The opponent of "Žalgiris" - risen from the shadow in the city to the top in Sweden

2023-08-09 19:03 © AFP

For the second year in a row, „Žalgiris“ meets the champions of Sweden on the international stage. This time they face a little-known team from the well-known city of Gothenburg - Geteborg BK „Häcken“.

History

Last year, the players from Žalgiris defied early predictions and confidently defeated the Swedish champions „Malmö“ - they won 1:0 at home and 2:0 away.

Before facing Malmö, „Žalgiris“ had already played twice against IFK Göteborg. In 1989, Žalgiris played their second match in UEFA competitions and faced the renowned „IFK Göteborg“. After a victory in Vilnius with a score of 2:0 (both goals scored by R. Fridrikas, with about 15,000 spectators in the stands), they lost to the opponents with a minimal score of 0:1 away but advanced to the next stage.

The second attempt was not as successful - in 2003, in the UEFA Intertoto Cup, they drew 1:1 at home against „Örgryte IS“, and lost 0:3 away to Geteborg. The match in Vilnius was marked by an unusual situation - an assistant referee from Portugal experienced an epileptic seizure and was replaced on the line by Lithuanian E. Vencius. The game took place in the daytime (at 17:00) and stood out for the very small number of spectators (only 200).

From the city of Gothenburg

„IFK Göteborg“ - the second most successful team in the country, while „Örgryte IS“ - the oldest existing Swedish football club (founded in 1887). The city also has the GAIS team, which has deep-rooted traditions (founded in 1894).

Such a long history cannot be boasted by „Häcken“, which started its existence in 1940. Interestingly, the club's name comes from the Swedish word for „hedge“, which surrounded the football field. The natural connections do not end here - the team's official fan club is called Getingarna - in Lithuanian "wasps".

For a long time, the club was not known for its achievements in professional football: it first broke through to the elite division in 1982, but for many years, it traveled between the top division and the second league.

Internationally, „Häcken“ is better known for organizing the „Gothia Cup“, which is considered the world's largest youth football tournament and attracts around one and a half thousand teams from various parts of the world, including Lithuania. These competitions are one of the club's major sources of income, funded by Swedish state institutions.

„Häcken“ is not known for nurturing talents domestically, but it does have one prominent player - defender Kim Källström, who has played 131 matches for the Swedish national team.

Rise

„Häcken“ made its debut in the professional international arena only in 2007, and on this occasion and in 2011, they had this opportunity not because of achievements on the field, but because of the Fair Play ranking - for a while, UEFA awarded an additional place in UEFA competitions to the top three countries in the Fair Play ranking.

At the same time, the „Häcken“ club began to play more steadily since 2009 and has not dropped down since. In 2012, they managed to become vice-champions for the first time, and in 2016 and 2019 - to win the country's cup.

After a disappointing start to the 2021 season, the former coach of the Norwegian men's and women's national teams and the „Rosenborg“ club, Per-Mathias Høgmo, took over the team. One of his most noteworthy achievements was winning an Olympic gold medal with the women's national team in 2000.

In his first season with „Häcken“, he did not achieve much - the team finished 12th in the championship, and in Europe they could not match the „Aberdeen“ club (interestingly, the winner of the pair of „Žalgiris“ and „Hacken“ matches will play on) - they lost 1:5 away and only managed to win 2:0 at home.

Although „Häcken“ had only the fifth largest budget in Sweden last year (about 22 million euros) and lagged behind the three Stockholm clubs and the clear economic leader „Malmö“, the Gothenburg team rose to the top in the 2022 season and became the country's champion.