Name: Åke Johansson
Nickname: "Bajdoff"
Country:
Sweden
Club: IFK Norrköping
Position: *
SWP,
CBNumber:
5Side: RF/BS
Age: 26-32 years (19/03/1928)
Height: * 178 cm
Weight: * 73 kg
Attack:
58Defence:
89Balance:
83Stamina:
79Top Speed:
76Acceleration:
72Response:
87Agility:
76Dribble Accuracy:
76Dribble Speed:
71Short Pass Accuracy:
76Short Pass Speed:
73Long Pass Accuracy:
75Long Pass Speed:
73Shot Accuracy:
60Shot Power:
81Shot Technique:
62Free Kick Accuracy:
58Curling:
63Header:
83Jump:
84Technique:
77Aggression:
58Mentality:
87Keeper Skills:
50Team Work:
81Injury Tolerance:
BCondition:
6Weak Foot Accuracy:
5Weak Foot Frequency:
4Consistency:
7Growth Type:
Standard LastingCARDS:S07 Man Marking
S08 Slide Tackle
S09 Covering
S10 DF Leader
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Sliding <> Covering <> Marking <> D Line Control
Attack/Defence Awareness Card: Defence Minded
INFO:Åke Johansson was one of the first and best sweepers in Europe at his time. Bajdoff was natural leader and captain, had excellent sense of anticipating, vision and elegancy. He was also very good tackler and strong in aerial battles, he played ice hockey as well. He had an extremely elegant playing style, sliding tackles were his trademark, was good in the heading game and not least the vision for the game made him dominant on the field. Maybe not the fastest player we've seen but his placement ability compensated for any shortcomings. According to Åke himself, it was from his club friend and all-round player Knut Nordahl that he learned to tackle. "Bajdoff" Johansson played center half in IFK Norrköping in the club of 50 - and 60's. During 16 years in Norrköping was a total of 321 matches, which is still club record. When "Julle" Gustavsson turned pro in Atalanta stepped "Bajdoff" as the central figure in Norrköping defense. Under "Bajdoffs' management took the club six national championships: 1952, 1956, 1957, 1960, 1962, 1963. If he played on WC 1958, the final score and champion would have been different. Even Garrincha said he was one of his toughest opponents but unfortunately he broke the leg in year before the world cup and despite recovering on time he was controversially not called for the finals.
Quote:
Åke Johansson is regarded as one of Sweden's best defense players of all time. He personified the player with No. 5 on his back. The defender who had his own half as his area of responsibility. We know him for his elegant playing style, sliding tackles, safe heading and not least for his viion for the game that often made him outstanding on the pitch. He was the obvious leader and natural team captain in both the club team and the national team. He was loyal to Norrköping throughout his life and did not represent any other club than IFK Norrköping. He has played over 600 matches for IFK, more than anyone else. During his sixteen seasons in Allsvenskan, Norrköping came to the medal scene thirteen times and became Swedish champion six times. He was also a prominent ice hockey player. When we study important international matches between 1955 and 1965 we can see that Sweden usually avoided losses when Bajdoff played while we lost when he was missing - as in the 1958 World Cup finals and in the catastrophic losses against Switzerland in the 1961 World Cup qualifier. As late as 1963, when Sweden was the best in Europe, Bajdoff, as a 35-year-old, was one of the world's best center halves. He has neutralized greats such as Pelé, Garrincha, Raymond Kopa, Puskás, Di Stéfano, Eusébio and Bobby Charlton.
