Sounders defender Adam Johansson visits Swedish Cultural Center
Mon, 06/11/2012
By Christopher Duclos, Sports Intern.
Sounders defender Adam Johansson made a special appearance at the Swedish Cultural Center on Friday evening to meet fans and share his background and journey to the Sounders team here in Seattle.
Born in Gothenburg Sweden, Adam Johansson has played in Sweden's top league for seven seasons and has made nine Swedish national team appearances.
Johansson joined the Sounders at the beginning of the 2012 season to replace former Seattle Sounder James Riley.
A BNT reporter was on scene on Friday to ask the Swedish National some questions.
- BNT: Tell me about your experience so far in Seattle. What are some of your current impressions on Seattle and Major League Soccer in general?
Adam Johansson: I've been here for four months now and I think we have a really good team here. I'm really pleased to be part of the team and I hope we win the league this year - I know that is something the team and the fans really want to do. So I'm hoping for a good season. We started off better this year better than any other year and hopefully the team can continue that success into the rest of the season.
-BNT: Do you spend much time around Seattle? Do you have any favorite places or parts of the city?
AJ: No, there have been so many practices and so many games I have not gotten the chance to explore Seattle. This is my only three days off in a row and I'm hoping to maybe explore the city and the surrounding areas in the next couple of days. I think Leschi - the part of Seattle where I live - is really nice and I like it a lot.
- BNT: How was the transition from European League to American Major League Soccer (MLS)?
AJ: When you come from Europe, you don't see very many MLS games. A lot of people in Europe have negative thoughts about the league and about soccer in America. Even I had a little bit of a negative view point before I came here but I must say that I have changed my opinion. I think the league is a lot better than I thought it would be. The MLS has some very good, very smart and technical players from South America as well as some very skillful players from the US as well.
- BNT: How is your injury? When can we expect you back on the field?
AJ: I hope I can be back in a couple of weeks. I have been limited at practice but I feel that I am recovering just fine. We have a game next saturday (June 16th) against Montreal and it bodes really well that I might be able to play but I am not really sure. There are a lot of games coming up and I don't want to risk anything to get back.
- BNT: Every athlete has a pregame routine to get their mind right for the competition. What's yours?
AJ: I used to listen to Swedish music for about 5 to 10 minutes before going out for warm ups. Now I like to just sit on my own for about 10 minutes and try to focus on what I am going to do in the game.
- BNT: If you can say one thing to the fans right now what would it be?
AJ: The support from the fans is one reason I came to Seattle. I just want to say I think the fans here are amazing. Even if we are not playing that well or if we aren't scoring many goals I think they're always behind us and are always very positive.