Malmö FF was closer to three pointers, Hammarby closer to third.
From goosebumps to swan song:
End of the championship season.
Linda Bingtzing had obstacles, Angela Bling Forsman had other things, but it was still impossible to make a mistake.
Zlataniko? Milojevico?
We see.
This was the Allsvenskan’s second chance, the last chance to qualify to battle for the gold – or perhaps a bronze match. It was up to Malmo FF and Hammarby to decide which one. After all, they had the place, with heavy rain, gray October humidity, twenty thousand people in the stadium who shouted to join in and make-up, and the goosebumps choreography of Norra stå.
Already on paper this was very interesting. Martí Cifuentes is a methodical style coach, and Åge Hareide checked into Malmö to breathe life into old qualities like intensity and aggressiveness, with straighter and less quiet lines.
It took five or six minutes, then it was clear that Hared intended to squeeze and tense Baggen. Extreme pressure and aggressive, careful control of Hammarby’s midfield trio. After all, Oscar Lowicki is back, and Darijan Bojanic noticed – Loiki tied his shoelaces at Bojanic, and it’s always interesting to see how the teams handle things like that. Marking the defense wasn’t at all unusual in Allsvenskan anymore, and Bojanic solved it quickly and cleverly.
Is that what you get for eighty million?
He’s fallen deep with Lewis in his back, confident Shaquille Benas will be able to step up and build plays instead. Alpinas are a bit wobbly, but are brave and outstanding with the ball. He adapted perfectly, and Hammarby was able to neutralize the compressor MFF.
Last spring, these teams could go into a week-long match without scoring any goals, and it looked almost the same now.
MFF got corner kicks and should have got a penalty (hands on Pinas), Berisha and Besara had good shots. It wasn’t more than that, it was exactly the same, but it was a mirror image that you can give completely different degrees.
The highest score went to referee Glenn Nyberg, and his delicate fingers Fingerspitzengefühl as the medical staff rushed to the stands, halted the start of the match.
Hammarby was impressed by extending their model a bit, showing that they could revitalize their early offensive game even against a top-tier opponent who did everything to shut it down. In their late offensive play, it was soon time for us to ask questions about Fton Berisha’s rudeness, however much he was toiling and trying.
and MFF?
Well it was about winning, they are in the savings campaign of the season, but I’m still disappointed.
Is this how they would win a match like this at home on the field? With weight, crazy and aggressive? Is that what you get for eighty million?
Hared didn’t get anything from his quick right wing, Mustafa Zeidan was invisible in the round-ten, and it was only Hugo Larsson (who was replaced early when Soren Rex collapsed) who showed some kind of… ingenuity.
Here they knew that the last departure of the gold train was scheduled for the quarter to six, so there were not many alternatives. Ola Toivonen came after the break, Anders Christiansen With twenty minutes left. Hugo Larsson is getting older, in a good way, with each passing quarter.
All vain dreams have vanished
Pyro smoke from the stands, and the pressure of the house is finally nearing boiling point. Shot, goal, for Malmo?
MFF played for the win, they turned the thumbs up, and in the end the chances came too. Dennis Hadzikadyunek hit Oliver Dauphin’s belly, and Isaac Kese Thelin put the ball on the board for Anders Christiansen – who pressed Dauphin into a superb save.
Too much weight, too little class, and it’s disappointing any way you look at it.
Malmö FF will not defend its gold, it was not enough with a break for the national team or a perfectly good match – too much was lost, too little. They could still fight their way to a European place, but all vain dreams vanished. 0-0 again, Hammarby can at least take comfort in the fact that they are just beginning their journey towards something new and interesting.
We’ll find out where the MFF is heading this winter. They have decisions to make, coaches to explore, and when it all starts over, they are no longer champions.