Swedish kick-off

[david in sweden]

The Swedish season kicked off at Easter with fans eager to enjoy games again after the long winter break, which is from November to March in Sweden.

 

Stockholm's sides had rather mixed results, except for Djurgården who won their first three games with a commanding goal difference of 9-1

...at the other end of the table,west-coast newcomers Falkenberg found life at the top a bit tougher and sit bottom having lost their 3 games with g.d 1-9

 

Stockholm club AIK,have had a slow start but fought out a 3-3 draw with Gothenburg yesterday in a game riddled with defensive errors, although Jos Hooiveld almost won the game for AIK - except for a brilliant one-handed save by the Gothenburg keeper. Jos who will be 33 next week, returned to AIK last season to a hero's reception from the fans who recalled his previous time at the club (pre-Celtic) when then won the Swedish title in 2008.

 

Stockholm's other big club Hammarby looked drab in their first two games, but came to life when they trounced the luckless Falkenberg 5-1 on Sunday.

Gothenburg sit in 2nd place and last years champions Norrköping in 3rd place, with newcomers Jönköpings South (some Saints fans recall them)

 

Malmo who made Champions League group stages in the last two seasons have started poorly, as have Elfsborg who will certainly miss Anders Svensson who finally retired last year at the age of 39 (!)

 

Not so much glory for Henrik (Henke) Larsson, who made a name for himself as a goalscorer at Celtic. His managerial career (now with Helsingborg) doesn't look quite so bright, as they already sit in the relegation spot with only 1 point from their 3 starts.

 

There's a long way to go until October, and some Swedish sides have a habit of drastic form changes after the summer break in June. We'll wait and see.

Edited 12 April, 2016 by david in sweden

[stedje]

Cant help looking for Østersunds FK's results. Managed by former Saint player Graham Potter.