The words a physio says slowly. 66 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Vikingur will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Gylfi Sigurðsson and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad16 Apr 2029
Words at Vikingur training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sveinn Margeir Hauksson is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Nikolaj Hansen is on it.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Vikingur know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Atli Þór Jónasson trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Vikingur will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and FH waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Vikingur is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Fylkir will make the call about Sveinn Margeir Hauksson this week. Vikingur have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Karl Friðleifur Gunnarsson commits to Vikingur for another 4 years.
Squad19 Mar 2029
Words at Vikingur training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sveinn Margeir Hauksson is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Vikingur asked and BK Hacken said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 50 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The name of Sveinn Margeir Hauksson has come up in conversations Vikingur were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Gylfi Sigurðsson and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Vikingur have made the call to Djurgarden. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Sveinn Margeir Hauksson is on it.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Vikingur will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Vikingur know it.
Vikingur have made the call to Djurgarden. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Oliver Ekroth has his answer from Vikingur; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
He is doing things every Saturday that nobody around him can answer. It is flattering for a season and a problem after that, and Vikingur know which stage they are at.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 105 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Gylfi Sigurðsson and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad22 Jan 2029
Words at Vikingur training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sveinn Margeir Hauksson is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Vikingur know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Vikingur will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Gylfi Sigurðsson and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Bjarki Már Ásmundsson was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Vikingur will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The dugout15 Jan 2029
The manager has not finished forgetting Pedro Borges's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Vikingur this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad18 Dec 2028
Words at Vikingur training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bjarki Már Ásmundsson is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout18 Dec 2028
Pedro Borges is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Vikingur they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Vikingur this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad4 Dec 2028
Words at Vikingur training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sveinn Gísli Þorkelsson is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Position 4, 35 points, and a run-in that decides whether next season has Thursday nights in it. Nobody is calling it a race yet, which is what people say during one.
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Vikingur than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
Gylfi Sigurðsson and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad20 Nov 2028
Words at Vikingur training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sveinn Margeir Hauksson is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout20 Nov 2028
The manager has not finished forgetting Pedro Borges's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Gylfi Sigurðsson and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Marin Markeljević has his answer from Vikingur; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Vikingur will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Vikingur have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Vikingur is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sveinn Gísli Þorkelsson was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Gylfi Sigurðsson is on it.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Sveinn Aron Guðjohnsen provided it, and the 8.96 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Vikingur will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Gylfi Sigurðsson and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ingvar Jónsson, and the manager let it.
The dugout25 Sep 2028
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Runar Arnason kept it short after the 2‑1 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
Nobody at Vikingur will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
One weekend, judged against everybody else's. Sveinn Aron Guðjohnsen has come out on top of it, and for most footballers a weekly award is the only silverware a career ever produces.
The dugout25 Sep 2028
The manager has not finished forgetting Pedro Borges's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Position 3, 14 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Viktor Steinn Sverrisson, and the manager let it.
The dugout19 Jun 2028
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Runar Arnason chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Words at Vikingur training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marin Markeljević is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
Two goals and a mark of 8.02 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Jóhannes Kristinn Bjarnason will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Vikingur the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Davíð Helgi Aronsson and Vikingur agree another 5 years.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sveinn Gísli Þorkelsson was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout15 May 2028
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Runar Arnason, on a 2‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Jóhannes Kristinn Bjarnason will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Vikingur the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Vikingur this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Nobody at Vikingur will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Vikingur are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Vikingur is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Vikingur this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Vikingur asked and KR said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
52 points, and the rest of the division looking up. Every side that finishes first spends the season pretending it is not thinking about it, and this one has started pretending.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Vikingur this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Words at Vikingur training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sveinn Gísli Þorkelsson is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Valerenga have kept their man, and Vikingur go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Nobody at Vikingur will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Ingvar Jónsson trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
52 points, and the rest of the division looking up. Every side that finishes first spends the season pretending it is not thinking about it, and this one has started pretending.
The phone has started ringing about Atli Þór Jónasson again, and this time the name on the line is OB. Vikingur are listening politely and promising nothing.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Vikingur this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Nobody at Vikingur will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Vikingur, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Gylfi Sigurðsson was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Vikingur will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Sveinn Margeir Hauksson is on it.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Nikolaj Hansen signs something — a contract at Vikingur or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Gylfi Sigurðsson was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
The dugout27 Dec 2027
Pedro Borges is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Ingvar Jónsson was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Sölvi Stefánsson and Vikingur agree another 4 years.
Squad20 Dec 2027
6 new faces, and Vikingur are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Vikingur, and both men came out saying it was fine.
52 points, and the rest of the division looking up. Every side that finishes first spends the season pretending it is not thinking about it, and this one has started pretending.
Gylfi Sigurðsson was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Oliver Ekroth trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Vikingur will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
In brief
The dugoutPedro Borges is still being punished for one mistake
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Vikingur have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Gylfi Sigurðsson and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Sveinn Margeir Hauksson trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Nobody at Vikingur will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Vikingur has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
A new face in his position, and Gylfi Sigurðsson suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Vikingur have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
Gylfi Sigurðsson was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Gylfi Sigurðsson is on it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Daníel Tal Mikaelsson was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout1 Nov 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Pedro Borges's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Vikingur has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Vikingur this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Atli Þór Jónasson and Vikingur agree another 3 years.
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad25 Oct 2027
11 new faces, and Vikingur are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Vikingur know it.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Vikingur have had the benefit of it.
At 19 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
21 appearances and 5 goals away from here, and a player the manager did not have in August. Loans are sent out hoping for exactly this and most of them do not deliver it.
Nobody at Vikingur will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
In brief
The dugoutOliver Ekroth asks for a word with the manager
The dugoutThe manager has not finished forgetting Pedro Borges's mistake
At 21 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Karl Friðleifur Gunnarsson and Vikingur agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Vikingur has been clear about where Elías Már Ómarsson stands, which is more than many ever get.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
The dugout20 Sep 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑2 defeat, delivered by Runar Arnason to a room that had heard them before.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
In brief
SquadWords at Vikingur training over how hard people work
Gylfi Sigurðsson was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Rafael Máni Þrastarson was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.89 at 34, and nobody on the pitch was better.
The first defeat in 10 matches. The manager will say it had to come; the dressing room will say it did not have to come against Valur; the supporters will say both, in that order, all week.
11 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
Gunnar Vatnhamar was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The fixture the rest of the division is looking forward to more than either of the sides in it. Both know a win changes the season and a defeat does not end it, which is what makes it hard to play.
Valur held the lead for 1 minutes, which is not long enough to enjoy it. Vikingur answered before the celebration had properly finished, and the shape of the afternoon changed with it.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Róbert Orri Þorkelsson is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.