Schjelderup has played five games in the Superliga since he returned to the club on loan from Benfica at the end of August, but so far he has not scored either goals or points. This is in contrast to the top scorer title he had when he was bought by the Portuguese big club for NOK 150 million in January this year. In the five games Schjelderup has been on the field since the return, Nordsjælland have drawn four and lost one. The last two games still have 0-0. Solbakken: – National team manager Ståle Solbakken, who when he was FC Copenhagen’s coach “moved heaven and earth” to sign Schjelderup from Bodø/Glimt, is keeping a close eye on the youngster’s development. The Norway boss states that the 19-year-old’s development has slowed down a bit after a long period without much playing time at senior level. – He got minimal playing time in Benfica, maybe a total of ten minutes, so right now he is a bit on the spot compared to where he was 7-8 months ago when he left North Zealand, says Solbakken to news. WILL SHOW HIMSELF: Andreas Schjelderup uses his time on the bench in Benfica as motivation. Photo: Marius Simensen / Bildbyrån The national team manager believes that for this reason it may be sensible to take a step back, as Schjelderup has now taken. – Now he gets a lot of playing time in Nordsjælland, gets time to build himself back up and get up to the speed he had when he left. Now he gets tough matches both in the Super League and in Europe going forward, so he has every opportunity to get back to the level he was at, he says. Usamd: – We were much better Schjelderup are not worried. He believes he has made great strides despite only playing senior minutes in Portugal. – I feel that I have become much better in many different areas. Also mentally, I have grown as a person and developed in everything. I know I am a better player than I was when I left the club, he says to news. news was recently present at Farum Park when Schjelderup and Nordsjælland played against Hvidovre in the Superliga. It was still 0-0, but twice the Norwegian youngster showed that he has something special. After 27 minutes, he got the ball just outside the penalty area, before he magically pulled himself free with a nice pull and sent a shot off guard that the goalkeeper saved. After 53 minutes he got the ball 30 meters away, dribbled away two men before again testing the goalkeeper with a good shot. There were no goals from it, but anyone who has seen a lot of football could state the same thing: This boy has it. BACK: Andreas Schjelderup is back at his old club in search of more playing time than he got at Benfica. Photo: Haron Hussain / news Will be thrown into a new role But where Schjelderup has previously played mostly on the left wing, FC Nordsjælland coach Johannes Thorup has made new plans. The coach told news that in the future they will cultivate him more in a tenor role behind the striker, centrally in the pitch. – It makes sense for us to use him there. Before, he has played all the way forward as an attacker, but if we take him a step back, he can lie in the gap and see the attackers in front of him. It is a role we will work with him in, as a midfielder, because we see he has the qualities to handle it, says Thorup to news. FULL CONFIDENCE: FC Nordsjælland coach Johannes Thorup is confident in Schjelderup’s qualities. Photo: DILARA SENKAYA / Reuters In front of news, Schjelderup says that he has nothing against being cultivated there, he has played tens of times before in youth football, but thinks it might come too early in his career. – It’s probably an offensive midfield role (which suits best) when I get older and get the physical package needed to tolerate running for 90 minutes, but right now it’s probably a wing role that suits me best, he says. Positiv Solbakken Solbakken believes a tiar role could be a good solution for the talented Norwegian. – It is not a stupid idea. He is very good in small spaces and is a good finisher. For now, he may lack “a little bit of speed” when it comes to one-on-one on the edge, so it’s not a silly thought. But that speed can come, he can get even more speed in his legs after a while, so I think he can play both on the left and behind a striker. It’s only good that he has more options, says Solbakken to news. ROUGH TREATMENT: Andreas Schjelderup gets to play European football with FC Nordsjælland this autumn. Here from a recent match against Fenerbache in the Serie Liga. Photo: Khalil Hamra / AP – We’ve been through it all Schjelderup told news before the interview that he doesn’t want to dwell too much on what happened in Benfica. But he states that the period with little playing time has made him stronger mentally. – I’ve been through most of it now. I have sat on the bench a lot, but was at Benfica, one of the biggest clubs in the world. I have learned a lot, he says. – You still have a contract with Benfica until the summer of 2028. What do you think about the continuation? – Right now I’m focused on being here and having a good season, and then it’s back to Benfica and hopefully have a good time there, he replies. – Has taking a step back done anything to your self-confidence? – No, nothing special. – There will be a lot of talk. In an interview with TV 2 recently, he said that he “couldn’t care less what other people say. He only gets annoyed with himself when things don’t go his way”. – What do you put in it? – There will be a lot of talk, but I only focus on myself. No one else has set higher demands on me than I do myself. – Do you think people are being unreasonable if they expected you to play more for Benfica? – Not particularly. There are many opinions, but I am not focused on that, he says. GOOD FOR U21: Andreas Schjelderup scored four goals in the last meeting. Photo: Annika Byrde / NTB The coach: – I am convinced FC Nordsjælland coach Johannes Thorup believes the Benfica stay was useful, even if Schjelderup had to return to Denmark on loan, initially without having made a breakthrough at the Portuguese big club. – I think he has found out what the next level is like, what the next step is, how they train, how such a team is driven when you get to that level. He has needed us to get him going again. But he is a player of such great quality that it is only a matter of time before we get to see it for real, says Thorup. – What do you think about his future now? – I am convinced that he will play at a very, very high level, on perhaps the biggest possible stage. I am also convinced that it is important that he takes the time it takes. There shouldn’t be any stress. He has to make the right choice when it comes to clubs and playing time, then I am convinced that it will come, says Thorup.
ttn-69
Says the great talent “is rather satisfied” – now Schjelderup is fighting back – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
