PONTUS JANSSON is a natural leader of men.
Such qualities have always come easily to Brentford’s captain but the 6ft 4 in Swede is also used to looking up to other mavericks like him.
Pontus Jansson is a natural leader which is why he was made Brentford captain by Thomas FrankCredit: Getty Images – Getty
The Swede was a Leeds cult hero at Elland RoadCredit: PA:Press Association
Pontus Jansson sat down for an exclusive interview with SunSport
Jansson, 28, became a Leeds cult hero during his 2016-19 Elland Road stint but his antics were often overshadowed by his eccentric gaffer Marcelo Bielsa.
He also played alongside Zlatan Ibrahimovic for Sweden so is no stranger to single minded characters.
But after a sudden and “sad” Leeds departure in the summer, the centre-back was forced to swiftly adapt to a new boss in the shape of Bees head coach Thomas Frank.
Frank’s flowing locks, excellent English and suave laid back demeanour are in stark contrast to the scruffy, intense image of Bielsa who barely speaks a word of the Queen’s despite nearly a year and a half in Yorkshire.
But despite seemingly opposite personalities, Jansson sees surprising similarities between the two.
‘MENTAL’
Speaking exclusively to SunSport, he said: “Marcelo is MENTAL in everything that he sees about football.
“As people they are different because Marcelo does not want to have that close relationship with his players.
“One reason is the language barrier because he doesn’t speak English very well.
“But with the name Marcelo Bielsa you get so much for free and as a player you just have to show him respect.
“If a team were not getting results, and it was a new coach coming in that didn’t want to talk to anyone it would put him in a tough position.
“But with Bielsa, with what he has achieved and how big he is, you just have to accept it and do everything he says. You can’t go against him.
“But with me and Thomas we speak so much about football and I like that.
“With Thomas, I’m captain so our relationship is even closer than the other players have with him.
“He also likes the tactical perspective of the game and Brentford work with statistics and numbers and he takes that into his plans and into his football ideas.
“On the pitch, football and tactic wise, I think they’re quite similar but as people they are quite different.”
Jansson is hoping to return from a groin injury to play against Cardiff on Wednesday nightCredit: Rex Features
‘GOD-LIKE’
And having worked under both, Jansson is clear which style he prefers and said: “I would say I prefer a coach you can talk with. You don’t have to be able to talk about life in general but just football.
“You could do that with Marcelo but not as much because he’s God and he knows everything so you just have to listen.
“I learned so much from Marcelo, it’s just unbelievable how he sees football.”
Having signed for an undisclosed fee believed to be around £5million last summer, Jansson was swiftly made captain by fellow Scandinavian Frank who has shown utmost faith in him since.
Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday was the first of the Bees’ 20 Championship games Jansson has missed this season.
But – after a positive training session on Monday – the Swede is confident the groin injury that kept him out against the Owls will not stop him from lining up against fellow play-off candidates Cardiff at Griffin Park Wednesday night.
Ninth place Brentford face Fulham, West Brom and Swansea after the Welsh side visit but Jansson – who wants to be pushing for promotion this season relishes such games.
He said: “They’re tough games but it’s a good test for us.
“But playing teams like Cardiff is good for us because when teams come and try to play football against us, they give us space which lesser teams don’t and I think that suits us.
Jansson gave an insight into life under Bielsa and Frank is an exclusive interview with SunSport
“We are good against lower teams – Luton at home we won 7-0 – but we are also good in the physical games because we work hard, are solid in defence and have three magic players up front who can score from nothing.
“We have everything so it’s a nice thing to play against good teams like Cardiff.
“It’s three tough games coming up so if we can get some good results from them it’s going to give us so much energy and confidence for the rest of the season.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
