AIK

File:Allmänna Idrottsklubben Ishockey
Full name	Allmänna Idrottsklubben
Nickname(s)	Gnaget
Founded	1891 1896 (football department)
Ground	Råsunda Stadium Solna, Stockholm (Capacity: 36,608[1])
Chairman	Mats Gustavsson
Manager	Alex Miller
League	Allsvenskan
2009	Allsvenskan, 1st
Home colours Away colours

AIK, Swedish pronunciation: [ˈɑːi.ˈkɔː] (LSE: 0DI2), an abbreviation for Allmänna Idrottsklubben, (literally "The General Sports Club" or "The Public Sports Club") is a Swedish football club based at Råsunda stadium in Solna, a municipality in Stockholm County bordering to Stockholm City Centre. The club was formed in 1891 in central Stockholm and the football department was formed in 1896.

Reigning champions of the highest Swedish league, AIK are currently third in the all-time Allsvenskan table. AIK hold the record for being the Swedish club with most seasons in the top flight. The club qualified for the 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League group stage, the only Stockholm side to have reached this far in the tournament.

History

Founded in 1891 by Isidor Behrens in Stockholm, at the downtown address of Biblioteksgatan 8, the club's full name, "Allmänna Idrottsklubben", translates to "The General Sports Club" or "The Public Sports Club". The name was chosen to reflect that the club was open for everyone, and also that athletics, at the time called "allmän idrott" in Swedish^[2], was considered the club's main sport.

Putting football into practice in 1896, AIK were runners-up in the championship only two years later, in 1898. AIK won its first Swedish championship title in 1900, beating Örgryte IS in the final. In 1901, AIK won another title, after a walk over win against Örgryte IS team II. At the turn of the century, Swedish league football was dominated by Örgryte, who won ten times between the years 1896 and 1909. However, in the period of 1898–1901 AIK won the championship twice and were runners-up three times.

AIK didn't participate in the Swedish championships of 1902 and 1903, which meant these were played only with teams from Gothenburg. In 1902, AIK instead competed in "Svenska bollspelsförbundets tävlingsserie", a league competition open only to clubs from Stockholm. AIK competed with two teams in the first year of the competition, finishing fourth and last. As a result, the weaker AIK side was relegated, making the first team the only one from AIK in the highest division. The competition was played until 1909, with AIK winning it in 1908 and 1909, and was replaced by Svenska Serien.

Two years after the start of the "tävlingsserie", 1904, twelve teams participated in the championship, one of them being AIK for the first time since winning it. AIK went through to the semi-finals, where they were beaten by arch rivals Djurgårdens IF. In 1905, AIK went just as far, this time being beaten by IFK Stockholm. AIK competed in the championshiop three times in 1906-1910 without any success, but in 1911 they won the championship for the third time after beating IFK Uppsala in the final.

After that, AIK were eliminated in the semi-finals of 1912 and 1913 but won the championship once again in 1914. In 1915, AIK were again defeated by arch rivals Djurgården in the semi-finals. In 1916, however, AIK came back and defeated future rivals IFK Göteborg in the semi-finals, beating Djurgårdens IF with 3-1 in the final. In 1917, Djurgården mirrored AIK's achievement, winning against Göteborg in the semi-finals and then beating AIK with 3-1 in the final. Another couple of years passed by without any success for AIK, until 1923, when they won their sixth title after beating IFK Eskilstuna in the final.

From the years 1910 to 1924, a championship called "Svenska Serien" was played. AIK didn't win it, but were runners-up a couple of times. The status of this championship status increased in the beginning of the 1920s and it became more important than the Swedish championship.

In 1924, Svenska Serien was replaced by the current highest league, "Allsvenskan", (officially named "Division I"). The first years, the championship were dominated by teams from Gothenburg (GAIS, IFK Göteborg och Örgryte IS) and by Hälsingborgs IF. After some years when AIK finished fourth and fifth and in the middle of the table, AIK won the championship in 1931/32, making it their first Allsvenskan title and their seventh Swedish title.

AIK relocated to the suburb Solna in 1937, as the home stadium of the club was changed from Stockholms Stadion to Råsunda Fotbollsstadion. This was however only one of the things making the year 1937 a memorable year – AIK won their eighth Swedish title. After that, AIK didn't win a Swedish title in 55 years, and only finished second and third a couple of times. Their biggest successes came from winning the Swedish cup (established in 1941) in 1949 and 1950 (and later also 1976 and 1985).

The Japan Soccer League chose AIK as the opponent for their all-star team in their first ever all-star game since their foundation as a league. On 2 December 1965, AIK battled a JSL all-star team to a 2-2 draw.^[3]

In 1992, AIK won the Swedish championship again, allowing them to play in the UEFA Champions League qualifications, but they were eliminated in their first match against AC Sparta Prague. Six years after that, in 1998, AIK won its tenth Swedish championship title, having scored fewer goals than all other 13 teams: 25 in 26 matches (average 0.962).^[4]

AIK have played 62 matches in European competitions and took part in the 1999/2000 UEFA Champions League, their only appearance in the tournament group stage to date. Drawn in Group B along with Barcelona, Arsenal and Fiorentina, AIK finished bottom of the group with only 1 point from 6 games, their sole point coming from a 0-0 draw at home to Fiorentina.

Club colours

AIK's primary colours are black and yellow. White is the secondary colour.

Crest

AIK's crest is dark blue (not black), yellow and gold.

The crest's style is arguably art nouveau, the predominant style at the turn of the 20th century.

Creator of the crest was Fritz Carlsson-Carling, a runner and football player who won a contest where the award was to design a new crest for AIK. He wanted the crest to convey four basic values: tradition, force, glory and joy.

Tradition is conveyed in the towers of the crest, which are borrowed taken from the coat of arms of Saint Erik, Stockholm's patron saint. Saint Erik's coat of arms has five towers, symbolizing Stockholm's city walls, an indication of AIK's tradition of defending the capital's honour.

Force is represented by the initials A.I.K., strikingly emblazoned diagonally across the crest. There is also an element of nationalism in the crest since the colors are Sweden's national colours: blue and yellow.

Glory and joy are characterized by the sun, referring to ”Sol Invictus”, the "invincible sun". Contrary to popular belief, it has nothing the City of Solna's coat of arms. Solna, today a county of its own, was a part of the City of Stockholm until 1943, i.e. six years after Råsunda Football Stadium was completed and 52 years after AIK was formed in Bibilioteksgatan in Stockholm.

Kit

Currently without away shorts, the home shirt is black and the away shirt is white. Socks are striped in black and yellow; away socks are all white. A yellow third jersey was used in 2004 while an orange third jersey was used in 2007.

Kit manufacturers and sponsors

Stadium

AIK play their home games at Råsunda Stadium, Sweden's national football stadium. Råsunda Stadium also houses the Swedish FA, Svenska fotbollförbundet, and notably hosted the final of the World Cup 1958.

In 2012, Sweden's new national football stadium, Swedbank Arena, will be completed in Solna, at which time Råsunda is to be demolished. However, AIK have formed a committee, arenagruppen, to decide if AIK is to build a new arena (with a capacity of circa 30,000 seats), buy Råsunda back (for a cost of 500 million SEK), play at Swedbank Arena or at Stockholmsarenan.

Fans

With the largest fan-base in Sweden ^[5][6], AIK had an average attendance of over 21,000 people during the 2006 season, the highest in Sweden. During the 2007 season, AIK had an average attendance of over 20,000. AIK have had the highest average of attendance 36 times, more than any other club in Sweden.

The club's most important fan clubs are Black Army, Smokinglirarna, Ultras Nord and Sol Invictus. AIK Tifo organize the club's terrace choreography.

Nicknames

A fan of the club is referred to as an AIK:are or a gnagare (rodent).

Club anthem

"Å vi e AIK"

Vi ser hur solen stiger över Råsunda
(We watch the sun rise over Råsunda)
Vi ser hur Hovets is är blank och klar
(The ice at Hovet's always bright and clear)
Och bönderna de gapar utav fasa
(The peasants' eyes are wide open with terror)
Och snutarna de spejar och de tar
(Every copper's on the lookout and on the prowl)
Vi ser de svarta tröjorna i AIK
(We see the black shirts of AIK)
Vi vet att alla vägar bär oss rätt
(Whatever path we take will lead us right)

Chorus:
Å vi e AIK
(Oh, we are AIK)
Å alltid e vi me' er
(Always there to cheer you)
Och alltid ska vi se er ta poäng
(Always there to see you get results)

Repeat chorus

Ibland så kan det blåsa kalla stormar
(At times the winds can be both cold and stormy)
Ibland kan himlen vara ganska grå
(At times the sky above us might be grey)
Men när det gäller laget som vi älskar
(But when it comes to our beloved AIK)
Så skiner solen snart på oss ändå
(The sun will soon shine upon us)
Vi hört om stora tider som har svunnit
(Basking in the glory of the old days)
Vi vet att snart så är det dags igen
(We know that soon those times are here again)

Repeat chorus twice

AIK's club anthem is played at every home game as the players enter the pitch. It is sung to the tune of a The Last Farewell, a UK number 2 hit for singer/songwriter Roger Whittaker in 1975 (and covered by Elvis Presley in 1976).

Rivalries

The club's main rival is Djurgården, also formed in 1891, just a few weeks later. The local derbies between the clubs are sometimes listed in the European top ten of derbies. Another fierce rival is Hammarby IF, also from Stockholm. The biggest rival outside Stockholm is IFK Göteborg, with games between the teams games often resulting in hooligan clashes and riots; in 2002 an IFK Göteborg fan was killed, the first Swede to be killed in a hooligan clash.

Affiliated clubs

• Akropolis IF
• Bollstanäs SK
• FC Djursholm
• Råsunda IS
• Sollentuna United FK
• Täby IS
• Värmbols FC
• FC Väsby United

Achievements

• Swedish Champions:
  • Winners (11): 1900, 1901, 1911, 1914, 1916, 1923, 1931–1932, 1936–1937, 1992, 1998, 2009
• Allsvenskan:
  • Winners (5): 1931–1932, 1936–1937, 1983, 1998, 2009
  • Runners-up (10): 1930–1931, 1934–1935, 1935–1936, 1938–1939, 1946–1947, 1972, 1974, 1984, 1999, 2006
• Mästerskapsserien:
  • Winners (1): 1992
• Allsvenskan play-off:
  • Runners-up (1): 1986
• Svenska Serien:
  • Runners-up (5): 1910, 1914–1915, 1915–1916, 1922–1923, 1923–1924
• Svenska Mästerskapet:
  • Winners (6): 1900, 1901, 1911, 1914, 1916, 1923
  • Runners-up (2): 1898, 1917
• Svenska Cupen:
  • Winners (8): 1949, 1950, 1975–1976, 1984–1985, 1995–1996, 1996–1997, 1998–1999, 2009
  • Runners-up (8): 1943, 1947, 1968–1969, 1991, 1994–1995, 1999–2000, 2000–2001, 2002
• Supercupen:
  • Winners (1): 2010
• Corinthian Bowl:
  • Runners-up (2): 1912, 1913
• Rosenska Pokalen:
  • Runners-up (2): 1899, 1900
• Wicanderska Välgörenhetsskölden:
  • Winners (4): 1908, 1909, 1914, 1916
  • Runners-up (3): 1905, 1906, 1915

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

• Number 1 is reserved for the fans^[7]

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

For season transfers, see either transfers winter 2009–2010 or transfers summer 2010.

Staff

• Manager: Alex Miller
• First Assistant Manager: Björn Wesström
• Assistant Manager: Andreas Alm
• Assistant Manager: Christer Swärd
• Goalkeeping Coach: Lee Baxter
• Team doctor: Magnus Lind
• Team doctor: Tom von Oelreich
• Team doctor: Bengt-Olov Tengmark
• Physio advisor: Erik Börjesson
• Naprapath: Tomas Fransson
• Naprapath: Luis Oyarzo

AIK in Europe

References

External links

Official

• AIK Fotboll

Major fan sites

• Gnagarforum – fan community
• Black Army
• Sol Invictus
• Ultra Nord
• Smokinglirarna
• AIK-Tifo – terrace choreographers

.