Relentlessly Pursuing Success: Honkavaara Reflects on Djurgarden’s Encounter with Chelsea

By Friday morning, if Djurgården manage to reach the Final of the UEFA Conference League (UECL), they will have achieved what could be regarded as one of the most remarkable comebacks in the annals of European club football.

On Thursday evening, the team from Stockholm will visit Stamford Bridge for the second leg of their UECL Semi-Final against Chelsea, a team whose squad value eclipses theirs by a staggering 44 times, as per Transfermarkt.

The financial disparity is daunting, but being down 4-1 from the first leg only compounds the enormity of the task ahead. Yet, manager Jani Honkavaara asserts that the atmosphere within the Djurgården camp is one of optimism.

“We are finally in London, and the overall feeling is positive. The players are enthusiastic about what lies ahead, and we’re eager to step out for the match on Thursday,” he remarked during the pre-match press conference.

This marks the first time in thirty years that an Allsvenskan club has reached the semi-finals of a European competition, and to seize the moment, the Finnish manager intends to put the first leg behind them and treat this match as a standalone encounter.

“We will not dwell on the result from the previous match when we approach this one. It’s crucial to view it as a separate game, and if we’re to achieve a positive result, we need to take it goal by goal,” he emphasised.

“However, we must not enter the match solely focused on equalising the score; we need to manage the game sensibly and see where that leads us,” he added.

Djurgården faces further challenges with an escalating injury list—Adam Ståhl, Albin Ekdal, and Zakaria Sawo were all absent from Sunday’s draw with AIK, while Oskar Fallenius, Nino Zugelj, Rasmus Schuller, Patric Aslund, and Malkolm Nilsson Safqvist will also miss out.

Despite these setbacks, Honkavaara remains optimistic, stating, “We’re bringing in some fresh faces for this match compared to the last meeting at 3Arena. We’ve had some new uncertainties since then, but we are still able to assemble a strong squad for Thursday’s encounter.”

Chelsea have been viewed as heavy favourites to win the UECL since the season commenced, and manager Enzo Maresca could be forgiven for contemplating what a trophy would signify for the Blues, saying, “Winning a trophy is a statement, and you could say Chelsea are back.”