Djurgårdens IF Fotbollsförening – commonly known asDjurgårdens IF,Djurgården Fotboll (official name),Djurgården (IPA:[ˈjʉ̂ːrˌɡoːɖɛn]), and (especially locally)Djurgår'n (IPA:[ˈjʉ̌ː(r)ɡɔɳ]),Dif orDIF[A] – is a Swedish professional men's association football department of its parent associationDjurgårdens IF. Founded 1891 on the island ofDjurgården, the club's home ground is3Arena, situated in theJohanneshov district ofStockholm.
Competing in the highest Swedish tier,Allsvenskan, the club has won thenational title twelve times and theSvenska Cupen five times. The national titles have mainly been won during three separate eras. The first period was the 1910s, when the team won four national titles. The second era occurred in the 1950s and 1960s, when Djurgården won the league four times. The most recent era was during the first half of the 2000s, when they won both the league and the cup three times. From 2017, the club has again made a mark, this time both nationally and internationally, highlighted by the Svenska Cupen title in 2018, the league title in 2019, and reaching the2024–25 UEFA Conference League semi-finals.
Supporters of the club, calleddjurgårdare, are found in all socio-economic spheres and throughout all areas ofStockholm and, to some extent, all over Sweden. HoweverVasastaden andÖstermalm, where Djurgården's former home groundStadion is situated, is by some considered the club's heartland. Djurgården is affiliated to theStockholms Fotbollförbund.[1]
Djurgårdens IF was founded primarily by John G. Jansson, on 12 March 1891, at a café in Alberget 4A on the island ofDjurgården in centralStockholm. Most of the founding members were from the dockyard-industry working class,[2] an identity that remained true until the 1950s and 1960s.
The club originally focused onwinter sports andathletics. The first true football field in Stockholm was created in 1896. Djurgårdens IF's football department was formed in 1899 with the help of formerGAIS player Teodor Andersson.[3] The team played its first match in July 1899, a 1–2 loss againstAIK.[3]
The team's first real achievement was in 1902 when they finished second in theRosenska Pokalen tournament. Just two years later, in 1904, they participated in their firstSvenska Mästerskapet final, but were defeated 2–1 byÖrgryte IS.[4]
The club won three more Swedish Championships in the 1910s and 1920s, the1915 final against Örgryte, the1917 final againstAIK, and the1920 final againstIK Sleipner. They reached twelve of the thirty championship finals played to 1925.[4]Bertil Nordenskjöld andRagnar Wicksell took part in all four finals from 1912 to 1920;Gottfrid Johansson,Einar Olsson andSten Söderberg in three.[6] Nordenskjöld played in all Djurgården'sSvenska Mästerskapet finals.[7] Although the team became Swedish champions four times during the period when the title was decided by a championship final, Djurgården never managed to win the national league of the period, theSvenska Serien.
Djurgården did not qualify for thefirst season ofAllsvenskan, and only reached the league twice between 1924 and 1944, in1927–28 and1936–37, both times being directly relegated back to the second tierDivision 2. On 31 July 1927, the club played its first Allsvenskan game and won againstStattena IF andGeorg Ehmke scored the first goal for the club.[8] The club also played three seasons in the then third tier,Division 3, between 1929 and 1932. From 1944 on, Djurgården became a stable Allsvenskan team.Stockholm Olympic Stadium, built for the1912 Summer Olympics, became Djurgården's permanent home ground in 1936, replacingTranebergs IP.
In 1951, Djurgården were runners-up inSvenska Cupen after a 1–2final loss againstMalmö FF; this was the team's first Svenska Cupen final.[9] Four years later, under managerFrank Soo, they won Allsvenskan for the first time in the1954–55 season, their fifth national title. In 1955–56, Djurgården became the first Swedish team to enter theEuropean Cup.[3] After beatingGwardia Warszawa in the first round, they advanced to the quarter-finals where they were drawn againstHibernian, but they lost 1–4 over the two legs.[3]
Only a year later, however, Djurgården finished 11th and were relegated to the second division, but the team only needed one season to return to Allsvenskan. In 1964 and 1966, Djurgården won their seventh and eight championships, with 1966 marking the end of Gösta Sandberg's career.[3] Sandberg played 322 league matches for the team from 1951 to 1966, and scored 77 goals. His nickname was "Mr Djurgården" and, in 1991, he was named "Djurgårdare of the century". Sandberg also played for the club'sbandy andice hockey sections. He died on his way home after attending theTvillingderbyt in 2006.[10]
A chart showing the progress of Djurgårdens IF through theSwedish football league system. The different shades of gray represent league divisions.
Djurgården were members ofAllsvenskan through the 1970s and had three third-places and a final loss in the1975 Svenska Cupen final as their best seasons.Gary Williams became the first foreign player join the team in the 1977 season. The 1980s was not a good decade for the club, as they were relegated from Allsvenskan in 1981 and, after losing two promotion play-offs, made a temporary return to the highest league in 1986. FutureEngland strikerTeddy Sheringham had a brief spell at Djurgården as a 19-year-old loanee in 1985–86, and was part of the squad that won the promotion to Allsvenskan after beatingGAIS in a dramatic penalty shoot-out in the playoffs. In 1987, besides being relegated again, Djurgårdens IF Fotboll presented a 12 millionSwedish krona deficit and was later transformed into anaktiebolag.[11]
Djurgården gained another promotion in 1989. This time, they stayed in Allsvenskan for five consecutive seasons and, in 1990, the team won theSvenska Cupen for the first time. They also achieved the club's record victory when they defeated local rivals Hammarby 9–1 in Allsvenskan on 13 August that year.[12] After a promising start to the 1990s, the club was relegated from Allsvenskan three times, and promoted back twice. During this decade, the club's economic problems almost caused bankruptcy. The 1995 season started well, but ended badly; in the last home match of the1995 Allsvenskan, a supporter, later named "Terror-Tommy" in the media, came onto the pitch and kicked refereeAnders Frisk.[3]
In the middle of the1999 season,Zoran Lukic andSören Åkeby took over the team and won the inaugural2000 Superettan. They also finished second, although newly promoted, in the2001 Allsvenskan. With a team which includedStefan Rehn,Kim Källström,Andreas Johansson, andAndreas Isaksson, Djurgården secured their first championship title in 36 years in the last round of the2002 Allsvenskan.[3] Later in the year, Djurgården also wonSvenska Cupen by beatingAIK, 1–0 ongolden goal.[13] The first half of the 2000s was a golden era for the club, with three championships (2002, 2003 and 2005) and three cup wins (2002, 2004 and 2005). This "golden era" for Djurgården ended with a sixth-place finish in 2006. The club was one of the main contenders for the league championship in 2007, but ultimately finished in third place. The golden era saw the club play against European clubsJuventus,FC Girondins de Bordeaux,Shamrock Rovers,FK Partizan andFC Utrecht in European competitions, the most remarkable result being a 2–2 draw against Juventus atStadio Delle Alpi.
Djurgården survived a relegation play-off in 2009 againstAssyriska to remain in Allsvenskan, afterMattias Jonson had scored the winning goal in extra time.[14] For the next five seasons, they became a mid-table team in the league.Bo Andersson, who had been a club director Djurgården during their three national titles in the 2000s, returned, now as director of sports, in late 2013,[15] but he was forced to sell several good players to try and balance the books. In January 2017, Djurgården sold the Kenyan international forwardMichael Olunga for a club record fee ofSEK 40 million which transformed the club's finances into one of the best in Sweden. The transfer also made it possible to sign club legendKim Källström and fellow former Swedish internationalJonas Olsson. Both players, together with recently returned goalkeeperAndreas Isaksson, played important roles as Djurgården finished in third place in the2017 Allsvenskan, qualifying for European football for the first time in ten years, this time for the second qualifying round for the2018–19 UEFA Europa League. After 13 years without any titles, Djurgården won theSvenska Cupen on 10 May 2018 after going through the tournament without conceding a single goal. They defeated Malmö FF 3–0 in the final atTele2 Arena.
For the 2019 season,Kim Bergstrand andThomas Lagerlöf became the team managers, replacingÖzcan Melkemichel.[16] Djurgården won the league title for the first time in fourteen years, securing a spot in the2020–21 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round.[17] After the season Djurgården sold defender and team captainMarcus Danielson to the Chinese clubDalian Professional for what was reported to be a club record fee of more thanSEK 50 million.[18] This made Djurgården one of Sweden's wealthiest clubs along with various other sales.
On 21 October 2024 the club announced that they would part ways with their manager duo Lagerlöf and Bergstrand, after a turbulent second half of the season.[20] This marked the end of their six years at the club, they left their positions with three domestic games left and games in the league phase of the Conference League. Despite the turbulent fall the club finished fifth overall in the league phase of theUEFA Conference League under the interim leadership, they qualified for the round of 16. On 20 December 2024 the club announced the appointment of their new manager,Jani Honkavaara fromFinland.[21]
This is Djurgården's history in past and forthcoming international cups andtournaments organised byUEFA. As of July 2024[update], the club is ranked 84th by UEFA in its of European football clubs bycoefficient, surpassing arch-rivalAIK andMalmö FF, and thereby becoming Sweden's highest ranked team. TheRoyal League is not included since it was not arranged by UEFA and was a tournament for Scandinavian teams only, but the club qualified for the tournament three out of the five years (namely, during the seasons 2004–05, 2005–06, and 2007–08).
Djurgården is one of the best-supported clubs in Sweden with around 24,500 members and 14,754 season ticket holders as of 2023[update]. Most of its supporters live in Stockholm and the neighbouringsuburbs.[22] Traditionally, the northern part of the inner city withVasastan and the affluent borough ofÖstermalm is considered to be the club's stronghold (Östermalm where the club's former home ground, the Olympic Stadium, is located). However, a 2015t-shirt campaign suggests that supporters are spread fairly evenly throughout all of Stockholm.[23]
The 2000s saw the emergence and creation of independentultras groups. The oldest active ultra group, "Ultra Caos Stockholm", formed in 2003, is largely influenced by southern European supporter culture.[27] In 2005 Fabriken Stockholm was formed and took over the role of creatingtifos for the team's games from a former, now dissolved group, Ultras Stockholm, founded in the late 1990s. In 2013 a larger and more open organization (Sofia Tifo) was formed and took charge of the terrace choreography, headed by Ultra Caos Stockholm. The club's ultras are located in the lower part of Sofialäktaren (the Sofia stand), located in the south part of the stadium. The name comes from a hospital,Sophiahemmet, situated behind the northern section ofStockholms stadion where the ultras used to stand when Djurgården played there.
Hammarby is Djurgården's other mainrival, mostly because of their geographical proximity in central Stockholm, with Djurgården's stronghold inVasastan andÖstermalm district while Hammarby's inSödermalm. Since 2013, the two teams have shared the same home ground, the3 Arena.
Malmö FF andIFK Göteborg are Djurgården's biggest rivals outside of the Stockholm area. Fixtures against these teams draw almost as many as the derbies. Another rivalry that has grown more intense in recent years is withHelsingborg IF, and that after an incident where a Djurgården supporter was beaten to death before the opening fixture of the 2014 season in Helsingborg.
The first crest of the club was a four-pointed silver star in saltire, which had a shield on it with the letters DIF. This star pre-dates the similar star whichIdrottsföreningen Kamraterna adopted and is using to this day. The present crest, in the form of a shield in yellow, red, and blue with the text D.I.F. was adopted in 1896. According to an often-quoted poem by Johan af Klercker from 1908,blue and yellow stand for Sweden and red stands for love.[28] Blue and yellow are alsothe colours of Stockholm.
The club is named after the city park and boroughDjurgården, which originally was a royal hunting park. A direct translation ofDjurgården would be "animal garden" or "animal yard". The worddjur is cognate with the English word "deer", so "deer garden" may have been the name's original meaning. The IF in Djurgårdens IF stands for sports association, and FF in Djurgårdens IF FF stands for football association.
Djurgården has two nicknames: Järnkaminerna (The Iron Stoves) and Blåränderna (The Blue Stripes).
The home shirt has vertical sky and dark blue stripes, hence the club's nickname Blåränderna (the Blue Stripes). The shorts are usually dark blue but have occasionally been white.
The club's kit manufacturer,Adidas, presents a new kit every other (even) year. Apart from Adidas, Djurgården has the logos of the following companies visible on their shirt and shorts: Effektiv, a recruitment and staffing company; Infrakraft, an infrastructure company; Mobill, a parking management app; Stadium, a sporting-goods retail chain; the TV manufacturer TCL; German automakerVolkswagen; gym chain Nordic Wellness, and league sponsorsUnibet.
Djurgården's primary stadium since 2013 isTele2 Arena. The club's first match at Tele2 was a 1–2 defeat toIFK Norrköping on 31 July 2013, which drew 27,798 people. The current record attendance at Tele2 Arena is 28,258 versusÖrebro SK on the last home game of the 2019 season.
Between 1936 and 2013, Djurgården's home ground wasStockholm Olympic Stadium, where the national league and cup games were played. Their secondary venue wasRåsunda Stadium, where Stockholm derbies against AIK and Hammarby IF were played. The old Olympic Stadium, built in 1912, didn't fulfil UEFA's stadium requirements and therefore international cup games were also played at Råsunda. The club's record attendance at the Olympic Stadium is at least 21,995 against AIK on 16 August 1946.[30][31][B] Djurgården's record attendance at Råsunda is 50,750 against IFK Göteborg on 11 October 1959.[32]
The club's first stadium was Stockholms idrottspark where the club played from 1899 until 1906, when it moved to the newly builtÖstermalms IP.[33] However, in August 1910 Djurgården signed a 25-year contract with the Stockholm City Council to build a stadium inTraneberg, a district west of the inner city.[34]Tranebergs Idrottsplats was finished in October 1911 and inaugurated byCrown Prince Gustaf Adolf.[34] The contract expired in 1935, and with the City Council intending to establish residential housing on the site, Djurgården moved to the Stockholm Olympic Stadium in 1936, where the club had played previously on several occasions after the construction of the stadium in 1912.[35]
As attendances increased in the latter half of the 1940s, the club decided to play some games at the newer and largerRåsunda Stadium.[36][37] And as Djurgården climbed in the league table at the beginning of the 1950s, all games were played at Råsunda.[37] But by the end of the 1960s, Djurgården returned to the Olympic stadium, and soon all games were played there, with the exception of derbies.[37]
The club's achievements in the early 2000s drew larger attendances which led Djurgården to plan for a new stadium with modern facilities and individual seats. Along with political promises in 2006, Djurgården aimed for a rehaul of Stockholm Olympic Stadium and later an entirely new stadium atÖstermalms IP.[38][39][40] These plans were abandoned in December 2011 as the building costs exceeded the club's financial capabilities.[41] New stadium requirements from the Swedish Football Association also did not allow Djurgården to play at the Olympic Stadium after 2013.[42] Thus, the club board made the decision to move toTele2 Arena for the 2013 season.[43]
The youth academy is located atHjorthagens IP. In December 2012, an indoor arena named "Johan Björkmans hall" with one regulation-size turf and two smaller turfs was built at Hjorthagens IP which enables football training all year around.[44] In 2007 Djurgården investedSEK 65 million (about€7 million) in their youth academy, which former director of sports,Göran Aral, described as a unique investment by a Swedish club.[45] In 2015 the training ground for the first team was renovated which enabled the U17 and U19 teams to be training at Kaknäs IP and therefore come closer to the first team. The academy has produced players likeSimon Tibbling,Emil Bergström,Christian Rubio Sivodedov andSamuel Leach Holm.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
It is not known for sure who was the team's manager until 1922, though it is believed that Birger Möller was in charge during a part of the club's first decades.[51]
^In the media, "Djurgårdens IF" is normally abbreviated "Dif", in accordance with Swedish writing standards that state that acronyms that are pronounced as a word, as opposed to letter by letter, should be spelled with the first letter in upper case and the remaining in lower case, thus "Dif". However, some fans of the club, as well as the club itself, prefer to use only uppercase, "DIF", even though they also pronounce it as a word:[diːf].
^Djurgården's record at Stockholm Olympic Stadium is disputed. Gänger, 2006, suggest the attendance was 21,995 while Rehnberg, 1991, suggest it was 22,108.
^Current youth players who at least have sat on the bench in a competitive match.
^The title of "Swedish Champions" has been awarded to the winner of four different competitions over the years. Between 1896 and 1925 the title was awarded to the winner ofSvenska Mästerskapet, a stand-alone cup tournament. No club were given the title between 1926 and 1930 even though the first-tier leagueAllsvenskan was played. In 1931 the title was reinstated and awarded to the winner of Allsvenskan. Between 1982 and 1990 aplay-off in cup format was held at the end of the league season to decide the champions. After the play-off format in 1991 and 1992 the title was decided by the winner ofMästerskapsserien, an additional league after the end of Allsvenskan. Since the 1993 season the title has once again been awarded to the winner of Allsvenskan.[4]
^abAndersson, Torbjörn (2002).Kung fotboll: den svenska fotbollens kulturhistoria från 1800-talets slut till 1950..
^abcdefghCederquist, Jonas (2010).Stockholms fotbollshistoria 1880–2010 [History of Football in Stockholm 1880–2010] (in Swedish). Stockholmia förlag.ISBN978-91-7031-222-9.