Djurgarden Dismiss Honkavaara As Hammarby Surge Leaves Title Out Of Reach

Djurgarden sack Honkavaara with two games left as title challenge dissolves

Two games from the end, Djurgarden's title dream is over. A shock loss to Halmstad has cost Jani Honkavaara his job, leaving the Stockholm side to chase Europe under interim charge.

Djurgarden sack Honkavaara as title hopes fade with two games remaining...

Djurgarden have sacked head coach Jani Honkavaara with just two Allsvenskan matches left to play, after their title challenge effectively collapsed on Sunday, 8th November.

The 2-1 loss to bottom-placed Halmstad proved to be the final straw for Honkavaara, leaving Djurgarden six points adrift of both Hammarby and Sirius. With a goal difference eight worse than Hammarby's, even closing that six-point gap may not be enough to secure a first title since 2019.

It was Djurgarden's first league defeat since mid-September, but draws against Orgryte and Goteborg in October had already cost Blaranderna valuable ground in the title race, while Stockholm rivals Hammarby have won five straight to move into pole position heading into the final two rounds.

Honkavaara arrived in December 2024 after winning his second league title in his native Finland with KuPS, and led his new side to the semi-finals of the UEFA Conference League, where they lost to eventual winners Chelsea. In 2025, Djurgarden missed out on Europe, finishing fifth.

Currently third, three points ahead of Hacken, the Stockholm side still have a strong chance of returning to the Conference League, but the hierarchy have decided not to give Honkavaara, along with his assistants Christer Mattiasson and Hugo Berggren, the opportunity to secure that place.

“We have now reached a point where we felt it was no longer possible to achieve the development, daily energy and positivity that we need,” said Djurgarden director of football, Maximilian Hahn.

Hahn added: “Our clear ambition going forward is for Djurgarden to be a club that fights for the title every year. But the trend, both in terms of our performances on the pitch and our points tally, simply does not match our goal and ambition to compete for titles,” despite the progress made since 2025.

DIF genomför omgående förändringar inom tränarstaben i herrlaget och därmed tackar vi av huvudtränare Jani Honkavaara samt assisterande tränare Christer Mattiasson och andre assisterande tränare Hugo Berggren för deras tid och insatser i föreningen. https://t.co/qKINiV3hc8

— Djurgården Fotboll (@DIF_Fotboll) November 10, 2026

For now, Djurgarden will be led by Agon Mehmeti, Abel Lorincz and Hannes Gronblad. After the international break, they face a difficult run-in away to Sirius on 22nd November, before ending the season at home to Hacken on 29th November.