Football in Helsingborg

20.000 people filled the stadium to its maximum (during this hot July evening), which is pretty good for a town that only has 120.000 inhabitants.


It was supposed to be Henrik "Henke" Larsson's great return. Fans filled the Olympia stadium in Helsingborg to greet Henrik Larsson who left the club 13 years ago for a very successful professional career in Europe. (He also had some less appreciated years when he first became a pro in Feynoord but most people , probably including himself, would like to forget that...)
He came back after being a celebrated striker all over Europe for the past decade - in Celtic, where he won the Scottish Premier League several times (and was celebrated as the most productive scorer in Europe) - and Barcelona where he finished his career by winning both the Spanish League and the Champions League two months ago, Henke finally came back to where it all started - Helsingborg, Sweden. (Top picture of Henke Larsson in a close encounter with Dioh Williams. Second picture taken from our seats.)

With 38 attempts on goal, many of them very demanding, the game was intense during the entire 90 minutes. Häcken's goalie Christoffer Källqvist made some remarkable saves and eventually set up the stability his team needed to win with the score 1-3, where the last goal was made only a few seconds before the final referee ended the game.
Helsingborg was anything but effective, and both their defensive players and their goalie need to take blame for the loss. But apart from the grief of my mother I think the rest of the family very much enjoyed the game.

(Tara and my parents by the sideline after the game has ended.)

Mom is the die hard fan here. Her grandfather, my great grandfather, played for Helsingborg in the Swedish league during the first decades of the 20th century.
(Tara and Joakim by the stands.)