The new artificial grass at Tele2 arena has become the talk of the town after Djurgården’s 4-1 loss against Värnamo.
Hammarby is not complaining.
– I think there is too much whining, says Nahir Besara.
During the winter, the famous artificial grass at Tele2 arena was replaced. After Djurgården lost against Värnamo 4-1 in Tuesday’s training match, the new carpet also became a talking point.
Several zoo players were critical and thought both that the ball moved differently and that it was heavily sprung.
– I don’t like it that much right now. But it’s new so you can’t complain too much, you just have to play on it, Joel Asoro added FootballSthlm after the game.
The Hammarby players do not agree.
– It feels like the carpet has become a thing, Djurgården lost here and makes mistakes. But a bad lawn is worse than this, I think. It’s just some things, the ball doesn’t go quite naturally. It veers off to the side when it starts to stop and when you push the ball it moves a little. But that’s not the worst thing, says Nahir Besara.
“People exaggerate”
Hammarby’s team captain stood and talked with Djurgården’s sports director Bosse Andersson about the new artificial grass before “Bajen’s” training on Friday.
– He was upset because they lost, but I told him that it takes time to get used to all kinds of plans. It will be good for us. Both we and Djurgården will benefit from playing on it, says Besara.
You are not worried?
– No, I think people exaggerate. It’s football and you shouldn’t focus on crap like this.
Abdelrahman Saidi is on the same track
– It’s good, we’re used to it now so it’s not strange. No one has said anything, just the first practice when it was a bit uneven. I grew up in Borås Arena, so for me it’s nothing strange, he says.
“You have to take a little scrubbing”
The only thing the Hammarby players have to object to is that the sand in the artificial grass causes both burns and abrasions. Living proof of that is Fredrik Hammar, who stood with a bloody knee after training.
– I can’t slide tackle, so I have a few scrapes all over the place. But I think the ball rolls really well when you push a little. It can cut the grass a bit sometimes, but I’ve played on worse courses than this, he says and continues with a smile:
– You have to take a little scrubbing. Dad played on gravel, I guess I can play on this.
