Djurgardens IF U19

Djurgårdens IF was founded primarily by John G. Jansson, on 12 March 1891, at a café in Alberget 4A on the island of Djurgården in central Stockholm. Most of the founding members were from the dockyard-industry working class, an identity that remained true until the 1940s and 1950s.

The club originally focused on winter sports and athletics. The first true football field in Stockholm was created in 1896. Djurgårdens IF's football department was formed in 1899 with the help of former GAIS player Teodor Andersson. The team played its first match in July 1899, a 1–2 loss against AIK.

The team's first real achievement was in 1902 when they finished second in the Rosenska Pokalen tournament. Just two years later, in 1904, they participated in their first Svenska Mästerskapet final, but were defeated 2–1 by Örgryte IS.

The team lost three more Swedish Championship finals, all against teams from Gothenburg (1906 against Örgryte, 1909 against Örgryte and 1910 against IFK Göteborg), before their first victory came in the 1912 final with a 3–1 win against Örgryte. In 1910, the first Djurgården players were selected for the Swedish national team -- Ivar Friberg, Erik Lavass, Samuel Lindqvist, and Bertil Nordenskjöld played in a friendly against Norway on 11 September 1910.

The club won three more Swedish Championships in the 1910s and 1920s, the 1915 final against Örgryte, the 1917 final against AIK, and the 1920 final against IK Sleipner. They reached twelve of the thirty championship finals played to 1925. Bertil Nordenskjöld and Ragnar Wicksell took part in all four finals from 1912 to 1920; Gottfrid Johansson, Einar Olsson and Sten Söderberg in three. Nordenskjöld played in all Djurgården's Svenska Mästerskapet finals. Although the team became Swedish champions four times during the period when the title was decided by a championship final, Djurgården never managed to win the national league of the period, the Svenska Serien.

Djurgården did not qualify for the first season of Allsvenskan, and only reached the league twice between 1924 and 1944, in 1927–28 and 1936–37, both times being directly relegated back to the second tier Division 2. The club also played three seasons in the then third tier, Division 3 (Swedish football), between 1929 and 1932. From 1944 on, Djurgården became a stable Allsvenskan team. Stockholm Olympic Stadium, built for the 1912 Summer Olympics, became Djurgården's permanent home ground in 1936, replacing Tranebergs IP.

In 1951, Djurgården were runners-up in Svenska Cupen after a 1–2 final loss against Malmö FF; this was the team's first Svenska Cupen final. Four years later, under manager Frank Soo, they won Allsvenskan for the first time in the 1954–55 season, their fifth national title. In 1955–56, Djurgården became the first Swedish team to enter the European Cup. After beating Gwardia Warszawa in the first round, they advanced to the quarter-finals where they were drawn against Hibernian, but they lost 1–4 over the two legs.

In 1959, both the football team and Djurgårdens IF's hockey team won their respective championships in Sweden's two most popular sports, a remarkable happening. The 1959 Allsvenskan title was secured in a match against AIK at the Råsunda Stadium. The attendance of 48,894 people was a record for a match involving Djurgården, whose title-winning team were Sven Tumba, Birger Eklund, Lars Broström, John Eriksson, Hans Karlsson, Gösta Sandberg, Olle Hellström, Stig Gustafsson, Arne Arvidsson, Hans Mild and Sigge Parling.

Only a year later, however, Djurgården finished 11th and were relegated to the second division, but the team only needed one season to return to Allsvenskan. In 1964 and 1966, Djurgården won their seventh and eight championships, with 1966 marking the end of Gösta Sandberg's career. Sandberg played 322 league matches for the team from 1951 to 1966, and scored 77 goals. His nickname was "Mr Djurgården" and, in 1991, he was named "Djurgårdare of the century". Sandberg also played for the club's bandy and ice hockey sections. He died on his way home after attending the Tvillingderbyt in 2006.^[]

It was during the 1950s to 1960s period that the club nickname "Järnkaminerna" ("The Iron Furnaces") was established, due to the team's physical playing style. The ideal of a strong and uncompromising Djurgården player might also be traced back to the club's working-class roots.

Djurgården were members of Allsvenskan through the 1970s and had three third-places and a final loss in the 1975 Svenska Cupen Final as their best seasons. Gary Williams became the first foreign player join the team in the 1977 season. The 1980s was not a good decade for the club, as they were relegated from Allsvenskan in 1981 and, after losing two promotion play-offs, made a temporary return to the highest league in 1986. Future England striker Teddy Sheringham had a brief spell at Djurgården as a 19-year-old loanee in 1985–86, and was part of the squad that won the promotion to Allsvenskan after beating GAIS in a dramatic penalty shoot-out in the playoffs. In 1987, besides being relegated again, Djurgårdens IF Fotboll presented a 12 million Swedish krona deficit and was later transformed into an aktiebolag.

Djurgården gained another promotion in 1989. This time, they stayed in Allsvenskan for five consecutive seasons and, in 1990, the team won the Svenska Cupen for the first time. They also achieved the club's record victory when they defeated local rivals Hammarby 9–1 in Allsvenskan on 13 August that year. After a promising start to the 1990s, the club was relegated from Allsvenskan three times, and promoted back twice. During this decade, the club's economic problems almost caused bankruptcy. The 1995 season started well, but ended badly; in the last home match of the 1995 Allsvenskan, a supporter, later named Terror-Tommy in the media, came onto the pitch and kicked referee Anders Frisk.

In the middle of the 1999 season, Zoran Lukic and Sören Åkeby took over the team and won the inaugural 2000 Superettan. They also finished second, although newly promoted, in the 2001 Allsvenskan. With a team which included Stefan Rehn, Kim Källström, Andreas Johansson, and Andreas Isaksson, Djurgården secured their first championship title in 36 years in the last round of the 2002 Allsvenskan. Later in the year, Djurgården also won Svenska Cupen by beating AIK, 1–0 on golden goal. The first half of the 2000s was a golden era for the club, with three championships (2002, 2003 and 2005) and three cup wins (2002, 2004 and 2005). This "golden era" for Djurgården ended with a sixth-place finish in 2006. The club was one of the main contenders for the league championship in 2007, but ultimately finished in third place. The golden era saw the club play against European clubs Juventus, FC Girondins de Bordeaux, Shamrock Rovers F.C., FK Partizan and FC Utrecht in European competitions, the most remarkable result being a 2–2 draw against Juventus at Stadio Delle Alpi.

Djurgården survived a relegation playoff in 2009 to remain in Allsvenskan, and then became a mid-table team for the next five seasons. Bo Andersson, who had coached Djurgården to their three titles in the 2000s, returned as the newly appointed director of sport in 2014, but he was forced to sell several good players to try and balance the books. In January 2017, Djurgården sold the Kenyan international forward Michael Olunga for a club record fee of SEK 40 million which transformed the club's finances into one of the best in Sweden. The transfer also made it possible to sign club legend Kim Källström and fellow former Swedish international Jonas Olsson. Both players, together with recently returned goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson, played important roles as Djurgården finished in third place in the 2017 Allsvenskan, qualifying for the second qualifying round for the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League for the first time in ten years. After 13 years without any titles, Djurgården won the Svenska Cupen on 10 May 2018 after going through the tournament without conceding a single goal. They defeated Malmö FF 3–0 in the final at Tele2 Arena.

For the 2019 season, Kim Bergstrand and Thomas Lagerlöf became the team managers. Djurgården won the league title for the first time in fourteen years, securing a spot in the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round. After the season Djurgården sold defender and team captain Marcus Danielsson to the Chinese club Dalian Professional for what was reported to be a club record fee of more than SEK 50 million. This made Djurgården one of Sweden's wealthiest clubs along with various other sales.

Djurgården finished fourth in the 2020 season when all matches were played in empty stadiums because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, they finished third to earn a place in the second qualifying round of the 2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League. They finished second in the 2022 season, again qualifying for the Conference League, and then fourth in 2023. On 2 February 2024, Djurgården sold one of their most talented youngsters, Lucas Bergvall, to Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur for a club record fee of around 10 million Euro or 113 million SEK, and on 28 July the club announced that they had sold Samuel Dahl to AS Roma in Serie A.

On 21 october 2024 the club announced that they would part ways with their manager duo Lagerlöf and Bergstrand, after a turbulent second half of the season.This marked the end of their six years at the club, they left their positions with 3 domestic games left and games in the league phase of the conference league.