Finnish national team players Anna Tamminen and Eva Nyström got to experience a rare treat for Finnish female soccer players, when Hammarby of Sweden, represented by the duo, and FC Barcelona met in the Women’s Champions League on Thursday evening.
Barcelona had already secured their place and are still fighting for the group win with Manchester City. Hammarby, on the other hand, had no more input, as the team had already lost its chance for the playoffs.
Despite that, almost 19,000 spectators came to the match played in mid-December, which started at nine in the evening. Hammarby’s women play their biggest matches in the same stadium as the men’s team.
The audience record for Swedish women’s club soccer was 20,428 spectators last month in Hammarby’s home match against Manchester City. The record was expected to be broken, as more than 20,000 tickets had already been sold in advance for the Barcelona match. In the end, not everyone showed up, as the number of people registered was 18,746.
Although the attendance record was not broken this time, a strong supporter culture has been built around the Hammarby women’s team. Major football countries have seen large crowds in women’s matches in recent years, but crowds of supporters who sing throughout the match are still rare.
In Stockholm, you noticed the match hours in advance, because especially in the street scene of the Södermalm district, you could see a lot of Hammarby hats and scarves. The song was already fresh in the subway on the way to the stadium. Compared to the men’s matches, there were an extraordinary number of women in the crowd of supporters.
The color was also recognized by the Hammarby supporter who diligently attends the women’s matches Richard Eriksson. According to him, the support culture has developed enormously.
– Nowadays, the fans sing for the whole 90 minutes in every match. I think we are currently the leading club in women’s football in the world. Some clubs occasionally get more people to their games, but they don’t sing, Eriksson said.
Although there are many of the same supporters in the stands and the chants are mostly the same as in the men’s matches, there are also differences in supporter activities, according to Eriksson.
– In the women’s games, Hammarby is encouraged, not hated by the opponent. It’s a positive spectator culture.
There were also emotional moments in the Barcelona match when the supporters organized my club To Ellen Gibson a spectacular farewell. Gibson, who has represented the club since the age of four, played his last home game in a Hammarby shirt. Before the start of the match, a large picture of Gibson’s face and the text “Queen of Södermalm” were spread in the main stand. Gibson was replaced on the field in the final moments, accompanied by thunderous applause, and after the match, the players of both teams formed an alley of honor for him.
Level up compared to the away match
The teams’ first meeting in October in Spain ended with a 9–0 victory for Barcelona, so Hammarby applied for a face wash in front of his home crowd. However, the routine, pressing game and ball movement of the reigning Champions League champion were once again too much for Hammarby. The final scores 0–3 were clear, but the Swedes clearly improved their grip compared to the away match in October.
The Finnish players played a full match as usual. Tamminen guarded the home team’s goal and Nyström played as a central defender.
The two agreed that Hammarby did better on their home field than in Barcelona in October.
– At least tactically we succeeded better today. We managed to keep the deck together pretty well. Although we conceded some disappointing goals, I think we were better than the last time against them, Nyström assessed.
– I think we defended much better. Our defense was much better organized than in the first game and we were really self-sacrificing. They didn’t get to the goal posts very much, Tamminen mumbled.
However, both admitted that the opponent was rock hard on Thursday night.
– They are incredibly good and skilled players who play ball control football and see where there are spaces, Nyström said.
– This was the toughest opponent I’ve played against, Tamminen summed up.
The support of supporters helps to survive
Even though the difference in level was clear, the chant of the home team’s supporters continued almost without interruption from the kick-off until the final whistle – and for quite some time after the match.
– It’s amazing that we get to play in front of such a big audience. There were almost 20,000 of our fans who screamed and cheered the entire game. It also gave us energy, Nyström thanked.
According to Tamminen, the extra charge brought by the supporters can also be seen on the field.
– If you compare away and home games against Barcelona, we played much better at home. Of course, we have learned in the meantime by playing other hard games, but the support of the public also has an effect. It gives you a little extra boost all the time, so you can press and play a little better. For example, if we break the focus, the audience lives with it.
Tamminen, who is playing her fourth season in Hammarby, has been able to closely observe the development of the women’s team’s supporter culture.
– In the first year, we had a good 18,000 spectators in one game, but it was only a single game. Now we have Kanalplan (the team’s main home field) usually almost full, and there are a lot of people at away games too. That’s really cool.
Tamminen is especially happy that many Hammarby supporters have also found women’s games in recent years.
– It’s the best thing to hear that some fans of the men’s team are excited when they have gone to watch a couple of our games. We have been able to show that women’s football is entertaining.
The end of the year for the Finnish duo has been a direct soccer player’s dream, because in addition to the big club team games, they were able to celebrate a place in the European Championships in the national team jersey at the beginning of December.
– As a junior, I never dreamed of a professional career, so I can’t say that I dreamed of something like this. I do know that right now I get to live the dream of quite a few little girls, Tamminen stated.