Bosse Andersson married a patient woman. Not every wife would be prepared to let their marital home become lodgings for the callow, nervous young men, most of whom had never been in Europe before, that her husband would bring to the country to play for his football club. Yet Mrs Andersson simply accepted it as a way of life with a man who has made it his existential purpose to offer a viable career in Europe for young players signed from Africa.
Andersson, the sporting director of Swedish Allsvenskan side Djurgardens, who face Shamrock Rovers in their Conference League opener in Dublin on Thursday night, is known far and wide on the continent. There, they call him Mr Bo. His work in scouting and network-building is fabled amongst clubs, agents and players across Africa, but any supporter in one of the major European leagues will, indirectly, know his work too. Leicester City have Andersson to thank for unearthing the Ghanian midfielder Daniel Amartey, who Djurgardens signed from Accra side International Allies in 2013. In Serie A and Ligue 1, too, there are players who came through Andersson’s network, his club and his home on their first tentative steps towards becoming European stars.
It’s not only the players that have benefited. Andersson, whose playing career as a striker in the ‘80s and ‘90s never saw him leave Sweden, was first appointed to a technical role at Djurgardens, the last club for whom he played, when he retired in 1997. In 2002, they won a first Allsvenskan title in 36 years, following up with further triumphs in 2003 and 2005. When he left three years later, he was a hero to supporters of the Stockholm side.
Fast forward to 2013, and the three-time champions of the previous decade were teetering on bankruptcy. The call went out for Andersson to return. Working with incoming CEO Henrik Berggren, his knack for finding gems in untapped markets was put to lifesaving use, earning a fortune for the club as young players with potential were signed, improved and cashed in on. Amartey was the first to come that same year, followed by the defender Omar Colley, now a stalwart at Italian side Sampdoria, the striker Aliou Badji, who has just signed for Bordeaux, and Lyon winger Tina Kadewere. The list has continued to grow ever since.
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In 2019, they won a fourth title on Mr Bo’s watch, edging Allsvenskan giants Malmo by a single point, the sweetest triumph in the context of the tireless work put in to create and nurture both the networks and the talent they have yielded.
“My best friend when he was younger spent time travelling in Africa, in about 2000,” says Andersson of his first contact with the continent that has helped make his name. “He found himself working for a big Swedish company out there. That was my first introduction.
“At around the same time I travelled to Congo for the first time to look at a couple of players. There was a guy from there who was living in Stockholm who I knew that wanted to start an academy in the country. I spent 10 days with him, and that opened up my eyes to the continent.
“I’ve travelled to more than 15 countries in Africa. I’ve been lucky. I’ve met good people, and good people trust me. When you do good things, your network grows and so does the trust you command.”
This point is the key to it all. There are no shortage of agents and third parties working to bring hopeful, naive young footballers from Africa to Europe that in doing so would prioritise their commission over ensuring a player gets a deal that is right for them. Dreams turn to nightmares in the wrong hands, but even players who get well-meaning advice can find themselves at clubs that transpire to be a poor fit. A lack of preparation for the cultural shock, as well as an absence of meaningful stewardship, can leave a player homesick and hopelessly lost in an alien environment. Thank goodness, then, for the patience of Mrs Andersson.
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“I feel the love from these players,” says Andersson. “My wife is not always so happy because these guys often come and live with us so they can learn the basics. She’s usually happier on Christmas Day when they call me to wish us well.
“Djurgardens have had big success with the African players that have come to us because I have spent time there and because I know the culture there. I also know the culture these players are coming into. You need to prepare them for what they’re coming to. Football players have good and bad days. It’s not easy to move from Europe to Africa.
“Everybody in Africa has a dream and talks about Europe, but very few people have been there. In Europe, people talk about African players, but not many clubs have been there either. It relies on trust in people like me.
“There are a lot of cultural mistakes a player can make. For me it was very strange going over there and eating with my hands at first. People are expected to follow the rules of where they are, even if the rules are unfamiliar.
“We’ve had challenges. People say ‘why do you have so many African players when you can use your own?’ But we have overcome it. We have a couple of players that will play on Thursday who are now in their fourth year with us. Our signings from African countries are always made with a long-term plan.
“I can’t understand the number of European clubs that take players without a plan for them. It’s fine to invest money in a transfer, but if you don’t invest time in a player, how can you get a good player that way?”
