No one personifies IFK Norrköping as strongly as the 33-year-old. Born and raised near Parken, he has gone all the way from the boys' team to the A-team.
In the fall of 2010, as a teenager, he helped the club to the Allsvenskan. 15 years later, he passed 100 Allsvenskan goals for the club and also became the player who has played the most matches for IFK Norrköping.
Honoring the contract
On the last Saturday in November, he didn't care in the least about the personal milestones. The sadness of having just fallen out of the Allsvenskan was palpable.
But as team captain, he is following the sinking ship. Nyman signed a five-year contract earlier this year. He intends to honor that.
The reality is that we will play in the Super League. We were eliminated and in total it happened over 30 games. I know damn well why. The games haven't been good enough and we've been eliminated.
You can't dwell on the shit.
He hopes more players follow his example and stay at the club.
I hope so, but people have their own careers and I have full respect for that, says Nyman, who understands that he has to take a pay cut.
There are clauses.
Falk devastated
He also wants to keep Martin Falk as coach.
He is cruel, says Nyman.
Falk also wants to take his responsibility and try to bring IFK Norrköping to the top league by next year.
I'm devastated, frustrated, angry that we're here and not solving it. Everything from the end of the season to the qualifiers. At the same time, I feel a great responsibility to continue leading and doing my job, to be there for the players.
"If you're going to be in this position, I think it's much more about what you do in adversity than in success. My only focus now is to help everyone in the association," says Falk.
He doesn't know if he will be able to keep his job, even though it is his wish.
"What I can say about the future is that IFK Norrköping will rise again. They have done that before. I am convinced that it will happen again," says Martin Falk.
Henrik Skiöld/TT
Background: The decline and fall of IFK Norrköping
TT
13 Swedish Championship gold medals, fourth in the Allsvenskan marathon standings, a cornerstone in Swedish club football. How could things go so badly for IFK Norrköping?
In 2018, AIK was challenged to the last for Lennart Johansson's trophy. Among the profiles were Andreas Johansson, Daniel Sjölund, Jordan Larsson, Simon Thern and Arnor Sigurdsson. All the pieces were in place to play for a 14th gold in the future. Instead, the year was the last as a clear title contender.
With each season, Norrköping has steadily approached the precipice. Here are some explanations for why a prosperous top club turned into a bottom team in seven years.
+ A strong man is repelled
Long-time chairman Peter Hunt, the business leader who once saved the club from bankruptcy, was heavily criticized from various quarters and resigned. Hunt's high standards were seen as a work environment problem. With him, the club lost expertise that it was unable to replace.
+ Four different coaches in five years
Rikard Norling, appointed for the 2021 season, was forced to leave halfway through 2022. Glenn Riddersholm stepped in but was fired in 2023. His replacement, Andreas Alm, saved the club in 2024, after which he was fired. At the same time, financial alarm reports came. Concerned members demanded transparency and a new management. When it took office last winter, the message was stark. Savings packages followed, people had to leave. Funds to strengthen a weak squad were limited.
+ Lack of self-awareness
Coach Martin Falk's and the players' mantra "We can do better than this" turned out to be self-deception. The naivety and inability to tactically adapt to different stages of the matches was palpable. Two serious examples: a 3–1 lead against AIK turned into a 3–4 loss in 20 minutes. Even worse: a 4–1 away loss against BP ended in a 4–6 loss. The team's defense has been substandard, and the shortcomings in the game without the ball have been striking throughout the year.
+ The quote
Icelander Arnór Traustason sums up the year in two sentences:
"Life takes you to the place you're supposed to be, the place you deserve. We deserve this. We haven't been good enough, it's that simple," he tells Norrköpings Tidningar.
