Having started the year playing in Spain’s second-tier, 22-year-old Isak Jansson took advantage of a loan spell at SK Rapid to earn a permanent deal with the club in the summer of 2024. The Other Bundesliga’s Tom Middler spoke to the Swedish winger about how he plans to continue his rise at Rapid during the new season.
Isak, how has 2024 been for you so far, after switching Spain for Austria?
It’s gone really quickly with the move to SK Rapid. I didn’t know too much about the club before, but I knew that it was a big club with great fans. There was also interest from other teams, but then Rapid came really late in the transfer window, so there wasn’t too much time to think, but from the start it felt really good, you could feel the professionalism. Now they’ve used the option to buy, so here I am!
Turning a loan spell into a permanent signing at Rapid; was that the aim from day one in Hütteldorf?
I’m not sure ... I just wanted to see how it was here. I didn’t know much about the league or anything, so I just wanted to check things out and, as always, try and play as well as I could. Now that I know it better, I really like it here, so it was a good feeling. I was quite sure that this was a step that I wanted to make, so it wasn’t a hard decision in the end. I’m enjoying it, and I’m happy that I took the chance to come here.
And the fans seem happy that you’re here, too! You caught the eye last season with your dribbling on the wing, but what’s your favourite place to play?
In the beginning I was more like a midfielder, a number 8, I think that suits me best. Then later on, because I am quite fast and good at dribbling, I became more of a winger, but if I could make the decision myself, I would say I prefer to play more as ola central midfielder. The thing I like about being in the centre is that you get more involved in the game, sometimes on the wing you go without the ball for a few minutes. I just want to have the ball as much as possible and make something happen all the time.
You’ve been used in a lot of positions at your former clubs, and you were even used as a full back before, weren’t you? That’s not very central at all!
Yes, at FC Cartagena I played as a right back sometimes. It actually went pretty well. I was almost annoyed that it went so well, as I didn’t want to play there! I had a lot of freedom to get forward with the attacking play, but the defensive side of things I’m not quite so good at, but it went OK, it worked, at least!
Talking of getting more involved; you came off the bench a lot last season, is that something that you want to change for the upcoming campaign?
The most important thing for me now is just to stay in great physical shape all season. In the past few years I’ve struggled with minor injuries and I wasn’t always able to train properly, so that’s one reason that I’ve been on the bench, but of course, I want to start as many games as possible, and play as much as I can.
Before FC Cartagena, you played at Kalmar FF in Sweden. How would you describe your footballing education?
I had a great time at Kalmar. In the U-19 team I had a great coach called Jörgen Petersson, he taught me a lot about football; how I should move, how I could create chances and make passes. He’s been a big part of my journey. We kept in contact as he’s a very good person and a great coach. Then Cartagena was next, people think LaLiga 2 is not top quality, but there are some unbelievable players, and a lot of older players with loads of experience, so you can learn a lot from them. I wanted a change from playing right back though, so moving to Rapid was a good choice!
Is Rapid still a place to grow, or is there more pressure to perform and get results now?
I would say it’s a bit different. SK Rapid is the biggest club here if you look at the history. The fans expect a lot, so we want to do well and get good results for them, and for us as well. It’s good for me to be here and hopefully to get that winning mentality so that we can make ourselves happy and make the fans happy!
This was your first summer with the team. How has it been, and have you set some targets for the year ahead?
I know the guys well so it has been easy to come in, and it has been a good summer. We’ve worked really hard to understand how we all want to play together, and the way that we want to win games. We haven’t talked too much about targets, but we want to be up there in the Bundesliga. Since I joined the team, we’ve not quite been at the top level, but we were always close. Now we want to take that next step and be competing with the best teams, that’s our goal. In Europe, it’s just so important for the club to get through as far as we can, and keep the name SK Rapid in the draw.
As the new season gets started, can you sum up the time you’ve spent with the club so far?
It’s been great. Scoring my first goal at home was a really nice feeling. The Rapid fans are so good, sometimes it feels unreal to play in front of them, and I just want to do more of that every day. Being in the cup final was big, especially when we scored in that game, I just looked up at all the fans and it was crazy. I really want to be a part of that again, but next time, with the right result in the end.
Redakteur: The Other Bundesliga
Fotos: GEPA pictures