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The Best Nordic Clubs in European Competitions

 


Only a few Nordic clubs have had the best campaign in European competitions, and one of them was under the tutelage of the late Sven-Goran Eriksson.

The departure of Sven-Goran Eriksson, one of the best Scandinavian managers in history, this week certainly marks the great loss in Nordic football. He was able to lift up the level of the Scandinavian club's reputation during his early managerial career in the 1980s, inspired by Bob Houghton, who introduced and instilled English football in the country in the 1970s.

Unfortunately, there have not been any other Nordic clubs replicating such success ever since. In fact, no more teams from Northern Europe have been able to go through the further stages in any continental competitions but one side, FC Copenhagen, in the Europa League 2020. It is very likely that such a trend would continue unless they could stun the top sides in the newly formatted Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League. It is a long shot, but there is nothing wrong with hoping for it. Here are a few Nordic clubs who have had their best campaign in history while competing on the continent.

Sweden

Malmo FF

From Sweden, the best Nordic club in European top-flight competition is undoubtedly Malmo FF. They remain the only Scandinavian team that managed to reach the European Cup, the old version of the Champions League, in 1979. Bob Houghton’s men stunned the world after thumping more established teams to progress to the final. 

They began their campaign by picking up a 1-0 win on the road over AS Monaco in the second leg after holding them in a stalemate in the reverse fixture. In the second round, Malmo eliminated Oleg Blokhin’s Dynamo Kiev 2-0 on aggregate. Kiev was the favourite to progress, as they were the UEFA Super Cup winner three years earlier after crushing Bayern Munich. 

In the quarterfinal, the Swedish side did not have any difficulty in beating Poland's Wisla Krakow 5-3 on aggregate before facing off Austria Vienna in the semifinal with another narrow 1-0 victory to secure one spot in the final. 

Unfortunately, Jan Moller and Co. could not replicate their top form while taking on Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest. They had to concede one from Trevor Francis after taking advantage of John Robertson’s cross from the left flank. Bob Houghton's men were not able to give much of a threat in the final third until the final whistle. 

The 1979 edition was the most unexpected result in European Cup final history, as neither side had ever even reached the final before. In fact, there had not been any established teams left in the competition since the quarterfinal. It is believed that it was the beginning of Munich magic. It is deemed to be the lucky site for new champions. 

That was the peak of Malmo in Europe. They have never played in the Champions League knockout stages again ever since. Let alone reach the final. Their last appearance in the UCL final stage was in the 2021/22 season. The Swedish giant’s campaign ended at the group stage by sitting at the bottom of the table below Juventus, Chelsea, and Zenit St Petersburg.

IFK Goteborg

Meanwhile, in the continental lower tier, IFK Goteborg is the king of Scandinavia. They remain the only team from Northern Europe that has won silverware on the continent, not just once but twice, in 1982 and 1987. 

They surprisingly snatched the title in the former edition under Sven-Goran Eriksson after dismantling Hamburg SV 3-0 on aggregate in the summit. Goteborg even saw off top sides along the way, such as the 1980 winner, Valencia, in the quarterfinal and Kaiserslautern in the semifinal. In the final, Torbjorn Nilsson and Co were not even favourites against Ernst Happel’s side. Yet they managed to keep clean sheets and stayed unbeaten.

In the latter edition, Goteborg was led by Eriksson’s former assistant, Gunder Bengtsson, when they clinched the second title. They managed to knock out Inter Milan on away goal rule in the quarterfinal and FC Tirol in the semifinal before meeting the unlikely opponent, Scotland’s Dundee United. 

Glen Hysen and Co. had a better advantage as they had a winning mentality as their opponent just went through their best campaign in Europe and the first ever final in the club's history. Goteborg eventually picked up a 2-1 win on aggregate to bring home the UEFA Cup trophy for the second time. Unfortunately, that was their last to date.

In the European Cup/Champions Cup, Goteborg might not have been reaching the same height as Malmo; they were the closest one to do so. The Swedish side progressed to the quarterfinals three times and the semifinals once. They reached the last four in the 1985/86 season when they almost edged out Terry Venables’ Barcelona as they clinched a 3-0 win at home in the first leg. Unfortunately, the Catalan side made a superb comeback in the reverse fixture before defeating them on penalties. 

Goteborg’s last notable campaign was in UCL 1994/95. Thomas Ravelli and Co. had to head to the exit after being eliminated from the away goal rule against the less convincing Bayern Munich in the quarterfinal. The same stage when they failed to ease past Panathinaikos and Steaua Bucharest, respectively, in the 1985 and 1989 European Cup.

Denmark

Brondby

In Denmark, the team with the best European campaign in history is Brondby. They managed to go through a quarterfinal in their continental debut back in the 1987 European Cup and reach a semifinal in the 1991 UEFA Cup. 

In the former competition, Brondby stunned their opponents by knocking out Hungarian champion Honved and East Germany’s Dynamo Berlin in the first two rounds. They only slumped to a narrow 2-1 defeat on aggregate against the eventual Champions, FC Porto. Ebbe Skovdahl’s men impressed the fans and Europe following their national team's success in the EURO 1984 semifinal and reaching the second round in the 1986 FIFA World Cup. 

In the latter edition, Brondby had more talents in the squad from PeterSchmeichel, the future star in EURO 1992 Kim Vilfort, and Nigerian international Uche Uchochukwo. Led by the former Danish captain in the 1986 World Cup, Morten Olsen, they once again shocked the world by hammering Eintracht Frankfurt 5-0 in the first round before losing 4-1 in the second leg, which was still enough to get them through. 

In the following rounds, Kim Vilfort and Co crushed Ferencvaros, Bayer Leverkusen, and Torpedo Moscow to progress to the final four. Brondby’s campaign hit the solid Italian wall of AS Roma. Morten Olsen’s man suffered a 2-1 loss on the road after holding them in a stalemate at home.

Norway

Rosenborg

Meanwhile, in Norway, two clubs can be regarded as the best ones in their continental campaign records. Rosenborg is the one that thrived in the Champions League. They were able to reach the quarterfinals in the 1996/97 season. It was the first and last time they could progress further. At that time, Nils Arne Eggen’s men finished second in the group stage below FC Porto but above AC Milan and IFK Goteborg. However, they were beaten by the reigning champions Juventus 3-1 on aggregate.

The Trondheim-based side had a number of promising talents in the squad who then became the mainstay of the Norwegian national team. The likes of Steffen Iversen, Bjorn Thorn Kvarme, Erik Hoftun, Roar Strand, Haral Bratbakk, and Vegard Heggem were eventually also named in the national team.

Brann Bergen & Bodo/Glimt

In the lower-tier competition, two teams, Brann Bergen and Bodo/Glimt, managed to reach quarterfinals in the 1997 Cup Winners Cup and the 2022 UEFA Conference League, respectively. Brann were able to see off Cercle Brugge and PSV Eindhoven at the earlier stages before suffering a heavy loss 4-1 on aggregate versus Liverpool in the round of eight.

Meanwhile, FK Bodo/Glimt did it quite recently in 2022. They finished second at the group stage despite hammering AS Roma 6-1. Yet, Kjetil Knudsen’s men defeated Celtic and AZ Alkmaar along the way but could not ease past Jose Mourinho’s Roma while they met again in the quarterfinal.

 


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