Hammarby

Ground: Söderstadion

Visits: 1

Date: 7th July 2008

Match: Hammarby - IFK Norrköping 4-3 (Allsvenskan)

Attendance: 11 128

After visiting Sundsvall and Norrporten Arena the previous day I had ONE ground left to visit in Allsvenskan, Söderstadion, the home of Hammarby and the most passionate and vocal fans in Sweden. I had actually planned to visit Söderstadion twice last season but due to late changes in the fixture list both trips were cancelled. Söderstadion, next to the impressive Globe Arena in southern Stockholm, is tucked in with block of offices and the capacity has been reduced to 12,500 and with that in mind it is not difficult to understand why Hammarby hope to have a new stadium in five years time.

With Hammarby leading 3-0 at half time the atmosphere was terrific and the chanting and singing was more impressive than at most other grounds I have visited abroad. For some strange reason Hammarby stopped playing in the second half and Norrköping, bottom of the table, almost pulled off the great escape. The match ended 4-3 and as I walked back to Globen station after the match my friend Håkan and I agreed this was a worthy match to finish off the Allsvenskan grounds with!

west stand