“He has brought a style of football that you can easily get involved with, you can easily applaud, you can easily support.”
Pittodrie hero Willie Miller is among the many Aberdeen fans smitten by the impact made by manager Jimmy Thelin.
As October turns to November, the Swede has turned a team who finished in the bottom half of the division last term into Premiership pacesetters.
Since Thelin took charge in June, they have won 15 of the 16 matches they have played. A draw at Celtic Park in October is the only blemish.
A League Cup semi-final with Celtic – who they are level with at the top of the league – awaits on Sunday. Silverware is in sight.
But who is the humble and unruffled man who has made such a mark in the north east?
Elevating Elfsborg
Thelin, 46, is described as “a very modern manager” by former Celtic defender and compatriot Johan Mjallby, and “the most professional manager I have seen in Sweden” by football podcaster Glenn Holvik.
After catching the eye at Jonkopings Sodra, taking them to the top flight for the first time in 46 years, Elfsborg came calling.
“When he took over, we didn’t have any identity of how we were playing,” Holvik recalls.
“Then in 2019, his second season, Elfsborg had the most yellow cards in the Allsvenskan and we started to be more physical, with the pressing style and the defence much better. Fans liked that mentality.”
Mjallby noted: “If you go back five or six years, before the pandemic, he was the next best thing coming up as a manager. Then he struggled a wee bit at Elfsborg to start with before he got them to play really quick, good, attacking football.”
During Thelin’s six years at the Boras Arena, Elfsborg twice finished as runners- up, missing out on the title on goal difference in 2023.
‘People person’ with good eye for signings
“He was really successful building a squad and doing transfer business, buy for a pound and sell for two,” said Joel Besseling, a football writer at the Gothenburg Post.
“Elfsborg’s economy really grew while he was there and the players he brought in are doing so well. He is getting credit for what the team has been doing in Europe.
“He was flexible in his tactics to find a way to successes. When he knew that some things didn’t work out, he changed it. He is also a people person, He is a warm guy that many of the players liked.”
Thelin certainly appears very popular within the Pittodrie dressing room, while signings Heltne Nilsen, Topi Keskinen, Dimitar Mitov and Gavin Molloy have gone some way to softening the blow of losing Bojan Miovski and Connor Barron.
He plays news conferences and interviews with a very straight bat and is keen to preach a “stay humble” mantra in terms of his approach.
Even after Wednesday’s win over Rangers, which moved Aberdeen nine points clear of the Ibrox side and kept them level with Celtic, Thelin said it was “still early” to talk about a title challenge.
‘Not too many Swedish managers out there’
Former Rangers defender, Joachim Bjorkland, now assistant manager at Gothenburg, reckons Thelin could blaze a trail for his countrymen.
“He did really well with Elfsborg and I think he will continue to have success in Aberdeen,” he said.
“There are not too many Swedish managers out there, so if he is doing well, it might help the other ones who want to try working abroad.”
Besseling adds: “Sven Goran Eriksson is the best coach we have ever seen and we always tried to find a new Sven, not that you can copy and paste what he did because he went to so many big clubs and the English national team.
“But I think who is the next guy who can be close to Sven? There has been a gap there for 20 years.
“Sweden and the UK have close connections football-wise so many people like the destination for him. Aberdeen is a classic club with a proper support and so for him to be doing well there, there is going to be more talk about it during the winter.”
‘A lot of work goes into simplicity’
Aberdeen and Celtic have each won nine of their 10 Premiership matches – drawing their meeting in Glasgow 2-2 despite the reigning champions having led 2-0.
For the Dons, that’s a better start than 1984-85, when they last won the title.
And it took them until March 16 – 30 league matches – to reach their current tally of 28 points last term.
“It’s been an amazing turnaround,” said former captain and manager Miller.
“Thelin has managed to get the players bonded and playing to a formation, a pattern that easy on the eye.
“It’s forward thinking, it’s quick passing, it’s about players taking on the opposition, quick transitions. A real breath of fresh air.
“A lot of work goes into simplicity, to get the players to buy into it. That is where Aberdeen should always be. I don’t subscribe to sitting back and defending and if you get one goal up you settle for that, if it is draw you settle for that.
“I haven’t seen that under the new manager. They have had to fight at times to get the results but at the same time a lot of good football is being played.
“I have had a few seasons where it hasn’t been particularly enjoyable going to the games, but this season has been perfect.”
A version of this article first appeared on 17 October