FM16: The Frozen Throne

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - April 2025 - IFK Mariehamn

Liigacup



It doesn't get much better than that!

I was quite excited to face HJK, a team that's probably going to be our biggest rival in the pursuit of the league title. They looked quite strong in the very first few minutes, but then we proceeded to absolutely smash them. In the 12th minute Stefan Nilsson played a one-two with Mohamed Yildrim and put on a finishing touch with a brilliant placed strike which went just inside the near post. Our Finnish wonderkid - can I already call him that? - added an assist to his tally nine minutes later, consciously setting up Torgeir Heggland for a one on one situation. And finally in the 75th minute an offensive move of two substitutes, Thomas Mäkinen and Peter Bockaj, ended with the latter making it 3:0 with a nice left footed effort after cutting inside from the right. We looked absolutely unstoppable and even though HJK did create the odd chance, they finished the match without a shot on target.

Veikkausliiga





Decent enough for a start, could get much better if we win our game in hand.

We only needed four minutes to score our first league goal of the season against AC Oulu. Yildrim played a great ball to the left for Alexander Bakkehaugen, the winger crossed without hesitation and Heggland put the ball in the back of the net with a close range shot. In the 16th minute Nilsson was brought down in their box and Yildrim doubled our lead from the spot. But the real show of strength was in the 81st minute - a beautifully conducted counter attack left Nilsson standing inside the penalty area with the ball. He waited until Niclas Alexandersson dragged their whole back line deep into the box and then played a square ball to the edge of the penalty area for Michael Strein to smash it home with a gorgeous powerful driven effort. You could say we started the season in the best possible way.

To counter that, two weeks later we delivered a horribly dull and uninspiring performance at home against Ilves. It did start quite well for us though with Heggland winning a penalty in the 11th minute and Yildrim scoring his second league goal of the season. But then we simply couldn't follow up on that. It was the visitors who had more of the ball, but neither side really created anything interesting. That is, until the 60th minute. We lost the ball high up the pitch and Ilves launched a quick counter attack which ended with Alberto Ballanti rounding our goalkeeper and squeezing it in from a tight angle. The replays leave no doubt though - he was something like two yards offside. That combined with our offensive impotence left us with a disappointing draw at our place.

Suomen Cup



A confident win against lower league opposition.

A few squad players were given their chance against Gnistan. In the 15th minute one of them, Thomas Mäkinen, gave us the lead with a nice placed effort from just outside the penalty box. Two minutes later centre back Leonardo Piala doubled our lead with a powerful strike after receiving a cross from a corner at the near post. The final goal came in the 85th minute. Alexander Fagerholm put in a cross from so deep that I'm not even sure whether it was still a cross or already a through ball. Nevertheless, it was a truly brilliant play and Niclas Alexandersson scored his first goal for the club with a calm finish. That's it, job done.

Next up, a Quarter Final away at AC Oulu.

[Rikulec]

What a way to start your reign at a club.

[DodgeeD]

Indeed - congrats on the cup win

[DodgeeD]

Indeed - congrats on the cup win

[Rikulec]

Indeed - congrats on the cup win

Thanks, it's been a pleasant surprise to be honest.

[AGK]

Nice little cup win mate well done

[deltablue]

Well done getting a trophy already.

[Rikulec]

Nice little cup win mate well done

Well done getting a trophy already.

Thank you very much.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - May 2025 - IFK Mariehamn

Veikkausliiga





Everything is still in our hands there.

We got off to a bad start at FC Lahti - just four minutes in we lost Alexander Bakkehaugen to an Achilles tendon injury. The Norwegian will be out for 3-4 months which is a massive blow for us. The match itself was very similar to the Ilves confrontation a few days back - poor performance on both sides and barely any highlights being shown. This kind of games often gets decided by a set piece and that's exactly what happened there. In the 78th minute Lucas Lingman played a deep free kick into our box and Jerry Niskanen gave the hosts the winning goal with a well aimed header. Not the best way to start a month.

After two disappointing results in a row the FC Inter game suddenly emerged as quite an important one if we wanted to bounce back and not get on a bad run of form. And it was all over after ten minutes. In the 2nd minute Stefan Nilsson got his first league goal of the season, rebounding Petar Bockaj's effort. Just two minutes later the youngster doubled his goal tally with a gorgeous half volley after Donato Gasperoni's cross from the left wing. And in the 10th minute the Italian put his name on the scoresheet as well, making perfect use of Michael Strein's cross from the right. After those three fast blows we let our foot off the gas and the match evened out with the visitors also having their chances to somehow come back into the game, but a decent performance by our backline secured us a very good result.

Next up, the big one. Or was it? Surprisingly, as you can see in the table, HJK are having what can only be described as a disastrous season for them. Maybe it was the battering they received in the Liigacup that sent them plummeting? Well, that's not really our problem. There were no goals in the first half of this league game, but you could say we had slight advantage and created a couple of decent chances. The breakthrough came in the 52nd minute. Bockaj won us a penalty and Mohamed Yildrim made no mistake. Just two minutes later the Moroccan added an assist to his goal, calmly passing the ball into the box to Stefan Nilsson. The 16-year-old found himself in quite a difficult situation with two defenders putting pressure on him and a tight angle, but unleashed an absolutely perfect strike which found the upper 90 at the far post. After such a goal it was hard not to think there was something special about this boy. And there was still much left in him for the month.

But the next game was a massive disappointment. After 20 minutes of play we found ourselves 2:0 down and their goals were some utter ********. In the 7th minute Petteri Ek played a nice through ball into the box, but Mason McLaughlin dispossessed their other striker with a fantastic last ditch sliding challenge. No other defender seemed to care about this at all though, which allowed Ek to reach the ball just before it crossed the byline and squeeze it in from a ridiculously tight angle. The same guy doubled their lead in the 21st minute, rebounding his own shot which hit the crossbar after a deep free kick. Again, no reaction from the defence at all. To make things worse, their goalkeeper Hugo Keto went on to play an absolute blinder, stopping two must-score situations from Niclas Alexandersson and Torgeir Heggland. Petar Bockaj restored some hope in the 38th minute, but that was it. Despite being the better team and creating numerous chances, we couldn't find the way past their goalkeeper who really should have got a much better rating than the mere 6.8 he eventually received.

After being rested in the KTP match, Stefan Nilsson made his comeback against KuPS and marked his return in the best possible way. Bockaj played a long ball alongside the right wing, Nilsson chased it and got to it before rounding their goalkeeper and ending his run with a very classy and confident finish from a tight angle. Not much really happened after that goal. The hosts attempted to pursue the equaliser and even had a few chances to score, but their poor finishing let them down as we struggled to keep our back line tight. In the end we managed to scrape the exact result we wanted.

The penultimate match of May was the classic definition of a one man show. Can you guess who that man was? In the 5th minute Özkan Yardımcı played an absolutely stunning, Iniesta-esque 40-yard pass into the box to serve a fantastic off the ball run by Nilsson. The 16-year-old put us in front with a placed first time effort. Despite playing well, we let that lead slip out of our hands twenty minutes later. Louis Wenbangomo won a header just outside our penalty area to set up Lucas Gaucho for a one on one situation, which he converted. Time was passing and we had massive trouble with finishing. But we also had Nilsson. In the 62nd minute he received a pass near the centre of the pitch, dribbled closer to the box and finally surprised everyone by moving the ball to his weaker left foot before unleashing a marvellous 25-yarder. Their goalkeeper stood no chance at all. And Nilsson was just scoring for fun - in the 83rd minute he calmly found a way to squeeze the ball between all VPS players standing in the box and into the near bottom corner. Incredibly classy finish, trust me. Michael Strein put the finishing touch to Nilsson's masterpiece in the 92nd minute, scoring after a nice cross from the left by Miika Lindström.

And finally, AC Oulu, a team we shouldn't really have trouble beating, history would suggest. But it wasn't until the 49th minute when we finally managed to break through their surprisingly tight defence. Nilsson produced yet another moment of magic, getting past two defenders before getting hacked down from behind in the box. Yildrim stepped up to the spot and confidently grabbed his fourth league goal of the season, all of which came from penalties. We weren't in front even for 60 seconds though - our concentration slipped as Roni Uusitalo found Ville Moilanen unmarked on the far post with a deep cross from the right. We continued to struggle to create anything before finally in the 78th minute Torgeir Heggland won us another penalty. Yildrim had already got subbed off, so this time it was Michael Strein who took the kick and he did it just as well, setting the final score. Another scraped win, but three points are three points.

Suomen Cup



Job done, move on.

Our fans could breathe out a sigh of relief as early as 26 seconds in. That's exactly when a square ball from Nilsson set up Heggland for an easy finish from 12 yards out. The second goal came in the 37th minute. Mohamed Yildrim played a wonderful through ball and Petar Bockaj found the net with a nice placed left-footed effort. We were hardly even troubled by AC Oulu and after 90 minutes of football they didn't even have a single shot on target. That was a very simple and confident win for us.

Now we have to wait until August before we host FC Lahti in the Semi Final.

Transfers

Mason McLaughlin - as usual, there were lots of players offered to us by their agents on deadline day. This time we managed to snap up a very interesting prospect.

[Rikulec]

Both well deserved, although I'd pick the HJK goal for Nilsson's.

[Rikulec]

More good news from the board room.

[dllu]

Looking very good so far! I predict your stay in Finland will be a lot shorter than in Iceland...

[Rikulec]

Looking very good so far! I predict your stay in Finland will be a lot shorter than in Iceland...

I hope to get the job done quickly, although I must say I'm quite enjoying my stay at IFK Mariehamn.

[Deisler26]

Good to hear about the youth upgrades!

[Rikulec]

Good to hear about the youth upgrades!

Yeah, I guess that counts as some kind of legacy I'll leave behind.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - June 2025 - IFK Mariehamn

Veikkausliiga





I have to say I find the scheduling in this league a bit unusual.

We started the month with a home game against high flying Jaro. I wasn't sure what to expect - the media predict them to finish 9th, but before this match they got 20 points out of 10 games and sat above us in the table. It turned out my players knew exactly how to bite them though - after a couple of wasted opportunities we got in front in the 21st minute. A cross by Özgur Özkul was aimed for Bockaj, but was intercepted by Johad Ferretti making a sliding tackle, then it bounced off the post and finally rolled into the net. We continued to push on, but we also had to be cautious as the visitors seemed capable of putting together a dangerous counter attack. In the 73rd minute we doubled our lead through Nilsson's goal, Bockaj with the assist from the right wing. Jaro fought back and scored in the 85th minute, but that was all they were able to manage.

They were a much tougher nut to crack at their place, probably having learnt the lesson from Sjölund Arena. Still, it was us who scored the first goal just seconds before half time. Jaro goalkeeper Emil Öhberg performed a miraculous double save on Stefan Nilsson, but he was helpless when Michael Strein got to the loose ball on the edge of the six yard box. Straight after the break they got an equaliser though. Chaos erupted in our penalty area after a cross from the left wing and finally Kristoffer Ericson, a 17-year-old who had just been subbed on, found the ball at his feet with an empty goal and no defender anywhere near. Jaro took advantage and were the better team in the second half, but it was us who nicked the winning goal - Nilsson put in a wonderful cross from the right for Torgeir Heggland to smash the ball home with a nice half-volley. A double over Jaro is a great thing at this stage of the season.

Two weeks' rest preceeded the first RoPS game of June. As you can see, it was a 0:0, but it certainly wasn't the boring kind of 0:0. Each team got their wonderful clear cut chance inside the first 40 second of the match, which already tells you a lot. After the final whistle the CCC stat read 4-2 to us and I'd say it's about right. We produced a few wonderful crosses, but the quality of our close range heading was absolutely horrendous. On the other side of the pitch, the RoPS strikers showed their inability to beat a goalkeeper in a one on one situation. Still, we had the advantage and should have got the win, I'm not very happy with the draw.

You could say our performance at home was a bit shaky, but at their place we were smashing. But it wasn't good enough - Daniel Kollár played an absolute blinder between the sticks for RoPS. He might have brought Nilsson to tears with some of the saves he performed. To make things worse, we made a crucial defensive mistake in the 19th minute which ended with Jarno Käsnäkoski netting what turned out to be the only goal of the match. I feel a bit robbed after these two games, we should have come out of that double clash with at least three points I'd say.

Four days later a very poor Ilves game followed. There weren't many highlights shown to talk about really. We grabbed the lead in the 25th minute and it was a very weird goal - Heggland played a through ball, aiming for Niclas Alexandersson, but he clearly overhit it. For some reason their goalkeeper decided to step aside and let the ball just roll past him. Alexandersson might have as well left it alone and let it just roll in, but he got his first league goal of the season with the easiest shot he'll ever take in his career. The first half was quite comfortable, but as the time passed, fatigue was starting to get to us and Ilves looked more and more dangerous. When I thought we'd survive, in the 90th minute a goalmouth scramble ended with Mika Kimiväki equalising with a placed effort. Two points out of three games, not good, not good at all.

We needed a breakthrough at FC Inter... and we got it. You could even say we got back to our stunning performances - 23 shots to their 8 and 67-33 possession speak a lot. Petar Bockaj gave us the lead in the 8th minute, Mohamed Yildrim with the assist. Nine minutes later Torgeir Heggland made it 2:0 after a cross from the right wing by Michael Strein. The hosts fought back in the 23rd minute with Romain Monteil's goal, but that was all they could manage. We continued to push on and in the 36th minute Stefan Nilsson scored the final goal of the game with a perfectly placed effort from just inside the box. That was a very classy finish to end his four game goal drought and a very important win for us to bounce back after a poor run of form.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - July 2025 - IFK Mariehamn

Veikkausliiga





That fixture congestion simply had to get to us at some point. No panic yet.

First up, the rescheduled game away at JJK. We got off to the best possible start and were in front after just 19 seconds. Özgur put in a nice drilled cross from the right wing, Torgeir Heggland got away from his marker and gave us the lead with an easy tap-in. JJK can be described as the weakest team in the league and that was clearly visible on the pitch. But even though we created numerous chances, we struggled to convert them into goals and the hosts started to look surprisingly dangerous on the break. Finally in the 82nd minute another cross gave us the second goal. This time it was Alexander Fagenholm from the left and Michael Strein on the far post with the finish. All in all it was quite a comfortable win to start the month, definitely something we needed before the two tough games.

FC Lahti were the first team to beat us this season, as you may remember, after a horribly boring game and a set piece goal in the final fifteen minutes. And they confirmed their ability to find themselves well in such matches - we had to wait until the 24th minute of the game for the first highlight, but when it came, it was an FC Lahti corner and a goal from Rafael Dumas. After that slap in the face we finally woke up and brought our game back. In the 36th minute Fagerholm assisted Heggland for the equaliser. Admittedly though, it seemed the Norwegian was offside in that situation. Oh well, nevermind. In other news, Stefan Nilsson proved there really was some problem with him as he struggled to hit the target from seemingly easy positions. To make things worse, in the 66th minute a slip of concentration cost us another goal conceded. I made a panic sub, throwing on Denis Bello, a 19-year-old striker who had just recovered from a broken leg. And guess who gave us a point in the 87th minute? A good cross from Donato Gasperoni found exactly him on the near post. I love making such decisions, it's so satisfying when it happens!

Three days later we travelled to Helsinki and this time HJK finally looked like the strong team they're supposed to be. I'm not sure if I like it though. In the 19th minute their playmaker Abderrazak Hajji was given a little bit too much space near the corner of the penalty area, cut inside on his left foot and gave the hosts a lead with a sensational inswinging shot at the far post. Götte stood no chance there, can't blame him for that. After that a tactical change made us grab control of the game though. Fourteen minutes after falling behind we equalised, again it was Heggland who turned out to be our hero, applying the final touch to a beautifully executed counter attack. Over the course of 90 minutes we took a total of nine shots on target, but most of them were not dangerous and aimed straight at their goalkeeper. HJK woke up in the final ten minutes and they tried their best to grab the most spectacular winner possible - their attempts included an overhead kick that hit the side netting and a powerful 25-yarder denied by the crossbar. I'm happy with the point.

Next up, KuPS, an easier opponent for a change. Torgeir Heggland confirmed his amazing form in the first minute of the game, putting us in front after Nilsson's assist. Six minutes later a cross by Michael Strein found Fagerholm on the far post and the Finnish winger made it 2:0 with a composed finish. The visitors casted a shadow of doubt over the result in the 45th minute with a Christophe Cardoso goal, but we punched back rather quickly - Heggland doubled his goal tally in the 50th minute, Mohamed Yildrim with a nice assist there. And finally in stoppage time our Moroccan midfielder grabbed his first goal from open play - he fooled a defender with a beautiful feint, moved the ball to his left foot and unleashed a perfectly placed effort into the bottom corner from 20 yards out.

We barely had any rest before yet another match. JJK, a team we definitely should be beating, as we've already shown this month. After a goalless and rather boring first half we got in front in the 48th minute through Petar Bockaj, Strein with the assist from the right wing. We looked a bit shaky throughout the game, but looked capable of carrying the 1:0 until the final whistle. Which we failed to accomplish - in the 76th minute our horrible defensive indecisiveness allowed Jarmo Källberg to equalise. Despite a couple of attempts, we couldn't recover after that.

In another match we travelled to KTP for what turned out to be just 90 minutes of pure frustration. Their first offensive move of the game brought a Cüneyt Bulut goal, Leonardo Piala at fault with some horrendous marking. After that, the hosts didn't trouble us much, it was more a case of us troubling ourselves. We got to the vicinity of their penalty area with relative ease, but pretty much no one attempted to penetrate it, either by a through pass or an individual run. I'd have liked us to take more than eight shots as well. With some more risk taken, we could have easily scored two or three goals there. A very painful game to watch and potentially dangerous points to drop as KTP have joined the title race with a nice run of results.

Something terribly wrong has happened to our defence, especially the captain Leonardo Piaia. But when VPS got in front through Louis Wembangomo's goal in the 31st minute, pretty much every single one of our defenders should have done better. It was a simple situation - a long ball played upfield towards the big man. Even if one central defender lost the header, the other should be covering him by marking the other striker. But instead he came out towards the ball and left his player completely unmarked. Heggland restored some hope in our hearts in the 63rd minute with a classy finish to a clever through ball by Nilsson, but that was all we could manage. Again it was our finishing that let us down, with six shots on target I'd say we should be scoring more than once.

And finally, to round up this incredibly packed month, AC Oulu at their place. This match really shouldn't have lasted for 90 minutes, for the good of the audience the referee should have blown the final whistle after fifteen. In the 7th minute Ville Moilanen exploited yet another gaping hole in our backline and six minutes later Heggland equalised with his sixth goal of the month, overtaking Nilsson in the league scorers' table. And that was it. Even though we were the better team, we couldn't create chances good enough to get in front. I'm just so glad we're finally going to get some rest in August, this fixture congestion is unbearable in the long run.

[Rikulec]

It turns out the first game of August will be quite important for me.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - August 2025 - IFK Mariehamn

Veikkausliiga





Everything's back under control.

A slight tactical change preceeded the RoPS game - I decided to employ a Wide Playmaker instead of a Wide Midfielder in the MR slot. And, as you can see, it worked wonders. In the 25th minute we got in front and it was a goal that really got me pumping my fists. Why? Because it was the 10th league goal of the season for Stefan Nilsson who headed the ball home after a nice cross from the left by Alexander Fagerholm. Our in-form winger confirmed his fantastic run as he assisted again ten minutes after the break, this time with a good through ball to another player on fire, Torgeir Heggland. RoPS got one back thanks to Jarno Käsnäkoski in the dying minutes, but that was all they were able to do. A good result to end our winless streak.

Five days later we travelled to Jaro for a potential six-point game. And it started in the worst possible way for us - the first highlight of the match was the hosts getting in front through Markus Äijälä's goal in the 7th minute. Yet again Leonardo Piaia was at fault with his poor positioning. Definitely not something I'd expect from a 33-year-old. Luckily we were able to get back into the game and fifteen minutes later it was all square. Fagerholm from the left, Michael Strein with a fantastic header towards the far post, 1:1. Our period of domination brought another goal in the 35th minute. Nilsson received the ball on the edge of the penalty area, held it for a moment to get the defenders running at him and sent Heggland running one on one with their goalkeeper. After a slow start to the season, this guy is simply unstoppable now, he converts almost everything he gets. The second half was fairly even with both teams getting their chances, but a good performance between the sticks from Götte ensured we'd leave their place with three points in the bag.

Next up, Ilves, a team I had never beaten before, our bogey team, you could say. And we simply went and wiped the floor with them. Or Heggland did, to be more precise. The Norwegian started his show in the 10th minute, tapping the ball in after a brilliant cross from Thomas Mäkinen. Then he doubled our goal tally 25 minutes later, finding himself in a good position in a goalmouth scramble following a deep free kick. And finally in the 74th minute he completed his hat-trick, putting the finishing touch to a Fagerholm cross. Apart from these goals, we absolutely dominated the game and hardly allowed the visitors on our own half, ending the match with as many as eleven shots on target.

We had a bit of a break before the FC Inter game, something I welcomed warmly after the ridiculous July we had. It didn't stop Heggland - he got us in front as soon as six minutes in, heading the ball home after a nice cross by Nilsson who, after a fantastic beginning, clearly went into assisting-support striker mode. Nothing I'd complain about, that was his 11th assist in the league which put him on the top of the classification. The only setback of the match came in the 8th minute. Lack of aggression 25 yards away from our goal resulted in Tim Väyrynen netting an absolute screamer. We recovered in the 38th minute. Mason McLaughlin put in a cross from a deep free kick, their defender's failed clearance attempt was stopped by Michael Strein's stomach and the German struck the ball with great fury from 10 yards out straight at the goalkeeper. It was such a powerful shot though that he wasn't able to keep it away from goal. And in the 63rd minute Heggland put an end to any doubt, making it 3:1 and giving Fagerholm another assist.

And finally, HJK. A game we should be afraid of, but I was very positive we'd get a good result. How can you not be positive when you have a striker on such murderous form? In the 26th minute a beautiful passing move inside their penalty area ended with Mohamed Yildrim setting up Heggland for an easy tap-in, something he was never going to waste. After rather even first fifteen minutes of the game, we absolutely dominated them for the remainder of the first half. And our advantage continued after the break, even though it wasn't that visible anymore. HJK did create the odd chance, but in the 75th minute we doubled our lead. Yildrim with the assist, you-know-who with the goal. The Norwegian could have got a hat-trick in stoppage time, but his header was miraculously stopped by the goalkeeper. Even without that, he scored nine goals in five league games in August. I'm lost for words.

Suomen Cup



Smash and grab. Heggland didn't score. Just one obstacle left.

As you can judge by the result, it was complete and utter domination against a team that caused us quite some trouble in the past this season. In the 10th minute a cross from Mäkinen was headed away and landed at the feet of Petar Bockaj 30 yards away from goal. I don't know whether knuckleball is coded into the match engine, but if it is, then that was it. An absolutely unstoppable effort that just flew past the goalkeeper who seemed to be only interested in covering his face and not saving. I wouldn't even blame him for that. 25 minutes later we had a penalty awarded. Yildrim stepped up to the spot and slotted the ball home as usual. And finally in the 53rd minute our Moroccan playmaker made it 3:0 with a beautiful placed effort from just outside the penalty box. I was silently hoping for a manita, but we weren't as clinical in front of goal and had to settle for three goals. I'm not complaining at all though.

Youth Intake



A good intake with a few interesting prospects.

Peter Mähler

Peter Wikström

Andreas Bergström

Koroush Afsharian

[dllu]

That Mähler looks like he could become a pretty good inside forward!

Out of curiosity: Do any of your regens have Swedish as their second nationality? - what with the Åland Islands having a Swedish majority...

[Rikulec]

That Mähler looks like he could become a pretty good inside forward!

Out of curiosity: Do any of your regens have Swedish as their second nationality? - what with the Åland Islands having a Swedish majority...

They don't have dual nationality, but they all seem to speak fluent Swedish.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - September 2025 - IFK Mariehamn

Veikkausliiga





Well, mathematically...

We started the month with a tricky tie away at FC Lahti. I decided to drop our usual smash-and-grab tactic and try to win the possession battle, which we did. On the other hand, the hosts did a very good job marking Heggland out of the game. As a result, the match itself became rather boring. We had our chances, but most of our shots got blocked by their tight defence. In the final fifteen minutes Diogo Monteiro got a bit carried away and picked up two yellow cards in the 75th and 80th minute, which certaintly didn't help us. All in all, the draw extended our unbeaten run and at FC Lahti's place it's never a bad result really.

I barely had any worries going into the KuPS game. Why have worries if you have Torgeir Heggland? The amazing Norwegian put us in front in the 9th minute after a good cross from the right flank delivered by Özgur Özkul. We extended our lead just before half time thanks to Mohamed Yildrim's goal, Michael Strein with the assist. The second half was just a stroll from us, we controlled the game with no real danger from the hosts. That was really a game we needed to win if we wanted to secure the title, at this stage there aren't really any points to drop.

And finally, the decider. No explanation is required here really, everyone knew how important the KTP game was going to be. And we just went and did exactly what we had to. Fists were pumped for the first time in the 21st minute and of course it was Heggland who gave us the lead after a maginificent cross by Stefan Nilsson. Özkul's deep cross from the right reached Alexander Fagerholm on the far post in the 45th minute and our left winger doubled our lead seconds before the half time whistle. All doubt was erased in the 55th minute. Another fantastic delivery by Özkul was met by a calm finish from Heggland. That was his 22nd league goal of the season. The final fifteen minutes were marked by bringing off Nilsson which seemed to completely stun the other players on the pitch, which resulted in a period of KTP domination. They managed to get one back through Petteri Ek, but that was it. I can't imagine what kind of a catastrophe would strip us off the title now.

Suomen Cup



Horrendous. Simply horrendous.

I had already started celebrating after just 15 seconds of the match against Ykkönen side Haka, but the linesman's flag went up just as Heggland was about to tap the ball into an empty net. And then the 9th minute came. Our central defenders' indecisiveness allowed Kasperi Liikonen to squeeze in between them and give Haka the lead with a nicely placed effort from just inside the box. You may think that woke us up and we stormed their defence, but no. Apart from a disallowed goal by Fagerholm, we barely created anything. Neither did Haka though in the dull and boring first half. And the second 45 minutes weren't any better. Instead of pursuing the equaliser, we had to defend tightly as the ball banged off the crossbar and shortly after off the post. To make things even worse, Özkan Yardımcı picked up his second yellow card in the 48th minute. We did have one great chance to equalise in the 80th minute, but Heggland's shot was denied by a last-ditch sliding tackle by one of their defenders. And that was it. To be honest, I have no idea what happened there. Let's just all forget about it.

[deltablue]

Tough luck in the cup final.

[Rikulec]

Tough luck in the cup final.

Yeah, we simply didn't turn up I guess.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - October 2025 - IFK Mariehamn

Veikkausliiga





Not the spectacular finish I was hoping for, but it's good to have wrapped the title up.

We dominated the possession stat against JJK and it eventually ended up at 63%, but not much really came out of that. I was silently hoping for Heggland to score as many as possible just for the sake of it, but despite getting into a few positions he failed to find the net. Finally in the 73rd minute a maginificent long pass into the box found Alexander Fagerholm, he headed it across the area straight to the feet of Stefan Nilsson who was presented with an almost empty net. Even without his scoring boots he doesn't miss these. There was some danger by the hosts in the dying minutes, but it was dealt with rather calmly and with one game to go we were officially declared Champions of Finland. Happy days.

Our 2025 campaign ended with a home game against VPS who had absolutely nothing to play for. Not that we did, to be honest. The only thing I was hoping for was a big win to make our celebrations even more profound. But despite our absolute domination we just couldn't bang them in. The visitors' defender Pasquale Nico came to help in the 36th minute with an own goal. Nilsson confirmed his awakening in the 65th minute, putting a calm finish to a nice cross by Sami Ojanperä. The day was spoiled a little bit by a Sakari Ikeröinen goal not two minutes after, but that was all VPS could hit us with. We strolled to the win with relative calm and ended the season with a nice number of 69 points from 33 games.

[Rikulec]

Always nice to read these, even if they get a bit repetitive.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - Season Review - 2025 - IFK Mariehamn

Veikkausliiga

Results

Competition Performance: Winners

The start was relatively slow, but once we got going, there was no stopping us. The situation looked quite evened out mid-season during our stutter, but a fantastic run in the final third left us with a 12 point advantage over KTP at the end of the day. Professional work by the players.

Veikkausliiga Liigacup

Competition Performance: Winners

This was supposed to be just an assessment of the strength of the squad. Well, we turned out to be the strongest team of all, which was confirmed especially in the final where we absolutely smashed HJK to lift the trophy.

Suomen Cup

Competition Performance: Runners-up

It was going fantastically for us, we kept three clean sheets in three games prior to the final, but then we were just hit by a horrible day at the office. Massive pity as it ruined our chances for a domestic clean sweep.

Squad

There's a lot of quality in there, but with many players departing the next transfer window will need to be a big overhaul.

Transfers - Finances

I'm reasonably happy with our transfer business. Özkan Yardımcı was the standout player who became a vital part of our midfield, the other pretty much fulfilled their roles in our squad rotation system. The only disappointment was Alexandersson, I thought he could be the Finnish Messi, but he only went on to feature for us a few times and score just two goals.

The finances look healthy, quite a lot is going to be spent on youth facilities work, but that will be balanced by sponsorship income and European money.

Player of the Season

1st - Torgeir Heggland - the top scorer of the league obviously had to grab the top spot here. He started the season well with five goals in the Liigacup, then went somewhat stale in the league, but just as Nilsson got on his goal drought, he got firing. Nine goals in five games in August was the confirmation of his amazing form.

2nd - Stefan Nilsson - 12 goals and 12 assists in the league for someone who only turned 17 in July and played his first professional season is a sensational result. In the first period of the season he kept scoring for fun and I thought he would end up with 30-some goals at the end, but instead he went into perfect support striker mode and handed the crown over to Heggland. Not that I'm complaining!

3rd - Mohamed Yildrim - the linking midfielder in our 4-4-2. The system might have hindered his number of assists - he went from 14 in 2023 and 13 in 2024 to just 6 in 2025, but the average rating of 7,56 is the highest he's ever achieved over the course of a season and serves as a perfect summary of his form.

Next Season

I still have a year until my contract with IFK Mariehamn runs out, so if nothing interesting comes up in Norway, there's a possibility of staying. That's a big if though, I'll certainly be leaning towards leaving.

[Rikulec]

And we sweep up quite a few awards.

[Rikulec]

So the season has ended in Norway and Odds Ballklubb finished 12th despite media prediction of 6th. On November 21st I attended the interview.

[Rikulec]

And this came completely out of the blue just two days later. I know this wasn't the purpose of the challenge at all, but seeing as this is a career save, they have a great team and this wage is just ridiculous, I genuinely don't know what to do. I'm not going to manage a club and a national team at the same time.

[Rikulec]

In the end I decided to reject the South Korea offer and the very next day this one arrived.



Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - New Club - Odds Ballklubb



I have no idea why they brought back some Borgunarbikar exit back at KA, they could have haunted me with the Suomen Cup final instead!

Club Name: Odds Ballklubb

Nickname: Oddrane

Year Founded: 1894

Status: Professional

Stadium: Skagerak Arena (12,293 all-seater)



14 times cup winners, but not a single league title... yet.



Let's see what this turns out to be.

[Rikulec]

Good to have this done.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - Season Preview - 2026 - Odds Ballklubb

Board Expectations:

Tippeligaen: Mid-table finish

Norgesmesterkap Frisk Forsikring Cup: Quarter Finals

My Expectations:

Tippeligaen: With the squad we have at the club, mid-table is a realistic expectation.

Norgesmesterkap Frisk Forsikring Cup: No idea, everything depends on the draw we get I guess.

Budgets:

Transfer: £454,135

Wage: £55,472 (currently spending £24,169)

Balance: £330,565

[Rikulec]

So they have elections here as well as in Iceland, it turns out.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - Pre-Season - 2026 - Odds Ballklubb

Friendlies



Nothing spectacular in the batch of friendlies my assistant dealt with.

Transfers



Only three incomings over the winter, one of which was already arranged by the previous boss.

Housem Ferchichi - I had nothing to say with this one as it had been already set up on the day of my arrival. Certainly not a bad player, but I'm not sure whether I'd sign him personally. He'll get his chance though.

Vetle Nes - already some decent stats at 21 which will probably make him a starter, and he also has plenty of room for development.

Michael Mikkelsen - the lowest fee paid, but the highest wage at the club. Some of his attributes look exceptional though, I believe he has the quality to become one of the best wingers in the league.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - April 2026 - Odds Ballklubb

Tippeligaen





Could have been worse.

We got extremely lucky with our schedule - in the first three games we were to face three teams predicted to finish 14th, 15th and 16th respectively. So, first up, Fredrikstad at home. Tactics wise, I went for the same possession-oriented 4-1-4-1 that won me the title back in Iceland. And it started off quite well. The first half was our unanimous domination with two great opportunities, but neither Michael Mikkelsen nor Mileta Vucinic could find the net. And then the old demons came back to haunt me straight after the break - for the first time Fredrikstad managed to put together a few passes near our penalty area and their move ended with Ohi Omuijuanfo netting an absolute belter with a first time effort from 20 yards out. Luckily we bounced back just three minutes later. Left midfielder Pablo Clavaría put in a brilliant cross towards the far post and Mikkelsen equalised with a free header. And in the 84th minute his direct replacement, Daniel Farkas gave us the winner after a very similar move, albeit this time it was our left back Stian Ringstad with the assist. With some trouble we managed to grab a win on my debut.

Three days later we faced the once great have-beens, Molde. Having enjoyed a period of success in the 2010s - their last league title coming in 2016 - they've fallen from grace badly and in 2024 they got relegated to the OBOS-ligaen. They came straight back though and were ready to host us on matchday 2. And they were definitely a tougher opponent than Fredrikstad. We still had advantage, but the hosts looked quite dangerous on the break and didn't allow us to dominate possession as much. That made up for some quite boring 75 minutes of football. And then the goals came. In the 78th minute a deep free kick from Vetle Nes was met with a very composed finish by Farkas. Three minutes later in a very similar situation Housem Ferchichi stepped up to the ball and found our young second-choice left back Sturle Joten with a nice cross. Molde got one back through Tom Egil Remen in the 83rd minute, but they didn't look too much like pursuing the equaliser. A deserved win at the end of the day.

Next up, Vålerenga, another side that used to be quite a force in Norwegian football. Now it's 2026 though and they find themselves flirting with relegation on a yearly basis. And, pretty much like against Fredrikstad, we dominated. In the 5th minute Stian Ringstad put in a cross from a corner, the ball was nodded on by our Belgian centre back Stijn Vanspauwen and Michael Mikkelsen scored his second league goal of the season with a precise header. Time flew by and we just circulated the ball around, the possession stat eventually stopping at 66-34, but not much came out of this really. On the plus side, the visitors couldn't manage a shot on target throughout the whole match. On the minus side, our conversion rate could have been a little bit better.

Haugesund were supposed to be our first proper challenge... and they were. Even though we managed to keep the ball at our feet, you couldn't say we controlled the flow of the game. Our goalkeeper Alexander Brunst put in a phenomenal performance in the first 30 minutes, his actions including a miraculous double save in what seemed to be not one, but two open goal situations. And the hosts' poor finishing turned out costly for them in the 39th minute when Mikkelsen gave us the lead after a good cross by Ringstad. After that we seemed to finally grab the steering wheel, but in the 75th minute we let our lead slip. A defensive misunderstanding resulted in Martin Hummervoll being left alone on the edge of the six yard box with the ball flying right towards his head. Our response came four minutes later, again it was Ringstad with the assist and Mikkelsen with the goal. And right as I started to slowly celebrate the win, Hummervoll came up with a move that would definitely become a hit on the internet. The ball was launched high up the pitch by their right back, the striker muscled off one of our defenders while controlling the ball, got past another one with a nice flick and finally unleashed an absolute thunderbolt from 30 yards out which hit the upper 90 perfectly. What. A. Goal. I wasn't even mad.

It's hard to turn a match around if you find yourself 2:0 down after just 9 minutes. It's even harder when you take into account how the first goal was scored. One of the Lillestrom players put in a cross into the box that was easily dealt with by Brunst. Our goalkeeper held onto the ball for a few seconds before launching it upfield... no, scratch that. Before hitting Michael Mikkelsen on his head and helplessly watching as the ball rolled past the line. Just a minute later Andreas Helmersen doubled their lead after a nice cross from the right wing. It was all finished in the 22nd minute. Shocking passivity by Vetle Nes allowed the ball to reach Helmersen in the box again and the Lillestrom striker made it 3:0. We did have our chances and with some better luck we might have even got something out of that game, but you know. Sometimes you just come up against one of these days.

Cupen



We got past lower league opposition with little trouble.

I think the shot stat will serve as the best description of the match - out of 31 attempts we made, only 5 were on target. The squad I fielded was mostly second choice, but still we absolutely battered Jevnaker. Michael Mikkelsen gave us the lead in the 38th minute after a nice cross by Sturle Joten. In the 52nd minute Stian Ringstad doubled our lead, heading the ball home from Magnus Skjelseth's assist. A defensive slip in the 90th minute allowed Yngve Helland to grab one back for the hosts, but that didn't matter too much.

We're through to the Second Round where we'll be facing another non-league side Eld at their place.

[Rikulec]

The main contributor of our success got a well-deserved award.

[Bitner]

Nice thread! Good Luck in Norway!

Cheers,

Bitner

[Rikulec]

Nice thread! Good Luck in Norway!

Cheers,

Bitner

Cheers mate.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - May 2026 - Odds Ballklubb

Tippeligaen





I'd kill for a striker.

To start off, we faced yet another struggling side, Sarpsborg. It took us some time to find our feet in the game and we needed a few good saves by Brunst to keep things level. As the time passed, we established more and more control over the events on the pitch. Another problem kicked in shortly after though - even though our striker Mileta Vucinic is 4* ability, he's utter crap on the pitch and won't score no matter what. Luckily we have some more players who find themselves in good positions from time to time. In the 60th minute a good through ball from Stian Ringstad set up Pablo Clavaría for a decent chance cutting inside from the left wing. The Spaniard didn't hesitate too much before smashing the ball just under the crossbar at the near post with a FIFA-esque strike. Sarpsborg did create the odd chance, but all in all we deserved to grab three points there.

And then a period of horrific games struck us and still doesn't look like ending at the end of the month. First up, Start at home. How does a scoreline in a terribly boring game usually get settled? You're right, through a set piece. In the 39th minute a corner flew into our box and found Christer Blomgren on the far post. The striker scored the only goal of the gime with a well executed header. Maybe we did create one or two half decent chances, but after such a game the only thing we're really entitled to do is apologise to the fans for an absolute horror showing.

Six days later we faced Sandefjord in what turned out to be very similar 90 minutes of football. And for the second time in a row we conceded from a corner. This time it was the 88th minute, a near post cross and Vitor Hugo on the scoresheet. While I was fuming and smashing my desk, we launched a quick move just two minutes later which ended quite hilariously - Vetle Nes put in a cross from the right wing, it landed on the head of Nemanja Vukobratovic, the Serbian's shot bounced off the post, hit him flat on the face, deflected towards the goal and finally our midfielder smashed it home from point blank range. Okay I guess.

And the ultimate borefest, Rosenborg away. There's literally nothing to talk about in terms of the first half as there were no highlights shown at all, apart from the initial few seconds after the kick-off. The second half finally looked like some kind of a revival on our part. In the 53rd minute a foul on Clavaría gave us a penalty. Our 34-year-old left back Ringstad stepped up to the spot... and had his shot saved by Michael Mustapha. Later on in the game a Rosenborg defender let off an underhit backpass, Clavaría got to it first... and smashed the near post, admittedly from quite a tight angle, but still it was a bloody sitter. Vucinic's header from like two yards out flew over the crossbar. So, yeah, 0:0. Whatever.

Football, lesson one. Racking up 70% possession in the first half matters very little when you don't convert your chances, and even more importantly, if you let in a goal in the 2nd minute of the game. Sogndal right winger put in a wonderful cross for Sebastian Aisaker to find some space between our back line and the goalkeeper and send the ball home with a calm finish. After the break it was the hosts who looked better initially, then we took the control back, and then they scored. Again the ball was put in from the right wing and Hayk Galstyan headed it in from a ridiculously tight angle, making it 2:0 after 68 minutes. At the end of the day it was a disappointing, uninspiring loss at the vice-leaders' place.

Cupen



We should have dealt with that much easier.

Compared to Jevnaker in the previous round, Eld were visibly tougher opposition and they even managed to create a couple of quite dangerous situations, even though they didn't manage a single shot on target. More importantly, they held us off successfully for big parts of the game. We got 67% possession, but not much really seemed to come out of this. Finally the breakthrough happened in the 72nd minute. We were awarded a free kick on the right wing, Magnus Skjelseth put in a cross and Martin Ove Roseth put it in the back of the net with a perfect header. We got the result we wanted, but I'd have preferred the scoreline to be much more convincing than the one we ended up with.

In the Third Round we're facing Rosenborg at their place.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - June 2026 - Odds Ballklubb

Tippeligaen





I believe we could make anyone hate football.

It was never going to be easy travelling to the league leaders' stadium. Not only did we lose, but we also made it horribly painful to the away fans. As we usually do, we had more possession than our opponent, and just as usual, nothing seemed to come out of that. It was Stabæk who controlled the flow of the game. In the 18th minute they put in a cross from the left wing, a failed interception allowed Iván Canovas to take a shot, Brunst did well to deflect it, but he was helpless with the Spaniard's rebound. We kind of woke up in the second half and even created some opportunity or two, but as you can see, we couldn't convert it. Another dull and deserved loss before the month-long summer break.

Cupen



No surprise here either.

Unlike in our previous clash, this time Rosenborg took the initiative from the first whistle of the game and didn't let go no matter what. Fredrik Aalen put the hosts in front just six minutes in, of course after a cross. This time Issa Marega was at fault, he didn't even try to challenge for a header that looked winnable for the defender. 61st minute, another cross, this time from the left, Aalen again, 2:0. The only ray of light was Magnus Skjelseth's goal in the stoppage time, but of course we still had to end the game on the back foot as Philip Billing received his second booking not a minute later. We seriously need to do something about ourselves.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - July 2026 - Odds Ballklubb

Tippeligaen





It's becoming quite predictable.

We weren't all that bad against Strømsgodset. Or, at least, we weren't as bad as last month. But of course this is FM and FM hates me with passion. In the 17th minute the first half decent attacking move the visitors pulled off resulted in a goal scored by Michael Tegström. Do I need to state specifically that it came from a bloody cross? That wasn't all this match had to offer though. As usually, we dominated possession and achieved 67% after the final whistle. But no one was ready for what happened in the 61st minute. Ladies and gentleman, Mileta Vucinic scored a goal. On matchday 12 our striker finally managed to find the net. Vetle Nes found him unmarked in the penalty area with a nice cross and the Serbian put us level with half an hour to go. Despite a couple of attempts we couldn't snatch the winner though, also we weren't helped by the fact that Strømsgodset commited 18 fouls throughout the game, at times breaking the flow of our play... did I really say that?

Next up, Sandnes Ulf away. A clash between two mid-table sides was unsurprisingly quite even with not much actual action happening on the pitch. The only remarkable moment of the match was the 34th minute. The hosts put together a nice attacking move on the right wing, setting up Nemanja Krstic for a clear crossing opportunity. The winger put the ball in, finding Mathias Greve in the penalty area. He unleashed a first time effort straight at Alexander Brunst... but his save attempt made me question whether he could hold his own dick in his hand, because he clearly can't hold onto a football. The rest was just a showing of hopeless long shots by both teams struggling to break through each other's defence. I don't even care too much anymore, which could be a dangerous symptome.

A week later we hosted Brann. You all can see the result. I can't even put a description of the match together, there's simply nothing to describe. 0:0. At this rate we'll be giving ticket refunds to our fans before the season ends.

And finally Aalesund. I don't think we've lost the possession battle before, they might have been the first team to manage over 50% against us this season. And they dominated the game as well. In the first half we somehow managed to hold onto the goalless draw, but the 59th minute brought the hosts' breakthrough. A cross from the right, Elvind Fallås Dahl, 1:0. Having conceded, we looked even more hopeless than before and I was starting to settle for yet another loss. But in the 75th minute... something weird happened. For seemingly no reason we started to absolutely batter Aalesund. In the 82nd minute our new loanee striker Greg Cadby scored on his debut to give us an equaliser. We could have even snatched a winner, but Michael Mikkelsen found himself unable to convert seemingly easy chances. One point is better than none I guess.

Transfers

Tomas Wright - we sold our first choice defensive midfielder Jimmi Juul and needed a replacement. Most notably, Wright won Coppa Italia with Roma in 2022. Hopefully he won't suck.

Henrik Bjørdal - experience and versatility will certainly be utilised in this guy's case. He'll certainly add some depth to our midfield.

Greg Cadby - coming on loan from Norwich, the Englishman will hopefully be a remedy for our goalscoring issues. He can't possibly be worse than Vucinic, that's for sure.

[Bitner]

Well, are you some kind of Louis van gaal?

Jokes aside, good luck, things will be better soon, i hope.

Cheers,

Bitner

[Rikulec]

Well, are you some kind of Louis van gaal?

Jokes aside, good luck, things will be better soon, i hope.

Cheers,

Bitner

It's getting even worse than that. Thanks for the kind words.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - August 2026 - Odds Ballklubb

Tippeligaen





Not one, not even two, but THREE wins! And one of them was even kind of convincing!

We started the month with a trip to Fredrikstad, the team we've beaten on my debut back in April. And we got off to a very promising start - in the 7th minute a cross by Magnus Skjelseth was met by a precise finish by Henrik Bjørdal. Surprise, surprise, we scored a goal! But of course things couldn't have gone so well. The 24th minute brought an equaliser by Thomas Mauger. Again, Brunst got his hand to a rather weak shot, but was unable to keep it away. Another note - I can't even remember the last time we conceded from something else than a bloody cross. It's becoming painfully repetitive. All in all, our team weakened by the lack of a natural striker was unable to cope with the challenge of pushing for another goal and we had to settle for a rather defensive tactic and bringing the draw home, which we managed. Not very encouraging, but sometimes you just have to take it.

Next up, Vålerenga. Here's where the weird things started to happen. In the 5th minute Mileta Vucinic shocked the crowd - myself included - when he took on two defenders, rolled the ball onto his stronger right foot and let off a placed effort from the edge of the penalty area which found the net at the near post. So, can this guy play football after all? Possibly! After such a good start we simply moved the ball around, creating something from time to time and we deservedly carried the lead until half time. But then, well, of course we're Odd. In the 49th minute Frode Grungstad grabbed the equaliser. Do I need to mention the type of assist he received? Luckily we were so quick to respond that I didn't even finish my curses towards our defenders. Almost straight from the kick-off we launched an attack, the ball flew into the hosts' penalty area, was nodded on by Bjørdal and Housem Ferchichi put us back in front with a precise header. We were a bit troubled in the last fifteen minutes, but managed to hold onto a result which ended our ten games without a win streak. Happy days!

After such a breakthrough we could finally host Molde in high spirits. I wasn't even that surprised to see the team play really well from the start, forcing the visitors to defend deep inside their own half. There was one problem though - we couldn't find the net no matter how hard we tried. Our finishing was a massive letdown. And you know how football is - take them when you have them, otherwise the other team will. In the 62nd minute a you-know-what arrived into our box from the right wing and Rogier Klomp scored the only goal of the game, making use of poor positioning of our goalkeeper by placing his shot at the near post. Despite a couple more chances towards the final whistle, we couldn't respond to that. Just as I thought we were finally finding our feet...

Five days later we hosted Haugesund, a team very similar to us - buried in mid-table, unremarkable and horribly boring with pretty much nothing to fight for. And that's pretty much what the match itself looked like right up until the final fifteen minutes. In the 75th minute Sturle Joten's cross found Michael Mikkelsen completely unmarked on the far post just a couple of yards away from goal. That seemed to wake the visitors up a little bit, but again it was us who had the final saying. In what turned out to be the last action of the game, Pablo Clavaría played a through ball to Bjørdal and the experienced Norwegian scored his second goal for the club with a placed left-footed strike. That was also our first clean sheet since the Brann game back on July 18th.

On the final matchday of August we travelled to Sarpsborg, a team buried deep in the relegation zone. Looking at their position in the table and my personal history, I wasn't surprised at all when Luka Juricic put the hosts in front in the 11th minute. Looking at the flow of the game, I decided to apply hard pressure on Sarpsborg's full backs. And it worked sensationally. Eleven minutes after their goal we equalised through Greg Cadby, Bjørdal with the assist from the left wing. In the 31st minute Ferchichi received a wonderful pass from Nemanja Vukobratovic and put us in front with a precise effort. Just four minutes later our English loanee striker made it 3:1 with a close range header. Just before half time he ended his show by completing a hat-trick, Mikkelsen with a square ball from the right and Cadby with a powerful strike from just outside the box. And finally Mikkelsen got his second assist of the game in the 50th minute, playing a corner to the far post for Stijn Vanspauwen to head the ball home. Funnily enough, Sarpsborg had more shots in the whole game than we did and looked really good at times, but we were extremely clinical. Why can't we finish like that every week?

[Rikulec]

Safe to say he's settling in quite well.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - September 2026 - Odds Ballklubb

Tippeligaen





The board expect us to finish mid-table and that's exactly what we'll deliver.

First up, Start, by far the most ridiculous game I've had as the Odd manager. I counted - we had exactly seven fantastic one on one chances in this match. As you can see, we converted none. Greg Cadby was all over the place up front, but couldn't get his shots on target no matter what. Mikkelsen - the same story. And Start just scored what they created. 26th minute, Balder Kristiansen, 1:0. 46th minute, Mathias Fredriksen, 2:0. 50th minute, Mathias Fredriksen again, 3:0. I don't even recall them having any other opportunity to score. Well, I guess sometimes you just have to swallow that bitter pill... again.

Something has definitely improved. A couple of matches ago we finally started to play reasonably well and even create some chances with our own plays. That continued against Lillestrøm as we were simply the better team on the pitch. Yet again though our finishing has been abysmal. Out of 15 shots only three were on target. It's not even like we're taking some hopeless attempts from long range - not at all. We just can't seem to convert the opportunities we get into.

A week later we hosted title challengers Rosenborg, hoping to find the bloody net again. As you can see, we failed to do that. Our playmaker Ferchichi recorded seven key passes, we took eleven shots, but nothing came out of this. Even more frustratingly, Rosenborg needed only one real chance to grab the winning goal. In the 20th minute Fredrik Aalen played a nice one-two with Scott Middleton inside our penalty area before putting the visitors in front with a beautifully placed effort from a tight angle. Just like Stefan Nilsson once did against HJK in that memorable... no, scratch that. I don't regret leaving IFK Mariehamn, not at all.

And to round off yet another van Gaal-esque month, Sogndal at home. The stats show that the visitors took four shots on target throughout the whole match. I can tell you these four shots looked like sitters. No, they were sitters. But we had Alexander Brunst between the sticks. The German pulled off an absolutely sensational performance, playing a blinder and putting in a few world class saves after close range efforts by the Sogndal players. Oh, how I know how frustrated they must have been. Their loss was my gain though. After the break their attacks eased off a little and we were starting to find our feet in the game. Finally the 72nd minute arrived. Vukobratovic held the ball up in midfield, attracted two defenders' attention and managed to squeeze a wonderful through ball between them and straight at the feet of Mikkelsen who somehow managed not to make a mess of the finish. With some effort we managed to hold onto the win. It feels good to grab three points from time to time!

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - October 2026 - Odds Ballklubb

Tippeligaen





Two games to go. Let's get this over with.

On October 4th we travelled to our fellow mid-table strugglers Sandefjord. And for 75 minutes we absolutely dominated them. Vukobratovic and Bjørdal were exceptionally good, moving the ball around and playing key passes with impressive ease. But that mattered none because we couldn't take our chances. Similarly to the Start game a month before, we wasted something like five wonderful goalscoring opportunities while absolutely hammering the opposition and barely allowing anything from them. But then the 83rd minute came and we conceded a crap goal after a goalmouth scramble from a seemingly not-so-dangerous drilled cross. Marko Kolar was simply hit by the ball and then it rolled past the line. In the dying minutes I made an attempt to pursue the equaliser and it backfired in stoppage time as Jean-Jacques Bamba's header doubled the hosts' lead. We seriously need to take the chances we get.

Next up, Stabæk, one of the strongest teams in the league. And it showed - for the best part of the game we were on the back foot, having to hold their attacks off quite desperately. The first half ended goalless mostly thanks to a good performance between the sticks by Brunst. After the break their attacks eased off a little and we started to cause some danger in front of their goal. Finally in the 80th minute we pulled off a magnificent counter attacking move. Vukobratovic sent Ferchichi through on goal and the Moroccan closed his eyes before smashing the ball from 15 yards out. It hit the crossbar, then the post, then finally the net. What a strike from our midfielder. Our celebrations only lasted a minute though. Horrendous marking after a throw-in allowed the visitors to equalise through Iván García's header. After all we were lucky to escape with the point as one of Stabæk players blasted the ball over the crossbar from point blank range in the dying minutes of the match.

Strømsgodset, the fourth 0:0 of the season. Strange, I could have sworn there were more. Whatever. The positive - rating ranging from 7.1 to 7.4 across our back line. The negative - a total of eight shots over 90 minutes. By both teams combined. Definitely not the most entertaining Sunday afternoon.

And finally Sandnes Ulf, one of these few games where we actually look good and the whole match seems enjoyable for the neutrals. I have to admit I was more than surprised when Henrik Bjørdal put us in front with just four minutes on the clock, making perfect use of a nice pass by Tomas Wright. The visitors began their pursuit of the equaliser quickly and got exactly what they wanted in the 26th minute. Miomir Ivic scored a brilliant goal by taking on our central defenders and finding the net just inside the post. The final goal of the game was also the final action of the first half. Sturle Joten put in a wonderful cross from the left and Magnus Skjelseth scored his first league goal for the club from quite a tight angle. Both teams played quite well after the break and there could have been more goals on that afternoon, but I'm more than happy with the final result. Finally an entertaining match to watch.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - November 2026 - Odds Ballklubb

Tippeligaen





What a perfect way to sum up our season. Should have been two 0:0s though.

As you can see, we effectively stripped Brann off European qualification by taking two points from them. More importantly, we played reasonably well. And we even got in front in the 21st minute. The ball came in from the left, Mikkelsen's shot was blocked, but Magnus Skjelseth found the ball at his feet and buried it home without hesitation. Just five minutes after that the hosts got the equaliser. Another cross, another header, Yuji Ono on the scoresheet. Our marking is really horrendous at times. We dominated possession and simply looked to be the better team, but - yet again - couldn't take our chances. Well, a draw is certainly not bad... unless it's your 11th draw of the 30-game season.

And finally we hosted Aalesund to put an end to this cursed season. In the 6th minute we fell behind to a David Djigla goal. The visitors started very strongly and looked like extending their lead, but their pressure only lasted for about fifteen minutes, at which point we came back to life. And I have to say we did it quite spectacularly, scoring twice in the space of three minutes to get in front. First Henrik Bjørdal equalised in the 20th minute with a placed effort and then Michael Mikkelsen made it 2:1 after some chaos in the penalty area. After that the match became quite even, but not boring at all as both teams had their chances to score. We did a good job holding Aalesund off and clutching the lead... right up until the 90th minute when Robert Kollerud came up with the latest goal of the season entry you'll see. He received a short pass exactly in the corner of our penalty area and with barely any thought he smashed it right under the crossbar at the near post. Maybe Brunst should have done a little bit better with his positioning, but still, it was a sensational strike. And a perfect FM way to tell me "no, you're not getting that final day win". Thank you, FM.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - Season Review - 2026 - Odds Ballklubb

Tippeligaen

Results

Competition Performance: 11th

What a boring, dull and completely unremarkable campaign. We started off quite well and even claimed the top spot for a very brief period of time, but then it was a horrendous slide down the table before we found stability in the top half of the lower half (however ridiculously it may sound). I'm so glad it's over.

Norgesmesterkap Frisk Forsikring Cup

Competition Performance: Third Round

We dealt with two lower league teams with relative trouble before crashing out away to Rosenborg. Thus, we didn't meet the board's expectations, but it's perfectly understandable why we lost at that point.

Squad

There are a few decent players in there, but overall the squad isn't even good enough for a European spot challenge, let alone the title. Improvements are needed all over the park.

Transfers - Finances

I'm happy with how transfers went. Probably the only field where we've really done well this season. No spectacular flops and we cashed in big on Jimmi Juul and especially Mileta Vucinic. That's definitely the direction I'd like us to be going in.

The finances are fine. Nothing spectacular, but also nothing to worry about. Hopefully I'll get some cash to spend on new players in winter.

Player of the Season

1st - Michael Mikkelsen - to be honest, he claims the top spot just because I had to put someone up there. After a fantastic start and four goals from five games I thought he could turn out big, which he's certainly capable of if he improves his finishing... by a mile. The lad certainly has potential.

2nd - Nemanja Vukobratovic - he kind of glued the team together, I guess. Without him we'd certainly look even worse than we did.

3rd - Alexander Brunst - however weird it may sound, our goalkeeper rescued a few points for us with some spectacular performances. He definitely deserves a mention.

Next Season

I will be rebuilding the squad to shape the team into the 4-4-2 I've been using at IFK Mariehamn. I might also look into bringing in a familiar face or two, but nothing can be promised yet. We definitely need to bring in some quality.