Jonatan Lillebror Johansson (born 16 August 1975) is a Finnish

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

coach and former player. He is the manager of TPS. His main position was

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

, playing most notably for Rangers and

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...

. Johansson was also a regular in the Finland national team, earning a total of 106

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

Club career

Early career

Johansson was born in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, Sweden, and started his career in Finland with his hometown club Pargas IF. In 1995, he moved on to the

Veikkausliiga Veikkausliiga (; sv, Tipsligan) is the premier division of Finnish football, the highest tier of the Finnish football league structure, comprising the top 12 clubs of the country. Its main sponsor is the Finnish national betting agency Veikkau ...

club TPS Turku. In 1997, he transferred to

FC Flora Tallinn FC Flora, commonly known as Flora Tallinn, or simply as Flora, is a professional football club based in Tallinn, Estonia, that competes in the Meistriliiga, the top flight of Estonian football. The club's home ground is Lilleküla Stadium. Fo ...

, becoming the first Finnish player to move to an Estonian club. In 1997 he moved to Scotland to join Rangers for a transfer fee of £300,000. Johansson signed for newly promoted English

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

club

in the summer of 2000, for £3.5 million. He competed for a place up front with

Shaun Bartlett Shaun Bartlett (born 31 October 1972) is a South African professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the manager of Cape Town Spurs F.C., Cape Town Spurs. During his playing career, h ...

Kevin Lisbie Kevin Anthony Lisbie (born 17 October 1978) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. Born in London, he earned ten international caps for Jamaica. He is now a coach at Leyton Orient. Club career Charlton Athletic Born in Ha ...

and

Jason Euell Jason Joseph Euell (born 6 February 1977) is a former professional footballer who played as either a forward or a midfielder. He spent much of his career playing in the Premier League, with all but one season between 1995 and 2007 in the top f ...

. On 31 January 2006, having fallen out of contention at The Valley, Johansson was loaned to

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the En ...

side

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

as a replacement for

Dean Ashton Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

. He scored his first goal on 5 February to open an

East Anglian derby The East Anglian derby is a sobriquet used to describe football matches held between Norwich City and Ipswich Town, the only fully professional football clubs in the neighbouring East Anglian counties of Norfolk and Suffolk respectively. In rece ...

at home to

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

, a 2–1 loss. Johansson and fellow out-of-favour forwards Bartlett and

Francis Jeffers Francis Jeffers (born 25 January 1981) is an English football coach and former player, who is a first-team coach at Oldham Athletic. Jeffers started his career at his boyhood club Everton, making his debut in 1997 as a 16 year old. After scori ...

were released by Charlton in May 2006. In July he signed with Swedish club

Malmö FF Malmö Fotbollförening, commonly known as Malmö FF, Malmö, or MFF, is a professional football club and the most successful football club in Sweden in terms of trophies won. Formed in 1910 and affiliated with the Scania Football Association ...

until 2008.

Hibernian

On 13 November 2008, Johansson signed a pre-contract agreement with

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football' ...

side Hibernian.Johansson agrees Hibernian switch

BBC Sport BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC television, radio and online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadcasting the sport live or alongside flag ...

, 13 November 2008. He agreed an 18-month contract with Hibs, after his contract with Malmö FF expired. Johansson was unable to sign until 1 January due to the

transfer window A transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other playing staff into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA. "Transfer win ...

rules, but began training in December. He made his debut on 3 January 2009 against Hearts in the

Edinburgh derby The Edinburgh derby is an informal title given to any football match played between Scottish clubs Heart of Midlothian (Hearts) and Hibernian (Hibs), the two oldest professional clubs based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The two clubs have a fierce r ...

. Johansson scored his first goal seven months after signing at

East End Park East End Park, currently named KDM Group East End Park for sponsorship purposes, is a football stadium situated in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland with a seating capacity of . The stadium plays host to the home matches of Scottish Championship sid ...

against

Dunfermline Athletic Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently play in Scottish League One after being relegated from the 2021–22 Scottish Championship. Dunfermline ...

in a 4–0 friendly win, but he was expected to leave Hibernian due to the increased competition for places. His departure was confirmed on 1 September 2009.

St Johnstone

It only became apparent that Johansson had signed for St Johnstone on 27 October 2009 when he was named in the starting line-up for their

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...

quarter-final tie at home to

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...

. He had previously been training with the club to maintain his fitness ahead of Finland's international matches earlier in the month. Johansson signed a short-term contract until the new year. He scored a winning goal against Hearts on 21 November, which was his first competitive goal in Scotland for ten years, St Johnstone did not renew his short-term contract and Johansson left the club.

Greenock Morton Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish professional football club, which plays in the Scottish Championship. The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest senior Scottish clubs. Morton was renamed Green ...

and an unnamed German club made Johansson contract offers, but Johansson rejected Morton's offer.

Return to TPS

On 8 February 2010, Johansson returned to TPS Turku after spending 14 years abroad. He scored his first goal (a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

) in a Veikkausliga game against VPS Vaasa on 7 May. He also scored twice in the next match, against

Inter Turku Football Club International Turku, commonly referred to as Inter Turku and colloquially known as Inter, is a professional football club based in Turku, Finland, that competes in the Veikkausliiga, the top flight of Finnish Football. Founded in 1 ...

, in the city's

local derby Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States * Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...

. He also won the 2010 Finnish Cup, 2–0 against

HJK Helsinki Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi (), commonly known as HJK Helsinki, or simply as HJK, is a professional football club based in Helsinki, Finland. The club competes in the Finnish Veikkausliiga. Founded in 1907, the club has spent most of its history ...

in the final. He finished the season with 10 goals, being the club's second best goalscorer, only two goals behind

Roope Riski Roope Riski (born 16 August 1991) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a forward for HJK Helsinki. He is known as a clinical, well-positioned forward who can get into the right place at the right time. In the middle of the 2010 se ...

. Johansson announced his retirement from professional football on 23 March 2011.

International career

Johansson made his debut for the Finland national team on 16 March 1996 against

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

, scoring the game's only goal. He was a regular member of the Finland squad and earned his 100th cap in October 2009. Johansson made a total of 106 appearances for Finland and scored 22 goals. Only

Jari Litmanen Jari Olavi Litmanen (; born 20 February 1971) is a Finnish former footballer. He was the first-choice captain of the Finland national team between 1996 and 2008 in an international career that ran from 1989 to 2010. Litmanen is widely consider ...

has made more appearances for Finland than Johansson. As of October 2021, Johansson is fourth in goals scored for Finland, after

Teemu Pukki Teemu Eino Antero Pukki (born 29 March 1990) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a striker for EFL Championship club Norwich City and the Finland national team. Pukki began his career with KTP and made his debut on senior leve ...

, Litmanen and

Mikael Forssell Mikael Kaj Forssell (born 15 March 1981) is a Finnish former football striker. Forssell began his professional career in 1997 for HJK, having progressed through the team's youth teams, but he only remained at the club for a single season, mak ...

. After scoring the opening goal in a 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifying match against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, Johansson was the subject of verbal criticism by

Craig Bellamy Craig Douglas Bellamy (born 13 July 1979) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a forward and is current assistant manager at EFL Championship side Burnley. Born in Cardiff, Bellamy began his senior playing career with Norw ...

Coaching career

Johansson worked for

as their

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

coach in 2012. He moved to

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...

in August 2012 to coach their under-20 team. Johansson left Motherwell in July 2015 and was replaced by Stephen Craigan. In December 2016, he was appointed as an assistant coach to

Markku Kanerva Markku Tapio Kanerva (born 24 May 1964) is a Finnish football manager, former player and elementary school teacher. He is the current manager of the Finnish national team. Playing career Kanerva, who is known by the nickname ''"Rive"'', was bo ...

for the Finland national team. On 9 April 2017, he was announced as an assistant coach to Rangers manager

Pedro Caixinha Pedro Miguel Faria Caixinha (; born 15 November 1970) is a Portuguese professional football manager, currently in charge of Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Red Bull Bragantino. He started coaching in his late twenties, acting an assistant ...

. After starting work with Rangers, Johansson left his position with the Finland national team.

Morton manager

Johansson was appointed on a two-year contract as

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Scottish Championship The Scottish Championship, known as the cinch Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland Scotland (, ...

club

on 6 September 2018. His first match in charge ended in a 1–1 draw at

Tannadice Park Tannadice Park ( gd, Pàirc Thanachais), usually referred to as Tannadice, is a football stadium in Dundee, Scotland. It is the home ground of Dundee United F.C., who have played at Tannadice since the club was founded as Dundee Hibernian in ...

against

. Johansson left Morton at the end of the 2018–19 season, as the club decided not to exercise the option of retaining him for the second year of his contract.

TPS Turku manager

Johansson was appointed as new manager at TPS on 24 July 2020. He signed an initial two-year contract with the option of another year.

Personal life

Johansson married

Jean Anderson Jean Anderson (12 December 1907 – 1 April 2001) was an English actress best remembered for her television roles as hard-faced matriarch Mary Hammond in the BBC drama '' The Brothers'' (1972–1976) and as rebellious aristocrat Lady Jocelyn "J ...

, a Scottish television presenter who is from

Port Glasgow Port Glasgow ( gd, Port Ghlaschu, ) is the second-largest town in the Inverclyde council area of Scotland. The population according to the 1991 census for Port Glasgow was 19,426 persons and in the 2001 census was 16,617 persons. The most recen ...

, in June 2008.Hibs target former Rangers striker Jonatan Johansson
'' Daily Record''.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Finland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Johansson goal.''

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Johansson, Jonatan 1975 births Allsvenskan players Association football forwards Charlton Athletic F.C. players Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Estonia Expatriate footballers in Scotland FC Flora players FIFA Century Club Finland international footballers Finnish expatriate footballers Finnish expatriate sportspeople in England Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Finnish football managers Finnish footballers Finnish people of Swedish descent Greenock Morton F.C. managers Greenock Morton F.C. non-playing staff Hibernian F.C. players Living people Malmö FF players Meistriliiga players Motherwell F.C. non-playing staff Norwich City F.C. players Premier League players Rangers F.C. non-playing staff Rangers F.C. players Scottish Football League players Scottish Premier League players Scottish Professional Football League managers Footballers from Stockholm St Johnstone F.C. players Swedish-speaking Finns Turun Palloseura footballers Veikkausliiga players TPS Turku football managers Pargas Idrottsförening players