Bonnyloyal
Well-Known Member
Former Gers hero JJ was the one who recommended Morelos to the Ibrox side when he was No 3 to Pedro Caixinha.
He had clapped eyes on the young Colombian playing for HJK Helsinki while he was assistant boss of the Finland national team.
Morelos has been a huge hit in terms of goals — but petulance and a rash streak have continued to dog his spell here.
Despite Steven Gerrard’s warnings before their game with Aberdeen, hot-head Morelos lashed out at Graeme Shinnie to cop his THIRD red card of the season.
He was already suspended for Sunday’s clash with Dundee after being booked in the win over Livingston and is now set for more time on the sidelines.
But, after seeing his deep desire for the game first-hand, and watching how much he has developed since arriving in Glasgow, Johansson believes Morelos will eventually screw the nut.
Now Morton boss, Johansson said: “Young players with a passion for football are like that. You can’t lose that totally.
“That is a good thing but it’s also something a player will learn to channel and deal with as they get older. Good players lose it every now and then. It shows their will to win. Alfredo had signs of that in Finland.
“You see the body language of players but when I scout players, if you show you care that’s good.
“Every player has things they need to work on. When stuff like this happens you have to learn from it. I’m sure the management team talk to him a lot and he will learn.
“I’ve seen a big change in his body shape this season. I’ve seen a change in he can play 90 without getting tired, too.
“He’s been fantastic late into games. You see him making long sprints and that’s down to the current regime.
“He’s a great kid and I really like his personality. He loves life and football.
“When you put him on a pitch, he wants to score goals and he’s a joy to work with.
“He can shoot with his left or right foot, he’s strong, he can be nasty and he’s quick.
“He knows how to push defenders around and his movement is good. For me, he is the main striker in Scotland.”
Johansson recalls taking his seat for a game at HJK’s Telia 5G Areena and being struck by the feisty forward with a strength that shrugged off defenders. He said: “It was towards the end of the season in Finland, September or October 2016.
“I went to see HJK in my assistant role with Finland to scout some of the Finnish players. I was a guest of their chief executive Aki Riihilahti, who I know well after we played together.
“Finnish football is slow and tactical. There’s no quick tempo and if you lose the ball you get back in position. It’s hard to compare and it’s really hard to scout there because of that. But Aki said Alfredo was better than normal.
“He’d had Teemu Pukki and said he was better than him, more robust. You could see he was totally different to Finnish players. He used his body really well.
“In Finland, he always had free-kicks given against him because the ref thought he was being over-aggressive, but it’s just that he was stronger than centre-halves.
“You could see his temperament and his work-rate wasn’t like a Finnish striker, who would run and run.
“But you could see his love and passion. He scored more or less every game. I saw him a few times during the winter, as well, indoors in the League Cup.
“So by the time I joined Rangers I had watched Alfredo quite a few times.
“At Rangers, we wanted a young player who would challenge the strikers and who we could develop.
“You can never predict how well someone will do but because I knew Scottish football and I’d played in Finland I was aware of the dangers.
“I’d seen a lot of Finnish players go to Scotland and not do well, then they’d go somewhere else and do well.
“Finland and Holland are compatible because it’s a similar type of tactical football. With him, I felt confident he’d do well in Scotland because he had that side and he could hold the ball up.
“He was one I mentioned straight away and Pedro asked me more about him. It also helped I knew he didn’t speak English.
“Aki had sent him to English schools but, because his wife spoke English really well, he never really learned.
“I knew there was the language problem but Pedro and his staff spoke Portuguese and Spanish perfectly, so I knew it was an easier one.
“Character is key, especially when you move cultures. His move to Finland from Colombia was a massive culture change. I knew he had that character.
“HJK is a selling club so they were quite happy for me to get all this information. It’s not always the case when you want a player
“I knew there was a get-out clause for a certain amount and HJK wanted to sell that summer. The wages he was coming on and the transfer fee were very non-risk, too.
“Sometimes you forget he’s still only 22. As a scout, a coach or manager, you feel responsible for players you have played a part in bringing in.
“It’s one thing throwing a name in the hat and doing the profiling, but after that it’s down to the player.
“He’s grabbed the chance with both hands. I hope he keeps it up.
He had clapped eyes on the young Colombian playing for HJK Helsinki while he was assistant boss of the Finland national team.
Morelos has been a huge hit in terms of goals — but petulance and a rash streak have continued to dog his spell here.
Despite Steven Gerrard’s warnings before their game with Aberdeen, hot-head Morelos lashed out at Graeme Shinnie to cop his THIRD red card of the season.
He was already suspended for Sunday’s clash with Dundee after being booked in the win over Livingston and is now set for more time on the sidelines.
But, after seeing his deep desire for the game first-hand, and watching how much he has developed since arriving in Glasgow, Johansson believes Morelos will eventually screw the nut.
Now Morton boss, Johansson said: “Young players with a passion for football are like that. You can’t lose that totally.
“That is a good thing but it’s also something a player will learn to channel and deal with as they get older. Good players lose it every now and then. It shows their will to win. Alfredo had signs of that in Finland.
“You see the body language of players but when I scout players, if you show you care that’s good.
“Every player has things they need to work on. When stuff like this happens you have to learn from it. I’m sure the management team talk to him a lot and he will learn.
“I’ve seen a big change in his body shape this season. I’ve seen a change in he can play 90 without getting tired, too.
“He’s been fantastic late into games. You see him making long sprints and that’s down to the current regime.
“He’s a great kid and I really like his personality. He loves life and football.
“When you put him on a pitch, he wants to score goals and he’s a joy to work with.
“He can shoot with his left or right foot, he’s strong, he can be nasty and he’s quick.
“He knows how to push defenders around and his movement is good. For me, he is the main striker in Scotland.”
Johansson recalls taking his seat for a game at HJK’s Telia 5G Areena and being struck by the feisty forward with a strength that shrugged off defenders. He said: “It was towards the end of the season in Finland, September or October 2016.
“I went to see HJK in my assistant role with Finland to scout some of the Finnish players. I was a guest of their chief executive Aki Riihilahti, who I know well after we played together.
“Finnish football is slow and tactical. There’s no quick tempo and if you lose the ball you get back in position. It’s hard to compare and it’s really hard to scout there because of that. But Aki said Alfredo was better than normal.
“He’d had Teemu Pukki and said he was better than him, more robust. You could see he was totally different to Finnish players. He used his body really well.
“In Finland, he always had free-kicks given against him because the ref thought he was being over-aggressive, but it’s just that he was stronger than centre-halves.
“You could see his temperament and his work-rate wasn’t like a Finnish striker, who would run and run.
“But you could see his love and passion. He scored more or less every game. I saw him a few times during the winter, as well, indoors in the League Cup.
“So by the time I joined Rangers I had watched Alfredo quite a few times.
“At Rangers, we wanted a young player who would challenge the strikers and who we could develop.
“You can never predict how well someone will do but because I knew Scottish football and I’d played in Finland I was aware of the dangers.
“I’d seen a lot of Finnish players go to Scotland and not do well, then they’d go somewhere else and do well.
“Finland and Holland are compatible because it’s a similar type of tactical football. With him, I felt confident he’d do well in Scotland because he had that side and he could hold the ball up.
“He was one I mentioned straight away and Pedro asked me more about him. It also helped I knew he didn’t speak English.
“Aki had sent him to English schools but, because his wife spoke English really well, he never really learned.
“I knew there was the language problem but Pedro and his staff spoke Portuguese and Spanish perfectly, so I knew it was an easier one.
“Character is key, especially when you move cultures. His move to Finland from Colombia was a massive culture change. I knew he had that character.
“HJK is a selling club so they were quite happy for me to get all this information. It’s not always the case when you want a player
“I knew there was a get-out clause for a certain amount and HJK wanted to sell that summer. The wages he was coming on and the transfer fee were very non-risk, too.
“Sometimes you forget he’s still only 22. As a scout, a coach or manager, you feel responsible for players you have played a part in bringing in.
“It’s one thing throwing a name in the hat and doing the profiling, but after that it’s down to the player.
“He’s grabbed the chance with both hands. I hope he keeps it up.
