Jo Inge Berget doesn’t have a great story behind his beard.
Up close, it looks like a loose patch of fescue on a fairway. Its natural almond color turns golden in the light, giving it a wiry appearance, like a brillo pad on its last wash. The thickness makes it look uncomfortable, like straw, even if it’s fashionable. He oils and shampoos it daily. On away trips, Berget spends time trimming it in his hotel room, a routine to kill downtime on the road.
He sounds apologetic when he admits laziness spawned the beard four years ago while he was playing out on loan at Celtic.
“I just didn’t want to shave,” Berget said while stroking his Viking-like beard. “I have a son now who doesn’t know his dad without a beard. It’s become a part of me.”
Berget has been a bit of enigma in his first season at New York City FC. He was signed from Malmo in Sweden, where he was the team’s leading scorer. He’s had experience in the Premier League and has appeared nearly two dozen times internationally for Norway. His scoring prowess was expected to carry over to The Bronx when NYCFC inked him to a total salary compensation of $817,000, the third most on the team only behind David Villa and Maxi Moralez.
However, he missed significant portions of the preseason with a hamstring injury, which prohibited him from integrating into the system. Those injuries have carried throughout the season.
The Norwegian forward has a coolness that can be provocative. On the field, he’s often pegged as clumsy, though that might be a product of his tall, lanky frame. Combine that with an oversized shirt and low-hanging socks, it makes him an easy target for criticism especially with limited production, just four goals and three assists, in 20 games.
Berget’s excuse is luck — and he might be right when looking deeper into his season.
“I think I’ve been better than I was in the start,” Berget said. “It’s something like that in football when things don’t go your way. Game after game, you tend to not get the lucky break until it falls more naturally for you. You get more luck on your side, maybe you relax a bit, which makes things a bit better.”
There have been two sides to Berget this season at NYCFC.
When he’s on the field, it’s evident he knows what he’s doing. Defensively, there’s little question about his hustle: He’s a high-energy type who tracks backs, makes tackles and does the dirty work. On offense, he makes intelligent runs and likes to get behind defenders, proven in his first goal of the season against Real Salt Lake when he split two defenders, freeing himself and clinically bury a swooping shot past Nick Rimando.
Other times, he can use his physicality and awareness to change games. In the 1-1 draw against the Red Bulls, Berget came on as a halftime sub with NYCFC down 1-0 and played with 10 men. He made an immediate impact when he played central with Villa and assisted on the equalizer, in which he played a back-flicked header to Villa.
Moments like these show why NYCFC heavily invested in the bearded Berget. Teammate Anton Tinnerholm, who played with Berget at Malmo, defended him earlier this season and said it was only a matter of time before he showed his quality.
With Patrick Vieira, Berget played both as a wide winger in the 4-3-3 formation and as a center forward in the 3-5-2 formation. On the wing, he was forced into isolation, often creating one-v-one situations that didn’t necessarily benefit his style due to his lack of acceleration. When Villa missed time, he played more centrally, too.
But under Domenec Torrent, Berget has played more as a center forward shading deeper into the oppositions half near the heart of the box, a position in which he’s looked more comfortable in the 4-2-4 formation.
“I like [being the man up top], but I also like playing with [Villa], too,” Berget said. “With Dome [Torrent], especially, if I play out wide or as a two with [Villa], I’m always going to be more in the middle, getting into the box and getting into the chances. I got the chances with Patrick as well, but I couldn’t finish them off. So maybe it’s something Dome whispered in my ear.”
Berget’s revelation under Torrent results not only in improved scoring abilities but also in improved scoring chances. In fewer minutes with Torrent, his shots per game have increased from 2.06 to 2.86, meaning he’s getting more and better chances. As a result, his expected goals nearly doubled from 0.45 to 0.82 per 96 minutes, according to American Soccer Analysis. In addition, his expected assists are up from 0.16 to 0.38.
His absence with an adductor injury, along with other players missing due to ailments and international duty, has stung NYCFC over the last month. Since Berget came off injured against the Red Bulls on Aug. 23, NYCFC has produced 1.64 expected goals over the winless four-game stretch, slightly lower than their 1.76 average.
Reflecting on his season, Berget said he needs to create more and continue to put in the defensive work. He’s undergone some changes beyond joining a new team, like welcoming his son, Julian, whose first birthday they celebrated this month.
With MLS playoffs inching closer, Berget seems to be the missing piece for the stretch run.
“Football, to me, is more than just getting the goals, the assists, the flick-ons and stepovers,” he said. “It’s about winning the duels and running the game and doing what you need to do to win. That’s also part of the whole Viking mentality, to do whatever it takes.”