Chelsea’s trip through the UEFA Conference League this season has seen the Blues travel all across Europe.
Enzo Maresca has led the club to road wins in Greece, Kazakhstan, Denmark, and Poland, which has seen them reach the semifinals of the competition.
With a potential European trophy now on the horizon, one more journey across the continent must be tackled before they can book a place in the Conference League final at Wroclaw Stadium in Poland. A pair of semifinal legs against Swedish club Djurgardens IF are now on the books, with the first meeting in Stockholm before the return fixture at Stamford Bridge.
The Sporting News takes a closer look at Djurgarden to get a sense of the club Chelsea will match up against twice in the next week — a club whose preparation for this match has been affected by their own chairman’s resignation.
MORE: All the latest Chelsea news | Premier League schedule for 2024/25 | Latest Premier League top scorer rankings
This is Djurgarden’s first ever European semi-final. They’re up for it. pic.twitter.com/7dLMLfbs13
— Sam Dean (@SamJDean) May 1, 2025
Who are Djurgarden?
Djurgarden, who are known officially as Djurgardens IF Fotbollsforening, or simply Djurgardens IF, are a Swedish football club playing in the country’s top flight, the Allsvenskan.
Founded in 1891, Djurgarden are located in the nation’s capital of Stockholm, on the island that gives the club its name. Their crest features a red sash on a background of the country’s national colours, yellow and blue. As such, their nickname is the “Blaranderna” or the “Blue Stripes.” Their supporter group is known as the “Jarnkaminerna” or the “Iron Stoves” as a reference to the club’s perceived working-class roots.
They have won 12 Swedish league championships in club history. The first portion of those came during a strong run through the 1910s, while they would go 35 years between titles in 1920 and 1955. Championships in 1959, 1964, and 1966 would see the end of their spell on top, before another 36-year gap to their next championship in 2002. After winning again in 2003 and 2005, they would go without a win until 2019, their last league title.
This season is Djurgarden’s third straight foray into the Conference League, having reached the Round of 16 in 2022/23 before elimination at the hands of Polish side Lech Poznan in qualifying last season. This year is their first-ever run to the semifinals of a European competition.
Djurgarden coach, best players
The head coach of Djurgarden is Jani Honkavaara, a 49-year-old Finland-born manager who has been coaching at senior level since 2009, largely in his homeland and Scandinavia.
A former midfielder during his journeyman playing career, Honkavaara got his start as a manager with second-tier Finnish club HIFK, who he immediately led to top-flight promotion in his debut campaign.
He bounced around other Finnish clubs until winning the Finnish Cup with KuPS in 2024, winning Veikkausliiga Manager of the Year, at which point he was hired as an assistant with the Finnish national team. He spent just six months in that role before being hired at Djurgarden in December, with Scandinavian clubs in their league’s offseason.
Djurgarden have a number of young, up-and-coming talent on the roster. According to valuation website Transfermarkt, the club’s most valuable player is 21-year-old Norwegian winger Tobias Gulliksen, the club’s record transfer arrival who joined in the summer of 2023 from Bodo/Glimt — Tottenham’s opponents in the Europa League semifinals. He has had a significant hand in the Conference League run, scoring four goals and assisting another across 10 matches, a total which includes a heroic extra-time brace in the quarterfinals against Rapid Vienna.
The club’s captain is defender Jacob Une, a 31-year-old Sweden international who has been on the club’s books since 2016, only missing the 2022/23 season while out on loan in Greece. Fans may also recognise 20-year-old Theo Bergvall, who is the older brother of young Tottenham midfielder Lucas Bergvall.
Swedish journalist tells Enzo Maresca that Transfermarkt reckons Chelsea’s squad is worth 44 times that of Djurgarden. #CFC boss replies: “You don’t win games and titles with money. We know that very well. It’s not about how much you spend.”
— Kieran Gill (@kierangill_DM) April 30, 2025
Why did the Djurgarden chairman resign?
Two days before the first leg against Chelsea, Djurgarden’s preparations were thrown into chaos as their chairman resigned.
Lars-Erik Sjoberg stepped down from his role following a report from Swedish publication Expressen, which alleged that the 64-year-old had shared xenophobic messages and “radical” posts from right-wing commentators on social media.
Sjoberg told Expressen that “I have no xenophobic views or whatever word you are trying to use”, insisting that “I see nothing in what I have done on social media that conflicts with Djurgarden’s core values”.
The club thanked him for his work, adding: “We extend a warm and heartfelt thank you to Lars-Erik Sjoberg for his dedicated work and invaluable contributions to the good of the club.”
Djurgarden home ground, stadium, and controversial pitch
Djurgarden play their home matches at 3Arena in Stockholm, a ground they share with their local rivals Hammarby IF.
Opening in 2013, 3Arena a 30,000-seat ground previously known as both Stockholmsarenan and Tele2 Arena. For concerts, it can be expanded to 45,000 seats.
The ground is a modern construction, with a retractable roof and an artificial turf surface. The pitch has come under fire recently as a number of Djurgarden players have spoken out against its standard, and Chelsea have also raised concerns about playing on it.
Pitch at Djurgarden. Their own players say it is “s****”. pic.twitter.com/g2HlbFzooe
— Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) April 30, 2025
