Dark clouds gather at IFK

By Svend Frandsen

IFK Göteborg coach Stefan Lundin stepped down today after the bitter disappointment of defeat by Moldova's FC Zimbru Chisinau in the UEFA Cup the previous night. It was yet another sign of the hard times that have descended on a club which was a leading light of the European football scene in the 1980s and early 90s.

Harsh reality
Failing to qualify for a tournament that they won in 1982 and 1987 illustrates that IFK today are a pale shadow of the side who sensationally rose to stardom back in 1982, when they were still effectively amateurs.

Eriksson magic
With the players in the 1982 squad either still in full-time education or working in part-time positions outside football, a still fairly inexperienced coach, Sven-Göran Eriksson, inspired them to capture the prestigious trophy through a spectacular display of counter-attacking football against Hamburger SV.

Class act
The fact that IFK repeated their success in 1987 against Dundee United FC was perhaps an even bigger achievement especially since after the triumph of 1982, IFK lost no less than 15 players including Torbjörn Nilsson, Glenn Strömberg and Glenn Hysén plus Eriksson who went on to coach SL Benfica, S.S. Lazio and subsequently England.

Firmly established
However, under the guidance of Gunnar Bengtsson and Björn Westerberg IFK continued to progress and with a new squad the club once again shocked Europe and firmly established themselves as a top-class act in European football.

The place to be
By this time, IFK had become a Mecca for Swedish footballers. In Sweden, if you wanted to make it as a professional footballer you joined IFK. With the best players in the country queuing up to join the club, IFK were able to prolong their stay in the football elite and in 1994 the club managed to reach the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League after securing wins against football giants like Manchester United FC, Galatasaray SK and Milan AC.

Youth policy
IFK's success was founded on the strength of their youth policy and their ability to regularly develop exciting young players. However, when the club had to settle for the runner’s up spot in the Swedish Allsvenskan in 1997, the club's management brought in a high-quality players from elsewhere - a move which according to many observers fatally compromised the team spirit that had been the hallmark of IFK's golden age.

Disastrous spell

Huge losses
The failure to achieve any successes on the pitch began to show in the club's bank account. With administrative costs and high wages continuing to rise, between 1994 and 2002 the club reported a loss of €10m.

Stockholm takes over
With bankruptcy looming at IFK's famous Kamratgården clubhouse and players having to settle for lower wages, Stockholm - read AIK Solna, Hammarby and Djurgårdens IF - took over from Gothenburg as Swedish football's capital city.

Faded glamour
With the glamour of the club fading, players were no longer eager to join IFK and a clear indication of the new trend came when one of Sweden's brightest talents Kim Källström left Gothenburg club BK Häcken to join Djurgårdens before the start of this season - in the golden age, a move to IFK would have been inevitable.

Disaster looming
On the domestic scene, the club is slowly sliding towards the relegation zone and without money to spend on quality players, the current season might just end in disaster for the one-time giants. With no hope of European success to take a chunk out of their debts, IFK fans could be forgiven for thinking they were better off before they became a professional side.