Football Season Guide

Norrkoping could not replicate the euphoria of the 2015 title winning season when they pipped Malmo to the Allsvenskan crown last year. Malmo came back stronger while "Kamraterna" faltered under pressure. They still ended a respectful third in the table, but head coach Jens Gustaffson will be disappointed they couldn't rediscover the form that took them right to the very top. They are still expected to compete well at the very top of the league ahead of the 2017 campaign and, while more silverware is expected in terms of a top three medal, the major trophy might still evade them. A lot is expected from young defenders like Linus Wahlqvist and Filip Dagerstal, who are already knocking on the door for the international team after successful call-ups to the U-21s, while Daniel Sjolund is the anchor in the middle and Sebastian Andersson expected to find the back of the net more often than not in the final third. A disappointing 2-0 defeat to AIK in their last pre-season friendly was not the result that Norrkoping would have wanted, and might be an early indicator that they are a bit short when trying to challenge the very top teams in Allsvenskan.