“On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me, an atmosphere so red-hot it will make you wee”

3rd Place – Brondby IF
A fantastic display in the two derbies we attended in 2011 against FC Copenhagen saw the Danes keep their place in the top three this year.  The sheer noise and flag waving needs to be seen to be believed at the Carlsberg Classico.

2nd Place – AIK
People who have no knowledge of Swedish football may dismiss it as pedestrian, laid back and functional – a bit like Ikea.  But attend any of the big games features IFK, Malmö FF or AIK and you will see what Scandinavian passion is all about.  The biggest game of the season is undoubtably the Stockholm derby, played at the Råsunda stadium (until the new Stockholm Stadion opens in November of course) where AIK meet rivals Djurgården.  The notorious AIK hardcore fans, The Black Army, prepare their displays for months and it shows.  Recent legislation has meant that if any flares are let off whilst the players are on the pitch then the game needs to be stopped, meaning this game is a long affair.  The noise and colour will make your ears ring, the hairs on your neck stand up and your nose fill with smoke.  Beautiful.
1st Place – Legia Warsaw
The first time I went I lost my hearing for about an hour afterwards, and that was at a game where they had the lowest attendance of the season.  Two weeks ago when the temperature plunged well below zero, thousands of the fans jumped, sang, hugged and generally got 100% behind their team dressed in white t-shirts.  If there ever was a “twelth man” theory then this was it in practice.  Most Polish fans, irrespective of their allegiance will begrudgingly say Legia have the best fans in Poland.  As someone who watches the game all over the world I can honestly say that they are the best that I have seen.

Pavey thanks to Robert Henriksson

An infectious smile comes across the face of every AIK fan when I mention one name: Kenny Pavey – crowd favourite, idol of the North Stand, legend. If you wanted a definition of a whole-hearted, passionate player then I would give you Kenny Pavey. But he isn’t an English clogger, this guy has skill to go with the tough tackling.

AIK fans couldn’t believe it when he was left out of the starting eleven at the start of the season. Once he was back in the team he scored a last minute winner against ÖSK in the first full 90 minutes that he played, an example of his never-say-die attitude. With Pavey back in the team, AIK have started climbing the table. The Banguras may get the goals, but when the chips are down you would always want Pavey on your side.

Of course, Kenny has appeared on TBIR before. And it’s a great pleasure to have him here again:

Hi Kenny, thanks for taking the time to speak to The Ball Is Round again. How’s Stockholm life treating you?
Always nice to speak to The Ball Is Round; life is good in Stockholm. The football and my family are keeping me busy haha.

Has it been frustrating for you starting from the bench at times this season?
Yes of course. Any player that is happy to be on the bench has no ambition or belief in my eyes; I was injured just before the start of the season which meant not starting the first 3 games. I had a good run in the side then what can only be described as politics got involved and I was on the bench for another 3 games. But since then I have played from the start in every match and we have actually won every game: 6 wins in a row.

What else do you think went wrong last season when the club spent so much of the year around the relegation zone?
The key thing was that we lost so many players throughout the team. Key players, regular starters, it doesn’t matter which team you are, it takes time for players to gel together. I never thought that it was going to be as bad as it was but it really was something that I’ve never experienced in my playing career before. For me this was one of the most important seasons in my life as I was going to play Champions League football. The team was totally different from the year before and we never got a chance to show people outside of Sweden how good we really were, and that was very disappointing for me.

AIK fans love you, with many holding you up as an example of a player who displays the AIK spirit. How does that make you feel, knowing that you’ve become such a big part of a special club?
What can I say to that? When I signed for AIK, some friends from my team in Ljungskile told me that the fans would love me. Of course I had my doubts of how well it would go, but I never in my wildest dreams thought that it would be so special. They have been amazing to me and I will never forget the support they have given me during my time here.

Are you missing the games against Hammarby since their relegation?
Yes, absolutely!! I think it’s a shame for Swedish football that teams like Hammarby are not in the top league; the atmosphere is fantastic. As much as the AIK fans loved to see them go down, I think they really miss the derby matches. 

Apart from AIK, who do you reckon will win the Allsvenskan this year?
I think Elfsborg and Helsingborg are our biggest threats 

Do you have a plan to move back to England at some point or do you see your life as being in Sweden for the long term?
We are very happy in Sweden right now, especially in Stockholm, and being that I have a good profile in Sweden and I would like to work in football in the future, I don’t really think about it [moving back to England] too much. Plus it’s a great place to bring up kids which is a huge priority to me, so I guess at this moment no.

Could you imagine ever signing for Djurgården with the huge rivalry in Stockholm?
No, I could never do that to the AIK fans.

Do you ever get together for a beer with Calum Angus and James Keene – the other top-flight English lads?
No, I don’t actually. Borås is quite a long way away from Stockholm but I always have a good chat with James when I’m down there and I recently had a chat with Calum for the first time. Both are top men.

What kind of reaction do you get from Djurgården and Hammarby fans when you’re out in town?
To be honest, I have a lot of fans from the other clubs come up to me and tell me how much they hate AIK and me, but they tell me they love my style and would like me if I played in their team. I have never had any bad incidents with any of the fans.

How do you celebrate Midsommar?
Yes we have the traditional Swedish midsummer with dancing around the penis* and having a beer with some lovely food haha.

Kenny, it has been an absolute pleasure, cheers!
THANKS THE BALL IS ROUND, ALWAYS A PLEASURE!

The full version of Andy’s interview can be found on his excellent website Blågul Fotbul.

* Many readers will have read about the penis and will maybe think “those Swedes are always at it!”. And then maybe they’ll be confused for a moment. To help you: at Midsommar (a Swedish holiday) the Swedes will get together for a party which includes a load of booze and food. In the afternoon they will dance around a pole, a bit like the English maypole, where it’s a symbol of fertility with the pole having phallic symbolism.

Of course we all recognise the above three lines as the opening verse of the Champions League anthem.  The music that stirs our loins for a night of the “best football in the world” ©UEFA.  For those trivia buffs amongst you you may want to know that the song was commissioned by UEFA in 1992 and was aired on the night of the first ever round of games in the tournament in August 1992.  In fact for you real real trivia buffs you may want to know that it was first played on the 19 August in the Ta’Qali stadium in Malta when the teams from Valletta and Maccabi Tel Aviv took to the field.

It was written by English composer Tony Britten and he adapted George Frideric Handel’s “Zadok the Priest” from the Coronation Anthems, and the piece was performed by London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and sung by the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields.

Well tonight Matthew I would be attending my first Champions League tie for over a year ‘cross the bridge in my second, sorry third home (oops forgot TBIR Towers in London there..CMF wont be pleased with that slip) Malmö as they took on 21 times Faroese champions Havnar Bóltfelag Tórshavn in the Second Qualifying Round first leg of the 57th year of Europe’s premier football competition, and the 20th since the start of the Champions League format as we know it today.  The 24th ranked nation according to UEFA versus the 48th.

Malmö, Swedish Champions last season have high hopes of reaching the group stages this year.  Only six games stand between them and a place in the Group Stages.  Easy peasy really.  If they did overcome the Faroe Islanders they could look forward to FC Copenhagen, Genk or even Rangers in the next round if they are unlucky (For a great view on the seedings, coefficients and all that stuff that is too complex for my brain, head over and see Bert)

As the Malmo anthem struck up four lone figures in the south stand stood up and held up a Faroe Island flag with great pride.  It is a long road to Munich in May but they were prepared for the long haul.  I just hoped that they weren’t the infamous HB Hooligan firm who, according to Wikipedia mind, “crushed the Dinamo Zagreb hooligans in 10 seconds”.

This was the Faroe Islanders eleventh Champions League tie.  They had won twice before, the last being against FC WIT Georgia back in 2004 and most online bookies I checked with prior to the game weren’t giving them much hope of a repeat tonight (25/1 on as Alan confirmed to me mid-match with the score still 0-0).  I would have bit his arm off on backing the Faroe Islanders who almost sixteen years to the day had beaten Skansin Tórshavn 22-0.  But that would have made me clinically insane.

Still as Greavsie used to say, “It’s a funny old game Saint”.  I officially declare my Champions League season open.  God bless it and all who get in my way.  Time for a delicious cake, a cup of strong coffee and an attempt to get my tongue quite literally around some very strange names.

Malmö FF 2 HB Tórshavn 0 – Malmö Stadion – Wednesday 13th July 2011
With the formalities over the singing started up from the Blues choir behind the goal.   The best thing about coming to watch football here is not the fantastic cakes in the press room, or pastel coloured shirts, or even the strange seats that you have to swivel your whole body to get it. It is without a doubt the constant soundtrack the game is played to by the Tifosi.  And tonight was no exception.

Twenty minutes gone and some nervous glances were being exchanged around the press box.  Apart from a great fingertip save by Teitur Gestsson, Malmö could not break down the 11 men HB put behind the ball at all times.  Well, actually it was 12 as HB’s “centre forward” Andrew Av Fløtum was the size of a bus.

Twenty eight minutes gone and here was the opening goal.  Strong run down the wing, great cross, keeper beaten and the ever reliable Rexhepi was on the far post to nod in.  Except he didn’t.  He head over.  Queue more groans, shaking of heads and kicking of cats (not literally RSPCA it is a metaphor in this case).

As the game drifted towards half time and the HB players took every opportunity to waste some more time I noticed a couple of things about the ground.  Firstly there were no Champions League partner ads.  No PlayStation, Amstel, Ford or even a Rainham Steel lurking behind the goal.  And secondly, the two screens that normally relayed the action, and more importantly the replays, were switched off.  Good job there wasn’t much to show!

It was a disappointing half, let’s be honest Malmö fans.  But for the visitors the best they could have hoped for was a draw and so the game plan needed to take this into account.

The second half saw the home side batter HB from the first minute.  In fact it wasn’t until the 55th minute that they actually got the ball out of their half.  By that stage Malmö’s corner count had reached double figures and at last the small HB keeper had been forced into making a save.

Two minutes later the goal finally came.  Another deep cross from the left and again Rexhepi was left unmarked.  This time he headed firmly downwards and not up and the ball hit the back of the net.  Cue 12,548 fans exhaling all at once to drive those wind turbines in the middle of the Øresund and light up Copenhagen.

The home fans expected the flood gates to open, especially as Tórshavn actually deployed a forward who even ran into the Malmö half once in a while.  But it took a further twenty minutes before they scored again.  Another cross, more confusion in the box and Thorleifson put through his own net.

Apart from  a couple more near misses there was no more action.  Malmö would have taken the score if not the performance at 7pm and the second leg in the wind and rain in the Faroes should not cause too many problems.  But then again, it is a funny old game.

More pictures can be found at our Flickr stream here.

Before everyone who knows we starts getting out the voodoo dolls and inviting CMF to various councilling sessions I am of course taking about football. What else would I be talking about on a website called The Ball is Round (well apart from cricket, baseball, handball and even the odd darts game). As every TRUE fan knows, you are married to our team, through thick and thin. For richer and poorer, until death do you part. Unfortunately I am stuck with a partner who appears to be living in a poor episode of Eastenders. Farce is high on the agenda these days at Upton Park and you couldn’t ask a team of Hollywood screenwriters of the calibre of Patrick Marber to make up some of the stories they seem to involve themselves in.

So a few years ago I started “playing the field”. I met a fine club in Lewes and am proud to have her as my second team in a world where it is still technically acceptable to have a favourite Non League Team. After all, with the momentum behind such initiatives as Non League Day and Non League Notes, everyone should have a little fling in the grass roots. During my frequent travels I came across one or two clubs who offered the “continental option”. “You don’t see many of those down in E14″ I would often say, aghast at some of the things they would offer me in terms of experience. But one club has me coming back time and time again for more.

Confession time then….I am in love with Malmo FF. Ever since I saw them play Nottingham Forest in the 1979 European Cup final and stared in awe at the “ö” in their name and those pastel blue shirts I had a very soft spot for them. I loved them when they were winning the league every season under “Woy” Hodgson, yet back home nobody had heard of him. With my move out to Scandinavia I was at last within touching distance of my affections.

I saw them for the first time at the iconic Malmö Stadion, one of the architectural masterpieces built for the 1958 World Cup. Yes it was crap to watch a game in, but it looked pretty. Many things in Sweden are great to experience at but don’t have much substance – the beer for instance which is watered down just in case the locals get too excited. Björn Borg pants are another, but let’s not go there on a Sunday afternoon.

In 2009 they moved into a brand new stadium, the Swedebank Stadion literally behind their old one. It was built with the fans in mind with a big terrace behind one goal and two tiers of seats forming the rest of the stadium. No grand ambitions with the capacity, with 21,000 seats being perfect for the club.

Last season, after a six year gap, they won the Allsvenskan, the Swedish championship, playing some scintiliating football in the process. I was lucky enough to see them almost win the title at home to Helsingborgs, their greatest rival both for the title but also in terms of a local derby, before almost handing it back to them with a dreadful nervy performance against Kalmar. On both occasions the stadium literally bounced with atmosphere. The one thing that can never be levelled at the fans is that they lacked passion.

This season I had taken them for granted. Not returning their calls, ignoring important events and dare I say not even reading the emails when they came. But like an addiction to all bad things I was craving my fix. And when I sent an email on the off chance of a last minute press pass I was staggered by my reply from the club.

“Of course you are welcome. We have missed you”.

Four words that just melted my heart. How could I resist. I kissed goodbye to CMF and the Little Fullers at Kastrup airport and under the pretence of going back to work I changed platforms and carried on my journey under/above the Øresund to Malmö. Ten minutes after getting off at the new Trianglen station I was picking up my pass with a big smile from the familiar faces on the media desk. Just how long we would all be smiling was another matter.

The whole of Copenhagen had been shook to its foundations on Saturday night by a huge thunderstorm. We are talking biblical in its vericity and more rain fell in a two hour period than Denmark had seen in the past thirty years. Pity those people who were in a field at the Roskilde festival. No, really, there is nothing funny about being stuck in a tent during the worst rain in over a quarter of a century…..

And it appeared the storms were coming back. After another very hot day the clouds started gathering overhead. CMF’s flight back to London was delayed due to a very localised storm over Copenhagen (Thanks to Easyjet she was eventually delayed 3 hours, with no food or drink or even seats.  But what do you expect?).  I felt guilty about her pain, but I was being distracted. For in front of me the sky blues were turning on the style.

Sunday 3rd July 2011 – Malmö FF 2 Norrköping IF 1 – Malmö Stadion

It took just 90 seconds for the team to give me the perfect welcome back present. The usual stirring anthem had ended with a huge cheer, and with that still ringing in my ears Jimmy Durmaz tip toed through the Norrköping defence before curling the ball into the top corner. Bosh – take that and party.

Goals have been a bit of an issue this season for Malmö. It is fair to say that if they had a player in form up front they would not find themselves in 8th place with over a third of the season gone. They had scored just 14 from 14 games, a far cry from last season’s title winning performance. Time moves on, as too did last season’s manager Roland Neilson who had hopped on a Øresundstag train to Copenhagen to manage FCK. New boss Rikard Norling hadn’t yet endeared himself to the Malmö faithful and with their first Champions League campaign due to start in just a few weeks time it was important that their form started to return.

The visitors should have equalised and even taken the lead as Khalili headed wide, obviously taking too much inspiration from his Christmas present of Carlton Cole’s greatest headers, whilst Ajdarevic smashed a shot against the inside of a post whilst the keeper Melicharek could only look on. It was only at this point I noticed he was actually wearing a Spurs home kit. Absolutely identical to their home kit from last season bar the sponsors logo. Perhaps Spurs could try and take them to court…no stop it Stuart, don’t go down that road.

One became two on the stroke of half time when top scorer Larsson was set free, drew the keeper before curling the ball into the top corner. Foreplay, mere foreplay I hoped for what was to come.

The second half was much of the same. Malmö tried to get the ball wide as much as possible, using the pace of Larsson, whilst the away side obviously fancied their chances from distance against the Gomes-a-like in the Malmö goal.

The saying “the calm before the storm” was so evident here. On seventy five minutes with the sun still shining brightly on half of the ground a deathly hush fell over the stadium as Norrköping attacked. The clouds had filled the sky overhead, the wind picked up and then the rain started. Norrköping saw this as a sign of divine intervention and took advantage of the home side’s nervous looks to the heavens to pull a goal back when Khalili headed home a free kick unmarked.

It is amazing how easy you slip back into the old ways, and as I sat at the press conference afterwards awaiting Rikard Norling’s words I was amazed how many familiar faces I saw. I couldn’t feel more at home than if I had a pair of slippers on and I was sucking on a Skippers Pipe (before anyone jumps to any rude conclusions it is a licorice pipe which is very popular in Denmark). Sure Malmö had huffed and puffed to a win, and I am sure they will need to up their game to make progress in retaining their title as well as reaching the land of milk and honey in the Champions League, but for one night let’s forget all about the world outside and just bask in each other’s company.

Captain’s log: Star date 26052011. We have been tasked to travel to the furthest southern point of Scania, locate the statue of a nude grandmother of a Hollywood star before heading off to a football match.

Birgit Holmquist - thanks to flickrhivemind.net

There was literally nothing else to see in Smygehuk so Ben and I jumped back on the bus and ten minutes later hopped off in Trelleborg. Now here was a strange place. Sweden’s second largest port and the alighting point for many a German ferry, yet there is no railway line? Sitting so close to Malmø and thus Denmark surely it would make sense to build a railway line. I mean in 1917 when Lenin arrived to lead the revolution after being in exile in Sassnitz, what did he do? Hitchhike?

There was always such a big thing in England made of Mansfield being the only club in the Ninety Two without a train station. But there can be few towns left in “mainland” Europe that do not have a rail connection? It is not even as if Trelleborg is a small place as the population is over 25,000. Perhaps a quiz question for someone, somewhere.

But we had the second part of our mission to complete, and that was getting to a football match. And as luck would have it, Trelleborgs FF were taking on Syrianska, the team of the moment in the Swedish Allsvenskan. Why were they so talked about? Well a couple of reasons. This is the highest level they have ever played at firstly. In fact three seasons ago they were in the 3rd tier of Swedish football. Secondly, the are a team essentially made up of Syrian immigrants and see themselves as a sporting voice of the Syriac people. This doesn’t necessarily sit very well with some of the fans in the division, and after a controversial decision in the recent home game against AIK, all hell broke loose and the game was abandoned, and a 3-0 victory handed to Syrianska (see video here).

Trelleborgs continue to amaze in Swedish football. After their best ever finish in 2009 of ninth, they changed their style of play in 2010 to a more attractive passing game and finished in fifth place. Whilst we had been here before, watching a game versus Sunsdvall on a very cold and wet night, this promised to be a much more entertaining with the sun shining and memories of Uma Thurman’s grandmother still fresh in our minds.

Trelleborgs FF 0 Syrianska 1 – Vångavallen – Thursday 26th May 2011
As usual whenever we come to football in Sweden we are treated like royalty, which without being greedy we wish we would, especially if it was like our old friend Princess Madeleine, who is still heartbroken and pining away the hours (we would like to believe). The press officer Jannie took us down the tunnel (stop sniggering), gave us a quick tour of the facilities just as the teams came out. In fact it appeared that we were delaying the entrance of the teams by standing in the tunnel nodding knowingly as Jannie spoke in Swedish to us. We both have trouble understanding Danish without throwing Swedish into the mix!

The teams came out to polite applause, very much in keeping with the neat appearance of the ground and the surrounding area. You would be hard pushed to have believed a game was about to start. Not because there were few fans around, but because they were going about their business in such hushed tones. Syrianska had almost filled up the away section, although based on the fact it could only hold about 70 it wasn’t hard (For the visits of the big boys such as Malmø they open up the terrace behind the goal).

The game started at a great pace with both teams forcing the goalkeepers into saves under pressure. Twenty minutes flew by before we saw the only goal. A great ball into the Trelleborgs penalty was brilliantly chested down by Dinko Felic and he turned and smashed the ball into the net. For a two metre tall chap(sorry it’s all metric over here) his control was exceptional. At the other end Fredrik Jensen, the loan Trelleborgs striker had a chance to equalise in the thirty fifth minute, sending his header straight at the keeper.

As time ebbed away in the first half Syrianska’s Yussuf Saleh sent a stinging shot just over the bar from thirty yards whilst from an Adelstam corner at the other end the away keeper did well to clear the danger. Half time. Time for a sausage and a beer. Doh, of course, we are in Sweden and such niceties of a half time liquid refreshment are not allowed. I applaud their moral stance on the dangers of alcohol although I do find it very two faced that a church is then open about investing in some dubious content – thanks to Luge for finding this one, although quite why he would be reading Adult Video News during working hours is a mystery that HR will need to investigate.

Ben came back empty handed on the sausage front. Apparently they didn’t take Amex or any of his Danish Kroner. “We build them a bridge, we let them use our mobile phone networks, we even give them some of our wind power. The least they could do is let me buy a sausage with some of our money.” (Ben is actually British but is Danish when he wants to).

The second half passed much like the first. Both teams played on the counter attack. When teams line up with a 4-5-1 we tend to think in conservative terms. But here that formation was so that they could break quickly and get met forward supporting the big man up front. Both teams should have and could have scored a few times. The most animated figure in the half was the Syrianska manager who looked from the back like Jimmy White or Ray Von from Phoenix Nights. Great mullet action.

Full time was greeted as if Syrianska had won the cup final. For a team that played with such attacking flair it was hard to fathom why they were so near the bottom of the league. We wandered down to the dressing room area to chat to a couple of the players but our attention was diverted by the noise coming from the away video, recorded below. Top stuff to see.

Trellesborg FF should be applauded for the work they have done. Whilst crowds are sparse (2,322 tonight – less than average in Football League Division Two), they continue to produce good players, and they play the game that is pleasing to watch. They are not in the Allsvenskan by fluke and whilst tonight was a set back, they will continue to be on the fringes of greatness again this season.

Our journey home took us finally to a bar that was serving beer. Was a £9 pint of Brooklyn worth the wait? Of course it was.

More photos from the game can be found here.

We have some of the tightest controls in terms of what can and cannot go on in football stadiums in the world. We have the only league in Europe that rigorously enforces all seater stadium, yet have the worst atmosphere in our grounds. Is that a co-incidence? I certainly believe so, although there are other reasons:-

The cost of watching Premier League football is far too high. This means that only those with the highest disposable income can attend, and this is not the demographic that really wear their hearts on their sleeves. The average fan has long been priced out of the game, replaced by someone who wants to sit and read their programme, eating their branded burger and not be disturbed by songs and people standing up. Case in point. The last time I went to Old Trafford I sat next to a woman who read a book and behind someone who knitted throughout a 3-3 draw.

The Police associate groups of fans with trouble and therefore stamp out any activity that could be deemed to be “anti-social”. Stewards are failed and frustrated security officials who are employed by clubs to stop anyone having any kind of enjoyment from the game.

Television, sorry, Sky would complain that no one could watch the game if flare smoke was hanging over the pitch.

Barclay’s own adverts for the Premier League show atmospheric black and white pictures of fans jumping around with a voice over saying “It’s about working hard for the weekend. It’s about having a good time”. Now what do you think? Wouldn’t you rather be watching something like the footage below? And before everyone starts banging on about health and safety, not one arrest nor was anyone injured during the Stockholm derby.

The picture is the same across Europe. Germany, with clubs like Borussia Dortmund, and the biggest terrace in Europe. Slovakia, with Spartak Trnava. Intimidating? Yes, dangerous? No. And here is the problem. In whose interest is it to change the picture here in England? The clubs get their pot of gold every two weeks, and know that every season they can squeeze more out of the same people using fear tactics – “Can you afford to miss the Carling Cup game with Walsall?”, talking about huge waiting lists for Season Tickets and introducing membership schemes as the only way to buy tickets for games. The stadiums with their rows of shiny seats are easily to control with little Hitlers dressed in day glow jackets, and the TV companies know that there is no chance that their broadcasts can be interrupted. I simply cannot see a compelling event that will lead to the revolution. I think that football in Europe evolved from the dark days of hooliganism (I am not for one minute suggesting that has gone away by the way) into more of peaceful fan culture, and been allowed to develop, whilst in England we have cotton wrapped everything and will never move out of this state.

So here is my final piece of evidence to show what we are missing. An OFFICIAL video made by Allsvenskan champions Malmö FF after their game last season which essentially decided the title against Helsingborgs IF. Just watch the footage and tell me that you do not get the hairs on the back of your neck standing up. Can you imagine being one of those players knowing the backing and support they had from their fans. But then again players in continental Europe have a different relationship with the fans based on respect and honour. Fat chance of players over here ever respecting football fans.

Germany has all of the passion (and spite) of Borussia Dortmund and Schalke as well as a new rivalry, played for the first time this season in Hertha v Union Berlin. Italy has the Rome, Milan, Turin and Genoa variations. Portugal has Sporting v Benfica derby played between the Lisbon sides and then of course there is the Old Firm in Scotland. Childhood friends grow up enemies based on the teams they support, families are split in two over their allegiances.

During the past few years I have been lucky enough to experience a few such games. Internazionale 0 AC 6 will always rank up there in my most treasured footballing memories, as will the rampant destruction of Parken, home to FC Copenhagen by Brondby IF fans in one of the fastest growing inter-city rivalries. But one game I had always wanted to see was the Stockholm derby between Djurgården IF and AIK.

Djurgårdens IF and AIK were both founded in 1891 separated by just a month apart and both are originally from the Northern part of Stockholm. Today they are almost in different towns with AIK based in Solna, to the north of the city centre and Djurgården in the district of Östermalm. They are also historically two of the biggest and most successful clubs in Sweden, with 11 League titles each. The Djurgården vs AIK rivalry is considered by far the biggest rivalry in Sweden and maybe even the whole of Scandinavia because of its rich history and the huge animosity between the two clubs and both sets of fans with the Järnkaminerna or Blue Saints of Djurgården on one side and the notorious Black Army of AIK on the other. With this being the first game of the season for both teams, it was guaranteed to be a cracker in terms of atmosphere.

But few people outside Östermalm know that back in 1985, Djurgården IF’s star striker was none other than Edward “Teddy” Sheringham. Teddy was nineteen at the time and pushing to break into the Millwall first team. With Sweden playing summer football it was seen as an ideal opportunity for him to gain some first team football. Thirteen in goals in twenty one appearances saw Teddy become a cult hero here as well as returning back to South London to a first team place for the Lions.

Not that AIK didn’t have their own South London connection themselves. Step forward long term TBIR fan and Millwall fanatic, Kenny Pavey. One of the best English players currently playing overseas, Kenny is down to earth, committed and above all passionate about the game. He was fired up for this one.

For me it would also be a good chance to visit the Stadion, home of the blues and the only ground in Stockholm that I hadn’t been to. The Olympic Stadion, or simply Stadion for those in the know hosted most of the events in the 1912 Olympic Games including the Tug of War competition. Well, not really a competition actually as only two nations competed (Sweden represented by the Stockholm City Police and Great Britain represented by the City of London Police) and the event was held in less than 30 minutes on one day. If that bizarre fact wasn’t enough then do you know that it also hosted part of the Olympic games in 1956? Yep, whilst the running, shooting, pushing, pulling and throwing was going on in Melbourne some 9,609 miles away in Australia, the equestrian competition was held in the Olympic Stadion due to quarantine issues.

However, I had of course made a simple assumption that the game would be played at Djurgården’s 13,000 capacity stadium. And I would have happily headed off in that direction if it wasn’t for one of the guys in the office pointing out that Solna is only a 5 minute journey from my hotel. Solna? No I am heading out to Östermalm…Well you will be Johnny no mates out there came the answer. It seems that all big games like this are played at the Råsunda, that is until the new Swedbank Arena is finished in 2012 although AIK will not be moving in to the new superstadium.

Both teams had suffered poor seasons in 2010. The home side’s 10th place finish was at least an improvement on 14th in 2009 but still along way from their domestic double in 2005 and subsequent jaunt into the Champions League. AIK also went through a season of hell in 2010 after winning the treble in 2009, finishing in 11th place. The Allsvenskan is a hot potato that no team wants to hold for more than a season. Six different winners in the last six seasons did not bode well for both of these sides, especially as Huddo Hudson have confidently tipped Örebro for the title this year.

So a full day’s work under my belt I headed north up to Solna ready and waiting for what was about to hit me.

Djurgården IF 0 AIK 0 – Råsunda – Monday 4th April 2011
The journey to the stadium should have been straight forward. Five stops from T-Central straight to the stadium. But those little rascals the AIK fans decided to trash a metro train so we weren’t going anywhere fast. What was obvious was the railway workers had recently been on a customer experience course hosted by SouthEastern railways as the confusing messages being relayed to the thousands of football fans on the platform was a great help in getting us all nowhere.

Still, thanks to a helpful policeman I did a little shufty one way, a shimmy the next and before you could say Martin Kayongo-Mutumba I was at the stadium. One end was rocking. I will give you a clue which one. They play in Black and Yellow. AIK had almost filled the “away” end, which was actually the same end they have when they play at home. At the other end the “home” fans had a decent turn out (it later turned out many were delayed due to said train incident), but it did beg the question why not play this at home in the first place.

The bad news was that “our Kenny” was only on the bench. He consoled himself by giving fellow sub Ibrahim Bangura a piggy back race around the pitch as you do. The good news was the atmosphere was cracking (you can see some footage on YouTube here, here and here). A little bit too cracking for the referee and the police because minutes after the teams came out and lined up they were ushered back down the tunnel as the smoke engulfed the stadium. I’ve seen some fireworks before but this put London on New Years Eve to shame. Add in AIK’s fans singing a version of KC & The Sunshine Band’s Give it up and the Djurgården X-Factor style ticker tape and I think I can only give you a fraction of the picture.

Five minutes later the referee appeared again. He chatted to a few people and disappeared again just as more loud bangs reverberated around the stadium. If this was a “tame” derby in terms of games around the world I cannot imagine what a “lively” one would be like. The noise was cranked up to ten as we had to sit and wait….Eventually some nine minutes late the home side got the game underway to almost silence as both sets of fans regrouped and planned their next move.

Two minutes in and the home side nearly got the dream start when Sebastian Rajalakso’s drive from the edge of the box narrowly went past the post with Turina in the AIK goal well beaten. That brought the blues fans into song. Ah if Teddy was here tonight – the Djurgården fans broke into a chorus of “No one likes us, we don’t care” but in Swedish (well that is what it sounded like to me) so send a message to their favourite English son. AIK responded with “We’re on the march with Alm’s army, we’re on the way to Gefle”.

Eighteen minutes on the clock and AIK have a massive shout for a penalty. After Gustavsson outpaces the defence and lifts the ball over Pa Dembo Touray in the Djurgården goal the goal bound ball is cleared by a defender. Only he kicks the ball straight up in the air and the ball hits his hand and goes out for a corner. What would Alan Hansen say? There is no such thing as “ball to hand”, it is just handball. To try and rouse the home fans out came the Djurgarden mascot. A big cat….with an upside down saucepan on his head. Now that is just bizarre but I had already seen most things in this game so it wasn’t too much of a surprise.

Chances were few on the ground in the first half with both keepers tested from distance and their catching ability from corners, with the bulk of the play being seen in the middle third of the pitch. Half time saw a few exchanges between the fans and the police as missiles were thrown down from the Djurgarden fans behind the goal onto a small group of AIK fans in the stand along the side of the pitch. For the first time in the evening I started noticing how chilly it had become. Just because April is here does not mean winter has disappeared here in Stockholm. Snow is still on the ground in outlying areas and some of the rivers are still frozen. What we needed to warm us up was 45 minutes of decent football.

“One Kenny Pavey” sang the AIK fans as he was brought on at the start of the second half to inject some pace down the right hand side for the “visitors”. With both teams attacking their opposing fans it was going to be 45 minutes for the brave. The noise was cranked up to 11 and it was difficult to keep an eye on what was going on on the pitch for fear of missing something either set of fans was doing. There was an almost constant stream of flare smoke, syncronised bouncing, fire crackers and songs with English tunes. Do the Premier League officials not look at games like this and wonder where the passion and spectacle come from? This cannot be bottled and sold as part of your monthly subscription. These are fans who haven’t been priced out of the game and a football association who respects the supporters as more of a part of the game than the teams themselves. Nearly 29,000 were in the stadium. Less than half you would get at The Emirates but I bet twenty times as loud and passionate.

Inevitably the game ended nil nil. With so much at stake in the opening game of the season both teams will claim the bragging rights from the first battle of the season.

As usual there was always time for a chat with Kenny Pavey post match. I waited for him to complete his Swedish interviews, conducted in perfect local dialect. Sod the fact that the rest of his team mates were waiting on the coach, he wanted my opinion on the game, whether Millwall could get to the play off final and whether it was true that Lilly Allen had been lined up to replace Cheryl Cole on X-Factor. Good, no and unfortunately yes were my answers. No time for a beer tonight but stay tuned for our latest update on his antics.
Football was not the winner but passionate support was. Would I want to see supporters like this every week? Hell yes…”Oh Teddy Teddy, he came to Stockholm and all he won fuck all…..apart from a Swedish 2nd division winners medal.”

All of the pictures from a memorable night can be found here.

“Of course…We appreciate all of the interest around the club at the moment, but when it comes from the home of football it warms the heart a little extra.”

They had me on “of course”. But this season has been special for Di blåe. With just four games to go they went into round 27 with a 3 point lead over local rivals (and also a top club by the way) Helsingborgs IF thanks to the passionate win last month. With both teams kicking off at 7pm on Monday night, the right result could almost put the Allsvenskan on a bus down to Malmö from Stockholm where AIK had been hiding it in a cupboard. Helsingborgs were away to recent champions IF Elfsborg whilst Malmö were hosting Kalmar FF, themselves Allsvenskan Champions in 2008.

Monday night, 7pm kick off – of course we would be there. In the not too distant future our whole Scandinavian adventure will end, and who knows where we will end up (please Mr Wicks not Paris!) but we will miss the trip over the water to Sweden to the lovely little city of Malmö. So best make the most of it. This was to be our last trip here of the season, and we came in hope that the club could regain its position at the top of the Swedish tree, a position that last really held in the late 80′s when they won five consecutive titles between 1985 and 1989. To celebrate their last title, Roxette released Dressed for Success around the world, as a homage to the club and this fifth title..And now eleven years later Roxette are back, playing sell out gigs across Sweden…could this be an omen???

I met up with a few fans, of course over a low alcoholic beer (no really – remember we are in Sweden so the thought of a 4% beer sends the government into COBRA mode) and discussed the season and what was going on in England. Their main interest was of course Liverpool. As we have reported here before Mr Hodgson is a bit of a God in the city, and has a special Hodgson Corner (Roy’s Hörna) in the stadium, complete with his own flag as testament to the five titles he won back in the late 80′s. Oh how he wished he was back there today, dancing away to “The Look” and regretting the day he was offered a lifetime contract to stay with the club.

They also admitted, begrudgingly that rivals Helsingborgs had done well this season, and if anyone was to finish runners up it should be them. Cannot see Everton and Liverpool (I know that Malmö and Helsingborgs aren’t city rivals) fans being so open about each other. But that situation would have to wait for a few weeks as there was a championship to win first.

As usual the fans in the stadium surpassed themselves. A huge semi-circular banner went up behind the goal to welcome the teams celebrating the 1999 near miss and then another to show the elation of the last Allsvenskan in 2004. Fan choreography at its best and something that unfortunately we will simply never see in England with the ridiculous amount of regulations that treat all fans like potential criminals. The last time I checked a simple flag, with a pole was a banned item in most stadiums in the UK. Sit down and shut up, but don’t forget to buy your branded water/coke/burger.

Malmö FF 0 Kalmar FF 1 – Swedbank Stadion – Monday 18th October
Fifteen minutes into the game with neither side really able to create an opening news filtered through that Helsingborgs had scored at Elfsborg. as the goal was relayed on the big screens (I still cannot get my head around this practice of showing action from other games during the match) there was a collective groan from the fans. However it did jerk the home team into life for a minute and they went close as Agon Mehmeti ran into the box but saw his lob bounce onto the top of the net as opposed to in it.

Kalmar started to come back into the game and if it wasn’t for a smart save from Johan Dahlin on 21 minutes they would have been in the lead. The team from the west of Sweden had surpassed all expectations in the past few years winning a Swedish Cup and then the 2008 Allsvenskan. Their first appearance in the Champions League last season had ended at the Qualifying stages as they lost to Debrecen on away goals, but they couldn’t be underestimated.

With Elfsborg scoring a late equaliser against Helsingborgs, both title challengers went in at half time hanging onto a point, a situation that would allow for the perfect team talk surely?

Just to prove how much my Swedish had come along, at the start of the second half the Malmö fans unravelled a banner that said “Staplats reducering – Nej Tack!” which I impressively told my colleague next to me, who was from Poland, that it was a protest against a plan to reduce the amount of standing places in the stadium…Next you’ll know I will be singing Abba songs in their original language (Tak för musiken, Vinnaren tar allt and En an voss if you must know).

As the temperature dropped, and my regret for leaving my gloves back in Denmark rose the air of frustration rose. Kalmar put ten men behind the ball whenever they could, and with Helsingborgs taking the lead in Boras it was left to the home fans to try and motivate the team to retain the initiative in the title race in the final fifteen minutes.

But then it took a turn for the worst. Begloved (is that a word?) Kalmar forward Daniel Freire Mendes received the ball some twenty five yards out from goal, saw the keeper off his line and placed the ball perfectly into the top corner. A harsh reward for 85 minutes worth of defending, but football can be a cruel game.

Five minutes of stoppage time sent the fans into a frenzy, and an almost freakish own goal by the Kalmar keeper raised spirits but it was not to be. Helsingborgs win took them level on points at the top, and with just three rounds of games left it looked like being the closest championship since, erm, last season when AIK beat IFK Göteborg on the last day to pip them to the title.

If it does all go wrong in the final few weeks I am sure Roy will be available in good time for the start of next season…..

More photos from the evening can be found at our Flickr stream here.

Plzen – Half the price of Prague and only ninety minutes away by bus, Plzen has never achieved anything in Czech football – until now. FK Viktoria won the Czech Cup in May and are nine points clear of Sparta Prague at the top of this season’s Czech Liga. Their ground’s not much above Conference-standard, with a 7,500 capacity and athletics track around the pitch, but it’s only a few minutes’ walk from the city centre and next door neighbours with the Pilsner Urquell Brewery and the Czech Republic’s biggest pub. With a winter break between mid-November and February, the Czech season runs right through to the middle of June. Still to come at the Štruncový Savy Stadium: both of the big teams from Prague, and Banik Ostrava in the final home game of the season.

Buses to Plzeň leave from Florenc Station in Prague and cost less than four Euro. Click here for more info on how to get to the stadium.

Split – Cheap bars, beautiful people, beaches and party islands just a boat ride away, and a city centre that’s been squatting in a Roman emperor’s palace for one and a half thousand years. What more could you want from a city except for some of Europe’s most wildly passionate fans and football graffiti on almost every street corner?

Hadjuk versus Dinamo Zagreb is the biggest game in Croatia, the two clubs fighting it out (sometimes literally) for first and second place in the national league. The Torcida, Europe’s first organised fans’ group, head for the north stand of the Poljud Stadium. After three successive promotions, RNK Split, the Workers’ Football Club, are the Blackpool of this year’s league. The Split Derby is in early- March.

Jet2.com and easyJet fly to Split from various UK airports including Manchester, Newcastle, Glasgow, Edinburgh and East Midlands, Gatwick and Stansted. There’s a full guide to football in Split here.

Andy Hudson takes up the baton and flies us north for his two.

Hamburg – Gemany’s second-largest city, home of the Reeperbahn and seven football teams, six of which are more than 100 years old, providing plenty of choice for a weekend double-header. FC St Pauli are currently holding their own in the Bundesliga and their recently redeveloped Millerntor home offers one of the best atmospheres in German football. The Sankt Pauli neighbourhood is an ideal location and offers FC St Pauli, the Reeperbahn, the famous harbour and plenty of bars, including the Jolly Roger, Karo Ecke and Knust which are all located a minute or two from Millerntor.

Ryanair flies to Lubeck from Stansted and Prestwick with a connecting bus service taking an hour to transport you into Hamburg.

Stockholm – Expensive but incredibly beautiful and offering a choice of many football matches, Stockholm is my favourite European destination. Three of the most famous Swedish clubs are based in the capital city, and if you’re quick you’ll be able to see AIK play at Rasunda before planned demolition of the stadium takes place in 2012 when all football activity will be transferred to the Swedbank Arena. AIK are based in Solna, north-west of Stockholm but connected to the city centre by the efficient T-Bana subway system.

Other football options are Djurgårdens, who play at the Stockholms Stadion (opened for the 1912 Olympics) in Östermalm, the affluent part of Stockholm just outside of the city centre, and Hammarby, who play at Söderstadion in Södermalm and soon to move to the new Stockholmsarenan.

Stockholm has a number of great pubs, but beer is expensive. Try Debaser on the Gamla Stan side of Slussen for cheaper beer and great live music, The Tudor Arms on Grevgatan in Östermalm, popular for football fans as plenty of sport is shown on TV and it won the Daily Telegraph’s Best Pub In The World (outside Britain) 2010 award, or Fåfängan, an outdoor bar and restaurant on top of a hill a short distance along from both Slussen and Södermalm which offers great views on a summer evening.

You can fly direct to Arlanda Airport, Stockholm, from Heathrow (using British Airways) or from Edinburgh and Gatwick (using Norwegian Air). Regular Ryanair flights are available from Liverpool, Gatwick, Stansted and Edinburgh to Skavsta which is near Nyköping and an 80 minute bus journey away from Stockholm. Ryanair also have a flight from Stanstead to Vasteras which is 90 minutes away from Stockholm on the bus.