1981/82: Eriksson plots Göteborg success
Tuesday 1 June 1982
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IFK Göteborg (Logo) (©uefa.com)
European glory remained outside the compass of Swedish clubs until 1982, when IFK Göteborg came along. Then, led by coach Sven-Göran Eriksson, the Gothenburg side went all the way to the final, defying the traditional hurdle of the Scandinavian winter break. Of course, Göteborg had also had to negotiate tough opponents in SK Sturm Graz, FC Dinamo Bucuresti, Valencia CF and 1. FC Kaiserslautern. Even so, few gave them much of a chance against West Germany's champions-elect, Hamburger SV.
Hamburg mission
Runners-up in the European Champion Clubs' Cup two years before, Ernst Happel's team looked set to make amends when they thrashed FK Radnicki Niš 5-1 in their semi-final second leg, 6-3 on aggregate. No mean feat this: the Yugoslavian side had knocked out a lively Dundee United FC in the last eight. But they went the way of FC Utrecht, FC Girondins de Bordeaux, Aberdeen FC and Neuchâtel Xamax FC - while Hamburg, with the veteran Franz Beckenbauer in tow, progressed.
Famous treble
Not processed, however. Göteborg saw to that by winning the final first leg at the Ullevi 1-0 with a late goal from Tord Holmgren. Hamburg's cavalier style was at a still greater discount in the return, when they were swept aside 3-0 by the counterattacking Swedes. So it was that Göteborg captured a famous treble of Allsvenskan, Swedish Cup and UEFA Cup.
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