There were a few things that we already knew about Swedish Champions AIK before arriving in Stockholm for their first home game the 2019/20 season. We knew that they make some stunning football shirts, they know how to celebrate a title, and that they absolutely love a flare or 5,000. All the key ingredients for another atmospheric 'Framed' dish.
Seriously, if football in Stockholm is anything to go by then we're fully convinced that the whole of Sweden takes flares to every semi-significant family occasion. If we attended a kid's third birthday party we'd absolutely expect all of the parents, and some of the older kids, to be stood in a circle all holding flares as the kid unwraps its present, which would probably be a box of flares. Christmas, New Years, Nan's funeral = Flares. Anyway, we've gone off track. After following AIK to their final game of the 18/19 season where they clinched the title in dramatic scenes, we stuck this one in our calendar as soon as the fixtures came out, with the added bonus of seeing the new Nike 19/20 home kit on pitch for the first time.
This is actually our third trip to AIK as part of our 'Framed' series. As we mentioned, we saw them clinch the title in Kalmar, but we first caught the bug when we dropped in for their derby against rivals Djurgaardens in April last year. Safe to say we quickly jumped on board, and remained on board when they launched a series of limited edition white-out and black-out jerseys. Throw in the fact that their sponsor is what a Yorkshireman says when you ask him if he wants sugar in his tea, and we're all over it. Yes, we should remain unbiased but you wouldn't mind your club borrowing a few of these scenes would you? Stockholm. Get it down as your next away day.
Ah yeah, the game. Finished 0-0... obviously.
Photography by prodirectsoccer.com, which is also the place to pick up the AIK 2019/20 home shirt.
