We! The short and innocent word is extremely important when it comes to explaining how Lars Friis’ switch to AaB was close to going awry.
The ‘we-feeling’ permeates Lars Friis’ coaching work. He believes in community.
There is nothing more natural for him.
In FC Midtjylland. In Brentford. I AGF…
In Viborg!
On 22 January 2021, Lars Friis stood in front of his exhausted players after a 120-minute test match at Farum Park. He praised his players after the 2-1 victory and highlighted the community.
– When ‘we’ work together, this shows what the ‘we’ feeling can lead to.
The next time Lars Friis was at work in Viborg, he went into the office of director Morten Jensen and put his resignation on the table.
Less than half an hour later, AaB’s sports manager Inge André Olsen was on the phone to Viborg ‘I do not hope the shock is too great, but…’
Lars Friis had sold the vision of the community about the ‘we’ feeling so convincingly that it came as a shock the moment he turned in the direction of AaB.
This is the story that must be included to understand why Lars Friis’ dismissal hurt Viborg so much.
– I’m neither happy nor proud of that ending. I’ve had some really good talks afterwards with some key people, and it’s been good.
– I know that I have disappointed many, and there are also some who do not want to see me in Viborg.
– On the other hand, there are also a lot of relationships that I stick to, and it is really a club with many good people and good values, says Lars Friis.
– I do not regret any of what I have said along the way in Viborg, about what we have built up, because it was clearly the right thing to do.
– That’s why I know it works. The ‘we’ feeling is the right thing to do, and it’s the right thing to do when I say it now in AaB.
– For me, it’s about doing everything I can in my job, and I can see myself in the mirror in relation to that. Nothing is more important. I would be sorry if people thought I had not done my utmost, he says.
Viborg ended up releasing Lars Friis for one and a half million, so on that account there is no reason to feel sorry for the promotions.
At the same time, they fell victim to their own stinginess when the agreement with Lars Friis was entered into.
It was Viborg who did not want an irrevocable agreement. Most recently, the agreement with Johnny Mølby became an expensive affair for that reason.
Lars Friis does not want to comment on that part of the story.
– I do not want mudslinging. It was never part of the plan that I should only be in Viborg for a year, but when such an opportunity as AaB arises, it is foolish not to listen to their plans, he states.
——— SPLIT ELEMENT ———
Do not call me Savior
A month ago, the prospect of AaB’s participation in the playoffs was taken with a shrug and perceived as a bit lucky.
After the 3-0 erasure of Brøndby, it is suddenly medals and Europe that are on the menu. And those who remember that AaB often go all the way and take gold when they mingle at the top have started to squeak a little.
The difference… ? Lars Friis has joined.
– Nonsense. No one can change anything in two matches.
– Not even the greatest narcissist will claim that it is possible.
– This has been latent in the team, and the players have taken on some ideas, which I, together with Oscar Hiljemark and Rasmus Würtz, have sown.
– It is utopia to believe that 14 days of training changes something that was not there before, Lars Friis states.
Thus, he takes over the training courses Hornevej with a humility that is often seen as a mark of nobility in northern Jutland.
Humility, but also excitement before the playoffs begin against the championship favorites, FCK.
– The players have made it difficult for themselves with the Brøndby match. When they can go out and deliver like that against the strongest team in Denmark, then they can do it against everyone. The bar is set incredibly high.
– Then there is something to aim for, says Lars Friis, who, however, keeps his feet on the ground.
– When I join, the story is a bit that it is almost lucky that we are about to get to the playoffs. Then we win two matches and then the conversation changes to that we are almost certainly a bid to become the first challenger to FC Copenhagen.
– It will not be a talk that we will get involved in. We will be so boring to listen to kamp one match at a time, he states.
Then the Super League is warned. Because when AaB is boring, the dreams and belief in something big are paramount.
***
Three keys to success
Lars Friis has invested in three areas in an attempt to make his mark on the AaB team
Unleash the savagery
Kasper Kusk was run off on a siding under Martí Cifuentes. He is reborn under Lars Friis, who has done away with the Spaniard’s rather entrenched demands for the players’ roles.
– There are some insanely good types on this team that need to be released. Some of the types who have hurt my former teams, our opponents must hate to face. The concept is more important than the system, states Lars Friis without naming which players he is aiming for.
Aim for the stars
One of the reasons why AaB has been named a ‘lucky’ play-off participant was that the team was very effective in front of goal in the autumn. Every fifth finish smoked in the box, and thus the team could live with having the lowest number of finishes in the Super League.
SønderjyskE has as many finishes as AaB and has scored half as many goals.
– We want to be aggressive and come to as many endings as possible.
– These were some of the parameters that we were low on in the autumn, says Lars Friis.
The courage to win
Lars Friis pays tribute to Kent Nielsen’s period in AaB and believes that the North Jutlanders in that period played the best football that has been seen in the history of the Super League.
When the new AaB coach talks about releasing AaB, it is also the desire to put the desire to attack at the forefront that dominates.
– We must show courage to play. We need to get to the other end faster than driving the ball around the back line.
– It is not about a long ball forward, but to dare to take chances and play the ball flat through the chains, says Lars Friis.
– The first man who goes up to press should not look over his shoulder to be sure that the defensive support is there, says Lars Friis.