På Dansgolvet Djurgården: Stockholm's soccer soul

Words: Erik Wibaeus

Images: Erik Wibaeus

I bet you look good on the dancefloor…

(Arctic Monkeys)

Swedish terrace photographer Erik Wibaeus likes to take photographs from the terraces up. He can capture Adidas and foil, alongside big away followings sweeping through train stations.

Here he talks us through some interesting photos from his Djurgården and further afield.

©Erik Wibaeus / Terrace Edition. Djurgårdens IF away at BK Häcken

01: Gothenburg, Sweden. Häcken away.

Supporters arriving by special train for Djurgården supporters only.

Early spring and since we play in the traditional way, the season has just begun.

©Erik Wibaeus / Terrace Edition. Djurgårdens IF away at Levski Sofia.

02: Sofia, Bulgaria. Levski away.

The Vasil Levski National Stadium in Sofia is a massive eastern block colossus.

Djurgården was invited by Levski Ultras to play an anniversary game against Levski Sofia 50 years after they met Djurgården in their first international game. Great weekend and a proper bender.

We came down with a few hundred supporters. Here you can see them setting the away stands ablaze under rainy skies.

©Erik Wibaeus/ Terrace Edition. Djurgårdens IF.

03: Djurgårdens IF, Sweden. Tele2 Arena.

Djurgården has a very diverse terrace scene. The emerging ultra culture of the late 90’s in Europe has heavily influenced the younger supporters.

The larger ultras faction was established in 2003 but I would say that the English supporter culture still remains as the most prominent influence to this day.

Drums are strictly prohibited within our culture, making chants and songs vital. Still, the pyrotechnics of southern and central Europe play a key role in how we display colours on the terraces.

Yes it’s illegal, and yes there is repression but these expressions are far from dying.

©Erik Wibaeus/ Terrace Edition. Djurgårdens IF away at IK Sirius.

04 - Uppsala Sweden, IK Sirius away.

One of the easiest trips you can make to a non-derby game is the one to Uppsala. Easy access with both local and regional trains makes these tickets one of the most sought after.

Given Uppsala is close to Stockholm, as well as the fourth largest city in Sweden, you would be surprised to know that the rivalry is mediocre. For the police, this doesn’t qualify as a high risk fixture.

©Erik Wibaeus / Terrace Edition. Djurgårdens IF away at AFC Eskilstuna.

05: Eskilstuna, Sweden. AFC Eskilstuna away.

Bringing your kids to the average home fixture is mandatory for most Djurgården supporters.

Awaydays might be a bit more complicated to sort out but there are some trips that are shorter than others.

This young supporter had to endure an absolute horror show against one one the most disliked teams in the league for various factors, not least its Russian ownership .

1-1 and no one was enjoying themselves.

©Erik Wibaeus/ Terrace Edition. Djurgårdens IF away at Mariupol.

06 - Odessa, Ukraine. Mariupol away.

Since Russia’s annexation of the eastern parts of Ukraine and Crimea, the away game against Mariupol was forced to be moved to Odessa in the southwest corner of the country.

Over 1500 supporters made it there, arriving by plane (through Istanbul, Minsk, Warsaw among others), by car from Moldova or by taxi from Transnistria. Someone drove his van.

The atmosphere was mental. Great memories of a really good trip.

©Erik Wibaeus/ Terrace Edition. Djurgårdens IF away at AIK.

07 - Stockholm, Sweden. Odenplan, AIK away.

Our sworn enemy since 1891 is AIK, based in Solna outside the city of Stockholm. Every year we are forced to take the dreadful trip where we face the rodents (yeah they call themselves that).

But the highlight of the day is to meet up at classic DIF-grounds of Odenplan in central Stockholm. Emptying all the kegs in all the bars, letting the pyro do its job and keeping the songs going between the houses. All that.

©Erik Wibaeus/ Terrace Edition. Tele2 Arena.

08 - Stockholm Sweden, Tele2 Arena.

The Swedish terraces are famous for their well choreographed tributes to the clubs.

Even the smaller clubs out in the countryside still has a tifo group and I feel nothing but admiration for every single one of the people making these amazing displays of support, however small it may be.

Today, we almost take these spectacular shows for granted but every single tifo is a project of thousands of hours and is to admired for what it is, a true piece of art. I seldomly take spectacular photos of these tifos, since they are themselves, their own expression.

I might save them in the camera as a memory but far more enthusiastic tifo-photographers do a far better job than me documenting this artwork.