Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around HIFK they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at HIFK has been clear about where Tomi Kurvinen stands, which is more than many ever get.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what HIFK can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” HIFK have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at HIFK, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Stefen Tchamche plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.
The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Willem Haapiainen plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at HIFK, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Carlo Urquiaga plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. HIFK know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
11 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Félix Uculmana has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
He came through the session, took part in everything and finished it smiling. HIFK will not rush him, and he will spend the next fortnight trying to rush them.
The language is coming and there is somebody to talk to in the dressing room. A footballer who feels at home plays like one, and it never shows up in a scouting report.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. HIFK know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at HIFK, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The language is arriving, the jokes are landing, and there is somebody at the next peg to talk to. None of it appears in a scouting report and all of it shows up on the pitch.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what HIFK can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” HIFK have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” HIFK have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
A season average of 7.56 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. HIFK know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at HIFK, and both men came out saying it was fine.
A season average of 7.56 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. HIFK know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Mahmoud El Shenawy will call it something else in private.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at HIFK, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Shifted about, taken off before the hour, asked to do somebody else's running — Carlo Urquiaga has had enough of being useful and would like to be picked. HIFK know, and have known for weeks.
A new face in his position, and Jens Hjertø-Dahl suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. HIFK have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
The best deals are the ones the accountants never notice. Saku Heiskanen arrives at HIFK with his wages the only cost and something to prove the only clause.
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
The fee is $3.7M, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Metropolitanos drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what HIFK can pretend not to have heard.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Giorgos Agapakis will call it something else in private.
The award is a small thing with a heavy meaning: for four weeks nobody in this division did his job better. HIFK have the trophy on a shelf and the player in the side.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at HIFK pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
The fee is $97.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. RoPS drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at HIFK has been clear about where Tiquinho stands, which is more than many ever get.
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Mahmoud El Shenawy knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. HIFK have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
Every debut is a small story about the future: Matti Taylor, 17 years old, off the academy pitches and into the first team. The parents in the stand will keep the programme.
The award is a small thing with a heavy meaning: for four weeks nobody in this division did his job better. HIFK have the trophy on a shelf and the player in the side.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” HIFK have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” HIFK have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” HIFK have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The award is a small thing with a heavy meaning: for four weeks nobody in this division did his job better. HIFK have the trophy on a shelf and the player in the side.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at HIFK, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” HIFK have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The shirt still fits. Lukas Granlund is back at HIFK, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
The shirt still fits. Matti Joronen is back at HIFK, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Giorgos Konstantakopoulos has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Carlo Urquiaga plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at HIFK, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Jens Hjertø-Dahl plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what HIFK can pretend not to have heard.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Ángel Lezama has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
He came through the session, took part in everything and finished it smiling. HIFK will not rush him, and he will spend the next fortnight trying to rush them.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Arttu Auranen has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Ángel Lezama has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” HIFK have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at HIFK, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Mahmoud El Shenawy has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
He came through the session, took part in everything and finished it smiling. HIFK will not rush him, and he will spend the next fortnight trying to rush them.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Félix Uculmana has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Joonas Pyhälä has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
He came through the session, took part in everything and finished it smiling. HIFK will not rush him, and he will spend the next fortnight trying to rush them.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at HIFK, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Hedi Khayat has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at HIFK, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
A new face in his position, and Félix Uculmana suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. HIFK have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what HIFK can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around HIFK they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at HIFK is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” HIFK 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 HIFK is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at HIFK, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at HIFK is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what HIFK can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around HIFK they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at HIFK is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
In brief
Boardroom175% of the income goes out in wages at HIFK
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at HIFK is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at HIFK, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at HIFK is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what HIFK can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” HIFK have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what HIFK can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around HIFK they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at HIFK is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
VPS go through and HIFK go home, 0-1 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at HIFK is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
3 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what HIFK could get for him.
Market31 Aug 2026
The window shut and Anwar Abdi is still in the building
HIFK spent a month trying to move him and nobody rang back. He trains with a squad that has told him where he stands, and both sides start counting down to the next one.
In brief
The terracesThe press have found their man in Arttu Lötjönen
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at HIFK is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
HIFK spent the window trying to move Yassin Adam on and nobody came. He trains with a squad that has already told him he is not part of it, and both sides now wait for the next one.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around HIFK they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Félix Uculmana is 35 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what HIFK can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at HIFK is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
The terraces3 Aug 2026
The boos come down from three sides
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 7 of the 26 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.