On a hot afternoon in July at Stockholm, Stefan Gyokeres quietly sat on the old wooden chair on the porch. The radio next to him was playing sports programs, the voice of the commentator, the name “Viktor Gyokeres” when talking about Arsenal's largest transfer this summer.
But with Stefan, this is not just a sport. It is the result of a difficult, even painful journey. The beautiful ending of a journey that his father – father, teacher, companion – had not been attached to his son for a minute.
Starting from the dusty ground
Aspuddden is a modest neighborhood in the south of Stockholm. Without the shadow of the magnificent academics, there was no creative grass yard. There, a 5 -year -old boy started his career with an old ball on the dusty ground. The boy's name is Viktor. The person who led him was his father, Mr. Stefan.
Stefan Gyokeres is not a big name in the Swedish football village. He only plays for small teams like ifk Ostersund or Stugun. But he understood what the top football needs. And he knew, if Viktor wanted to rise, his son had to be solid from thought.
Unlike many fathers who only took their children to the yard and stood outside waiting, Stefan manually went to the lesson plan, adjusted each shot, each speed. He trained Viktor as a real coach, but also strict as an exemplary father.
Viktor once confessed that he was afraid of being scolded by his father whenever he was lacking in concentration. But it was that that turned the boy into a current football machine.
The strictness is needed
“My father never praised me if I scored but played lazy. On the contrary, he would encourage if I was running without tired even without scoring,” Viktor once said to the Portuguese press when asked about the influence of his father. Stefan did not build a “star” boy, he created a warrior to sacrifice and serve the collective.
And so, throughout the childhood of Viktor, there is no room for laziness or flashy. When friends play video games, Viktor practiced durable. When others practice lightly, he had to freeze until the ball could no longer bounce on the sandy ground. Stefan believes that success comes from habits. And he taught his children like that.
Some people say Stefan is too strict, but time has answered. When Viktor shone in Coventry, then Sporting Lisbon, no one mentioned that seriousness anymore.
People only see a comprehensive striker, strong, steel spirit, a product of a father who once “holding the whip behind the goal”, as Stefan himself joked about himself.
The tears of happiness
In the summer of 2025, Viktor Gyokeres was one of the “hottest” names on the transfer market. After the 43 -goal season in the sporting shirt, he was determined to pursue. The agreement seems to be quickly completed. But then, the disagreements about transfer fees, payment structure and surcharges make the deal stagnate.
And for the first time, the stone man Stefan burst into tears. He did not cry for money, even more crying for fame. He cried for fear that his son's dream of playing in the Premier League was once again overshadowed by a trade game.
“I saw it trying, I saw it alive to death with the ball every day. I just hope it has the opportunity to prove myself at the highest level. And then the deal can break down that I cannot hold it,” Stefan choked with the Swedish press.
But football always has unexpected bends. After the days seemed to be a deadlock, Arsenal and Sporting finally reached an agreement: 63.5 million pounds plus an additional fee of nearly 8 million pounds. Viktor prepares to set foot in Emirates. Stefan was crying again, this time in full happiness.
The teacher does not have a coach seat
In the modern football world, where the players are surrounded by personal coach, physical expert, nutritionist, psychologist, Stefan Gyokeres – a father with an old sweater and instinctive football thinking – may not have enough qualifications. But he has something else: unconditional love and unlimited dedication.
Stefan does not need the title “Best Coach of the year”. He did not need to stand under the spotlight. For him, the biggest reward was to hear tens of thousands of Arsenal fans cheered “Gyokeres” at Emirates. When he saw his son hugging the ball, he knew, all the afternoons on the field of Aspuddden, all times scolded, the tears of tears fell, deserved.
And perhaps, in the heart of Viktor, the biggest teacher is not Arteta. It was Stefan – the first father, a coach, and also the one who lighted the flame that never turned off in the football journey of a “assassin” of Swedish blood.
Gyokeres yearns to return to the Premier League to … revenge
Having experienced a faint time in the Premier League, Gyokeres did not hide his desire to return to the top tournament of the fog to prove himself. “The Premier League is one of the largest tournaments in Europe,” Gyokeres said. “I have been there for a few years without playing a match. So, of course I really want to return. It will be a sweet revenge.”
