You could say that CF Montreal forward Bjørn Johnsen is a nomad, but it’s not by choice, it just happened like that.
At 29, Johnsen has already played for a dozen teams in eight different countries, but he’s anything but a mercenary.
“My background is different, but it’s probably the best I could have had,” he agreed in a recent phone interview.
“It just kind of happened that I play all over the place. Each new team I played on was going well, so I was approached by another team. “
And one can easily believe it since it does not appear to be a problem case. Johnsen is affable, sympathetic, and looks on the bright side of life. During the interview, telephone problems forced several calls to conclude the interview and he remained patient and kind for almost 45 minutes.
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Three continents
Although he was born in New York and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina, Johnsen began his career in Norway, the homeland of his father.
“It was going well in Norway, but I didn’t always play on the first team, I wanted to find a way to play. “
He therefore adopted the approach DIY, which we see a lot in independent music. This is the method Do It Yourself, where you do everything yourself.
“I made a video on YouTube and sent the link to a lot of teams and that’s how I got a place in Spain. “
He is therefore leaving FK Tønsberg for Antequera CF, a fourth division team which will lead him to the third division within Atlético Baleares.
Lift-off
However, it was when he arrived in Portugal in 2013 that things really took off for him.
He has had 10- and 16-goal seasons with Louletano DC and Atlético CP, but he longs for more.
“Things really clicked in Portugal and there I started getting calls. When I couldn’t join the Premier League there, I got an offer in Bulgaria.
“It might not be the best country to live in, but I played in the Premier League and in the Europe League.”
He will then go to Scotland to play for the legendary Heart of Midlothian club for one season and then head to the Netherlands, where he will spend three seasons with different clubs.
He then took the road to South Korea, but the pandemic did not help, the experience was less interesting, which led him to return to North America, when CF Montreal was watching him.
Photo courtesy, Melissa Tamez
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Polyglot
Johnsen is a man who easily adapts to a new environment. The proof: in addition to speaking English and Norwegian, he also learned Spanish and Portuguese.
“In Spain, I didn’t speak much Spanish, but nobody spoke English. I learned this in training by asking my teammates questions.
“Portuguese was a little easier due to my Spanish experience even though they are two very different languages, but I also quickly realized that the Portuguese almost all speak Spanish, but they don’t want foreigners to know it He laughs.
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Choc
Throughout his professional adventures, Bjørn Johnsen has experienced some cultural shocks.
“The biggest shock was in Korea because it’s Asia and everything is different. Just finding a restaurant was a challenge.
“Bulgaria was a big culture shock. I was leaving the Western world for Eastern Europe while Great Britain and the Netherlands it was a bit similar to what I knew. “
But this stint in Bulgaria had a permanent impact on his personal life, which was transformed by a training camp on Spain’s Costa del Sol.
“It was when I went to training camp in Marbella with my Bulgarian team that I met my wife,” he says.
They have since welcomed their first child over the winter. Like what being a frequent traveler can have unsuspected repercussions.
Strong Norwegian identity
Yet he was born and raised in the United States
When you hear about Bjørn Johnsen, you immediately think he’s American, and he is. But if we ask him where he comes from, he is more likely to say that he is Norwegian.
Mingling? Not that much. But let’s leave it to him to explain all that to us.
“My dad came to New York with $ 1,000 in his pocket, got a job, met my mom, and I got there. “
This is the short version, but we’ll explore the long version as well. Let us know all the same that his father, in addition to being a model, was also an accomplished athlete.
He was a karate and taekwondo champion in Norway, in addition to playing third division soccer.
“My father is the classic Norwegian, a very tall blond,” laughs Johnsen, who inherited the size of the father with his 6’5 ”.
In the south
If Bjørn Johnsen’s story begins in New York City, it moves to South Carolina when he is five because the family moved to Raleigh.
This is where he began to play soccer … and hockey. He’s pretty good at both sports and ultimately he has to choose.
“When I was 13 or 14, my father made me choose a sport. I was very good at hockey and soccer, but I think I was better at soccer. “
He is still a fan of hockey and the Carolina Hurricanes.
“I was at the Canes games when they won the Stanley Cup,” he recalls.
All immigrants
Even though there is a small Norwegian and Scandinavian community that has grafted itself around the Johnsen family, Bjørn admits that the family residence stood out a bit in his neighborhood.
“I was the only person in the neighborhood with a Norwegian flag in front of the house. “
He also emphasizes that, for him, it makes sense to celebrate his ancestral culture.
“All the people in the United States come from elsewhere so it’s important to embrace that culture. “
At home
We imagine the southern United States to be fairly homogeneous, but this is not the case for the Raleigh-Durham region, a technological center.
“In the North Carolina soccer community, there is a lot of cultural diversity. “
But back to his attachment to Norwegian culture. If he’s so strong, it’s because his father made sure he kissed him.
“Every year I went to Norway for Christmas. I spoke a little Norwegian and I was learning.
“When I was 16, my father allowed me to go do a school year there where I stayed with my grandmother, my aunt and my uncle. “
Beginnings
It is precisely in Norway that he realizes that he may have good potential.
“I had the chance to play for a team from Oslo and that’s when I realized I could become a professional soccer player.
“When I finished high school, I took a course at UNC [University of North Carolina], but I have been for testing in Norway. The plan was to go back to college if it didn’t work out. “
He never looked back afterwards and made his professional debut in his fatherland in addition to having a tryout with the club his father had played for.
“The first time, I think I was a little naive, I found that normal. “
What’s more, in sporting terms, he has Norwegian nationality, having worn the colors of the men’s team 16 times since 2017. Unfortunately for him, the Scandinavian nation did not qualify for the Euro.
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