Marked for Emil Hellman
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad25 Jan 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Isak Vidjeskog was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Noah Johansson, and the manager let it.
Squad25 Jan 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Ryan Benhaddane and Varbergs BoIS agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
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.
Squad25 Jan 2027
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Varbergs BoIS would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
Market25 Jan 2027
The Oscar Ekman story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Oscar Ekman signs something — a contract at Varbergs BoIS or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market21 Dec 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Varbergs BoIS is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Niklas Dahlström trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market21 Dec 2026
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Varbergs BoIS know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market16 Nov 2026
Only the photograph left for Emil Hellman
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Emil Hellman will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Varbergs BoIS the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Shanyder Borgelin 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 dugout16 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Hampus Zackrisson, and the manager let it.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
Erion Sadiku knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Varbergs BoIS, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market16 Nov 2026
2 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Varbergs BoIS money.
Market16 Nov 2026
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Varbergs BoIS know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market19 Oct 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Varbergs BoIS is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Everybody saw it before anybody said it. At 35 the numbers say 3 points down on what he was, and the question for Varbergs BoIS is how to handle a man they owe a great deal.
Squad19 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Varbergs BoIS this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
Emil Hellman gets it from the manager
“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.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Too much change too quickly at Varbergs BoIS
7 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑3, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market5 Oct 2026
Only the photograph left for Erion Sadiku
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Erion Sadiku will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Varbergs BoIS the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad5 Oct 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Oliver Alfonsi and Varbergs BoIS agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Shanyder Borgelin and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Appearance number 100 for Emil Hellman
100 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
“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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Joakim Lindner named in the team of the month
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Joakim Lindner is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 14. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Market5 Oct 2026
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Daniel Strindholm has his answer from Varbergs BoIS; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 Sep 2026
A one-man rearguard from Oscar Ekman
There were 8 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Market21 Sep 2026
Emil Hellman has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Varbergs BoIS they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Boardroom21 Sep 2026
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Shanyder Borgelin 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.
Boardroom21 Sep 2026
GIF Sundsvall will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Edvard Carrick has pre-agreed a move to Varbergs BoIS, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
The terraces21 Sep 2026
He is 23 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Both jobs done by Emil Hellman — 7.26
A midfielder is measured on whether the team functions when he is on the pitch, which is nearly impossible to see and completely obvious in retrospect. 9 actions, 7.26, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words at Varbergs BoIS training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Isak Vidjeskog 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.