Last year, Elin Rubensson left BK Häcken for Houston Dash in the USA – her first foreign adventure in her football career.
But the two-year contract was never fulfilled, and after nine months, the 31-year-old moved back home after a tough autumn.
I was first pregnant and played a few matches, but I didn't feel very well. Then they decided how the future would be, and you have time to think a lot about how it would look. But then everything turned upside down.
"Very uncertain"
In week ten, she suffered a miscarriage.
I think it became extra tough because it happened when it happened. It was just before we were going to move home, and everything became very uncertain suddenly.
A week before she, her husband Filip, and son Frans were going to fly home to Sweden, Rubensson was forced to undergo an operation. Questions like "what happens now?" circulated.
But we got great support, and I feel it turned out very well in the end.
After the move to Gothenburg and the security of Sweden, they have moved on and can focus forward, she says.
"Always a sorrow"
Then it will always be a sorrow, and you will wonder how it could have been. But I have also gained an understanding that, unfortunately, it's quite common to suffer a miscarriage. And it has been nice to talk about it and share it, as many have gone through the same thing.
Even though the foreign adventure didn't turn out as planned, Rubensson is glad to have tried. And now she is back in Häcken.
Many things are the same, but the player material is a bit different.
We have Sweden's best football players on Hisingen right now, including some from abroad. And with that competition, we raise each other.
"Hungry for revenge"
So far, the midfielder has not played any matches with her new-old club due to a feeling in her hip. But she is expected to be a key player in the hunt for that elusive SM gold they have been so close to – but not reached.
We have trained harder during the preseason and added a gear. I think everyone is tired of coming second.
As recently as 2023, she was awarded the Diamond Ball, and over the years, she has been a constant in the national team. A comeback in the blue and yellow jersey also beckons.
I take it day by day now and try to become whole and healthy and play many matches, so we'll see. Then, of course, there's a European Championship this summer that would have been awesome to play, says Rubensson.
Born: May 11, 1993 (31 years old), in Marieholm, Skåne County.
Position: midfielder.
Club: BK Häcken.
Previous clubs: Houston Dash, LdB FC Malmö (now FC Rosengård).
A-international matches/goals: 89/4.
Achievements: Olympic silver 2016, World Championship bronze 2019 and 2023, four SM gold medals with LdB Malmö/Rosengård, one SM gold medal with Göteborg (but missed the season due to pregnancy), two wins in the Swedish Cup. Awarded the Diamond Ball in 2023.
