Only the biggest and most significant game imaginable.

By: Luka | November 8th, 2009

Words cannot describe how big this game is. The money, the increased audience, the potential to play in Europe and all the rest of the flow-on effects from promotion to the top flight are ancillary to most Assyriska supporters. What really makes it significant for us is the fact that we will repeat history as being the only immigrant club ever to play in the highest league in any European country. You just have to read this article from FIFA.com, which appeared shortly after our promotion in 2005, to understand the significance:

Assyriska rises to Sweden’s promised land

They have been called modern day churches, provided a sanctuary for the oppressed and an escape for the masses. But despite the religious likeness, few football stadiums can claim to house spectators speaking the language of the Lord – until now.

Aramaic, the tongue said to have been spoken by Jesus Christ, is regularly chanted by the faithful of Assyriska, a club in, of all places, Central Sweden. Last month, the team, founded in 1974 by descendants of the Assyrian people who had fled from the Ottoman Empire in 1914, gained promotion to the top flight of the domestic league for the very first time.

“Assyriska feels like a national team for the entire group,” said club president Zeki Bisso. “For all of us who were oppressed in our home countries for many years … this felt superb, it was something every Assyrian wanted to take pride in.”

Diaspora
The very first Christian converts, the Assyrians, historically from the Mesopotamian region between the rivers Euphrates and Tigris in the Middle East, have never had a state of their own. After the beginning of the First World War, a great number dispersed across the globe with many of that diaspora ending up in Sweden. Since then, the club has provided a means of identity and unity not only for those living in Scandinavia but for close to two million Assyrians living throughout the world.

For a people who have become used to playing the waiting game, 30 years for Assyriska to rise from the depths of the seventh division to Sweden’s Premier League was not too much to ask. But, despite screening the decider against Orgryte live to 82 countries with thousands more gathering from all over Europe, it so nearly ended in tears.

Assyriska, who had won the first leg of the play-off for promotion 2-1 at home in Sodertalje, fell to an extra time winner in the second leg. It seemed like more disappointment for a team that had failed at the final hurdle in the Swedish Cup the previous year.

Intervention, though, was to come from the Swedish Football Association (SVFF) a day later. Because top flight club Orebro had run into debt, Assyriska were elevated to the Premier League.

“At that moment we just felt such enormous joy, I figured everybody in the world is Assyrian now, even God is Assyrian, or at least a supporter,” said Robil Haidari, the club’s marketing director.

Local resident Abraham Staifo could not contain his joy.
“It encouraged the young ones to feel pride in being what they are, and brought tears to the eyes of the elderly. It was so much more than just football,” he gushed. “The Assyrian people have few opportunities to express themselves. We felt our hearts would shoot out from our chests. That is why the elderly cried.”

Scattered across the globe from New Zealand to Brazil, calculations for the number of Assyrians vary from one to more than three million. In April, many will turn their gaze back to Sweden where Assyriska, now coached by Portugal’s Jose Morais, will rub shoulders with the likes of Malmo, IFK Gothenburg and Halmstad when the new season kicks off. Who knows what 2005 will bring? But one thing is for sure – the Assyrians will never stop believing…

Nostalgic, historic, euphoric, epic and any other kinds of talk aside, we cannot get carried away. In about 12 hours, we have a football match to play. It’s the second and final leg of a certain playoff, and we are leading 2-0 on aggregate. Our opposition is a fallen giant of Swedish football, which makes them both vulnerable yet highly dangerous at the same time. Over 3,000 fans will travel for the game in Stockholm, and will be outnumbered by DIF’s notorious supporters by more than 3 to 1 in what is really a cauldron of football.

Avspark

Kick off: Sunday November 8th, 4:45pm Stockholm time, Monday November 9th 2:45am Australian time, and something in between for the rest of the world (except for New Zealand).

Team News:
So much for revenge. DIF player, but on loan to his boyhood club Assyriska, Stefan Batan, suffered a broken leg (well, more a broken bone in his leg) after only 10 minutes in the first leg in Sodertalje. Luckily it isn’t a Cisse-style broken leg (didn’t require surgery or even a cast) and thus he will only be out for 4 weeks. Nonetheless, he will miss this match. His replacement will most likely be Kristoffer Näfver, the same man who replaced him during the match a few days ago, and expertly set up Dennis Ostlundh for the first goal. Another possibility may be sticking Eddie Moussa over on the left wing, and with Xehvdet Llumnica starting up front alongside captain Marklund. This however may be slightly too attack minded for coach Conny’s liking. It’s especially more unlikely, or coincidental, in light of this. Come to think of it, the more you think about what Conny might do, the more doubt you cast upon each possibility. Let’s just wait and see.

Oh, and Bergman may also miss the game through an injury sustained in the first leg, but his situation is easy – a straight swap for the always reliable Conateh. Please please please please concentrate for the entire 90 minutes, if only for only these 90 minutes. Then you can never concentrate again for all I care, Lamine.

And as for them, well all the google-translated articles have been saying that veteran DIF striker “Michael Owen” will return for this game. Apparently Mattias Jonson is Michael Owen in Swedish. Or google translate isn’t doing it’s job properly. Djurgardens are still missing a bunch of players, who have hopefully made their last appearance in the Allsvenskan in a DIF shirt at least until 2011.
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Pre-match noise pollution:

It’s been a little quiet. The short turnaround between games probably has a little to do with this. Or has everything to do with this. Also, DIF would have been feeling mightily shell-shocked the second Dennis Ostlundh smashed his header past an almost lifeless Dembo Tourray at the near post for the first goal. As such, they have tried the ‘let our football do the talking’ this time around. But that’s not to say DIF coach Andree Jeglertz was completely silent. He had a few words, mostly cliche’s, so about the only thing that stood out was “it is more to chew down the opponents.”

Conny Karlsson

Coach Conny will certainly be regretting not finishing off DIF in the first leg, where the team as a whole decided to remove their feet off the accelerator in the last 20 minutes or so of the match despite DIF being completely demoralised.

Now, his team approaches this game with a greater degree of self-confidence. Before, we felt ‘no fear’. Now, it’s Djurgardens doing all the fearing. We now believe we can go to Stockholm and match DIF in quality and beat them on the day, let alone on aggregate. But, Conny says, it’s “easier said than done to do that again. It is not just pressing a button. It will not be easy at the Stadium to do what we did.”

A big issue being relayed in the Swedish media in the days after the first leg has been the supposed advantage we enjoyed on the artificial grass in the Sodertalje Arena. On artificial grass, the surface is a harder and flatter, meaning the ball bounces higher and runs much quicker. Thus, it comes as no surprise that some Djurgardens players used this as a reason for their hopeless display, expressing their dismay and surprise at the speed at which Assyriska were moving with and without the ball. That’s called we’re better than you, in my humble opinion. Coach Conny does not believe Djurgardens will have a similar advantage over Assyriska on the natural grass in Stockholm. I’ll assume he knows what he’s talking about.

Links and stuff:

Assyriska has been linked (think of a chain made of grass as opposed to metal) to the former captain of recently relegated IK Sirius (recently relegated to Division 1 that is), Gustaf Segerstrom, who has left the club as a free agent. He’s a defender who likes to score goals (5 in 28 this season). Pass.

Our wily winger Petter Furuseth, who is only on loan from Lyn Oslo in Norway, has been linked with a return to his former club Hammarby. Doubt that.

Assyriska would love to keep coach Conny and tie him down for the next century. Or 3 years. This blogger says yes to both.

Petter Furuseth’s super cool fiance interviews coach Conny’s wife. Why not?
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Not long now till the Allsvenska party!