Kim Hellberg is perhaps even more highly regarded in Swedish football than he has been at Middlesbrough since his arrival at the Championship club.
The Hellball revolution may have had a wobble in recent weeks, but it’s largely on track. Middlesbrough have a good shot at promotion to the Premier League and all the riches that brings.
Whether, and how much, the Boro squad can be strengthened this month remains to be seen. Hellberg looking towards Sweden for value additions he knows well would be no surprise.
And he may well find an open door at Hammarby IF. Nahir Besara is the club’s captain and has explained multiple times how close he is to Hellberg.
The pair not only worked well together, but are also close off the pitch.
Prior to Hellberg moving to Middlesbrough, Besara explained: “I’ve lost my voice because I’ve been shouting at him so much (joking about trying to get him to stay). We have a good connection, and we’ve been talking quite often now too.
“I see him as a friend, not just as a football coach. If this is the best thing for his career, I’ll support him.
“I would like to have Kim in Hammarby for the rest of his life. But sooner or later, when he is doing so well, this would happen.
“He’s a friend of mine and we have talked about everything. Our families have become close to each other and everything. Of course I will miss him.”
Middlesbrough taking players isn’t a problem
Besara himself is a little too old at 34 for a Championship adventure, but he wouldn’t begrudge Boro taking other Hammarby players.
Fotbollskanalen quote him as saying: “Absolutely not. If he does that, it means that Hammarby will make money and want to let them go. We are in a good place as a club, we can sell whoever we want and we can keep whoever we want. It doesn’t feel like we have any pressure to sell, he says and continues:
“The club has built such a strong financial foundation that we can control our own future.”
In case anyone was unsure, he made doubly sure to rule himself out: “No chance. He thought I was too old when he came here.”
Middlesbrough have just brought an and to their wobble with a 4-0 victory over Southampton. Besara was not surprised, and believes it’s typical of Hellberg.
“Now they scored four goals last time. It usually happens like that, it was like that for us too. We didn’t score for two or three games and then people started talking. Kim always found something. He messed up a little here and a little there and suddenly there were four goals. That guy knows what he’s doing.”
