The tiny village club of Mjallby AIF on Monday won the top tier Swedish soccer league with a 2-0 away win at IFK Gothenburg, sealing the title with three rounds of matches remaining.
Jacob Bergstrom and Tom Pettersson scored the goals in Mjallby’s 20th win in 27 league games.
Mjallby has a population of fewer than 1,400 people and plays in an outdated 6,000-seat stadium with stands weathered by the winds of the Baltic Sea.
Photo: EPA
“It’s a huge relief to experience this now, a relief with three games to go,” said Anders Torstensson, a former army officer and secondary-school teacher who coaches the team.
Mjallby have 66 points while second-placed Hammarby have 55 with only nine points still available.
“I never thought something like this would happen in my life, I’m so happy to be part of this group, we showed that a collective can go incredibly far,” opening scorer Bergstrom said.
Mjallby have been chaired for 10 years by local industrialist Magnus Emeus, who has stabilized their finances.
“I had a fairly clear strategy from the start. You can never succeed on the field as long as there’s disorder off it, and the first thing to do is ensure the finances are balanced,” Emeus said last week.
Last year, they had a budget of 84.7 million kronor (US$8.99 million), about one-eighth of that of Sweden’s richest club, Malmo, who are currently fourth and have won four of the past five titles.
Mjallby will be playing in the UEFA Champions League qualifiers next season.
Unfortunately, it will not be at their home ground in Hallevik, as their stadium does not meet UEFA safety standards.
“A reasonable goal would be to succeed in the qualifiers” to reach the league stage, head coach Torstensson said.
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