Jon Dahl Tomasson was outlining the pedigree he brings to Blackburn, and he didn’t must reference his standing as Denmark’s document scorer. Relatively, he was citing the managers who afforded him an elite training in his enjoying days. There was Carlo Ancelotti at AC Milan. “The very best crew on the earth at the moment,” he recalled. Ancelotti, he stated, was an skilled at managing downwards and upwards. “Maintaining the dressing room collectively, having management relating to the house owners at the moment with [Silvio] Berlusconi and [Adriano] Galliani.”
However there was one other Actual Madrid nice, Leo Beenhakker, for whom he performed at Feyenoord. His first stint in Rotterdam additionally included a few years beneath Bert van Marwijk, later to steer Holland to the World Cup closing. He performed for Denmark for a decade beneath the long-serving Morten Olsen.
He is likely one of the extra eclectic appointments in Blackburn’s historical past and his previous entails two of the good names from their previous. “Kenny and Shearer in ‘95, I believe they did fairly effectively,” he stated. But he could possibly be forgiven for having unhappier recollections of Blackburn’s Premier League title-winning supervisor and high scorer. Kenny Dalglish, he says, was “an actual gentleman.” However he encountered the Scot at Newcastle when Alan Shearer’s damage meant a younger Tomasson was pressed into emergency service as a goal man 1 / 4 of a century in the past. His targets had been rarities and he could be self-deprecating about his recollections of Ewood Park as a participant. “I used to be on the bench in all probability,” he smiled. The period nonetheless solid an impression. “All people is aware of Blackburn, an amazing membership with an amazing custom,” he stated.
However their final decade has featured extra seasons in League One than the Premier League. If Tomasson is tasked with ending their exile, it could bode effectively that Rovers’ favorite current managers – Dalglish, Graeme Souness, Mark Hughes – have all been equally high-level gamers, however it must be on a budget. “We are able to’t purchase gamers like the remainder of the golf equipment,” he stated. “However one factor we will do, and promise to do, is figure arduous and be higher at our jobs than our rivals.”
His team-mates on the San Siro had been of such a regular that they exerted a superiority over the remainder however Tomasson has settled into the position of the supervisor who maximises his sources. He had been Denmark’s assistant coach for 3 years throughout a positive spell that, after his departure, culminated of their excellence at Euro 2020. By then, he was managing Malmo. “After I arrived, the membership hadn’t gained something for 3 years so we did rather well to win two leagues and qualify for the Champions League,” he stated. The latter might have been the larger feat: it was solely the third time in 20 years {that a} Swedish membership had performed within the group phases. Malmo needed to navigate 4 rounds to get there, overcoming Rangers dwelling and away. “Mission unattainable which we made potential,” Tomasson stated.
Malmo had been duly crushed twice by Chelsea within the Champions League. They procured a solitary level and even that felt like overachievement. It was a lesson in soccer’s pecking order. “You could possibly say it’s like being within the schoolyard, being the little boy who’s allowed or who will get the chance to play with the larger boys,” Tomasson stated. “You wish to do it and also you need to however ultimately they’re simply larger.”
He may have been again in continental competitors once more this yr. Whereas Blackburn, who had hoped to tempt Daniel Farke and Carlos Carvalhal to Lancashire, forged their web far and extensive, Tomasson rejected a number of affords throughout his sabbatical. “I nearly signed with a membership that’s going to play in Europe,” he stated.
As an alternative, he has gone from Champions League to Championship by way of a sabbatical that took in stints learning golf equipment in England, Germany, Holland and Belgium. “It feels like I went to the seaside daily,” he stated however six months off was something however a relaxation. His job now could be to make sure Blackburn’s foundations usually are not laid in sand. “I’m a little bit of a builder and I like to create issues with my imaginative and prescient,” Tomasson stated. Rovers had a younger crew final season. It’s about to get youthful, with the highly-rated pair of Joe Rothwell and Darragh Lenihan leaving on free transfers. The smiling Tomasson has fortunately signed up for a troublesome process. “The followers, the gamers, they’re all the time dreaming about going as much as the Premier League,” he stated. “We’ll work with a intelligent thoughts.”
He’s Blackburn’s 39th everlasting supervisor however solely the second who was not English, Scottish or Irish. The one different exception, Henning Berg, lasted simply 57 days. A second Scandinavian argues he’s nearly a local. “I’ve been in six completely different international locations within the final 27 years so I believe I’m fairly versatile and might communicate to folks whether or not you’re English or not,” he stated. “There’s not a giant distinction between a Dane and an Englishman.”
He replaces Tony Mowbray, who lasted for greater than 5 years however who had additionally been the tenth incumbent in a decade. Few had joyful endings, not like Tomasson, who gained two titles with Malmo after which left on a excessive. “As a supervisor getting sacked is a part of the job, so it was good to exit the entrance door with a smile on my face and say ‘guys, it’s been wonderful,’” he stated. He should hope that, in the end, he can do likewise at Blackburn.
Kaynak: briturkish.com