IF Elfsborg

The shirts remained long without a major sponsor, which would obviously affect the economy. When IFE harrowed in Division 1 South in the early 1990s, Olle Blomqvist CEO of Ellos went in with large sums of money and saved the association by becoming the major sponsor. This was not necessarily because he is particularly interested in football, but because he knew the importance Elfsborg had to Borås and Sjuhärad. Ellos became such a strong sponsor that people jokingly began to Christen the team "Ellos" due to its presence on their shirts.[22] In 2010, a survey showed that Elfsborg was second best team in Allsvenskan to acquire sponsorship money and to establish and maintain contact with their sponsor.[23] The same year, Elfsborg broke a record in local sponsorships around Sjuhärad when its sponsor money increased from 28 to 33 million SEK.[24]

It was not until recently that they signed a contract with major sportbrands. Elfsborg have significantly signed a contract with Umbro up to this date to use their collection of both soccer shoes and clothes. So strong was Umbro's sponsorship, that a section of Borås Arena became "umbrocorner". In earlier years, teams always sewed their own shirts, but with a contract from a major label, new shirts get released into the market each year– which is an economical advantage.[25]

One of the first homegrounds to Elfsborg was a small pitch of grass in Folkparken (Ramnaparken today). However Elfsborg noticed quickly that it required more space to be on, both for training and matches. They went to Fristad and Fristads hed where they practiced and played, due to the more space. Next ground that was in Borås was Apotekarnas Mosse who would later become today's Ramnavallen.[18]

Ramnavallen was completed in 1922 and then got Elfsborg finally run out on his long-awaited stadium, Ramnavallen. At its time, this was a very modern stadium even though it initially took only 2.700 spectators. Borås Tidning was lyrical about the contribution and described the stadium as impressive from the provincial point of view and because it had high international standards. Elfsborg first Allsvenskan league match on Ramnavallen was played in 1926 and guests were Örgryte IS. 3887 spectators came and saw Evert Lundqvist make the only goal for the guests. The next season became the first yellow and black premiere triumph on the new stadium. AIK came to Ramnavallen and were defeated with 2–1.[26]

Elfsborg kept ramnavallen as a homeground until 1941 and during this time won three league titles. Attendance record of ramnavallen was against AIK 7 June 1936, the end game before the league gold, 16.348 spectators came to see Elfsborg win their first league title in history.[27]

Play order for the FIFA World Cup 1958, Borås and Ryavallen are number 22.[28]

Ryavallen was completed in 1941 and became first of all the new homeground of IF Elfsborg. But it was also Borås first major sports stadium, where the usual track and field could be exercised. Hence the athletics track along the pitch. Before one grandstand was demolished in 2005 the capacity was 19.400, to today's approximately 7,000. The old Ryavallen in Borås will get a facelift in 2012. Prior to Swedish Athletics Championship 2013, the current six running tracks widened to eight, and both seat grandstand and the earthworks plan is stripped to make room. The old legendary dikes on Ryavallen gets a proper scratch when Ryavallen upgraded for 13 million SEK. After the renovation, Ryavallen will not be approved to play football on by Swedish Football Association nor UEFA, it will in the future only be used for the purpose of athletics.[29][30]

At one point came ryavallen to be used for a championship. During the 1958 FIFA World Cup, it hosted the matches between USSR and Austria, and between England and Austria. The Soviet Union won their match against Austria with 2–0, and England had a draw against Austria, 2–2. A championship where Sweden came as a surprise to the finals where they faced Brazil. It ended with a 5–2 loss, but an honorable second place which is the best Sweden performed in a World Cup.[31]

Youth team of IF Elfsborg, standing in front of Ryavallen during early 60s.

The most memorable event in Ryavallen was the gold game against Örgryte IS – 1961. Elfsborg faced Örgryte on Ryavallen and plays 1–1. When the final whistle sounded, it was clear that Elfsborg as first team come up from Division 2 and immediately won Allsvenskan gold. This made them historic. This was the fourth league gold for Elfsborg. Another very memorable moment of the more terrible degree was when the grandstand collapsed against IFK Göteborg – 1979. The reason was because of the high spectator pressure (19,170) the grandstand collapsed and 10 people had to get to hospital. A memorable moment of the weirder degree was an own goal by Husqvarna IF in the final minutes – 1958. Elfsborg played against Husqvarna IF and it is 0–1 with ten minutes left. A Husqvarna player receives the ball just outside his own penalty area. He then shoots, hard and accurate an untakeable shot into his own goal. No one understands why, and the match ends 1–1. In the newspaper the day after he explains that he was so tired that he did not know which side of the pitch he had found himself.[32]

25 October 2004 would be a historic game before kickoff. Elfsborg met Hammarby and that was the last game ever at Ryavallen. The arena had become too old after 63 years of service. In 2005 Elfsborg moved to its new modern arena, Borås Arena, and ryavallen was converted completely to only fit for athletics. Even so, did Ryavallen reach the highest attendance record in history of Elfsborg, IF Elfsborg – IFK Norrkoping – 1961. Record Audience 21,854 in this historic match. Elfsborg won the match with 3–0. After Ryavallen inaugurated in 1941 by Crown Prince Gustav Adolf V[33] and Elfsborg struck as the only Allsvenskan team in the history Sweden national football team in the inaugural match by 2–1. That also completed a 63-year history in the last match against Hammarby with a win.[34]

Ålgårdsläktaren, in a derby against IFK Göteborg.

Borås Arena is a football stadium in Borås, Sweden. It is the home ground of IF Elfsborg and Norrby IF and was opened on 17 April 2005. Borås Arena has an artificial turf pitch, and was changed to the most modern synthetic turf on the market during the UEFA Euro 2012[35] at a cost of £500 000. The capacity of the arena is 14,500–17,800 depending on usage, 14,800 is mostly the capacity during international matches, because Uefa would not approve the installation of seats on the standing because of fire risk which means a lower capacity is needed to be approved by Uefa. Borås Arena is located next to Elfsborgs old homeground Ryavallen, both of the stadiums are built together at the roofs, which means that the new stadium is still attached to the old historical Ryavallen.[36]

The first construction started on 31 December 2003 and was inaugurated 17 April 2005 at a cost of 1,120 000 £. Which was very cheap at this time considering to be Sweden's most modern stadium at that time. It was an effort by Borås Municipality that went out as a lender to Elfsborg. A necessary investment for the club and the city, Elfsborg would own their own stadium by the company Borås Arena AB and would receive all revenues without any intermediaries from matches. Borås Arena didn't only open a new era for IF Elfsborg but also for other clubs in Allsvenskan, Elfsborg was the first club to build a new arena owned by their own investment company. Many other clubs have built new arenas copying the model Elfsborg set up, trying to own their arena which gives big economic resources. Borås Arena consists of four main grandstands; Knallelandsläktaren, Ålgårdsläktaren, Sjuhäradsläktaren and Elfsborgsläktaren.[37]

Ålgårdsläktaren, in a Tifo arrangement.

The first game at Borås Arena was between IF Elfsborg vs Örgryte IS on 17 April 2005 in the top Swedish league, Allsvenskan. The game ended in a 1–0 victory for Elfsborg, Daniel Mobaeck scoring the only and first goal in history on Borås Arena. The current record attendance is 17,070 and was set 4 July 2005 in a game between IF Elfsborg and Kalmar FF which marked the return of both Anders Svensson and Mathias Svensson. Anders Svensson also became the first on Borås Arena to score a hat-trick in the derby against rivals IFK Göteborg, Elfsborg won with Anders 3 goals, 3–1. The highest attendance on an international tournament was during the Champions League play-off against Valencia CF where 13,148 spectators came to see Elfsborg deal with the Spaniards. Elfsborg lost with 2–1, after a goal by Daniel Alexandersson.[38]

The stadium was originally scheduled to be a tournament site for the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, but a sponsorship conflict with Max fast food chain's location at the stadium and official UEFA sponsor McDonald's, plus a contractual requirement for official sponsors to have a monopoly over the stadium's area, and a refusal to close the restaurant led to it losing its status as a site for the tournament. A strange conflict that led to Elfsborg and Borås Arena lost the championship as an arranger.[39]

2006[40] was the highlight in Borås Arenas young history. The year when Elfsborg received dividends on their great effort by salvaging the club's 5th SM-Gold. An explicit goal from the club was to win SM-Gold by 2007 and this was accomplished a year in advance, 5 November 2006. The association was strengthened at all levels for a couple of years, not least organizationally and financially, with new sports director "Mr. Elfsborg" Stefan Andreasson, President-elect Bosse "Bank" Johansson and two billionaires as external funders. The new highly skilled (and young) manager couple Magnus Haglund and Peter Wettergren, who was employed before the 2004 season, was also of course in the club's big bet. The following year (2005) was also "Elfsborg Fortress", Borås Arena, completed while enlisted old heroes in the form of Anders and Mathias Svensson came back. Memorable matches this season on Borås Arena was at home the victory against Malmö FF (4–2), which many described as the best in the season and where Anders Svensson made the team's single best effort during the season. Another memorable match was the last and crucial one. Gold match at a packed Borås Arena against Djurgårdens IF where Joakim Sjöhage became gold shooter with the only goal which meant that over 40 years of waiting was over for the Elfsborgs fans.[41][42]

1991[46] underwent IF Elfsborg the club's probably heaviest period ever, the economy and the results weighted during the period in Söderettan. 21 November 1991, however, formed a collection of young men, a supporter compound that would become a familiar concept not only in Borås, but throughout Sweden: Guliganerna. Despite continued play in Söderettan and low public interest in all of Sweden the supporter group, Guliganerna, continued to grow. 1990s guliganer became not known for their quantity but for their faithfulness, to always be there wherever IF Elfsborg played.[47] After the fan bus arrived late for an away game at some point in the mid-1990s, the players looked nervous on the stand and was worried that something happened, after this incident the players had the supporters promise to not be late for the games so as not to disturb the players focus.[48]

IF Elfsborg supporters Guliganerna, founded 1991, arranging a tifo.

In 1997, was IF Elfsborg back in the top tier of Swedish football and that also meant an upturn for Guliganerna, in −97 was the first Elfsborg Tifo group founded, TGD (Tifosi Guligan Divisione),[49] who had a few tifos before the members quit for various reasons in 1999, mainly because they had no financial backing. Year 2000 became the starting year of the great generation change that occurred in Elfsborgs supporterlines until now, a group of young boys founded the current tifo group, GTS (Guligan Tifo Support),[50] and a more youthful profile became clear among Elfsborgs supporter sections.

2006 was 45-years of waiting over. The club had won national championship which also meant an increased interest around Elfsborg. In 2011 Guliganerna had their 20th anniversary celebrated, the tribute was made in connection with the game against Kalmar FF, the players wore specially made anniversary T-shirts and GTS arranged the most expensive tifo ever in the history of the club.[51] Guliganerna also broke during the same year, a new member record of 1155 people, making Guliganerna Sweden fifth largest fan base in the 2011.[52]

Elfsborgs main antagonist and rivalry is pointed against IFK Göteborg and has been so since all the way back in the 1920s. The geographical position between the cities makes it Elfsborgs only and closest derby also called "El Västico",[53] which also reflects the attendance figures since it is almost always sold out in these games. Guliganerna and Peking Fanz (supporters of IFK Norrköping) however has a completely own history among Swedish supporters, a history that stands as a thorn in the eyes of other supporter organizations in Sweden. This friendship is based on that Guliganerna in the 1990s invited visiting supporters before the match, Peking Fanz invited back several times and the friendship was born.[54] Since this friendship was born, both supporter bases now often follow each other's games, which makes Guliganerna and Peking Fanz unique. Especially between Elfsborgs only ultras group Yellow Fanatics, there are strong links with the IFK Norrköping, Peking ultras.[55]

Henry Larsson scored eight goals for IF Elfsborg in their European debut in the 1961 Intertoto Cup.[56]

Elfsborgs advancement in European football began in 1961 after winning national championship the same year they qualified to the current UEFA Intertoto Cup.[57] Elfsborg first resistance ever in a European Cup was against the German SC Tasmania 1900 Berlin, which they won with 2–3 away and the stunning 5–2 at home. The second match was against the classic Swiss team FC Basel, which began with a 1–2 loss at home but Elfsborg gathered forces and won in the returning game with 3–6 after a hat-trick by the fantastic player Henry Larsson. The last and final match was against the difficult beaten Sparta Rotterdam who hade before meeting with Elfsborg not lost a single game, the Dutch proved to be too difficult, it ended in a 2–5 loss at home and 4–3 away loss.[58] But despite the loss Elfsborg ended as runners-up being the second team in the group and the tournament's big winner was Henry Larsson with his 8 goals and Lars Råberg with 6 his goals.[59] Five years later, in 1966,[60] continued Elfsborg adventures in Europe and the UEFA Intertoto Cup. The first opponent stood the German Borussia Neunkirchen for, a match which Elfsborg won both home and away with a total of 4–1. The second match against VSS Kosice became a very different story, they lost 3–0 away and then crushed the opponents with 6–0 at home, after a hat-trick by Roger Carlsson. In the final group stage match against leaders Vorwärts Berlin was lost with 2–0 in both matches which meant that Elfsborg finally ended as third in the group.[60]

IF Elfsborg lost against Hertha Berlin in the Uefa Cup 1972, at the historic Olympic Stadium.[61]

Also the following year 1967[62] played Elfsborg in the UEFA Intertoto Cup where they in the first group stage match met the germans Werder Bremen. The first match ended in a 4–1 loss away, but the second game ended with a draw 2–2 at home. In the second game stood the Polish team Polonia Bytom for, where Elfsborg lost in both matches. But in the last match against the Swiss Grasshopper Club Zürich Elfsborg would take a memorable scalp, when they beat them at home with 5–2 after a hat-trick by Lars Heinemann. The return ended in a 3–1 loss and Elfsborg finished again in third place in the group.[62] 1971[63] was a bad year out in Europe for Elfsborg, they met the teams Stal Mielec, Tatran Presov and Vejle BK. They lost every game except against the Danish Vejle BK where they won both games with a total of 8–0, and once again Elfsborg ended as third in their group.[63] The year after 1972[64] played Elfsborg in the UEFA Cup for the first time against the classic German champions Hertha Berlin in the first round, they lost with 3–1 at Olympic Stadium and with 1–4 at home.[65]

1975[66] was Elfsborg worst year in European competition and the UEFA Intertoto Cup when they finished last in the group after you have met teams as Banik Ostrava, Celik Zenica and Vitoria Setubal. Elfsborg still won at home against Banik Ostrava with 3–1 at home and a tie against Vitoria Setubal.[66] In 1978,[67] Elfsborg participated once again in the UEFA Intertoto Cup and this year was slightly better than the last in 1975, Elfsborg won with a total of 5–3 against Norwegian Lillestrøm SK, and then a win against former Yugoslav Sloboda Tuzla. But against the big giant Israeli Maccabi Netanya F.C. Elfsborg could not compete with, and lost the first game with 7–1 away but managed with a draw at home, 2–2.[67] In 1978[68] was Elfsborg in the UEFA Cup for the second time when they stood against the French sovereigns RC Strasbourg. The first meeting won Elfsborg surprisingly with 2–0 at home, but in the returning game they lost with 4–1 in front of 31 000 spectators.[69]

1980,[70] became Elfsborg best year ever in the UEFA Intertoto Cup when they won their group and became the winner of the tournament. This after they first won against FK Napredak Kruševac with a total of 4–2 and then against Slavia Sofia with a total of 3–1. German VfL Bochum became more difficult when the loss in the first meeting with 2–1 and then changed with a win at home 1–0, this meant that Elfsborg ended up as number one in their group.[71] The following year, 1981,[72] did Elfsborg participate in the UEFA Cup where they faced Scottish St Mirren F.C.. The first match ended in a 1–2 loss at home who then followed up with a draw 0–0 in Scotland.[73] 1983[74] Elfsborg would make their penultimate appearance in the UEFA Intertoto Cup, when they stood against the teams TJ Vitkovice, Trakia Plovdiv and Eintracht Braunschweig. It was a bad adventure where they only won against German Eintracht Braunschweig with 1–0 at home and play a draw against Trakia Plovdiv, this meant that Elfsborg finished as last in their group.[75] Despite the poor performance 1983, they reached the UEFA Cup, 1984,[76] where the opponents was Polish team Widzew Lodz, before 30 000 spectators played Elfsborg a draw away against the Poles, 0–0, also at home playing a heroic game with a draw 2–2 and but the Poles advanced furthermore, after more away goals.[77]

It would take almost 20 years before Elfsborg would participate in the European[78] cups again, after the heaviest period in the club's history Elfsborg was now back at the top layer of Allsvenskan and participated in the UEFA Cup in 2001 after they won the national cup. They stood against JK Trans Narva in the first round, where they won with 1–3 away and then also won with 5–0 at home after a hat-trick by Stefan Andreasson. The second round was against one of the Polish giants Legia Warsaw where Elfsborg lost with a total of 10–2.[79] After winning national cup once again, Elfsborg participated in the UEFA Cup in 2004[80] where the opponents in the first round was Glentoran FC who were beaten with a total of 3–1, in the next round Elfsborg stood against Croatian team NK Dinamo Zagreb, Elfsborg lost the first game away with 2–0 and then played a draw at home 0–0.[81] After winning national championship in 2006 got Elfsborg for the first time participate in the UEFA Champions League.[82] This occurred in 2007 when the first round was against Linfield FC where Elfsborg in the first match played a draw 0–0. To then win at home with 1–0 after a goal by Mathias Svensson. The second round was against Hungarian Debreceni VSC where they won away with 1–0 after a goal by Daniel Mobaeck.[83] They secured promotion to the third round by playing 0–0 at home. The third round was against Spanish giants Valencia CF, where 50 000 spectators at the Mestalla Stadium saw Elfsborg lose with 3–0 after including goal by David Silva. Back at Borås Arena Elfsborg lost again with 2–1 after goals by Daniel Alexandersson and David Villa with Valencia's decisive 2–1 goal.[84]

S.S Lazio–Elfsborg at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Europa League play-off 2009.[85]

After the excellent results in the UEFA Champions League became Elfsborg directly qualified for the 2007–08 UEFA Cup[86] group stage where they stood against the teams FC Dinamo Bucuresti, AEK Athens, ACF Fiorentina, FK Mlada Boleslav and Villarreal CF. Elfsborg won against FC Dinamo Bucuresti with 2–1 and a draw against AEK Athens, 1–1.[87] The following year 2008[88] achieved Elfsborg for the last time winning the UEFA Intertoto Cup by beating teams HB Torshavn with a total of 2–1, Hibernian FC with a total of 4–0 and FK Riga with a total of 1–0. Which meant that they finished as group winners.[89] That same year they also played UEFA Cup last time 2008–09 UEFA Cup[90] when it was against the Irish St Patrick's Athletic F.C. but lost surprisingly with a total of 4–3.[91] In 2009[92] Elfsborg started for the first time playing in the UEFA Europa League where they in the second round stood against Szombathelyi Haladás as they were defeated with a total of 3–0. In the third round was against Portuguese 2010–11 UEFA Europa League finalists SC Braga, as they beat them after a completely win by a total of 4–1.[93] In the final play-off round Elfsborg stood against classic S.S. Lazio where they in the first meeting lost with 3–0 and then again after a heroic effort won with 1–0 after a goal by Denni Avdic.[94]

Also the year after 2010[95] played Elfsborg in the UEFA Europa League where they stood against FC Iskra-Stal in the second round and won with the total of 3–1. The third round was against FK Teteks from Macedonia, a team that Elfsborg won easily against with a total of 7–1. The play-off round was once again against one of the classic Italian teams against Maradona's old club SSC Napoli. Elfsborg succeeded after a heroic performance by goalkeeper Jesper Christiansen to get away from the Stadio San Paolo with a 1–0 loss. Back at the Borås Arena Elfsborg lost anyway with 2–0 after two goals by Edinson Cavani who got his big breakthrough in this match.[96] In 2011[97] Elfsborg played in the UEFA Europa League for the third consecutive year, and stood against CS Fola Esch in the first round which they won with a total of 5–1. The second round was against FK Suduva where they won easily with a total of 4–1. But in the third round Elfsborg lost surprisingly against the Norwegian Aalesunds FK with a total of 5–1 and failed to reach the play-offs.[98] The same thing happened the year after in 2012. Even if Elfsborg had a perfect start in the qualification by winning a home game in the first stage against Floriana F.C. with 8–0, the biggest international victory in Elfsborgs history. The away game was just as easy, Elfsborg won with 5–0 and with a total of 13–0.[99] In the second stage were the opponents FC Dacia Chişinău and Elfsborg lost the first game after a weak effort with 1–0. But won easy at Borås Arena with 2–0 and therefore advanced to the third stage.[100] In the third stage it would be a Scandinavian battle, since the opponents were Danish AC Horsens. The first away game ended with a draw, 1–1, after Horsens received a penalty in stoppage time. But in their home game Elfsborg lost 2–3 and history was repeated from the previous year, Elfsborg failed once again to reach the play-offs.[101]

(As of 22 June 2015)

A = appearances, GP = games played, W = won, D = drawn, L = lost, GF = goals for, GA = goals against.

(As of 10 July 2015)

• Q = qualification round
• R = round
• Group = group stage
• (a) = away goals rule

Season	Competition	Round	Country	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
1961–62	UEFA Intertoto Cup	Group B4	Germany	Tasmania Berlin	5–2	2–3	8–4
		Group B4	Switzerland	FC Basel	2–1	3–6	8–4
		Group B4	Netherlands	Sparta Rotterdam	2–5	4–3	5–9
1966–67	UEFA Intertoto Cup	Group B5	Germany	Borussia Neunkirchen	1–0	1–3	4–1
		Group B5	Czechoslovakia	MFK Košice	6–0	3–0	6–3
		Group B5	Germany	Vorwärts Berlin	0–2	2–0	4–0
1967–68	UEFA Intertoto Cup	Group B3	Germany	SV Werder Bremen	2–2	4–1	3–6
		Group B3	Poland	Polonia Bytom	1–2	3–0	2–4
		Group B3	Switzerland	Grasshopper Club Zürich	5–2	3–1	6–5
1971	UEFA Intertoto Cup	Group 2	Poland	Stal Mielec	0–1	4–0	0–5
		Group 2	Czechoslovakia	1. FC Tatran Prešov	2–3	3–0	2–6
		Group 2	Denmark	Vejle Boldklub	4–0	0–4	8–0
1971–72	UEFA Cup	1R	Germany	Hertha Berlin	1–4	3–1	2–7
1975	UEFA Intertoto Cup	Group 10	Czechoslovakia	FC Baník Ostrava	3–1	3–1	4–4
		Group 10	SFR Yugoslavia	NK Čelik Zenica	1–2	2–0	1–4
		Group 10	Portugal	Vitória F.C.	1–1	1–0	1–2
1978	UEFA Intertoto Cup	Group 8	Norway	Lillestrøm SK	0–0	3–5	5–3
		Group 8	SFR Yugoslavia	FK Sloboda Tuzla	1–0	3–2	3–3
		Group 8	Israel	Maccabi Netanya F.C.	2–2	7–1	3–9
1978–1979	UEFA Cup	1R	France	RC Strasbourg	2–0	4–1	3–4
1980	UEFA Intertoto Cup	Group 9	SFR Yugoslavia	FK Napredak Kruševac	2–0	2–2	4–2
		Group 9	Bulgaria	PFC Slavia Sofia	1–0	2–1	2–2
		Group 9	Germany	VfL Bochum	1–0	2–1	2–2
1980–1981	UEFA Cup	1R	Scotland	St Mirren F.C.	1–2	0–0	1–2
1983	UEFA Intertoto Cup	Group 10	Czechoslovakia	FC Vítkovice	1–2	2–1	2–4
		Group 10	Bulgaria	PFC Botev Plovdiv	0–0	4–0	0–4
		Group 10	Germany	Eintracht Braunschweig	1–0	4–0	1–4
1983–1984	UEFA Cup	1R	Poland	Widzew Łódź	2–2	0–0	2–2(a)
2001–2002	UEFA Cup	Q	Estonia	JK Narva Trans	5–0	1–3	8–1
		1R	Poland	Legia Warsaw	1–6	4–1	2–10
2004–2005	UEFA Cup	2Q	Northern Ireland	Glentoran F.C.	2–1	0–1	3–1
		1R	Croatia	Dinamo Zagreb	0–0	2–0	0–2
2007–2008	UEFA Champions League	1Q	Northern Ireland	Linfield F.C.	1–0	0–0	1–0
		2Q	Hungary	Debreceni VSC	0–0	0–1	1–0
		3Q	Spain	Valencia CF	1–2	3–0	1–5
2007–2008	UEFA Cup	1R	Romania	FC Dinamo București	0–1	1–2	2–2(a)
		Group C	Greece	AEK Athens F.C.	1–1
		Group C	Italy	ACF Fiorentina		6–1
		Group C	Czech Republic	FK Mladá Boleslav	1–3
		Group C	Spain	Villareal CF		2–0
2008	UEFA Intertoto Cup	1R	Faroe Islands	HB Torshavn	0–0	1–4	4–1
		2R	Scotland	Hibernian F.C.	2–0	0–2	4–0
		3R	Latvia	FK Rīga	1–0	0–0	1–0
2008–2009	UEFA Cup	2Q	Republic of Ireland	St Patrick's Athletic F.C.	2–2	2–1	3–4
2009–2010	UEFA Europa League	2Q	Hungary	Haladas FC	3–0	0–0	3–0
		3Q	Portugal	SC Braga	2–0	1–2	4–1
		Play-off	Italy	S.S. Lazio	1–0	3–0	1–3
2010–2011	UEFA Europa League	2Q	Moldova	FC Iskra-Stal	2–1	0–1	3–1
		3Q	Republic of Macedonia	FK Teteks	5–0	1–2	7–1
		Play-off	Italy	S.S.C. Napoli	0–2	1–0	0–3
2011–2012	UEFA Europa League	1Q	Luxembourg	CS Fola Esch	4–0	1–1	5–1
		2Q	Lithuania	FK Suduva	3–0	1–1	4–1
		3Q	Norway	Aalesunds FK	1–1	4–0	1–5
2012–2013	UEFA Europa League	1Q	Malta	Floriana F.C.	8–0	0–4	12–0
		2Q	Moldova	FC Dacia Chişinău	2–0	1–0	2–1
		3Q	Denmark	AC Horsens	2–3	1–1	3–4
2013–2014	UEFA Champions League	2Q	Latvia	Daugava Daugavpils	7–1	4–0	11–1
		3Q	Scotland	Celtic	0–0	0–1	0–1
2013–2014	UEFA Europa League	Play-off	Denmark	FC Nordsjælland	1–1	1–0	2–1
		Group C	Belgium	Standard Liège	1–1	3–1
		Group C	Austria	Red Bull Salzburg	0–4	0–1
		Group C	Denmark	Esbjerg	2–1	0–1
2014–15	UEFA Europa League	2Q	Azerbaijan	Inter Baku	0–1	1–0	1–1(4-3p)
		3Q	Iceland	FH	4–1	1–2	5–3
		PO	Portugal	Rio Ave	2–1	0–1	2–2(a)
2015–16	UEFA Europa League	1Q	Finland	FC Lahti	5–0	2–2	7–2
		2Q	Denmark	Randers FC	1–0	0–0	1–0(a.e.t.)
		3Q	Norway	Odd	2–1	0–2	2–3
2021–22	UEFA Europa Conference League	2Q

As of 19 September 2019[102]

Rank	Team	Points
0249	BK Häcken	4.150
0250	Djurgårdens IF	4.150
0251	IFK Göteborg	4.150
252	IF Elfsborg	4.150
0253	CSKA Sofia	4.000
0254	FK Sutjeska	4.000
0255	Budapest Honvéd	4.000

As of 19 October 2020[103]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  NOR Mathias Dyngeland 2 DF  KEN Joseph Okumu 4 DF  SWE Christopher McVey 5 DF  SWE Gustav Henriksson 8 MF  SWE Samuel Holmén (vice captain) 12 MF  SWE Alexander Bernhardsson 13 DF  SWE Rami Kaib 14 MF  SWE Jacob Ondrejka 15 DF  FIN Leo Väisänen 16 MF  SWE Robert Gojani

No. Pos. Nation Player 17 FW  SWE Per Frick 18 MF  SWE Simon Olsson 19 FW  DEN Jeppe Okkels 20 DF  SWE Simon Strand 21 MF  SWE Rasmus Alm 24 DF  SWE Johan Larsson 26 FW  SWE Marokhy Ndione 27 DF  DEN Frederik Holst 31 GK  SWE Tim Rönning 33 MF  NOR Sivert Heltne Nilsen

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 25 FW  SWE Arian Kabashi (at Dalkurd FF until 30 November 2020) 30 GK  SWE David Olsson (at Örgryte IS until 30 November 2020)

This list of notable players includes those who received international caps for the Sweden national football team, made significant contributions to the team in terms of appearances or goals while playing for the team, or who made significant contributions to the sport either before they played for the team, or after they left.[104][105]

The players are all listed according to when they debuted for IF Elfsborg:

List criteria:

• Player has made more than 250 Allsvenskan league appearances for the club.
• Player has scored more than 50 Allsvenskan league goals for the club.
• Player has received more than 70 caps for the Sweden national team.

Player included in the Swedish football Hall of Fame.[106]

Sven Jonasson, Elfsborgs greatest player of all time. Also included in the Swedish Hall of Fame.[107]

Name	Nat	Pos	IF Elfsborg career[108]	Apps[109]	Goals[110]	Honours
Sven Jonasson		FW	1927–47	409	252	3 Swedish Championships, Hall of Fame
Åke Samuelsson		MF	1930–41	214	76	3 Swedish Championships
Karl-Erik Grahn		MF	1932–49	346	57	3 Swedish Championships
Gillis Andersson		FW	1933–43	184	67	3 Swedish Championships
Arvid Emanuelsson		MF	1933–47	270	12	3 Swedish Championships
Knut Johansson		FW	1936–44	125	92	2 Swedish Championships
Evert Grahn		FW	1940–46, 1949–52	154	55	1 Swedish Championships
Henry Larsson		MF	1952–54, 1961–68	217	80	1 Swedish Championships
Ove Grahn		FW	1961–65	91	62	1 Swedish Championships
Leif Målberg		DF	1965–71, 1973–80	337	8	337 games for IF Elfsborg
Göran Ahlström		DF	1969–71, 1973–81	258	10	258 games for IF Elfsborg
Leif Gustafsson		DF	1970–71, 1973–82, 1984	276	3	276 games for IF Elfsborg
Thomas Ahlström		FW	1971, 1973–79, 1982–84	237	101	101 goals for IF Elfsborg
Thomas Johansson		MF	1973–83	276	19	276 games for IF Elfsborg
Tobias Linderoth		MF	1997–98	47	4	76 games for Sweden national team
Fredrik Berglund		FW	1997–01, 2003, 2007–08, 2010	166	54	2 Svenska Cupen
Anders Svensson		MF	1997–01, 2005–2015	290	58	2 Swedish Championships,1 Svenska Cupen, 1 Supercupen
Johan Karlsson		DF	2001–11	263	7	1 Swedish Championships, 2 Svenska Cupen, 1 Supercupen
Teddy Lučić		DF	2008–10	68	3	86 games for Sweden national team

As of 24 January 2018.[111]

Role	Name	Nation
Chairman	Bo Johansson
Director	Stefan Andreasson

As of 31 January 2019.[112]

Role	Name	Nation
Manager	Jimmy Thelin
Assistant manager	Nuno De Almeida
Assistant Manager / Fitness	Miguel Beas
Fitness	Dan Fransson
Goalkeeping coach	Linus Eriksson
Scout	Anders Svensson
U21 Coach	Tobias Linderoth
Fitness coach	Lars Göthfelt
Physiotherapist	Jan Andblad
Physiotherapist	Johan Meldo
Club Doctor	Matilda Lundblad
Kit manager	Stefan Ågren
Kit manager	Reima Haukka
Football administrator	Martin Andersson

As of 24 January 2018.[113]

Role	Name	Nation
U21 and U19 team manager	Janne Mian
U21 and U19 team manager	Sanel Duzel
U17 and U16 team manager	Tony Lundqvist
U17 and U16 team manager	Kjell Antonsson
U15 team manager	Joakim Alexandersson
U15 team manager	Kari Mäkelä
Head of youth development	Tony Lundqvist

Carl Larsson – head founder, former player and manager of IF Elfsborg. He managed Elfsborg for over 20 years.

The managers are listed according to when they were first appointed manager for IF Elfsborg:[114][115]

List criteria:

• Won at least one major honour with IF Elfsborg.
• Managed the team for at least 5 years.

Name	Nat	Years	Honours
Carl Larsson		1916–25, 1926–30, 1930–38	21 years in total.
Carl Larsson & Thure Claesson		1930–38	1 Swedish Championship
Sven Zachrisson		1938–46, 1959–60	2 Swedish Championship
Karl-Erik Grahn		1949–52, 1961–62	1 Swedish Championship
Thure Nygren		1957–58, 1963–67, 1970–72	7 years in total.
Rolf Svensson		1977–82	5 years in total.
Bengt-Arne Strömberg		1999–01	1 Svenska Cupen
Anders Grönhagen		2002–03	1 Svenska Cupen
Magnus Haglund		2004–11	1 Swedish Championship, 1 Svenska Supercupen, 1 The Atlantic Cup
Jörgen Lennartsson		2012–13	1 Swedish Championship
Klas Ingesson		2013–14	1 Svenska Cupen

• Swedish Champions:[upper-alpha 1]
  • Winners (6): 1935–36, 1938–39, 1939–40, 1961, 2006, 2012

• Allsvenskan:[117]
  • Winners (6): 1935–36, 1938–39, 1939–40, 1961, 2006, 2012
  • Runners-up (7): 1942–43, 1943–44, 1944–45, 1965, 1977, 2008, 2020
• Division 1 Södra:[118]
  • Winners: 1996
  • Runners-up: 1991
• Division 2 Götaland:[119]
  • Winners: 1960
  • Runners-up (4): 1955–56, [1956–57, 1957–58, 1959
• Division 2 Västsvenska Serien:[120]
  • Winners: 1925–26
  • Runners-up: 1914–15, 1923–24

• Svenska Cupen:[121]
  • Winners (3): 2000–01, 2003, 2013–14
  • Runners-up (3): 1942, 1980–81, 1996–97
• Svenska Supercupen:[121]
  • Winners: 2007
  • Runners-up: 2014

• UEFA Intertoto Cup:[122]
  • Winners: 1980, 2008 (joint winner)[123]
  • Runners-up: 1961

IF Elfsborg top ten most goal scorers and appearances.[132][136]

League, Allsvenskan

Fredrik Berglund being one of the top-ten scorers.

#	Name	Nation	Career	Goals
1	Sven Jonasson	Sweden	1927–47	252
2	Thomas Ahlström	Sweden	1971, 1973–79, 1982–84	101
3	Knut Johansson	Sweden	1936–44	92
4	Henry Larsson	Sweden	1952–54, 1961–68	80
5	Åke Samuelsson	Sweden	1930–41	76
6	Gillis Andersson	Sweden	1933–43	67
7	Ove Grahn	Sweden	1961–65	62
8	Karl-Erik Grahn	Sweden	1932–49	57
9	Anders Svensson	Sweden	1997–01, 2005–2015	56
10	Fredrik Berglund	Sweden	1997–01, −03, 2007–08, −10	54

League, Allsvenskan

Anders Svensson placing himself on a 4th place on the most appearances in IF Elfsborg.[137]

#	Name	Nation	Career	Appearances
1	Sven Jonasson	Sweden	1927–47	409
2	Karl-Erik Grahn	Sweden	1932–49	346
3	Leif Målberg	Sweden	1965–71, 1973–80	337
4	Anders Svensson	Sweden	1997–01, 2005–2015	289
5	Leif Gustafsson	Sweden	1970–71, 1973–82, −84	276
6	Thomas Johansson	Sweden	1973–83	276
7	Arvid Samuelsson	Sweden	1933–47	270
8	Johan Karlsson	Sweden	2001–11	263
9	Göran Ahlström	Sweden	1969–71, 1973–81	258
10	Thomas Ahlström	Sweden	1971, 1973–79, 1982–84	237

• Official website
• Allsvenskan – Elfsborg at the Allsvenskan official site
• Uefa – Elfsborg at the Uefa official site