he signed with Swedish club Malmö FF for a transfer fee of €1.1 million, where he played alongside fellow Finn Jari Litmanen. He proved to be an instant success at the Swedish club. During his first season he scored 11 goals in 14 matches, creating a dangerous offensive line with teammate Júnior.

Hibernian

On 13 November 2008, Johansson signed a pre-contract agreement with Scottish Premier League side Hibernian., BBC Sport, 13 November 2008. He agreed an 18 month contract with Hibs, after his contract with Malmö FF expired at the end of the 2008 summer season in Sweden. Johansson was unable to sign for Hibs until 1 January due to the transfer window rules, but he began training with the Hibs squad in December 2008.Johnstone, Darren., Edinburgh Evening News, 17 December 2008. He made his debut on 3 January 2009 against Hearts in the Edinburgh derby. Johansson scored his first goal for Hibs seven months after signing at East End Park against Dunfermline in a 4–0 friendly win, but he was expected to leave Hibernian due to the increased competition for places., scotsman.com, 24 August 2009. His departure was confirmed on 1 September 2009., Hibernian FC official site, 1 September 2009.

St. Johnstone

It only became apparent that Johansson had signed for St. Johnstone on 27 October 2009 when he was named in the starting line-up for their Scottish League Cup quarter-final tie at home to Dundee United. He had previously been training with the club to maintain his fitness ahead of Finland’s international matches earlier in the month. Johnasson has signed a short term contract which runs until January 2010. Johansson scored a winning goal for St. Johnstone against Hearts on 21 November 2009, which was his first competitive goal in Scotland for ten years, when he was with Rangers. St. Johnstone did not renew his short term contract and Johansson left the club.