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The swedish nationalteam

Although the Swedish clubs have had some tough seasons since the middle of the 1990-ties, the Swedish nationalteam has have a really good period. After a dark World Cup-tournament 1990 (3 losses, all 1-2), they went all the way to the semifinal in the Euro 1992, where they lost against Germany. Two years later in the World Cup in USA they again went to the semifinals, after finishing second in the group with Brasil, Cameroon and Russia. In the 1/8-final they beat Saudi Arabia, before they knocked out Rumania on penalties. They had no chance against Brazil in the semifinal, but got their revenge by crashing Bulgaria in the bronze-game, 4-0.
Then Sweden had some tough years, missing out on both Euro1996 and the World Cup 1998. They qualified for Euro2000 in Belgium/Holland, only to be knocked out in the group by Italy, Belgium and Turkiy.
Two years later the good old Sweden was back though, and won their World Cup-group, before England, Argentina and Nigeria, the so called group of Death.
In the 1/8-final they lost in sudden death against Senegal, after being the better team throughout the game.
This summer it was time for another tough exit. After winning their Euro2004-group before Denmark, Italy and Bulgaria, the lost in the quarterfinal on penalties against Netherlands…
Hopefully they will be back for World Cup in Germany in less than two years time…

Sweden’s biggest success ever is the silver medal from the World Cup 1958, held in Sweden, and their gold medal from the Olympic Games in London 1948. They have also another bronze medal from the World Cup 1950.

The biggest stars in the team nowadays are the attacking pair, Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Juventus) and Henrik Larsson (Barcelona). Other important players are central defender Olof Mellberg (Aston Villa), Fredrik Ljungberg (Arsenal), Christian Wilhelmsson (Anderlecht) and Anders Svensson (Southampton).

And the story goes on...

In the 1990-ties IFK again was the strongest side in Sweden, winning the Swedish league 6 times out of 7 the first seven years during the 90-ties. They played in the Champions League groupstage 4 times, and won against teams like Manchester United, Barcelona, AC Milan, Porto, Bayern Munich and Galatasaray. Their biggest moment came 1994/95 when they first won the group against United, Barcelona and Galatasaray, and then went out in the quarterfinal on away-goal against Bayern Munich.
Since 1999 IFK Göteborg has been down in a deep dip, but this season they ended third in the league, and hopefully the bad years are now gone.
In their place, first AIK Stockholm, and then Helsingborgs IF have played in the Champions League groupstage, although without any success at all. The last two seasons Djurgårdens IF have tried to qualify, but has lost both times (Partizan Belgrad and Juventus).
Next season it’s up to Malmö FF if Sweden will have a team in the groupstage.

A successful history

While the Swedish nationalteam has been among the 5-6 strongest teams in Europe the last years, the Swedish clubs have been down in a big dip.

The first time a Swedish team went far in Europe was 1978/79, when Malmö FF reached all the way to the final in the European Cup, that times Champions League.
English Nottingham Forest were too strong though, and won, 1-0, in Munich.
Three years later it was time for the next moment, and IFK Göteborg (Gothenburg) went all the way.
They won the Uefacup, after winning against teams like Valencia and Kaiserslautern on the way to the final, and there they beat german champions Hamburger SV.
The next coming years Göteborg always went far in the European tournaments. Quarterfinal and semifinal in the European cup, where they in the semifinal beat FC Barcelona with 3-0, in the first leg, only to be beaten with the same result away at Camp Nou, and then losing on penalties.
Not all Barcelona-supporters may agree with me, but with another linesman Barcelona would never have won that game…
1986/87 Göteborg got their revenge, by winning the Uefacup for the second time, beating Italian side Inter in the quarterfinal, FC Tirol in the semifinal, and then Scottish club Dundee United in the final.

The swedish season

The Swedish league plays spring-autumn, which means that they play opposite season against almost the rest of Europe. The season starts in the beginning of April, while the last games are played in the end of October, or the beginning of Novembre.
The champions goes on to the qualification-game to Champions League the year after, while the runner-up goes to the Uefa Cup, together with the team that wins the Swedish cup.
From this season there is also a new league called the Royal League. The four best teams from Sweden, Denmark and Norway meets in group-games, and then direct meetings, to see who’s the best team in Scandinavia. That tournament started in November, played three rounds in 2004, and will kick-off again in the middle of February. The final will be played in May 2005. Swedish teams this season is Malmö FF, Halmstad BK, IFK Göteborg and Djurgården.

The swedish league

The Swedish football league is called “Allsvenskan”, and contains 14 clubs. Every season the two last teams get relegated to the second division, “Superettan”, while the two best teams from that division goes up in Allsvenskan. The third last team in Allsvenskan and the third team in Superettan, then meet in two qualification-games for another spot in Allsvenskan.

Phone: 0046-8 725 90 00

Website: http://www.svenskfotboll.se