‘Isak is exactly the same person’: AIK coaches on forward’s journey to top

Peter Wennberg and Johnny Gustafsson saw just how hard Alexander Isak worked to reach the top level
Peter Wennberg laughs as he describes a recent under-11s training session where focus had drifted. Were his young charges going to treat the session as a laugh or take their opportunity seriously? He called a halt and asked where their priorities lay. “Then one of the boys, a sharp one, said: ‘What did Alexander Isak choose?’” Wennberg remembers. “After that it was easy for me. He’s raising the standards without even being here.”
Inside AIK Stockholm’s academy building, Wennberg gives a tour of the uncompromising facility that forged one of the world’s best strikers. Isak will be Newcastle’s best hope of breaking a 56-year trophy drought when they face Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday. There is nobody quite like him: nobody who blends poise with unpredictability, rigour with boundless imagination, cool temperament with flashes of light. Talents from all walks of life have a home here, but this is no identikit production line.
Continue reading...Topics
-
Dream Team Girls Coach of the Year: Schroeder elevates Columbus Grove to new heights
Mar. 14—COLUMBUS GROVE — Columbus Grove has just had something that head coach Brian Schroeder calls "that" this year. He has a hard time pinpointing exactly what "that" is, but it's best described ...Yahoo Sports - 2d -
Top free-agent cornerback said he picked Lions over Commanders
One of the NFL's top free-agent cornerbacks said he chose the Lions over Commanders. But we thought Adam Peters wasn't being aggressive?Yahoo Sports - 2d -
Isak vs Van Dijk: The Duel That Could Decide the Carabao Cup Final
Alexander Isak vs Virgil van Dijk: The Key Battle in the Carabao Cup FinalThe Carabao Cup final is set to witness one of the most compelling individual duels in European football: Newcastle’s ...Yahoo Sports - 1d -
Saints DE Chase Young training with his college coach, Ohio State's Larry Johnson
Chase Young inked a lucrative extension with the Saints, but he's still working hard. He'll train with his college coach Larry Johnson this offseason.Yahoo Sports - 2d -
Newcastle Star Drops Hint About His Future Amid Contract Uncertainty
Alexander Isak and Newcastle: A Future Yet to Be WrittenNewcastle United’s ambition is unmistakable, and in Alexander Isak, they possess a striker of rare quality. Yet, with the Swedish forward’s ...Yahoo Sports - 1d -
Grizz Khan on Isak: “We need to stop him enjoying playing against us.”
Alvarez or Isak? Liverpool’s Transfer Debate IntensifiesThe transfer window may still be some way off, but the debate over Liverpool’s potential forward reinforcements is already heating up. In th...Yahoo Sports - 17h -
Torrey Peters on life after writing a hit novel: ‘It had a very chilling effect on my writing’
Author of Detransition, Baby found success and pushback she never anticipated and now returns with a provocative collection of stories. Author Torrey Peters ’ mind has imagined everything from a ...The Guardian - 4d -
Fan who had phone snatched by Rory McIlroy is top US amateur golfer
If Rory McIlroy treats his rivals with the same contempt he dished out to one of America’s top college golfers who crassly heckled him at The Players Championship, then there will be only one ...Yahoo Sports - 3d -
The North Pole: The History of an Obsession by Erling Kagge review – an adventure that can’t be topped
The Norwegian explorer – who in 1990 became the first to reach 90 degrees north without the help of machine nor beast – journeys into the past to uncover the myths, politics and pure joy of the ...The Guardian - Mar. 10
More from The Guardian
-
Trump says he and Putin will discuss land and powerplants in Ukraine ceasefire talks
Trump says negotiators have already discussed ‘dividing up certain assets’ and that he will talk to Putin on Tuesday. US President Donald Trump said he plans to discuss ending the war in Ukraine ...The Guardian - 3h -
New Canada PM Mark Carney to visit Paris and London amid attacks from Trump
Newly minted prime minister will sit down with Macron and Starmer but has no immediate plans to meet with Donald Trump. Mark Carney, the new Canadian prime minister, is headed to Paris and London ...The Guardian - 5h -
North Macedonia mourns dead in nightclub fire as 15 people detained
Government declares seven-day period of mourning after fire in eastern town of Kočani kills at least 59. North Macedonia has declared a seven-day period of mourning after a fire in a nightclub ...The Guardian - 13h -
US astronauts stranded on ISS for nine months to return to Earth on Tuesday, Nasa says
Journey of Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on a SpaceX Crew Dragon craft will be broadcast live. A pair of US astronauts stuck for more than nine months on the International Space Station will be ...The Guardian - 6h -
Landmines in Syria kill hundreds of civilians returning home after fall of Assad
Children particularly vulnerable to unexploded war remnants scattered throughout country as more than a million people return. More than 200 people, including women and children, have been killed ...The Guardian - 1h
More in World
-
Canada's Carney to meet with European allies amid tensions with Trump administration
New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has arrived in Paris to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron, seeking support from one of Canada’s oldest allies as U.S. President Donald Trump ...ABC News - 23m -
Managed futures hedge fund ETF launches in Europe
The momentum-surfing vehicles have taken off in the US with investors seeking the potential of uncorrelated returnsFinancial Times - 58m -
Premier League: talking points from the weekend action
Højlund finally finds the net, top-four battle hots up while Willian proves class once again . He finally scored. Rasmus Højlund broke his 21-match goal drought – dating back to 12 December – with ...The Guardian - 59m -
Borderline genius: how José María Velasco’s landscapes redefined perceptions of Mexico
An exhibition of works by the 19th-century artist shows his role in creating a sense of Mexican identity – revealing that he was more polymath than painter . Due to the longstanding political and ...The Guardian - 59m -
The pop-up megacity: how the Kumbh Mela prepared for 660m Hindu devotees
Hundreds of millions of pilgrims flocked to the Ganges for this year’s festival, housed in a sprawling temporary metropolis stretching across 4,000 hectares of the floodplains of Prayagraj in Uttar ...The Guardian - 59m