Image: Petter Arvidson / BILDBYRÅN
It was a breathtaking finish to another stand out Allsvenskan season which saw all of Stockholm’s teams able to claim key successes.
Although their local rivals won’t be dancing in the fountains at Sergels torg any time soon, the season has been an important milestone for the city’s football clubs, who took both titles back to the capital.
The title race went down to the wire, with AIK sealing Allsvenskan victory away to Kalmar on the last day, marking their first title since 2009. AIK’s last victory was also the last time a Stockholm team were crowned champions of Sweden.
AIK have had added to Djurgården’s Svenska Cupen success back in May, meaning both titles come back to Stockholm. It’s the first time since 2009 that both the Swedish league and Swedish Cup have been won by Stockholm teams since AIK did the double back in 2009.
AIK have been the stand out success of the all the Stockholm teams this season without a doubt. They’ve been truly dominant in the league, having held on to top spot since round 13 back in July.
It looked a little shaky towards the end with the Solna team losing their hold on a comfortable eight point lead, meaning they had to seal it at the last gasp. But an unbeaten streak of 20 matches, and with only one loss away to title-challengers IFK Norrköping, means nobody can say it’s not well deserved.
The champions will be stand out favourites to retain their title next time round, and if you feel like placing a bet to back them next season, it’s always a good chance to pick up a welcome bonus to go with your bet by visiting Bookiesbonuses.com.
Further south, Hammarby won’t have had too high expectations at the start of the season, although they always back their team to the hilt. After an impressive surge forward at the beginning of the campaign, which saw them take top spot and hold onto it for the first 12 weeks, they eventually capitulated to AIK which will smart.
Hammarby fans will feel hard done by for sure, and that’s understandable. Despite holding their own in the top three all season, they only narrowly missed out on Europa League qualification. A draw away to Östersund on the final day meant they finished fourth behind Malmö on goal difference. Still, it marks an important step forward for Bajen.
Djurgården fans will feel similarly disappointed. In contrast to Hammarby they did have high expectations, and a seventh place finish isn’t enough to quell the feeling of discontent many in their fan base will feel. With a number of key players as well as their coach rumoured to be leaving during the winter break, it’ll be hard to appreciate the positives.
But there have been resounding positives for Järnkaminerna this season, the first being Svenska Cupen success back in May when they surged to the title after seeing off Malmö 3-0 at the Tele2. They also managed to break their seven year derby curse that saw them go 2372 days without a win against their Stockholm rivals. They beat AIK in the semi-finals of the cup and Hammarby in the league later on in the year.
Stockholm’s minnows Brommapojkarna have had a tough time after earning promotion from Superettan last season. A victory on the last day over rock bottom Trelleborg earned them a survival lifeline. Finishing top of the relegation spots they go into a two legged playoff against Eskilstuna on the 22 and 25 November.
The boys from Bromma will find it tough to stay in the top tier of Swedish football next year if they first make it past Eskilstuna later this month. They’ll certainly take solace in knowing they got the better of Djurgården on both occasions this season.
Allsvenskan hasn’t been this electrifying for some time, and next season promises to be another action-packed installment. If you want to find football betting tips in English for Swedish football and to compare the best betting sites for the 2019 Allsvenskan season then make sure you head over to BetBlazers.com.
Stockholm’s teams will be back in action in the spring with a lot to look forward to. Don’t miss out on the action come what May.
Words: Adam Grimshaw
