Ã…tvidabergs FF
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Åtvidabergs Fotbollförening, also known simply as Åtvidabergs FF, Åtvidaberg, Åtvid or (especially locally) ÅFF, is a Swedish professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
club based in
Åtvidaberg Åtvidaberg is a locality and the seat of Åtvidaberg Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden with 6,859 inhabitants in 2010. History Copper was mined in the area from the 14th century, and the name "Åtvidaberg" was originally the name o ...
. The club is affiliated with
Östergötlands Fotbollförbund The Östergötlands Fotbollförbund ''(Östergötland Football Association)'' is one of the 24 district organisations of the Swedish Football Association. It administers lower tier football in Östergötland County. Background Östergötlands ...
and plays their home games at
Kopparvallen Kopparvallen is a multi-use stadium in Ã…tvidaberg Municipality, Ã…tvidaberg, Sweden. It is used mostly for football (soccer), football matches and is the home stadium of Ã…tvidabergs FF. The stadium holds 8,100 people and was built in 1907. Fa ...
. The club colours, reflected in their crest and kit, are blue and white. Formed on 1 July 1907 as Ã…tvidabergs IF, the club was most successful during the 1970s when they won two
national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...
titles and two
national cup The English National Cup is an annual basketball knock-out competition held between professional, semi-professional and amateur teams from the various divisions of the National Basketball League (England), National Basketball League. For most of th ...
titles. With a population of around 7,000, Ã…tvidaberg is the smallest town ever to bring home a Swedish league title. They currently play in Division 2, where the season lasts from April to November.


History


Initial rise through the divisions

During the 1920s, the small town club Ã…tvidabergs IF played in the fifth tier of Swedish football. However, local businessman Elof Ericsson was determined to change this. He became chairman of the board and took the initiative of separating the different sections of the multisport club, thus forming a new club, Ã…tvidabergs FF, out of the football section. Through his company
Facit Facit (''Facit AB'') was an industrial corporation and manufacturer of office products including furniture. It was based in Ã…tvidaberg, Sweden, and founded in 1922 as ''AB Ã…tvidabergs Industrier''. Facit AB, a manufacturer of mechanical calcu ...
, which employed a large portion of the small
Åtvidaberg Åtvidaberg is a locality and the seat of Åtvidaberg Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden with 6,859 inhabitants in 2010. History Copper was mined in the area from the 14th century, and the name "Åtvidaberg" was originally the name o ...
population, he was also able to increase the funding for the team. Ã…tvidaberg became early forerunners with their strategy to scout players nationally instead of just locally. Since all players in Sweden at the time were amateurs, their ability to offer new signings a good job at the Facit factory made them an attractive club to play for. This, together with the hiring of foreign coaches like
Kálmán Konrád Kálmán Konrád (23 May 1896 – 10 May 1980) was one of the best footballers in the Kingdom of Hungary in the 1910s. An inside right, he played on the Hungary national team with his brother, Jenő Konrád. Kálmán, who later played for Austri ...
, helped the club move up through the divisions, establishing them in the second tier and playing one year in
Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; ), also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan (, ) is a professional association football league in Sweden and the highest level of the Swedish football league system. Founded in 1924, it operates on a system of promotion and relegatio ...
.


The peak of Ã…tvidaberg's success

The years that followed would prove to be Ã…tvidabergs FF's most successful ever. During this period, they recruited players like
Ralf Edström Ralf Sigvard Edström (born 7 October 1952) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as Sweden's best player in the 1970s, he started off his career with Degerfors IF in the late 1960s and went on ...
,
Roland Sandberg Ernst Roland Sandberg (born 16 December 1946) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a striker. Starting off his career with Kalmar FF in 1966, he went on to represent Åtvidabergs FF, 1. FC Kaiserslautern, and BK Häcken bef ...
and
Conny Torstensson Jan Conny Torstensson (born 28 August 1949) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder or forward. He represented Åtvidabergs FF, Bayern Munich, and FC Zürich during a career that spanned between 1967 and 1980. A f ...
. In 1967, they were promoted to Allsvenskan and five years later they won the league for the first time ever and repeated the year after in 1973. Ironically, this
golden age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during wh ...
came at exactly the same time as the Facit company, which had enabled the success, struggled greatly and eventually was sold off to
Electrolux Electrolux AB () is a Swedish Multinational corporation, multinational home appliance manufacturer, headquartered in Stockholm. It is consistently ranked the world's second largest appliance maker by units sold, after Whirlpool Corporation, Whi ...
.


New millennium revival

After struggling greatly in the 1990s and falling as low as the fourth tier with attendance numbers in the hundreds, Ã…tvidaberg had managed to climb back up to the second tier again by the start of the new millennium. In an effort to further strengthen their organization and finances, the club started a cooperation with reigning champions
Djurgårdens IF Djurgårdens Idrottsförening, commonly known simply as Djurgårdens IF, Djurgården (), and (especially locally) Djurgår'n (), Dif or DIF – is a Swedish sports association with several sections, located in Stockholm. Djurgårdens IF is an s ...
in 2003. The deal also included a loan of several Djurgården players to Åtvidaberg. In 2005, the Djurgården chairman said that the team should move to the nearby city of
Linköping Linköping ( , ) is a city in southern Sweden, with around 167,000 inhabitants as of 2024. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. Linköping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linköping (Chu ...
, that did not have a club in the higher divisions. The proposal was met by a negative reaction from the Ã…tvidaberg supporters. The cooperation finally collapsed in 2006 when
Åtvidaberg Municipality Åtvidaberg Municipality () is a municipality in Östergötland County in southeastern Sweden. Its seat is located in the town of Åtvidaberg, with some 7,000 inhabitants. The present municipality was established in 1971 when the market town ('' ...
refused to cover any potential economic losses for Djurgården. In the following years, Åtvidaberg finished in the top half of the
Superettan Superettan (; ) is an association football league and the second highest league in the Swedish football league system, league system of Swedish football, Swedish men's football. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and rel ...
table and finally in 2009 they were promoted back to Allsvenskan for the first time since 1982. They were relegated again but bounced back immediately and achieved an eighth-place finish in the
2012 Allsvenskan The 2012 Allsvenskan, part of the 2012 Swedish football season, was the 88th season of Allsvenskan since its establishment in 1924. The 2012 fixtures were released on 12 December 2011. The season started on 31 March 2012 and ended on 4 November 2 ...
. During the upcoming seasons, Ã…tvidaberg finished mid-table in the top tier with the help of the three key players that long had stayed faithful with the club: goalkeeper
Henrik Gustavsson Lars Henrik Gustavsson (born 21 October 1976) is a Swedish former footballer who played as a goalkeeper, most notably for Åtvidabergs FF Åtvidabergs Fotbollförening, also known simply as Åtvidabergs FF, Åtvidaberg, Åtvid or (especially ...
(that made 487 league appearances between 1997 and 2015), central defender
Daniel Hallingström Daniel Christian Hallingström (born 10 February 1981) is a former Swedish footballer and manager. He spent the most of his career at Åtvidabergs FF Åtvidabergs Fotbollförening, also known simply as Åtvidabergs FF, Åtvidaberg, Åtvid or ...
(350 appearances and 29 goals between 1999–2000 and 2002–2015) and midfielder
Kristian Bergström Dan Göran Kristian Bergström (born 8 January 1974) is a Swedish former footballer. He played for Åtvidabergs FF during the more part of his career. He won two caps for the Sweden national team in 2001. On 1 November 2014, Bergström became ...
(489 appearances and 118 goals between 1992–1997 and 2004–2015). All three players retired after the 2015 season, as Åtvidaberg finished 16th and last in Allsvenskan and got relegated back to Superettan. Two years later, in 2017, the club got relegated from Superettan to the third tier, Division 1.


Players


First-team squad


Youth players in use


Management


Technical staff

''As of 1 July 2023''Truppen
‚ atvidabergsff.se, 13 January 2018


Achievements

* Swedish Champions ** Winners (2):
1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...
, 1973


League

*
Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; ), also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan (, ) is a professional association football league in Sweden and the highest level of the Swedish football league system. Founded in 1924, it operates on a system of promotion and relegatio ...
: ** Winners (2):
1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...
,
1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...
** Runners-up (2):
1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...
,
1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...
*
Superettan Superettan (; ) is an association football league and the second highest league in the Swedish football league system, league system of Swedish football, Swedish men's football. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and rel ...
: ** Winners (1):
2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
** Runners-up (1):
2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...


Cups

*
Svenska Cupen Svenska cupen (, ), also known as the Swedish Cup in English, is a knockout cup competition in Swedish football and the main Swedish football cup. ''Svenska cupen'' usually refers to the men's tournament, although a women's tournament is also ...
: ** Winners (2): 1969–70, 1970–71 ** Runners-up (4):
1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...
, 1972–73, 1978–79,
2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...


Managers

*
Kálmán Konrád Kálmán Konrád (23 May 1896 – 10 May 1980) was one of the best footballers in the Kingdom of Hungary in the 1910s. An inside right, he played on the Hungary national team with his brother, Jenő Konrád. Kálmán, who later played for Austri ...
(1942–1947) * Erik Almgren (1948) * József Nagy (1948–1952) * George Raynor (1952–1954) *
Karl Durspekt Karl Franz Durspekt (23 November 1913 in Vienna, Austria – 14 February 1978 in Vienna, Austria) was an Austrian football player and manager. As the son of an engine driver, Durspekt worked as a type setter at first. Later he became a professio ...
(1956–1957) *
Antonio Durán Antonio Durán (19 August 1924 – 11 January 2009) was a Spanish footballer and manager. He is most notable for managing Malmö FF, being the club's most successful manager in terms of championships. Honours Player Atlético Madrid *La Liga ( ...
(1960–1963) * Bengt Gustavsson (1966–1970) *
Sven-Agne Larsson Sven-Agne Larsson (6 October 1925 – 5 January 2006) was a Swedish football player and manager who played as a midfielder. References

1925 births 2006 deaths 20th-century Swedish sportsmen Swedish men's footballers Men's associa ...
(1971–1972) * Ottó Dombos (1973–1974) * Ingvar Svensson (1977–1979) * Björn Westerberg (Jan 1979 â€“ Dec 1982) * Bo-Leine Larsson *
Conny Torstensson Jan Conny Torstensson (born 28 August 1949) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder or forward. He represented Åtvidabergs FF, Bayern Munich, and FC Zürich during a career that spanned between 1967 and 1980. A f ...
(1986) * Håkan Stenbäck (1989) * Mats "Tott" Karlsson (1997 – 1999) *
Jörgen Augustsson Jörgen Augustsson (born 28 October 1952) is a Swedish former footballer who played as a defender. Augustsson played for Åtvidabergs FF and Landskrona BoIS in Allsvenskan during his career. He was also capped 18 times for the Sweden national ...
(2000) *
Steve Creutz Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen. Notable people A–D * Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people * Steve Abel (born 1970), New Zealand politician * Steve Adams (disambiguation), se ...
& Hans "Lerdala" Andersson (2000–2003) *
Kent Karlsson Kent Karlsson (born 25 November 1945) is a Swedish football coach and former player. He was capped 38 times for the national team and played at the 1974 FIFA World Cup. As a manager, he has managed Swedish, Danish and Norwegian clubs such as IF ...
(2004 – 2006) * Peter Swärdh (2007 – 2008) * Daniel Wiklund (2009) * Andreas Thomsson (2010 – 2012) * Peter Swärdh (2013 – 2014) *
Roar Hansen Roar Hansen (born 28 February 1966) is a Swedish football manager in charge of Ängelholms FF in the Swedish Division 2. After a short playing career in the lower divisions he spent 18 years combining work at a factory with coaching various sma ...
(2015 – 2017) * Andreas Thomsson (2017) *
Daniel Hallingström Daniel Christian Hallingström (born 10 February 1981) is a former Swedish footballer and manager. He spent the most of his career at Åtvidabergs FF Åtvidabergs Fotbollförening, also known simply as Åtvidabergs FF, Åtvidaberg, Åtvid or ...
& Pontus Hydén (2018) * Rickard Johansson (2018 – 2019) * Tor-Arne Fredheim (2019) * Jesper Ny (2019 – 2021) * Rickard Larsén (2022) * Jan Stahre (2022) * Anders Bååth (2023 – present)


Footnotes


Notes


External links

*
Kopparslagarna
nbsp;– official supporter club site {{DEFAULTSORT:Atvidabergs FF Football clubs in Östergötland County Allsvenskan clubs Association football clubs established in 1907 1907 establishments in Sweden Svenska Cupen winners Åtvidaberg Municipality 20th-century establishments in Östergötland County