By Chris Wright

We seem to have enjoyed a real slew of looooooong-range boomers recently (not least this humdinger from AIK's Alexander Milosevic), but Stefan Ishizaki's awesome effort for Elfsborg in their 2-0 away win over Orebro in the Swedish Allsvenskan yesterday.

Eleven time Swedish champions AIK Stockholm have unveiled their adidas 2012/13 home jersey. The new kit celebrates the 75th Anniversary of the club's legendary stadium the Råsunda. According to...

This is it! The wait is finally over! I know we've been flooding you guys with content today and that's because, as with everybody else in this city, we're pretty damn excited about tonight's match. It's been a long time coming and now that it's finally here, I'm not even really sure what to do with myself.

Walking out under the Timbers Army. Experience it here.

The Road Trip crew did a behind the scenes look with AIK and the last clips are from the match on Sunday with a hair raising entrance to "PTFC". Good stuff.

The Portland Timbers defeated AIK 1 to 0 with a consistent effort. While they didn't have the best night in terms of ball possession and passing, they did match AIK's intensity and physical presence most of the night. We provide ratings for each player that appeared along with a general evaluation of the Timbers' effort.

The Portland Timbers got a taste of what forward Kris Boyd can do first hand during their match with AIK on March 4 at JELD-WEN Field. The Scottish forward notched his first ever goal in a Timbers shirt in the seventh minute, and the defense held off a physical AIK attack to help the Timbers win 1 to 0.

Tomorrow marks the end of the pre-season festivities which means that the regular season kicks off in just 9 more days. Well, technically the MLS season will kick off in about a week, but the Timbers don't actually play anybody until the Monday after. In any case, it's all very exciting and I absolutely can't wait.

Timbers-AIK cooperation explained

AIK Media interviews Gavin Wilkinson and gives the run down on how the teams came together. The other interview about the partnership in Swedish was very revealing (such as a Portland to Stockholm trip is not as likely, but a return of AIK is more likely). I'll have to write up about it.

As we all know, tonight the Portland Timbers will take on southern California side Chivas USA is round 2 of the Timbers' tournament. Tonight is an important game for both the Timbers and Chivas USA as each will want to prove that Monday's performance was a fluke, not a trend. Not to say the Timbers were terrible, but their performance left something to be desired.

So the first pre-season tournament game has come and gone. Honestly, it wasn't the result or performance that I was hoping for. Granted a few key players were missing: Eric Brunner, Kris Boyd, Franck Songo'o to name a few, but I still expected more from a home opener and I expect more from them tomorrow night against Chivas USA, a team which suffered a disappointed 2-nil loss against Swedish side AIK.

We've already known a bit about the preseason details including the upcoming pre-season tournament with Chivas USA, the San Jose Earthquakes and AIK of Sweden, but until today we didn't know too much else. Well, today's that has all changed with the Timbers releasing almost everything we could have asked for.

Featured image: Courtesy of Dan Morrison and bethlehemsteelsoccer.org

Against the expectation of many in the US, the United States Football Association's first international tour in Scandinavia in the summer of 1916 had been a great success. The cash-strapped USFA had come out of the trip in the black—the Swedish FA had paid for the tour thanks to the backing of a leading Swedish newspaper—and the team had performed well to garner a 3–1–2 record despite having been put together only days before departure to Europe without the benefit of tryouts.

By JOHN BOSCHINI

Things are looking worse and worse for Steve Kean as Blackburn manager as his club slumped to a 2-1 loss to Bolton on Tuesday, intensifying calls for him to be fired.

Blackburn is now rooted to the bottom of the English Premier League and is four points away from safety having played a game more than its competitors.

Well we've all been wondering what the Portland Timbers pre-season plans were and today they've been given a serious spotlight. Per the title of this article, the Timbers will host Chivas USA, San Jose Earthquakes and AIK (from Sweden's first division Allsvenskan) from February 27th-March 4th, about 1 week prior to First Kick 2012).

No, that's not a stadium fire, that's smoke emitting from an AIK fans' pyro display at their Råsunda Stadium in Stockholm, Sweden.

Photo credit: docuism on Flickr

Well well, I miss a couple of weeks of the Allsvenskan for various reasons and look what happens: we end up with a champion. Helsingborg won the Allsvenskan 2011 and did so in style. I can´t think of a worthier champion. They played well all year and despite selling their best offensive weapons (Gerndt to Utrecht and Jönsson to Wolfsburg), losing Peter Larsson on the end of their loan deal with Copenhagen, they still managed to win the league.

Well well, I miss a couple of weeks of the Allsvenskan for various reasons and look what happens: we end up with a champion. Helsingborg won the Allsvenskan 2011 and did so in style. I can´t think of a worthier champion. They played well all year and despite selling their best offensive weapons (Gerndt to Utrecht and Jönsson to Wolfsburg), losing Peter Larsson on the end of their loan deal with Copenhagen, they still managed to win the league.

In the week of the crowds Blessed are the meek, for they shall... we have two wonderful examples of polar extremes from the very north and south of Europe. How convenient.

Because it's always ladies first, particularly in Turkey now, the above is the video from the now infamous 'women and children only' match.

In the week of the crowds Blessed are the meek, for they shall... we have two wonderful examples of polar extremes from the very north and south of Europe. How convenient.

Because it's always ladies first, particularly in Turkey now, the above is the video from the now infamous 'women and children only' match.

Swedishhhhh football Swedish rivals AIK and Djurgardens spent the first 10 minutes of the Stockholm derby in silence in protest at the state of modern football. The main point of the period of quiet was to demonstrate the importance of fans. To demonstrate this further, all the fans went absolutely mental as soon as 10 [.

Swedishhhhh football Swedish rivals AIK and Djurgardens spent the first 10 minutes of the Stockholm derby in silence in protest at the state of modern football. The main point of the period of quiet was to demonstrate the importance of fans. To demonstrate this further, all the fans went absolutely mental as soon as 10 [.

Well, with a weekend like that I don't really know where to start. Perhaps I should just take the first game then, which was of the utmost importance for the gold race. It was on Thursday and played in Gothenburg between IFK Göteborg and AIK. Until the last two rounds, AIK had been steadily making their way to the top and chasing Elfsborg and leaders Helsingborg.

Following right on the heels of the previous round, the 13th round of the Allsvenskan kicked off with Häcken taking on Halmstad at home. Of course the drama had to revolve around international man of rumor Matthias Ranegie, who has been putting away goals left and right so far this season (the latest word was Wolfsburg, but I don't believe it for one second).

News from Sweden today, that Newcastle United are increasing their interest in two forwards with the same last name - Mohamed Bangura and Teteh Bangura. Teteh Bangura - referred to as the new Didier Drogba Both players were born in Sierra Leone and both are currently playing together at Swedish club AIK Mohammed joined AIK [.

After a fantastic International break with two great games for Sweden the Allsvenskan returned to its more average and everyday existence and yet the drama was just around the corner and waiting for the right game to have it released...

The struggling kings of Sweden Malmö FF have finally ended their trainer speculations by hiring Rikard Norling (formerly of Assyriska and AIK).

While his teammates are getting ready to face Toronto FC tonight, Kei Kamara was in Freetown, Sierra Leone as the Leone Stars took on Niger in an African Cup of Nations qualifier. Sierra Leone needed a win to keep in the race for qualification after a 3-1 loss in Niger earlier this year. By first hand reports, Sierra Leone dominated the game but was unable to finish their chances Kamara had a few chances as he mainly played in a support role behind Sierra Leone's two strikers.

Well, well, the fifth round of play is over in the Allsvenskan and we had two big things happen: the champions lost their first game of the season and there was a scandal. Let me rephrase that: there were two things that happened one major and the other while interesting, less important.

I will start with the scandal (obviously the big thing) first.

Occasionally, the timing is just right if because it's wrong.

Someone from the YouTube filmed their match experience travel and (brief) game at yesterday's Allsvenskan battle royale between Syrianska AIK. The match gained a certain degree of infamy for being abandoned after one of the linesman enjoyed a steaming firecracker to the back of his head.

• Hotel Ternana. (The Score)
• The Black Army. (EFW)
• Why this will never see the light of day... (Football Fashion)
• The unheralded. (Footballing World)
• Ugly times in Argentina. (AP)
• Fernando's miracle. (Dirty Tackle)
• Asking the important question.

On the road with the Black Army Elfsborg 2-2 AIK (17:04:11) Regular EFW contributor Andy Hudson hooks up with the Black Army of AIK..... Sweden – the country of cold winters, yellow football shirts, England World Cup opponents, beautiful ladies and expensive beer. Now, pick out the reasons why this fine country makes, for me at least, the perfect location for a European Football Weekend.

The 2011 Veikkausliiga season kicks-off in two months so let's not waste any time trying to make up witty introductions to the ever so fascinating world of Veikkausliiga transfer tittle-tattle and instead, mimicking the transfer market behaviour of most Finnish top tier teams, the Merry-go-round is just going to plunge in among the transfers news and take any piece it can get its hands on.

When getting right down to it, there may be no arena more in tune with superstition than sports. Despite its lack of rooting in rationality, everyone from coaches to players to fans believes in something of zero relation which impacts the outcome of their most beloved team. Whether it's rooted in rationality or not more often the latter nonetheless, they still believe.