The evening belonged to Black Army

When Bauyrzhan Dzholchiev all too easily put the ball behind the keeper Patric Carlgren, making it 3-0, the European dream died for the Swedish hosts AIK. The guests FC Astana from Kazakhstan won 4-1 on aggregate and thereby advanced to the play-off round of the European League for the first time in the club´s short history.
The performances of the AIK players this evening in Friends Arena didn´t make anyone wearing the black and yellow colours feel any pride, but something else should have. Just a few seconds after the last goal, the fans on the northern stand started to sing "Que sera sera, vi håller på AIK (=we support AIK)", and they kept tirelessly on singing and chanting for the last twenty minutes. The fan group called "Black Army" has through the last 35 years mainly been known for the hooligan activities that often, but in very varying amount, have been present during and around the matches and away trips. During the matches I´ve seen the last couple of years, I have been impressed by the positive attitude that almost totally has dominated the northern stand, even when the players underperform like last Thursday. The songs and chants are about the own team, any booing against the referee is soon replaced by more singing and so on. The trend was there earlier, but I think the sudden death of the goalkeeper Ivan Turina in 2013 made a difference. The whole club gathered in shock and common mourning.
Sadly enough, in the section I was sitting together with my kids you could not avoid a totally different attitude. Men in their forties and fifties (yes, all of them were) were shouting and swearing the whole game. It was almost always in a negative manner, complaining about the performances of the players they claim to support. How they can endure and perhaps enjoy being in a negative mood for ninety minutes beats me. It was a depressing experience and next time I will try another section.
I wish the good forces will prevail, and that the atmosphere in the football arenas my kids will visit in the future will be one of joy and sportsmanship. I wish that spectators not accepting this will stay at home.