Swedish national team goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl did not get along with Djurgården supporters. The 40-year-old keeper’s career may be over.
Keeper Hedvig Lindahl and Djurgården, the Swedish women’s football premier league club have terminated Lindahl’s player contractwhich had six months left.
Lindahl, 40, who has made a mark on European courts, moved to Djurgården from Atlético Madrid in July 2022. However, the games did not go as well as possible.
In the fall, Lindahl played 10 matches, in which he scored 26 goals. Djurgården finished 10th in Damallsvenskan.
The goalkeeper, who suffered from injuries, had time to play four matches this season, in which he conceded ten goals. Djurgården is tenth in the league after 16 matches and last won on June 9.
Tensions with the club’s supporters could also affect the player’s departure. Lindahl caught the eye of the supporters in his second match against Hammarby when he praised the opposing team’s supporters on Twitter and gave a Hammarby fan an autograph.
According to Lindahl, she has been harassed several times since then.
Lindahl has been worried that the violent behavior familiar from men’s matches is also coming to women’s games, which could threaten the safety of supporters. With his own behavior, he has tried to bring new supporters to the sport. That’s why it’s important for him to deal with opponents’ supporters as well.
Lindahl has taken a strong stand on social media and opposed violence.
– We don’t want violence. It has to stop. AIK, Djurgården and Hammarby must say no to such behavior in local matches in Stockholm, Lindahl said in May after the commotion of the Hammarby defeat.
He is disappointed that his time at Djurgården went the way it did.
– I would have had to adapt a lot to continue. I was hoping to turn the situation around with our supporters, but it didn’t work out, Lindahl said.
In Sweden, many active supporters of the men’s team have moved to the women’s matches as well.
– The whole thing was a bit of a culture shock. You should have found out more about what you can expect from a big club.
Lindahl has made 189 saves in the Swedish national team, with whom he has played twice in the final match of the Olympics and once in the World Cup final. At club level, he has played e.g. At Wolfsburg, Atletico Madrid and Chelsea, where he won the Superliga in 2015 and 2018
The Swedish hero says that he is thinking about quitting, but hopes that he can end his career on a more positive note.