Coach of the Black Queens, Kim Lars Bjorkegren, has expressed his excitement to build on the team's momentum and establish them as one of the top teams in Africa.
With 18 years of coaching experience under his belt, having managed teams in Sweden, China, and the United States, Bjorkegren is confident that his appointment is timely and aims to cultivate a team with the right mentality and belief.
Read on for the transcript:
On first impressions
I mean, so far, so good. I've already met a lot of really good people, friendly people. I'm looking forward to be a part of Ghana, part of the culture, and of course to work with the players and start to work hard with them to achieve the desired result.
On coaching in Africa
Yeah, of course, it will be my first time to work in Africa, but I worked with many African players before. And for example, when I worked previously in the US, we actually had people from more or less all the continents in the world. So I think that's something that was really fun to get to know people from different places in the world. I mean, in the US, we had players from Australia, New Zealand, China, Nigeria, South Africa, Brazil, USA, Europe, a little bit everywhere. And I think that was an amazing time off the pitch as well to learn and grow as a human.
On ways to improve the team
Yeah, of course, I want this team to improve and I think the potential here in Ghana is huge. If you look right now in the first team, there's a good mix between some players with experience, but there is for sure a lot of young players coming up right now. Already in the short term, I think the team is ready to fight and win most of the games. But I think over the long term, like I said, the potential is huge here in Ghana. If you're watching, the players are 16, 17, 18 years old. They are really, really talented. So I think to change a little bit like the momentum that have been with this mission Volta for example, to keep building and hopefully we will see a Ghana team with a better ranking than 66 in the future because I think the people here deserve a better team and I know that they can do it. Like I said, the potential is great already now but in the future it will be even better.
On getting to know the team
Yeah I know some of the players since, but of course it's a challenge now in the start to get to know all the people as soon as possible. I want to start to travel and visit them in their club teams and to get to know them off the pitch but also learn their skills on the pitch as well. So step by step it will be better and better when I get to know them and I'm looking forward to it.
On upcoming friendlies and approach
Yeah, of course it will be to jump into the deep water. The first thing to play is to play against Morocco after like just a couple of training sessions. What I can do before that is probably not so much to be honest. But I want the team to believe in themselves. I also want us to be a little bit more aggressive both with and without the ball, to press a little bit harder and to attack quicker. But also to keep the DNA in the Ghana football, to play beautiful football, keep the ball on the ground and things like that. So, I've mixed it to keep the good things that have been done so far, but also add some new things that I think can help the team in the future.
On meeting the Technical team and Technical Director
I mean, there are things that you discuss before a job like this, of course. But I'm feeling that we are on the same page and we all think that there are so many talented players, like I said, here in Ghana. So I think the team can improve. We know when it comes to football and humans. It sometimes takes a little bit of time. But I think over long term, we will see a really good team here from Ghana.
On how difficult or easy it was accepting this job
I think in the end it was easy, actually. Of course, there were always things to discuss, but in the end it was easy. I think this will be a great challenge for me. I've been helping a couple of national teams with scouting and analysis and so I'm really looking forward to work hard, like I said, and help this team. I have had a very good first meeting with the Technical team and I'm looking forward to meet them now again in Morocco and to get to know them even better.
On need for players to believe
Yeah, I mean, of course we need to believe. If we don't think we can win the tournament in the summer, for example, there is no way we will do that. Of course, if you ask someone outside of Ghana, they will say they have other favorites to win the tournament, but we need to believe in it. And we need to do that as a group. That means the staff have to work really hard together, support each other, and even more important, the players. And that job will start now in the first camp. Like I said, there are things we can do on the pitch, but also off the pitch and build that momentum as a group.
On Ghana playing at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations for the first time since 2018
If you want to be negative, you can see that if you're looking at the FIFA ranking, you can see that the team have been moving in the wrong direction for, 20 years maybe or something like that. And I think the quality in the team is better than where are placed on the FIFA ranking. So I think for sure that we will be better and better. There are so many talented players so I think they will grow and improve a lot, like in the future, for sure.
On short to long term goal as the new coach
I mean, as a coach, you always live with your results. And that's the fun part, but also sometimes the difficult part, like I said. I think there are things you can control and there are other things you can't control. And it's the same in a football game. Sometimes you're having a bad day, but you just need to make sure that it's not happening in the tournament. If someone is having an injury or a red card or something like that, there are things that you maybe can't always control. But we need to make sure that we are ready and prepared when the tournament starts, that we are talking about different scenarios. We know the opponent very well. We have done our scouting work and everything. So the preparation has already started. And we will do everything we can to make a great tournament in the summer. But we also need to remember to live today and take care of every day until that tournament. And what happens in Morocco in the summer, we don't know yet. But we need to believe in ourselves and do our best.
On Charles Sampson and what he brings on board as an assistant coach
I mean, it's great, of course, like he has been a good player by himself. And he also knows how important he is to the team as he works to make my job a little bit easier because he is almost half Swedish now. He has lived there for a while. And he can also help me with some problems, especially when things pop up since I am now in a new country.
On domestic football getting the best out of the players
I mean, I watched everything that is possible to watch. I mean all the games that I can find. And I mean, I watched like all the players that are playing abroad and things like that as well. But with that said, there is like so many things. I need to see more of, like, especially here in Ghana, to travel around and watch the league and meet people and the players, for sure. On the pitch, there's so many, like, technical good players. Of course, there are things that I think that we can do better. Otherwise, there's no reason to have me here as a coach. So I think, like I said, I think there are players that are really skillful, for example, in the attack, let's use them a little bit more. Let them believe in themselves to take the ball forward to attack and use the creative ability to dribble, create chances, hopefully score more goals and we win more games. But we need to put the players in those kinds of positions so they can do that more often. So that would be a part of my job when it comes to the tactical aspect, for example.
On dealing with pressure from football fans
I have been a head coach for over like 18 years. I've been coaching a little bit like in many different countries. And I know that people will look at the last result and that's how good I am. If we win, people will think that I'm a really good coach, if we lose the opposite. That's how it is. And I think I don't see that as something that is negative. I love that fact that people here are so much interested in the outcome of football games. I know how demanding the people are, and it shows that they have passion for the football, for this beautiful game. It shows that they are interested in the play and how it goes for the women's team here as well. So I'm okay with that. And as long as we improve and I know that we're doing the right thing, I will just work hard and try my best.
On expectations
I think pressure is part of the game and it shows how much the people here love the team and are interested in the football. They really want to believe in the players, in the team and everything. History is a part of that as well. So I think from now, for me, our job is to be focused and do the best thing for every day from now. And the history is what it is. And now we need to make a new history and a good one for that matter.
GFA COMMUNICATIONS