ALEXANDER ISAK might have become the British-record transfer this summer — but it was not always obvious he would even make it as a professional footballer.
That is according to the man who gave Liverpool’s new £130million superstar his start in football when he was coming through as a youngster in Sweden.
Elias Mineirji first remembers meeting Isak when he was around five or six years old, while working as the academy director at Swedish football club AIK Stockholm.
And he later became his coach, between the ages of 12 and 15.
Asked if his potential was always clear, Mineirji admitted: “Looking back, I don’t think that he was one of the best.
“He was really good, but maybe not one of the best — because we had other players who were just really, really good.
“However, you could see his technical skills on the ball and knowledge of the game — he was really good in that.
“When he was 12 or 13 years old, we didn’t know if he would be a professional player in the future.
“Sometimes you can see that directly but in Isak’s case, you couldn’t see that.”
That all changed when the talented attacker turned 14, however.
And Mineirji recalls seeing a stark transformation in the player’s attitude, which convinced him he was determined to make it.
Mineirji explained: “I just saw a big difference. It was a lot about the mentality he developed.
“It was like, ‘OK, I want to be a soccer player, I want to work hard, I want this thing because other players are really good, too, and they want it a lot’.
“I think he was like, ‘OK, I want to be something’. Alexander just knew if he didn’t focus, other players would be better and succeed.”
A whopping 12 of Isak’s youth team went on to make it as pro footballers.
Among them was defender Isak Hien, 26, who plays for Serie A side Atalanta — while several others feature in the top levels of Scandinavian football.
It is that stiff competition that Mineirji believes has given him the perfect grounding to deal with the expectation of being a record signing — and playing for the Premier League champions.
He was really good, but maybe not one of the best — because we had other players who were just really, really good.
Elias Mineirji
Mineirji fondly remembers: “He was always playing with a smile.
“He was a really great team-mate and good for the coaches. Up to the age of 14 he was like a kid, of course.
“He liked to have fun and play with the guys, friends and so on.
“But when he became 14½ or 15, he was the same person — just far more serious about his football.
“He was always focused when he should be focused and when he should be happy and relaxed, he was relaxed. I think that’s his biggest strength.
“His family were really great and always helping him in a good way.
Isak to Liverpool transfer saga timeline
- JANUARY: First links to Liverpool emerge
- FEBRUARY: £150million record fee mooted
- MARCH: Isak denies Newcastle contract talk
- APRIL: Eddie Howe hails Isak as “very professional.”
- MAY: Howe insists Isak will not be sold
- Last match in Newcastle shirt
- JUNE: Transfer links to Liverpool heat up
- JULY: Flies with Newcastle for Austria training camp
- Left out of Celtic friendly
- Liverpool hijack Toon’s Hugo Ekitike deal after making Isak enquiry
- Doesn’t travel for pre-season tour of Singapore and South Korea, citing injury
- AUGUST: Training by himself at Newcastle
- Liverpool have £110m bid rejected
- Isak stops training and goes on strike
- Moves out of his apartment
- Releases angry statement blasting ‘trust has been lost’
- Newcastle respond by insisting he won’t be sold unless it benefits club
- Misses Newcastle’s first three games of season, including 3-2 defeat to Liverpool
- Newcastle relent and will accept £130m with 24 hours of window left
- Liverpool have £130m bid accepted on Aug 31
- SEPTEMBER: Isak travels to Liverpool for medical on deadline day morning
- Liverpool announce British record signing on deadline day at 9.30pm – two-and-a-half hours after transfer window closes
- Takes No9 shirt at Anfield
- Newcastle release blunt 37-word statement confirming exit
“They always told him, ‘Listen to your coach and listen to your teachers and be a good guy and you will succeed in the game’. And he really did it.”
Isak might have had another talented team-mate to compete with had things turned out differently, too.
That is because Mineirji revealed he tried to persuade Arsenal centre-forward Viktor Gyokeres, 27, to also join AIK’s youth set-up when he was a kid.
Mineirji added: “I tried to take him to AIK when he was 14 or 15 years old.”
Instead, the two Swedish strikers found themselves competing on opposite sides as teenagers.
And ten or so years on, they will be lining up on opposite sides again — this time fighting for the Premier League title.
“When he was 12 or 13 years old, we didn’t know if he would be a professional player in the future.
Elias Mineirji
But a philosophical Mineirji said: “It’s just nice to see him succeed, too.”
It was not long after Mineirji finished coaching him that Isak would go on to establish himself in the AIK first team — scoring on his league debut at the tender age of 16.
From there, he caught the attention of German giants Borussia Dortmund before moving to Real Sociedad in Spain and then arriving in the Premier League with Newcastle three years ago for £60m.
Now, he is in line to make his Liverpool debut when the Reds visit Turf Moor to take on Burnley this afternoon.
And Mineirji is backing his former teenage sensation to cope with the pressure his price tag brings.
He added: “When he played at AIK, and then joined Dortmund, I was always thinking he will always do well in a new environment. He always adapts.”
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