I understand there are a few Superettan clubs in this years Swedish cup competition which leads to the UEFA CUP.Someone educated me please.How many clubs will qualify to represent Sweden in the UEFA CUP next year and from which categories?Is it the Winner of the Allsvenskan alone that goes or winners and runner's up of other competitions like the Swedish Cup?
As far as the distribution of European places goes, and I'm going by the distribution of places from the 2004 season, as I haven't seen if the distribution will change for 2005. Allsvenskan Champion- Champions League Allsvenskan 2nd Place- UEFA Cup Swedish Cup Champion- UEFA Cup* Allsvenskan 3rd place- Intertoto Cup** *- If the Swedish Cup winner also qualifies for the UEFA Cup through Allsvenskan placing, then the UEFA Cup slot goes to the 3rd place team in the Allsvenskan. If the Swedish Cup winner also wins the Allsvenskan, then the UEFA Cup slot goes first to the losing Cup finalist. If the Cup finalist also finishes 2nd in the league, then the spot goes to the 3rd place finisher in the league. **- The Intertoto Cup slot is offered first to the team finishing 3rd in the Allsvenskan. Should they qualify for the UEFA Cup on other merits, or refuse the position, the slot would then be offered to the 4th place team in the league, and so on down to 12th place, in accordance with the UEFA rules. (As a practical matter, I don't think the Intertoto slot would go as far down as 12th, but competition rules also say that the Cup is only open to top-division teams, and there is a possibility that a team finishing 12th in the league would no longer be in the top flight, if they lost the end of season playoff) In addtion, the top 4 Allsvenskan teams also qualify for the Royal League, the Scandinavian club championships. Looking at the Swedish Cup quarterfinalists who are outside of the Allsvenskan (Åtvidaberg, IFK Norrköping, GAIS [provided they win their 4th round match], and IFK Ölme), their options for getting into Europe are to either win the Cup outright, or make it to the final, and hope that the winning side also wins the Allsvenskan. As far as THAT goes, Djurgården is still alive in the Cup, as are Elfsborg and Häcken, who I suppose have outside chances at still making a title run. But, Häcken and Elfsborg were drawn together in the quarterfinals, and Djurgården is playing IFK Ölme, so if the non-Allsvenskan side continues on there, then that probably knocks out the backdoor route into Europe. It's worth noting that Ölme have already qualified for the UEFA Regions Cup, open to amateur sides, by virtue of being the Division 2-or-lower team to advance furthest in the Swedish Cup.
Thanx a billion for the education given me there.Well appreciated.U talked about the 3 remaining Superettan clubs which i am much interested in and U made mention of IFK Ölme.Please,is IFK Norrkoping different from IFK Ölme? And looking at how things stand now,which Superettan club among the 3 remaining in the Swedish Cup will you give a chance to sail through to the final and possibly the UEFA CUP?
IFK Ölme play in Division 2 (one level below IFK Norrköping), so they earn the award for the team from the lowest division still alive. Right now they sit in 5th place in their division, and the SFF is planning a divisional restructure for the 2006 season with new ladder being: Allsvenskan-Superettan-Division 1 (North and South)-Division 2 (Regional) Ölme's 5th place right now means that they would play off at the end of the season for a slot in the new Division 1. As far as the Cup goes, this is IFK Ölme's path to the quarterfinals: Round 1: Beat IK Oden 2-0 Round 2: Beat IK Brage 5-2 Round 3: Beat Tenhults IF 1-0 Round 4: Beat Kalmar FF 6-5 (Tied 1-1 at end of 90 minutes, IFK Ölme wins shootout, 5-4) Quarterfinals: vs. Djurgården, July 22nd. Personally I don't think they'll advance beyond that match, but I suppose anything is possible if Djurgården is looking beyond the Cup toward the fight for the Allsvenskan championship. I think if you are looking at a Superettan team that could surprise, it's probably a tossup. Of the 3, GAIS is doing the best right now, 2nd in the Superettan at the halfway mark. IF GAIS win their 4th round match (set for tomorrow night vs. Halmstad), then they play Åtvidaberg in the quarters. Norrköping might have the easiest quarterfinal draw, getting Assyriska, who are last right now in the Allsvenskan, but remember that Assyriska made a run to the finals as a Superettan team a couple of years ago. I suppose any one of those three could have a shot at making the finals.
Djurgården sees the cup as extremely important as it is the easiest way to guarantee european competition so, we will surely play the first team against Ölme and that means that it will have to be a HUGE upset if we don't move on to the semi-finals. We won the cup in 2002, lost the semis in 2003 and won it again last year 2004. Don't be surprised if we win it again this year. Perhaps another double as in 2002?
Re: (Djurgården)Swedish Participants In Uefa Cup So,assuming Djurgården goes into the final with maybe IFK Norrkoping and Djurgarden wins,will IFK Norrkoping also go to UEFA CUP?
Re: (Djurgården)Swedish Participants In Uefa Cup Yes, if DIF wins the league and goes onto the Champions League qualifiers the Uefa Cup place will go to the losers of the cup-final. Well I think so, but it could be that the 3rd placed team in the Allsvenska get it as well.
If DIF win the double, the UEFA Cup slot goes to the losing cup finalist, if I read the Swedish rules right. If the Cup winner qualifies for the UEFA Cup through the Allsvenskan as well, then the losing Cup finalist gets nothing.
I think Djurgårdens IF FF will win the premier league this year and also go to the finals of the Swedish Cup with IFK Norrkoping.But for now,am not very clear whether IFK Norrkoping can win the Swedish Cup when they clash with Djurgarden.Hymmm we wait to see.