Qarabag will face Elfsborg, a club with a rich 120-year history, in the Europa League league phase. Idman.biz takes a look at the path that the Swedish club has taken to reach this stage.
Football fans in Azerbaijan may remember Elfsborg from 10 years ago when they faced Inter Baku in the second qualifying round of the Europa League. After a 1:0 away win for both teams, the match went to penalties in the return leg, where Elfsborg triumphed 4:3, advancing to the next round.
Elfsborg has won the Swedish Allsvenskan title six times: three times in the 1930s (1935/36, 1938/39, 1939/40), once in 1961, and twice in the 21st century (2006 and 2012). Last year, they finished second in the league with 64 points, just behind Malmö. This season, the team ended in 7th place with 45 points, after a series of defeats followed by recent victories over Västerås and a draw with Värnamo.
The team has played 562 matches in the top division, with 264 wins, 156 draws, and 142 losses. Their goal difference is 925–670.
Elfsborg has also won the Swedish Cup three times (2000/2001, 2003, 2013/2014) and the Super Cup once (2007).
In European competitions, Elfsborg has played 111 matches, securing 49 wins, 23 draws, and 39 losses, with a goal difference of 181–146. This means that in their upcoming match with Qarabag, Elfsborg will either secure their 50th win in European competitions or face their 40th defeat.
In the Europa League, Elfsborg has played 57 matches, recording 28 wins, 11 draws, and 18 losses with a goal difference of 92–58. Their best performances came in the 2013/2014 season when they reached the group stage, and now they are participating again.
Last season, Elfsborg missed out on European competitions, but this season they have impressed by eliminating Pafos from Cyprus (3:0, 5:2), Sheriff Tiraspol from Moldova (1:0, 2:0), and Rijeka from Croatia (1:1, 2:0) in the qualification rounds. In the playoffs, they triumphed over Molde from Norway through a penalty shootout (1:0, 0:1, pen. 4:2), securing a spot in the group stage.
In the group stage, Elfsborg started with a 2:3 loss to AZ Alkmaar in the Netherlands, but then shocked Roma with a 1:0 win at home. After a 3:4 loss to Galatasaray in Istanbul, they drew 1:1 with Braga in their own stadium. In the final round, they were defeated 3:0 by Athletic Bilbao in Spain. Elfsborg is currently ranked 28th in the standings, just 4 points ahead of Qarabag.
Vugar Mammadov
Idman.biz
