IF Elfsborg
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| Full name | Idrottsföreningen Elfsborg | ||
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| Nickname(s) | Di Gule (The Yellow Ones) | ||
| Founded | 1904 | ||
| Ground | Borås Arena, Borås (Capacity: 17,800) |
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| Chairman |  Bosse Johansson |
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| Manager | Magnus Haglund |
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| League | Allsvenskan | ||
| 2009 | Allsvenskan, 3rd | ||
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IF Elfsborg is a Swedish football club located in Borås. The club has won 5 national championship titles, the latest in 2006, and 2 national cup titles. Currently playing in the highest Swedish league, Allsvenskan. Elfsborg is based in Borås Arena.
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History
Borås Fotbollslag was formed on June 26th 1904, by a group of youngsters. In 1906 the name was changed to IF Elfsborg, because the founders felt there were too many teams with 'Borås' in their name. In 1926 Elfsborg won Västsvenska Serien, and defeated Halmstad BK in the play off, and was promoted to Allsvenskan for the first time. During the 1930s Elfsborg managed to build a very strong team led by striker Sven Jonasson, who appeared in both the 1934 and 1938 World Cup. In 1936 Elfsborg won Allsvenskan for the first time, and two more titles followed soon after (1939 and 1940). During this period Elfsborg had as many as seven players in the Swedish national team.
In 1941 Elfsborg left Ramnavallen to play their home games at the newly constructed Ryavallen. The first game at the new ground was supposed to be a friendly between Sweden and Finland, but Finland’s involvement in the Second World War prevented them from playing, so they were replaced by Elfsborg, who beat the Swedish national team 2-1.
In the mid 1940s Elfsborg came close to winning Allsvenskan again, but finished second three years in a row. By the late 1940s Elfsborg's glory days were over, and the club was eventually relegated in 1954.
In 1960 Elfsborg won promotion after an impressive season with 20 wins in 22 games, and the club managed to win Allsvenskan for the fourth time in 1961, becoming the first Swedish team to go straight from the second level to becoming champions.
In 1977 Elfsborg reached second place, but the following years proved difficult for the club. In 1987 Elfsborg finished last in Allsvenskan, and did not return to the top flight until 1997. The team that won promotion contained several future Swedish internationals including Anders Svensson and Tobias Linderoth. Even though Elfsborg won their first two cup titles (in 2001 and 2003), the club struggled to stay in Allsvenskan in the following years.
In 2005 Elfsborg spent a lot of money on building Borås Arena, and bringing back former players. The investments paid off and the fifth Championship was won in 2006 – the club's first Allsvenskan title for 45 years. The year after Elfsborg appeared in the Champions League qualifying stage for the first time, and subsequently reached the group stage in the UEFA Cup for the first time. On the way there they knocked out Linfield FC (Northern Ireland) and Debreceni VSC (Hungary) in the qualification stage of the Champions League before eventually being eliminated themselves by the hands of Valencia CF (Spain) in the last round. The club won the last round of qualifications for the Uefa Cup against FC Dinamo Bucureşti (Romania).
In the group stage IF Elfsborg faced AC Fiorentina and Villarreal away and AEK Athens and Mlada Boleslav at Borås Arena and was knocked out.
In the following years, IF Elfsborg under the guidance of coach Magnus Haglund and his 4-2-3-1-formation have established themselves as a top club in Swedish football. The clearly stated ambition to finish top 4, qualifying for european football every year. In 2007, the club finished 4th securing a place in the last edition of the Intertoto-cup, from which they advanced but was surprisingly knocked out by St Patrick's Athletic F.C. in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Cup after conceding late goals in both legs.
The team bounced back though, competing for the title again until the very last round of 2008. In the end, injuries to key players like Anders Svensson and Stefan Ishizaki proved to costly, eventually having to settle for second place behind Kalmar FF.
The following year, IF Elfsborg once again challenged for a place in European football, brushing aside Hungarian side Szombathelyi Haladás and Portuguese S.C. Braga before eventually falling in the last qualifying round against S.S. Lazio.
IF Elfsborg were big favourites for winning the 2009 but had problem capitalizing on their high possession and many chances and eventually ended up third behind AIK and rivals IFK Göteborg.
European Cups History
| Competition | Matches | W | D | L | GF | GA |
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| UEFA Champions League | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| UEFA Cup/Europa League | 34 | 12 | 7 | 15 | 44 | 60 |
Current squad
As of 19 June 2010. Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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For season transfers, see either transfers winter 2009–2010 or transfers summer 2010.
Noted players
- Thomas Ahlström
- Ove Grahn
- Sven Jonasson
- Tobias Linderoth
- Anders Svensson
- Mathias Svensson
Achievements
- Allsvenskan:
- Winners (5): 1935–1936, 1938–1939, 1939–1940, 1961, 2006
- Runners-up (6): 1942–1943, 1943–1944, 1944–1945, 1965, 1977, 2008
- Svenska Cupen:
- Winners (2): 2001, 2003
- Runners-up (3): 1942, 1980–1981, 1996–1997
- Supercupen:
- Winners (1): 2007
Records
- Most appearances, total: 410, Sven Jonasson
- Most goals scored, total: 252, Sven Jonasson
- Away victory, Allsvenskan: 12-2 vs. IFK Eskilstuna, 19 April 1936
- Highest attendance, Ryavallen: 22.654 vs. IFK Norrköping, 1961
- Highest attendance, Borås Arena: 17,070 vs. Kalmar FF, 4 July 2005
External links
- IF Elfsborg - official site
- Guliganerna - official supporter club site
- Ålgårdsläktaren - supporter site
- Elfsborgsläktaren - supporter site
- BornYellow - history and statistics
- Vi Gule - supporter forum
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