Etikett: stefan rehn

IFK Göteborg 1994-95 Champions League Adventure

MartinFootball

Year 2014 is coming to an end and for the first time in fourteen years Sweden has had a team (Malmö FF) in the group stage of UEFA Champions League. There is still a lot to do, but could this year be the start of something great or will it (perhaps more likely) take years until the next Swedish team plays in the group stage of Champions League again? I lifk-goteborg---the-roger-gustafsson-yearsike to watch and cheer for Swedish teams in Europe (I am one of those (melodramatic) fools that like all Swedish teams in Europe) and I don’t want to wait. So, until it happens again I rewinded the (Youtube) tape and took a look at the splendid IFK Göteborg (Gothenburg) team from the 1994-1995 Champions League season.

In the 1980’s and early 1990’s IFK Göteborg had very strong teams and between 1982-1993 they won the UEFA Cup twice, reached the semi finals of the European Cup/UEFA Champions League twice (if you could call the 1992/1993 season as a semi final, there were really none that season) and also reached the quarter finals twice. I remember much of this fantastic years for the club, but my absolute strongest memory were from my mid teens and the 1994-1995 season where IFK Göteborg managed to win an impossible Champions League group with Barcelona, Machester United and Galatasaray.

This was of course a great surprise, but at the same time, IFK Göteborg had seven players in the Swedish 1994 World Cup squad, including Magnus Erlingmark. A lot of credit must also be given to the manager, Roger Gustafsson.

Manchester United 4 – 2 IFK Göteborg

IFK Göteborg started with a very hard away game in Manchester. They got a dream start with a Stefan Pettersson goal after 27 minutes, and after 2-1 down they got back into the game after a Stefan Rehn (Superstar) back-heel goal. However, Man United finally got away with a 4-2 win and no-one thought that IFK Göteborg could stand a chance in the group…

IFK Göteborg 2 – 1 Barcelona

The first home game was against famous FC Barcelona and after a 2-1 win (goals from Magnus Erlingmark and Jesper Blomqvist) in Gothenborg the most optimistic supporters started to believe in something big.

IFK Göteborg 1 – 0 Galatasaray

After another Magnus Erlingmark goal, IFK Göteborg had four points in three matches (this was before a win was earned with three points) and the chances to qualify for the next round were suddenly not totally out of reach. But with two away games and a home game to Manchester United to go, few still thought that the Swedish team could stand a chance against Barcelona and Manchester United.

Galatasaray 0 – 1 IFK Göteborg

Magnus Erlingmark headed the only goal again and IFK Göteborg got a very convincing victory in a very hard away game. With two games to go they had three wins in four games and a very good opportunity to qualify for the next Champions League round. The two remaining games were tough ones though.

IFK Göteborg 3 – 1 Manchester United

IFK Göteborg 3. Manchester United 1. Wow! Jesper Blomqvist was a star in Gothenburg and Sweden before this game, but after one goal, one assist, and one created penalty he had also made a big name of himself in Europe. The IFK Göteborg supporters couldn’t choose a better game for their banner announcing that Giggs is talk Blomqvist is action!

With one game to go IFK Göteborg had not only qualified for the next round. They were already group winners before FC Barcelona, Manchester United, and Galatasaray! Read about the game here (in Swedish).

Barcelona 1 – 1 IFK Göteborg

Away to FC Barcelona, who had a lot to play for, IFK Göteborg couldn’t get anything, could they? Well, despite that they didn’t have much to play for they managed to get a 1-1 draw at Camp Nou.

Quarter Final: A very close one against Bayern Munich

The quarter final was against Bayern Munich and after 0-0 in Germany, Bayern Munich managed to reach the semi final (with the away goal rule) after 2-2 in Gothenburg.

Damallsvenskan: Bets from the opening round

MartinBetting

It has been a while since I placed bets on the blog (I haven’t placed many bets at all recently to be honest). But now (or April 13, 2014) it is time for Damallsvenskan (the first football league for women in Sweden) and I think I have found bets with decent value.

Damallsvenskan: Jitex – Umeå

emma_berglund_damallsvenskan
Emma Berglund

Jitex have done very well against former Damallsvenskan giants Umeå IK the last two seasons. However, for the 2014 season the team has been completely rebuilt and the squad consists of young players from lower league clubs. The new players are talented but probably not yet ready for the biggest scene in Sweden. At least not early in the season. Canadian international Emily Zurrer provides some class and experience, but it should not be enough.

Umeå finished fifth in the table last season and are believed to fight just below the best teams also this season. Swedish international and team captain Emma Berglund is back in the team after a heavy knee injury.

UNIBET provides the best prices for Umeå at the moment and I take two bets.

Bet 1: Jitex – Umeå: Umeå -1 (European Handicap, i.e. threeway handicap) at 1.65. 1.5 unit.

Bet 2: Jitex – Umeå: Umeå -2 (European Handicap, i.e. threeway handicap) at 2.65. 0.5 unit.

Result: 0-1, -2 units

Observe: I only place bets with one unit (good value) or two units (very good value) at stake. Hence, I see very good value in Umeå at Unibet’s prices.

Update: Bet365 opened with 1.20 for the straight Umeå win (compared to 1.11-1.15 for the other bookies).

Damallsvenskan: Kristianstad – Tyresö

The situation in Tyresö is awful and the economical situation in the club is critical. Plenty of players will leave in the summer, but so far the quality in the squad is world class and probably the best in Damallsvenskan. I can’t see them losing points to Kristianstad despite the chaotic situation and the fact that Caroline Seger and Marta seem to be injured.

Tyresö will play Birmingham in Champions League six days after the encounter to Kristianstad and this game should be a good preparation game.

Bet 3: Kristianstad – Tyresö: Tyresö win at 1.50. 0.5 unit.

Bet 4: Kristianstad – Tyresö: Tyresö -1 (European Handicap, i.e. threeway handicap) at 2.45. 0.5 unit.

Result: 2-0, -1 unit

Unibet provides the best prices also for Tyresö! I stick to one unit in total due to the situation in Tyresö.

Damallsvenskan: Vittsjö – Kopparbergs/Göteborg

stefan_rehn_1994_damallsvenskan
Stefan Rehn – Superstar!

Vittsjö have had problems with injuries during pre-season and at least Emma Sjödahl is out for long. With their thin squad they should suffer with every injury.

I think that Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC have some interesting new signings, among them Annica Sjölund, Manon Melis, and new manager Stefan Rehn.

Since the injury situation should damage Vittsjö I believe that 1.85 is good for Göteborg. Again at Unibet.

Bet 5: Vittsjö – Kopparbergs/Göteborg: Göteborg win at 1.85. 1 unit.

Result: 0-5, +0.85 units

Update: Bet365 opened with 1.91 for Kopparbergs/Göteborg!

I will try to have time to continue to follow Damallsvenskan and perhaps give bets every now and then.

Aftonbladet och TV4

MartinGnäll

Aftonbladet och TV4 verkar inte hålla sams i så mycket. Åtminstone inte om man läser hur Aftonbladet vinklar sina storys kring TV4 och deras sportbevakning.

Nu gör Aftonbladet gör en totalt ointressant omröstning där man ska betygsätta TV4:s ’EM-trupp’. Jag förstår mig verkligen inte på denna typ av omröstningar och tycker bara att det spär på idioternas chans att få tycka till. Men OM den ska göras tycker jag ändå att man borde göra någon typ av sammanställning. Som det framställs nu är det totalt omöjligt att kunna göra någon typ av jämförelse på något vettigt sätt. Det kanske kommer något imorgon men jag tycker verkligen att det borde finnas någon typ av interaktiv presentation av hur rösterna fördelas.

Återigen, jag tycker inte detta ämne är ett dugg intressant, men siffror intresserar mig ju så jag tänkte åtminstone sammanställa rösterna. Inget fancy här inte, jag har ju semester, men här har vi allt i en graf.

Fördelningen av betygen på TV4:s EM-trupp.
Fördelningen av betygen på TV4:s EM-trupp.

Snittbetyget står i parentes efter namnen på respektive person. Fördelningen av antalet röster med betyg ’ett plus’ finns längst till vänster i figuren (på x-axeln finns betyget och på y-axeln den procentuella fördelningen av betyget). Längst till höger finns antalet ’fem plus’.

Av någon anledning har alla elva personer ur ’EM-truppen’ flest ettor och alla grafer sluttar nedåt. Anna Brolin har nästan exakt lika många fyror som treor dock. Varför får Brolin så svaga betyg förresten? Jag har inte sett något utöver själva matcherna men jag tycker nästan alltid hon är bra.

Jesper Hussfelt får högst snittbetyg och han har också minst andel röster på ’ett plus’ och flest på ’fem plus’ (tillsammans med Stefan Rehn och Niklas Jarelind). Om någon av någon anledning är intresserad finns säkert något mer intressant att utläsa ur dessa grafer och det finns mycket mer att göra för den som orkar. En enkel graf som denna säger åtminstone bra mycket mer än de individuella presentationer av betygen som Aftonbladet ger.