Djurgården dominant in Sweden

By Jan Juhlin

Djurgårdens IF remain the dominant force in Sweden with the Allsvenskan season entering its second half.

Larsen on fire
However, question marks remain about how much longer ten-goal Danish striker Sören Larsen will stay with Djurgården, with FC Schalke 04 still interested. The leaders have signed Swedish international Mattias Jonson from Norwich City FC as a possible replacement while utility player Tomas Backman has been loaned to GIF Sundsvall.

Transfer central
Second-placed Helsingborgs IF, four points adrift following back to back wins against Örgryte IS, have also been busy. Brøndby IF forward Babis Stefanidis and defenders Andreas Jacobsson and Peter Christiansen, of Southampton FC and FC København respectively, have all signed. Left-back Christian Järdler has moved to Turkish side Gençlerbirligi SK.

Welcome distraction
Champions Malmö FF are also four points off top spot but the third-placed side lost 1-0 to BK Häcken on Thursday, allowing their opponents to close to to one point. Malmö have the welcome distraction of the UEFA Champions League, starting with the visit of Maccabi Haifa FC on Tuesday in the first leg of their second qualifying round tie.

Litmanen arrival
The club have signed Sweden forward Anders Andersson and Finnish legend Jari Litmanen, while Andreas Yngvesson has left for strugglers Landskrona BoIS. Häcken, meanwhile, have resisted the temptation to dip into the transfer market.

Surprise loss
A further two points behind Häcken, IFK Göteborg are still in with a shout. However, they stumbled last Wednesday with a 1-0 loss against newcomers Gefle IF. The club have also lost forward Peter Ijeh to København while defensive rock Fredrik Risp has joined Gençlerbirligi, although midfielder Martin Ulander has arrived from AGF Århus.

Svensson trio
Kalmar FF, IF Elfsborg and Hammarby IF, in sixth, seventh and eighth, are also in with a chance of a high finish. Elfsborg, in particular, will look to the newly arrived Svensson trio to help them continue their ten-match unbeaten run with the 30-year-old forward Matthias and 29-year-old midfielder Anders back from English football, and veteran goalkeeper Håkan returning from a spell in Cyprus.

Djuric inspired
Last year’s runners-up Halmstad BK find themselves languishing in ninth. Despite the efforts of 20-year-old midfielder Dusan Djuric, the club has struggled although they are five points ahead of Landskrona who occupy the relegation play-off position. Gefle are two points closer to trouble but have hope after seven points from their last four matches.