Football Daily - Alexander Isak - The Football Interview

Episode Date: September 19, 2026

In this week’s edition of The Football Interview, Kelly Somers speaks to Liverpool striker Alexander Isak.They speak about what Andoni Iraola brings to Liverpool, what he needs to score goals and what is deemed as success this season. They look back at his journey into football and what it was like playing for Graham Potter at the World Cup for Sweden.TIMECODES: 0’20 - What Iraola brings to Liverpool and what he asks of him 2’00 - What he needs to score goals and relationship with Cody Gakpo 2’58 - His experience getting into football 3’40 - His aspirations of playing the Premier League & La Liga 4’37 - The World Cup and working with Graham Potter 5’58 - What success looks like for Liverpool this season

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ending up in England with Newcastle and now Liverpool. He's the joint Premier League record signing. Welcome along to the football interview, Alexander Isak. How do you feel in terms of physically, mentally, where you are at the moment? I feel good. I feel good. I feel like I'm in a good place. The team is in a good place. And I think the positive is it feels like things are getting better and better each week, each training session.

Yeah, which makes me and the rest feel confident, you know, going forward. You've got a new manager as well, so it must really feel like a fresh start for everyone around here. What's Andoni Areola done for you, though, specifically? He just came with his football to the club, the way he wants to play, and like the high intensity style of play, which, you know, I think will benefit me, will benefit the club and the way the club wants to play football. So, yeah, that's the plan. What does he ask from you as his striker?

He asks me to, obviously, to be part of the defending. but to defend in positions when we win the ball. So we can counter quickly and get the ball forward to the offensive line. That's interesting because normally a manager would ask the striker to score goals. But the fact that you said straight away about defending, is that what he wants to do, make your all round game better? No, no, so you said score goals, but he wants me to be to defend. Like the way we defend, we defend to score goals.

So the defending is, in the end, it's an attacking weapon. I've also noticed, particularly with your goals against Ipswich, it looked like the team got the ball to you really quickly. I remember when I think back to some of your best moments at Newcastle, the team were playing getting the ball to you quickly. Is that what you need to beat your best to score goals? Yeah, I think that's what the team needs. and it's not just about getting a ball to me,

it's about getting a ball forward, getting a ball to all of the offensive players quickly, I think. If we can do that, then we should score more goals. Talk to me about this relationship with Cody Gakpo because it looks like, I know you've known him for a season, but it looks like it's pretty special. No, it's definitely been successful so far. He's very versatile.

So he can do most things on a pitch. It's comfortable out wide, but he's also comfortable coming deep and receiving the ball. And yeah, as we've seen, it's delivering. It's really good as well. Where did the love of football come from? For me, it came from the streets, in the school, like free time, always playing football. At what point did you think, okay, I could make it here? probably around 15.

Where were you at that point in your kind of football career? I was in my local club, I think I was on the 19th, training with the first team sometimes every now and then. You had quite a lot of success quite young there, didn't you? Feels like there was quite a lot of eyes on you from quite a young age? Yeah, I think my breakthrough, especially in Sweden, was very early. So yeah, I was really young. Did you always have aspirations to maybe end up in the Premier League?

Yeah, as a part of the journey for sure. I always want to play Premier League, but I always wanted to play in Spain as well, which obviously I did for three years. What was the experience like in Spain? Because it feels like that was where the world really started to get to know about Alexander Isak. I grew up watching a lot of Spanish football.

So playing there was, And yeah, it was really, really nice. And obviously my first like big breakthrough, I would say, was there. Has that influenced how you play? And it must be quite nice to have a Spanish manager here now for you as well. Do you like that? Yeah, for sure. I think I recognize a lot of like the daily work methods and training sessions.

I recognize a lot of, yeah, those things from my time, The World Cup, how was that for you? Because I know you played in the Euro's, but your first World Cup in the summer. Did that come at a really good time for you because it enabled you to kind of have a focus towards the end of last season? Yeah, for sure. For sure. Like, yeah, with the injuries last season, the World Cup was perfect to like, obviously have that period where I can play and, you know, gain rhythm and form. And on top of that, obviously, being a massive experience, you know, playing for your country in a World Cup is, yeah, I think a dream of most people.

And yeah, it was just brilliant. And Graham Potter as well, the manager, someone that Premier League fans will know very well. What's he like to work for on the national stage? Not really good. I think, obviously, it's English, but. He has a really good connection with Sweden as well. And you can speak Swedish, which is very... Is it good? Is he any good at it?

Yeah, for sure. Yeah, he speaks really well. It's very rare, I would say. So yeah, it's been brilliant so far and really appreciate it around the squad. What would a successful season look like for Liverpool this year? Everyone knows the successful for this club is winning trophies. winning trophies.

Multiple. Yeah, of course, winning one trophy would also be a success. But yeah, trophies is a success for a club this big, yeah. And for you personally, I think was it 23 goals was your best return at Newcastle? Is that right? Have you set yourself a target for this year? No.

Do you set targets? No. You just want to score as many as possible? Yeah, yeah, just want to score. Like I want to score every game. Obviously, yeah, everyone is different. Some like to set targets, some don't. I'm the one that don't.

But with how you're feeling now, do you back yourself to exceed that this season? We'll see. Every game, one game at a time. And finally, finish this sentence for me. When I finish football, I will. I will chill out. Which fits in nicely with the chum. I think that's what everyone says.

And then they end up. becoming coaches or whatever so so you think you'll probably end up becoming a coach i don't know i don't seem as being a coach but yeah it's what you feel now is probably different to when you're 40 or yeah and you've got you've got a few years in you yeah um thanks thank you so much for speaking to us today thank you With Five Live Sport and BBC Sounds Hear all the live, exciting action from the WSL. And it's bigger and better than ever before.

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