nurture, looming over him are a mountain
of off-the-pitch distractions. Somehow he
remains hopeful about OFK’s immediate
future. Others are far less certain.DJURGARDEN DRAMA
Character and strong nerves were
the key ingredients as Stockholm club
Djurgarden clinched the 2019 Swedish
league title, their first Allsvenskan
triumph in 14 years.
Visiting fifth-place Norrkoping on the
final weekend of the season, Djurgarden
needed one point to secure their eighth
national crown. But they got off to a
terrible start, conceding twice in the
opening quarter of an hour and failing
to reduce the deficit prior to the break.
With fellow title-chasers Malmo and
Hammarby both winning – versus Orebro
and Hacken respectively – Djurgarden’s
hopes of top spot seemed to be slipping
through their fingers.
Thankfully for fans of the sideto raise kr15m by the end of the year
and at the time of writing they have
amassed little more than half of the
required sum. An appeal for donations
has been made to fans and local
businesses, but will it be enough?
OFK are staring down the barrel
in other ways, too. The Swedish football
authorities may well order the club’s
demotion from the top flight and OFK
are also serving a two-window FIFA
transfer ban. They were punished after
they and Iranian midfielder Saman
Ghoddos reneged on a deal to join
Spanish side Huesca last year.
So spare a thought for Ostersund’s
English coach, Ian Burchnall, who used
to be in charge at Viking in Norway. Not
only does he have a young, raw squad to
Battle...Ostersund
(in red) taking
on Hammarby
this season