DIF How It's Done: Djurgården at Chelsea

Words: Tom Reed

Images: Tom Reed

Goals win games but football is mainly a game of passing.

Shifting the ball on, pulling the opposition out of shape.

The fans of Djurgårdens IF Fotboll passed over Putney Bridge in London on a sunny Thursday afternoon.

Stopping the traffic as people asked, “who are this giddy bunch in two shades of blue?”

©Tom Reed/ Terrace Edition. Borough of Hammersmith sign with Djurgårdens stickers.

High on life, beer, rosé and a Semi-Final against Chelsea in the Europa Conference League.

Djurgården have a club that can be happily passed down from father to son, mother to daughter and there is contentment in that.

The Stockholm outfit is owned by the members, there’s no billionaire control or gaggle of tourists that can make a stadium as much an Apple Store as a football ground.

A young lad sits on his father’s shoulders as the Djurgården supporters stroll down the high street towards Stamford Bridge, he punches the air with the rhythm of the chants.

©Tom Reed/ Terrace Edition. Djurgårdens IF Fotboll fans cross Putney Bridge.

“Sha la la la, We are Djurgården on tour” they sing in the Argentinian style of the Bombonera and just when you think it will die down they are off again, passing the chorus through the open windows of the expensive Chelsea real estate.

Chelsea FC’s famous chant is “Carefree” and it feels like the fact that it is the DIF fans who are the most joyous, that is the most vexing thing for those that love the London club.

The Chelsea Shed were the terrace kings for a good while in the 70’s and 80’s but Djurgården were here to remind them how it is done.

Despite the 1-0 Chelsea win, it was the team from Stockholm that was to dominate the discussion on social media after the match.

©Tom Reed/ Terrace Edition. Tribute to legendary Stockholm drinker “Pintman Paddy”.

Djurgården were praised for the continuous flow of support and the decibel levels of the singing, both things the Shed was once known for, funnily enough.

There were complaints that fans from Stockholm were in the Chelsea sections, which seems to come down to sheer supply and demand.

The Djurgården supporters would have much preferred to be given a more reasonable number of tickets and to be together on such an occasion.

How can 7000 Djurgården fans make such an impact in a crowd of 32,000?

The Stockholmers were posing a question of “what has happened to you Chelsea?”

©Tom Reed/ Terrace Edition. Djurgårdens IF Fotboll fans in the pub.

The Chelsea fans shouldn’t be too salty, as the Djurgården supporters being quite so up for it, is a compliment.

Chelsea always come with a terrace culture gravitas and there will be food for thought on how the Blues can get back to a heyday.

What will be the legacy for legacy fans?

Swedes grow up on English football and there was an extra spring in the Reebok Classics as they crossed the Putney Bridge and partied into the night.

As in life, we are all just passing through but you might wonder whether it is Djurgården rather than Chelsea who do football in a way that you want to pass on to your loved ones.

That’s how it’s done.