nicknamed “The Iron Furnaces”,
Djurgarden still had plenty of fire in
their belly and promptly set the fightback
in motion. Five minutes after the restart,
defensive midfielder Jesper Karlstrom
pulled a goal back with an excellent
volley from the edge of the box, and
15 minutes later they were back on
terms, Sierra Leone striker Mohamed
Buya Turay smartly turning in a cross
from Emir Kujovic.
With no further goals, swarms of
Djurgarden supporters flooded onto
the pitch to celebrate with their ecstatic
heroes at the final whistle. The image
of the day was undoubtedly the tears of
jubilation and raw emotional outpourings
of long-serving Djurgarden director of
sport Bosse Andersson. To say he was
pleased would be the understatement
of the year.
Djurgarden, beaten only four times all
season, finished the campaign a single
point ahead of Malmo and Hammarby,
with Malmo taking the runners-up slot
thanks to a slightly better goal difference.
Defending champions AIK, who
eventually came fourth, were in the title
shake-up until the penultimate round,
undone by a 2-0 loss at Malmo.
Full marks to joint-Djurgarden coaches
Kim Bergstrand and Thomas Lagerlof,
who in their first season in charge pulled
off something of a minor miracle,
transforming a team which came seventh
the previous year into a slick, cohesive
and highly competitive outfit.
The brains trust behind IK Sirius’
promotion to the top flight in 2016,eyewitness
and aggression to the mix, while left-
sided midfielder Jonathan Ring proved
an invaluable contributor, supplying both
chances and firepower.
Equally to the fore was marksman-in-
chief Buya Turay, who was a loanee from
Belgian side Sint Truiden. The Swedish
league’s top scorer this season with 15
goals, the 24-year-old west African
was simply too hot for most opposingdefences to handle. Wily and sharp in the
box, he is a speedy and clever counter-
attacker who is able to play in a variety
of roles: as the sole leader of the line,
as a second striker or out wide.
Two mid-season signings also played
a substantial role in this most unlikely
of success stories. English midfielder
Curtis Edwards, an August signing from
Ostersund, swiftly showcased his work
ethic and multi-faceted skills, while
Swedish international forward Kujovic,
who was brought in from Fortuna
Dusseldorf, wasted no time making
his mark, regularly providing a dash
of supersub magic.
Sundsvall and Eskilstuna suffered
automatic relegation from the
Allsvenskan, while Kalmar, who
finished third from bottom in the top
flight, saved their bacon by overcoming
Brage in an end-of-season relegation/
promotion play-off.the Bergstrand-Lagerlof combo deserve
every plaudit coming their way. They
created a harmonious atmosphere in
the Djurgarden camp, instilled a winning
culture and brought about a vast upgrade
in tactical flexibility, with any number of
systems (4-3-3, 4-4-1-1, 3-4-3, 4-4-2
or 4-2-3-1) ready to be rolled out.
Within the Djurgarden first XI there
was certainly no shortage of influentialperformers. Captain and centre-back
Marcus Danielson, a tower of strength
throughout the campaign, was rightly
voted the Allsvenskan player of the
season. Attacking full-backs Elliot
Kack and Aslak Fonn Witry – who
is a Norwegian with an extremely
bright future – added penetrationMarksman-in-chief Buya Turay was simply too hot
for most opposing defences to handleFinale...Mohamed
Buya Turay (left)
celebrates his goal
against Norrkoping
with Djurgarden
team-mate Elliot
KackJoy...Djurgarden hoist
Bosse Andersson