Sunday, May 22, 2016

An Allsvenskan Game in Stockholm


Sunday, 22 May, 2016:

Before starting on today's activities, a big tack så mycket to Bengt Granlund for . . .

. . . taking this U15
Team Photo on Saturday

First up on Sunday was a 1:00 p.m. meeting over fika with the U11 coaches at a cafe in Upplands Väsby nearby horse country.

Two Steeds

Make that two FRIENDLY Steeds

And me without a carrot or a lump of sugar.

This productive meeting had been called by the U11 coaches who just wanted to pick my brains on ways to do their job better.

GREAT attitude!

At 3:30 p.m. I met up with the wonderful Aiki Parts for a bus/train/metro trip into Stockholm.

Aiki is one of the several great, hard working people who make the Wäsby Warriors a good organization and my stay in Sweden a joy.

 For me, a new building near
Stockholm's Central Station

An early dinner at Sweden's answer
to MacDonalds and Burger King

 Look at the coffee they serve at MAX

Their bacon steak burger with jalapeños was quite good.

The purpose of our afternoon journey was the opportunity to study Swedish culture in that most European of all settings, a fotboll or, as we call it in America, soccer match.

 This is Sweden's Top Fotboll League

 The Allsvenskan is made
up of these 16 clubs

Today's 5:30 p.m. match would be between visiting . . .

Currently in 8th Place
4 wins - 3 ties - 3 losses
15 Team Points
-4 in Goal Differential (15-19)

The IF in HIF is Swedish for Sports Club. 

We were rooting for our boys from . . .

Currently in 13th place
4 wins - 0 ties - 6 losses
12 Team Points
-1 in Goal Differential (14-15)

The Djurgårdens Sports Club (DIF) also sponsors quality ice hockey and American football teams. 

 My ticket, courtesy of Aiki Parts

I told you that she is hard working, she is also quite generous.

TELE2 Arena
The site of our game

This new venue first opened in July of 2013.

Before TELE2 Arena opened, D.I.F. played their games in the quaint Stockholm Olympic Stadium that I visited last week.

TELE2 Arena holds 30,000 enthusiasts for a football match on artificial turf but only 13,183 souls were on hand today.

A small but loud crowd.

 With Aiki

GREAT seats in the first row of the second deck.

HIF in red, DIF in Blue

 The view from
Section B328, Row 1, Seat 357

HIF's Ultras

DIF's Ultras were gathering too

GO DIF!!!

Corner Kick Action

Good HIF Slide Tackle

GOOOOOOOOOOAL!

At the 12 minute mark, DIF's speedy Sam Johnson from Liberia scored to give our local favorites an . . .

. . . early 1-0 lead

 Action at mid-field

At the half, all of us were feeling optimistic as the score was DIF 1 - HIF 0.

GOOOOOOOOOOAL!!

A COMMANDING 2-0 DIF lead

The mood in the Arena suddenly changed from optimistic to downright giddy thanks to Norwegian Daniel Bentsen's goal in the 51st minute.

GOOOOOOOOOOAL!!!

It was now officially a rout!

Jesper Karlström, a Swede, made it all but official with his 84th minute score.

How would the Ultras celebrate this time?

With a Road Flare of course!

Aiki's partner, Janne, was working Security at that end of the Arena and had to deal with this understandable celebration that was still in violation of all international fire codes for arenas.

 IT'S OVER
DIF WINS! DIF WINS!


With the win, DIF moved up to 8th place in the Allsvenskan table with a record of 5-0-6, 15 Team Points and a Goal Differential of +2 (17-15).

The loss dropped HIF into 9th place in the league standings with a new record of 4-3-4, 15 Team Points and a Goal Differential of -7 (15-22).

I believe that though tied in Team Points, the tie-breaker is the Goal Differential statistic.

Go DIF GO!!!

Another scarf for my collection

The always hilarious Janne joined Aiki and myself for the train ride home and a beer at the sports bar next to the Upland Väsby train station to unwind a bit before calling it a day.

It was another GREAT day in the greater Stockholm megalopolis with lots of good people!

P.S. Public transportation after the game was amazingly good. I wish we had as good a system in Southern California.

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