The Derby

Johan G. informed us that there was going to be a 'Derby' on Tuesday. That is to say, an inter-city soccer match, in this case between Djurgården and Hammarby, two of Stockholm's biggest soccer clubs.

To sum up the contest, I'll put it like this: as soon as Thomas put on his Djurgården jersey, everyone we saw asked him earnestly if he really dared wear it. I assumed it was meant as a joke, but as I picked up the day's newspaper, I read about the most recent match between these two teams. Last year, at the Hammarby home stadium in southern Stockholm, Djurgården got out to a strong 3-0 lead, at which point angry 'Bajen' fans stormed the field. The Hammarby club was docked 3 points in the league standings, and as further punishment were forced to play the rest of their home 'Derby' games at Råsunda stadium, Sweden's national soccer stadium, and ideally a sort of neutral field. (picture at right courtesy aik.se)

The game was exciting to watch, we sat high up on the Djurgården-end of the field. It was interesting to compare it to the MLS game I watched recently. Here, the referee called virtually no fouls, which I found surprising, and those that he did call more often than not ended up being yellow cards. The Hammarby players seemed to spend more time lying on the ground whining than actually playing, but the ref bought it so I suppose it was the right strategy. Though I thought Djurgården was the stronger team, especially in the first half, they were unable to take the shots they needed. They were also missing their star defender, which showed clearly. Djurgården lost 0-2.

But the real excitement seemed to be outside the stadium. The daily Dagens Nyheter reported that the police suspected that Djurgården and Hammarby fans were going to have a planned fight, so when Hammarby supporters showed up enmasse to a region where the Djurgården fans usually congregate, police were on the scene and told them to leave. At about the same time, the pub 'The Londoner' was filled with Djurgården fans, preparing to leave for the game. When the police told them they would be escorted to the game, to prevent any altercations, they revolted and trashed the bar. 110 people were arrested at the bar. (picture at left courtesy dn.se)

Fortunately our experience was disturbance-free. Wednesday, my friend Amit will be flying in from Cambridge and we will go straight to Solvalla, the horse track to bet on my Uncle's horse, Tina Cape. Then Thursday we will be going out to Ramsen, the island where Åke and Helene have their incredible summer paradise.