U.S. Abroad: Nifty assist marks Johnsen's Hearts debut

• by Paul Kennedy  @pkedit, Aug 23, 2016

Bjorn Maars Johnsen, whose debut with Scottish club Hearts was held up by his former Bulgarian club, made quite an impression on fans at Tynecastle Stadium off the bench with a back-heel pass to teammate Sam Nicholson for a goal in the 5-1 win over Inverness.

The 24-year-old striker joins Perry Kitchen as the second American at Hearts. Johnsen was born and raised in North Carolina to a Norwegian father and an American mother. He bounced around lower division clubs in Spain and Portugal before making a name for himself at Litex Lovech in Bulgaria.

FIFA held up Johnsen's registration after Litex Lovech's collapse and forced relegation.

“I’ve moved around a bit in my career," Johnsen told the Daily Record," but it has helped me learn different languages -- I also speak Portuguese, Spanish and Norwegian -- as well as styles of play.

“I’ll have to adapt to Scotland. It’s helped me grow up. The last few weeks have been difficult but it was a waiting game.

“The guys at Hearts have kept me calm and focused on training to make sure I was ready when called. I was actually waiting for my girlfriend to do her nails when the gaffer [Hearts manager Robbie Neilson] phoned to say clearance had come through.”