Djurgårdens IF dismissed head coach Jani Honkavaara on Tuesday, cutting ties with the Finnish manager with just two matches remaining in the Allsvenskan season.
The decision ends a tenure that began in January 2025 and featured 73 competitive matches, including a run to the UEFA Conference League semifinals against Chelsea and a fifth-place league finish in 2025, according to Djurgården Fotboll.
Jani Honkavaara arrived at the club fresh from winning the Finnish championship as head coach of KuPS, having completed his duties in domestic league football. Stockholmsklubben recruited Matias Siltanen in parallel, which resulted in Jani Honkavaara following along from Kuopio.
Assistant coaches Christer Mattiasson and Hugo Berggren also leave the club alongside Honkavaara. reported that the team currently sits third in the Allsvenskan standings and improved its record in Stockholm derbies during Honkavaara’s time in the club.
Football director Maximilian Hahn pointed to dwindling squad energy, a lack of on-field joy, and poor results over the last five league fixtures as catalysts for the abrupt dismissal, SVT Sport reported. Hahn defended the timing during the international break.
“Det finns ingen anledning att vänta och det är landslagsuppehåll nu,” Hahn said.
“Vi kastar honom inte under bussen,” Hahn told SVT Sport.
Mattiasson declined to comment on the dismissal when contacted by SVT Sport, instead offering a brief statement via text message.
“Just nu vill jag bara att Djurgården får lugn och ro och tar topp tre. Min support till spelarna är väldigt viktigt nu,” Mattiasson wrote to SVT Sport.
Agon Mehmeti and Abel Lorincz have taken over as temporary head coaches, with P19 coach Hannes Grönblad joining the interim staff to guide Djurgården through the remainder of the season, Djurgården Fotboll stated.
Hahn expressed full confidence in the temporary trio to steady the group, noting that no new appointments will be made during the current international break, according to Source 2. said that Hahn’s succession list contains up to 50 names for the permanent position.
Club officials are actively screening candidates for the long-term managerial role, emphasizing charisma, communication, and energy as primary requirements, Aftonbladet reported. Reports connecting Brentford B coach Sam Saunders to the position were dismissed by Hahn, according to Aftonbladet, though Expressen noted earlier contact between the club and the English coach.
Djurgården returns to competitive Allsvenskan play following the international break as the club works to secure a top-three finish.
Jani Honkavaara holds two Finnish championship gold medals on his resume from his time with KuPS. In international football, the Nations League autumn serves as a gauge of confidence in Jacob Friis, and the Football Association’s leadership is scheduled to sit down for a debriefing following the year’s final international match.
Lukas Hradecky was openly critical following the national team’s disappointing result against Belarus, and those statements have not strengthened Jacob Friis’s project. If Jacob Friis required further troublesome news ahead of the match in Albania, the Football Association now has a free, relevant replacement available on the coaching market.
