“This really isn’t going to work.”

Published: December 06, 2020 at 3:19 p.m.

From: Henrik Lundgren

Published: December 06, 2020 at 3:19 p.m.

GOTHENBURG. Ready for the Allsvenskan.

Now the work begins for the next year.

– I don’t think you should get up and defend, says sports director Patrik Werner.

The final signal had just sounded at Bravida Arena. The victorious players and fans found a lattice between them at one of the corners of the arena and had to celebrate together. Slightly to the side, sporting director Patrik Werner rose to his feet and sighed in relief after Degerfors secured Allsvenskan’s advance.

– Now I’ve started to land a bit. But damn it, I didn’t feel good then. It is a great pressure to do this. Our hands were running out and it was clear that it was tough. But now we’ve made it anyway, he says.

“It’s about catching up”

Next year Degerfors will play at the Allsvenskan, for the first time since 1997. Memories of that time still live on in Swedish football; Stora Valla, “Mål-Otto” Ottosson, Milenko Vukcevic and the other red and white heroes. But Swedish football has changed since then. And it is increasingly difficult for small clubs to prevail in the highest league.

How prepared is Degerfors as a club and as a team for the Allsvenskan?

– Clearly this really shouldn’t work. I’ve said it all the time. I mean, there are 9,000 people living in the township and I can’t just stand here and say we should settle down or become the top five or something like that. It’s about catching up.

Degerfors had a turnover of approximately SEK 20 million this year, a far cry from the turnover of the biggest clubs in the Allsvenskan, and this at a time when most of the money usually also wins the most games. But not always. Elfsborg is a prime example at this year’s Allsvenskan that success is possible even without having as complete a budget as the competitors.

Werner is going the same way.

– We have tried to compare ourselves a bit with Sirius and Östersund, they play similar football to ours. And they have done well. I don’t think you should go up and just stand up and defend, you have to have your own keys to win matches. Sometimes we are a little daring, you think, but I also think that our own strength is what will keep us going. So whether it succeeds or not remains to be seen.

Photo: MICHAEL ERICHSEN / BILDBYRÅN

Sports Director Patrik Werner

“Suggestion for the team”

Team captain Oliver Ekroth stood by and enjoyed himself as the rest of the team continued to celebrate on the field.

– We know of course that we will now face the best possible resistance. We will have to tilt the template a little, expand it and raise the level of everything for real. But we have a very good base to build on. We have players who are safe at this level. And above all we have our own game, which I think you should have at the Allsvenskan, and believe in your own idea of ​​the game. You have to have that to survive. There are a lot of teams that come up without any faith in their own game and just get defensive and shoot far. But I don’t think it’s sustainable if you want to become a totally stable Swedish team, and more in the long term. So Werner will have to work hard when the window opens. But he has done it before, he will solve it.

What does it mean for Degerfors as a society that the football club is back up at the Allsvenskan?

– Everything, I think. Since I came here in 2018, I heard about what happened in the 90s and when you woke up in 1992. They always talk about the same stories, these old men.

And now it’s you who …

– Haha, yes, now we are the ones to be talked about. But it will be amazing to see the fans now and feel their joy. I really hope it’s an audience next year, that’s the only thing I really miss right now. The followers. It is not the same without them. We have had incredible support in every game and on social media. Many people who write and listen. Being able to give them this is very nice.

Get money for new acquisitions

It will be a long winter for Patrik Werner, whose club struggled financially in the fall. But when you walk to the main Bosna restaurant today for a bite to eat, have a few beers and watch the Allsvenskan final round, you still do so in the knowledge that your club will play in the Allsvenskan again next year.

– I’ll take it very easy next week. Sports manager work is being done all the time, but now I’m just going to celebrate. And spend time with your loved ones. The family has had to work hard for a few weeks when I went to bed and checked the table and matches. You get stupid in your head when everything goes on like this. So I have to take care of them a bit and then I will spend time with this team as much as possible.

What financial conditions do you have to work with before the Allsvenskan?

– It is half tangled for all the clubs due to the pandemic that struck. But the little I know about the economy is that we are getting it right this year. But of course there are uncertainties for next year. Should we budget with an audience or not? All football in general is now working on the same issues. But I think we are doing relatively well financially. We haven’t sold multi-million annual passes, but our fans have lined up incredibly. With heart and hard work, you have come a long way. We will not sell more next year, but certainly less. But we will try to survive anyway.

Got a few crowns to move in and get new acquisitions anyway?

– Yes I think so. A little more than I will have this year.

Published: December 06, 2020 at 3:19 p.m.

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Published: December 06, 2020 at 3:19 p.m.