The start of the Swedish football season is right around the corner, this past Sunday on a chilly afternoon I went and photographed the first of many Djurgården football games that I will cover for Pic-Agency this year.
It was a match in the Swedish cup, Svenska Cupen, between Djurgårdens IF and Umeå FC. The Swedish Cup can probably only be described as a lackluster affair. Djurgården, who normally play in Stockholm Stadion, played this match at a small ground about 20 minutes outside of town. Perhaps due to the lack of interest or perhaps because Stockholm Stadion is not yet prepared for the coming season in April.
The opponent, Umeå FC, which plays in the third division, didn’t really provide much of a fight. Then spent more or less the entire match pinned in their own half. They lost the game 3-0 but it probably would have been much worse if not for their goal keeper, Vladimir Sudar, who made a number of great saves.
I’m really excited over this coming season, it should be a great year for the teams in Stockholm with all three of them moving into new arenas. AIK will play the entire season in the newly constructed national arena, Friends Arena, out in Solna. Meanwhile Djurgårdens IF and Hammarby IF will play half the season in their perspective arenas and then move into the new Tele2 arena around the end of July.
This images and more available via Pic-Agency.
