Superettan fixtures 2011

The Superettan fixtures for 2011 have been released. The campaign begins on April 10th and runs to October 30th.

A weeks break in July will be the summer break while the play-offs will take place a week after the campaign ends in October.

Round 1:

Orgryte v Degerfors

Vasteras v Atvidabergs

IF Brommapojkarna v Jonkoping Sodra

Ljungskile v Falkenbergs

Landskrona BoIS v IFK Varnamo

Assyriska v Hammarby

Osters v GIF Sundsvall

IK Brage v Angelholm

AIK 2011 Fixtures

April 4th: Djurgarden (away)

April 10th: Mjallby (home)

April 17th: Elfsborg (away)

April 21st: IFK Goteborg (home)

April 25th: Syrianska (away)

May 1st: Orebro (home)

May 8th: BK Hacken (away)

May 16th: Helsingborgs (home)

May 22nd: Gefle (home)

May 25th: Kalmar (away)

June 12th: Malmo (home)

June 19th: GAIS (away)

June 22nd: IFK Norrkoping (home)

June 27th: Trelleborgs (away)

July 3rd: Halmstads (away)

July 10th: Halmstads (home)

July 17th: Gefle (away)

July 24th: Kalmar (home)

July 31st: Elfsborg (home)

August 7th: IFK Goteborg (away)

August 14th: IFK Norrkoping (away)

August 21st: Trelleborgs (home)

August 28th: BK Hacken (home)

September 11th: Helsingborgs (away)

September 18th: Djurgarden (home)

September 21st: Mjallby (away)

September 25th: Malmo (away)

October 2nd: GAIS (home)

October 16th: Syrianska (home)

October 23rd: Orebro (away)

2011 fixtures

The fixtures for the 2011 Allsvenskan have been released and includes some big games in first few weeks of the season.

The first round of matches begins on April 3rd and will play through June with a two week break at the end of May. The season concludes in October.

Round 1: 2-4 April:

IFK Norrkoping v Gefle

Trelleborgs v Malmo

Djurgarden v AIK

Syrianska v Gefle

Mjallby v Helsingborgs

IFK Goteborg v Orebro

Elfsborg v BK Hacken

Halmstads v Kalmar

Round 2: 8-11 April:

Orebro v Syrianska

Helsingborgs v Elfsborg

Malmo v Halmstads

Kalmar v Djurgarden

AIK v Mjallby

Gefle v IFK Norrkoping

GAIS v Trelleborgs

BK Hacken v IFK Goteborg

Round 3: 15-18 April:

Djurgarden v Malmo

Halmstads v GAIS

Elfsborg v AIK

IFK Goteborg v Helsingborgs

Mjallby v Kalmar

Syrianska v BK Hacken

Trelleborgs v IFK Norrkoping

Orebro v Gefle

Round 4: 19-22 April:

GAIS v Djurgarden

IFK Norrkoping v Halmstads

Malmo v Mjallby

AIK v IFK Goteborg

Helsingborgs v Syrianska

Gefle v Trelleborgs

Kalmar v Elfsborg

BK Hacken v Orebro

Round 5: 23-25 April:

Elfsborg v Malmo

Syrianska v AIK

Djurgarden v IFK Norrkoping

IFK Goteborg v Kalmar

Halmstads v Trelleborgs

BK Hacken v Gefle

Mjallby v GAIS

Orebro v Helsingborgs

Ruiz in at Halmstads

Josep Clotet Ruiz has been appointed Halmstads manager for 2011. The Spaniard who was assistant coach at Malmo in 2010 will be given the task of taking Halmstads out of the doldrums.

The former Espanyol B coach has to improve the confidence in the squad.

Elfsborg 2010

Elfsborg were tipped as favorites for the title this year with their squad. This squad though is aging with Anders Svensson getting on now. Stefan Ishizaki though was a standout player in the 2nd half of the season with his goals and assists that helped Elfsborg into 4th place.

They have a bright future with Johan Larsson particularly impressive. Their experienced squad though is aging as mentioned with Teddy Lucic retiring and Svensson now 34. They will need to keep hold of Denni Avdic, who had a fantastic season in front of goal but he could be tempted with a move abroad.

Orebro 2010

2010 will be looked on as a great season for Orebro. In the end they finished well clear in 3rd place but the gap between themselves and the front two will have to be addressed. They have though made though decisions and with European football next season can this squad handle the pressure of more games. Just like other sides their young talented players will be looked upon by suiters abroad which could hamper their hopes for 2011 which should be consolidate their European ambitions and challenge for the title maybe.

Alejandro Bedoya, Markus Astvald and Nordin Gerzic were sensational this year but defense at times remains shaky and the departure of Patrik Anttonen will have to be filled properly. Sixten Bostrom's future could also be a worry.

Helsingborgs 2010

Helsingborgs will be disappointed with 2010 after the promising signs in the spring. The were the early pace-setters and without the distraction of European football they should've close the challenge of Malmo out.

To their credit they did secure the Svenska Cupen with victory over Hammarby but the big positive was the goalscoring of summer recruit Alexander Gerndt from Gefle. Gerndt was called up to the national side last month with a fantastic season as he ended as top scorer. Helsingborgs will have to hold out offers from abroad for him if they are to challenge for the title next season.

They are another young side with Erik Sundin promising and this side will get experience from 2010.

Malmo 2010

Malmo were just brilliant in 2010. They started off well along with Helsingborgs keeping pace with them until finally breaking past to secure the title for the first time since 2004. This triumph though was on the basis of a young squad that came up through the ranks.

Dnaiel Larsson though had a splendid season taking over from where he left off in the latter part of 2009 in scoring goals for fun. Agon Mehmeti had his best season since bursting on the scene in 2008 while Johan Dahlin was at times the best keeper in the league.

It will be a challenge for Malmo to keep hold of their best players and as seen with AIK last season things can change fast. The Champions league beckons for the club and should they keep their best players they could finally end Sweden's duck of not having a team in the group stage for well over a decade.

Fixtures out next Wednesday

The 2011 fixtures for the Allsvenskan will be released next Wednesday at the fixture meeting with all 16 clubs. With confirmation already on the start date and end date all that is needed is the fixtures.

The Superettan fixtures are released next Friday the 17th while all leagues below will be released within three weeks.

Bassombeng leaves Orebro

Cameroon winger Eric Bassombeng has left Orebro to join GAIS. The news follows months of speculation surrounding Bassombeng's future.

Bassombeng joined the club in 2008 where in his first season was part of the side that turned the season round from relegation battlers to top half contenders. 2009 though was difficult for Bassombeng as the arrival of Alejandro Bedoya and others limited his playing time. Finally in 2010 speculation about a loan move away was rife but Bassombeng has now agreed to join GAIS for 2011. Bassombeng joins the likes of Astrit Ajdarevic, Patrik Anttonen, Roni Porokara, Anthony Flood and Paulinho Guará heading out of the club.

In other news surrounding Orebro, winger Markus Astvald has signed a new three-year contract. The news comes after a superb season for Astvald in which he played a key role in Orebro's 3rd place finish this season.

2011 Start

The league has confirmed that the 2011 Allsvenskan campaign will begin on April 10th. This year the league started three weeks earlier than normal to allow the break for the world cup but next season will be back to normal with an April kick-off.

The season does end quiet early with the final round of fixtures to be played on October 23rd. After that are the play-offs for promotion and relegation.

As for the fixtures themselves, the fixture congress will be held later this month to announce the fixtures for 2011 in the Allsvenskan, Superettan and lower leagues.