News, Men’s team | 22 Dec 2023
Christmas is about a lot, but it also gives time for reflection. We look back at the year that is almost over and look forward to what is to come when the next one takes over For us VSK’ers, 2023 is of course a magical year to look back on and 2024 a magically exciting ditto to look forward to.
I think back to the home opener against Örgryte on Easter Monday, April 10. Of course, I sensed even then that something was up. The bandy team had won gold a month before and the football team’s start to the season was also promising with a strong cup performance against AIK and a fine premiership victory over Brage in Borlänge. There was a new and strong wind in the Green and White sails for sure.
That feeling was clear.
Meeting people gave thumbs up and gave encouraging comments as we headed towards Restaurang Bellman in our Grönwhite shawls… The match coincided fittingly enough with the more or less first day of spring and resulted in a large following at Bellman and the surrounding area. Many had something to drink on the sunny terrace while the younger generation waited impatiently outside ready to take on the march. That said, I had a hunch that something big might be going on this spring day and sensed something that way already last fall.
A young generation had begun to fill the stands with song and typhoon. The team also ended 2022 in a very good way with a game that gave hope for something better. On the other hand, when looking back on the year with results for the season, I know that on this early spring day, even in my wildest imaginations, I could not dream of anything similar to the reality we later got. I was mostly just happy that a young generation of supporters joined us in the supporter ranks and harbored a strong hope of avoiding more battles at the bottom and instead climbing towards the upper half of the table. It felt good enough in that long-awaited spring sun.
Then the magical moments came blow by blow.
Victory over Helsingborg down in Skåne and heavy home wins against Örebro and Öster. Where would this go, I wondered? Spring was just the beginning.
During the summer, VSK would dominate and during the autumn it would culminate. During this Christmas season, all experiences feel a bit like the packages under the tree. Unlike them, you know what’s inside, but still you just want to rip them open and relive everything. The series final against Utsikten in front of a large crowd and in the heat of summer. A good match that was decided by perhaps the prettiest goal of the season when Simon Johansson finished off a dream attack.
The away game against Gais and the absolutely fantastic effort where Grönvitt actually rolled out his top competitor. There were many of us who stepped off the stands moved by rapture at how incredibly well the team played. If I doubted before, the belief in the Allsvenskan started to become quite tangible during these aforementioned summer matches against Gothenburg opposition. The team felt so homogeneous, from goalkeeper to attack.
A season is long and cannot only be about propaganda football. You have to be able to find ways to win even under difficult conditions. VSK did: Maneuvered difficult teams like an extremely defensive Gefle and a destructive, ugly playing, Skövde. Against the latter, Grönvitt was forced to endure both a bad mat and wind and rain. It’s memory packs I open as impatiently as the others. The victories have been extremely important for the end of the season.
The late summer included a slight dip in form, but the team managed to get out of it with minimal damage. After a couple of rounds of worse games, they went down to Växjö to face Öster in one of the toughest away games of the season. Gone was the worse game and back was the same homogenous team that played so amazingly well during the summer. There was a late equalization by Öster, but the effort boded well. I think it served as a signal to both players and audience.
We can do this!
Furthermore, we have Filip Tronét’s late decision against AFC Eskilstuna, which caused the biggest cheer of the season. How lovely to recall that memory now with a warm mulled wine in hand. Last but not least, the decision. Gais at home in front of a record crowd.
The nervousness and the long queues before and the rather difficult first half. Down at the break but a strong second half and two quick goals from Jabir Abdihakim Ali. Euphoric feelings here and there. Since then the definitive, unimaginable, unreal, miraculous. The referee, Magnus Lindgren, put his pipe in his mouth and blew the match off, placing VSK on Allsvenskan ground again for the first time in 26 years!
What a feeling and what scenes played out on the grass that never stopped being filled with fans. Many loyal to the club for 30, 40, 50 years. Passionate souls who were there even when the future felt hopeless and the resistance was Sylvia, Frej or Valsta Syrianska. In their tears you find the true beauty of this advancement. Yes, in combination with Simon Johansson’s lyrical joy somewhere among the hordes of supporters on the field. He who experienced as much pain in as many unchristian sports grounds as these sober fans. In his joy one finds the truly great thing about this advancement.
Somewhere nearby, Kalle Karlsson was also interviewed. Wearing a gold hat and visibly taken by the moment. The architect behind this success. He who lifted the team from the bottom, set a game and had a magnificent fingertip feeling when it came to finding players. He looked taken out for understandable reasons, but his brain is behind the sketch that ultimately led to advancement.
What a joy it still is to unearth these memories. I think the close-up is comparable to the child who gets to open his Christmas presents surrounded by the family in the warmth of the living room. This Christmas, it is especially nice to both look back and look forward. On April 10, we marched on hopeful steps towards Hitachi and a better future. We just couldn’t dream of how good it would be. In 2024, we start against AIK at Friends. In a completely different world than the one that has been ours for so long. It will be the biggest away game ever and means the start of a fantastically exciting Allsvenskan comeback.
Merry Christmas!
Henric Nilsson, VSK member and diligent writer
2023-12-22 07:00:07
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