Halmstads Bollklubb - last updated on 10 March 2008
(Courtesy of Johnny Beaufays)
Club name: Halmstads Bollklubb
Foundation: March 6th 1914
City: Halmstad
Colours: Dark blue and black
Website: www.hbk.se
Honours:
Allsvenskan - 4 (1976, 1979, 1997, 2000)
Svenska Cupen - 1 (1994-95)
Division 1 - 11 (1932-33, 1938-1939, 1940-1941, 1941-1942, 1946-1947, 1953-1954, 1964, 1971, 1973, 1988, 1992)
A bit of history:
In 1913 a group of young boys that played together called themselves Viking. They had the interest in becoming a football organization, and in February 1914, at a meeting at a local hotel, they created Halmstads Bollklubb. On March 6th they gained official recognition as a football club by the Swedish Football Association.
During the years 1914-1927 the clubs played in local tournaments and competitions. In 1928 the club played in a newly formed 2nd division south and Örjans Vall was selected the second best arena. In 1929, as they celebrated their 10th anniversary they played a game against SpVgg Sülz, from Cologne, and lost with 2-5. The club finished 3rd place in the series after Stattena and Redbergslid.
In both 1930 and 1931 the club finished in 4th place. In 1932 the local rival IS Halmia won the series. In 1933 the club finished 1st after defeating Drott and Helsingborgs IF, they then won against Krokslätt in the play-offs, 1-0 away and 3-0 home, reaching the first division - the top division at the time - for the first time in the club's history. 4th place came as a bit of a shock for the club, earning them the bronze medals. Emil Carlsson become the first player ever in the club to play for the national team. In 1935 the club finished in 9th place, and in 1936 the club was relegated to second division. In 1937 the club lost to Helsingborg IF in front of 12 300 people, preventing the club from returning to the top flight. 1938 the club finished in 6th place, and Sheffield United came for a visit as the first English club ever, the Englishmen won 5-2. The club won second division in 1939 but IFK Göteborg was to strong in the play-offs - 1-2 away and 0-3 home.
1940 the club finished 3rd and had to watch local rival IS Halmia win again. The club had to use 29 different players that season, because of the ongoing World War 2. HBK won all they could win in 1941, aside from the play-offs against GAIS. However in 1942 they were able to reach the first division once again, after defeating Lundby, 1-1 away and 2-1 home. During the seasons 1943-45 the club finished in 6th, 9th and 8th position. In 1946 the club finished 12th and was again relegated to second division. The club remained in the second highest division for only one year, 1947, defeating Örgryte IS in the play-offs by 2-0 home and 4-1 away. The club also played their first game abroad this year, against Danish side Helsingør, enjoying an 8-2 victory. Like the season before, the club had only a one-year stint i the first division. Finishing 12th meant they were relegated once more. In 1949 the club finished in 2nd place behind Kalmar FF. The club refused to play in the district championship as a protest against the unsporting behavior from the local FA the year before.
In 1950-53 the club finished in 2nd, 7th, 2nd and 4th place. In 1953, six out of ten team where relegated. Halmstad made it on goal difference. In 1954 the club found themselves the winners of the second division, 12 points ahead of 2nd place. In 1955 became the club's best season ever so far, they finished 2nd in the first division, earning them stora silvret (eng: big silver). The club recorded their biggest win when they defeated Västerås SK with 9-0 away, a record which still stands to this day. Östen Ståhl scored six of the goals. The following years, 1956-1959, the club finished 7th, 8th, 8th and finally 12th, which meant relegation in 1959, after five consecutive years in the first division. Sylve Bengtsson became the first division top goalscorer in 1956 with 22 goals. As Sweden was host for the 1958 FIFA World Cup, Örjans Vall hosted 2 games, Northern Ireland - Czechoslovakia and Argentina - Northern Ireland.
The years 1960-63 saw the club struggle in the second division, finishing 4th, 7th, 6th and 9th. In 1964 the club finished in 1st place, but failed in the new 4 team play-off series, finishing last. 1965 was a dark year for the club, as they were relegated to third division for the first time. They failed to return to the second division in 1966, finishing in 2nd place, as well in 1967, finishing 3rd. However in 1968, the returned to second division after a superb season. In 1969 they finished 4th, and for the first time signing players on contract: Lennart Alexandersson, Ingvar Andersson, Roland Fransson and Lars Nordin.
In 1970 the club finished 6th in the second division, but were able to reach the Swedish Cup quarterfinal. 1971 was a bit of a troublesome year. The manager Janne Holmberg quit in the middle of the season, and former star player Sylve Bengtsson took over as player/manager, steering the club to 1st place in the first division and 2nd place in the play-off series, which meant that the club reached Allsvenskan for the first time since 1959.
The stint in the Allsvenskan was short, however, as the club was relegated after just one season, but the club returned quickly after a successful 1973 season under coach Sven-Agne Larsson.
In 1974 the club finished in 11th place, and in 1975 just barely survived on goal difference, sending GAIS to the second division.
In 1976, under the leadership of the Englishman Roy Hodgson, the club miraculously celebrated their first Allsvenskan title ever, they title was won in the second last game against IFK Norrköping.Tthe last game against Östers IF was one long celebration for the players and the 16 000 strong crowd.
1977 the club finished 8th and saw a disappointing defeat against Dynamo Dresden in the first round of the European Cup. In 1978 the club yet again finished in 8th place.
1979 again saw Halmstad triumphant, almost as shocking a fact as their 1976 title. The 2-0 win against AIK on the final day saw their opponents relegated along local rivals Halmia. The red-and-white neighbours have since struggled in the lower divisions.
1980 the club once again finished in 8th place, and Danish team Esbjerg fB proved too strong in the European Cup. Also, Roy Hodgson decided to leave this year, returning to England and Bristol City. Dutchman Jan Mak took over in 1981, and the club finished in 9th place. This year saw the first foreign player arrive at the club, 18-year old Frank Schinkels from Holland.
1982 to 1986 the club struggled in the middle of the Allsvenskan, finishing 8th, 7th, 8th, 7th and 5th place. In 1987 the club finished in 11th place, and were relegated from Allsvenskan.
Stuart Baxter was appointed new manager in 1988, and was able to lead the club back to Allsvenskan the same year and to an impressive 5th place in 1989, just 3 points from the top four.
Halmstad started the 1990 season poorly, but were finally able to manage a 9th.
In 1991 the club just missed the newly formed championship play-off series, finishing 7th. This instead meant having to participate in relegation play-offs against teams from the second division. They finished in the bottom half, and were subsequently relegated to the new first division (which replaced the old second division). Stuart Baxter left for Sanfrecce Hiroshima in Japan and was replaced by Mats Jingblad.
Like last time around, the stint in the second-highest division was a brief one. The club finished top of the table and went on to win the play-offs, once again winning promotion to the Allsvenskan.
1993 the club impressibly finished 5th, and Henrik Bertilsson became the joint league top goalscorer (with Trelleborgs Mats Lilienberg), despite mising the last six games because of a knee injury.
1994 turned out to be a middle year for the club, finishing in 7th place.
In 1995 the club won the Swedish Cup for the first time, beating AIK 3-1 in the final. The club also stunned Europe by beating Italian giants Parma F.C. 3-0 at home. However, the club suffered a crushing 4-0 defeat at Stadio Ennio Tardini in the second leg.
Tom Prahl became new manager in 1996, and lead the team to 6th place in the Allsvenskan. The club's third Allsvenskan title came in 1997, after the team beat Ljungskile SK in the last game with 3-0, ending the domestic domination of rival club IFK Göteborg. Striker Mats Lilienberg - a winter signing from IFK Göteborg - was top goalscorer, along with Christer Mattiasson of Elfsborg, and Dan Sahlin of Örebro SK, all three scored 14 goals total.
In 1998, the club finished 4th place. Fredrik Ljungberg became the most expensive player ever, when he was sold to Arsenal FC for 40 million kronor. Halmstad started the season 1999 poorly, but despite losing almost half of the players who had won the 1997 title, were able to regroup and finish 3rd, winning the lilla silvret (eng: little silver). They remained in the fight for the championship until the second last match of the season.
For the 4th time in club history, Halmstad won the Allsvenskan, becoming the last club to win the Von Rosens goblet. It had been discovered that Clarence von Rosen had Nazi sympathies, and the Swedish FA decided to replace the old trophy with the new Lennart Johanssons goblet. Håkan Svensson sat a new record in not conceding a goal in Allsvenskan, the new record was 808 minutes and still stands, he sat it between 27 september 1999 - 7 may 2000.
In 2001 the club finished in 7th place, seeing R.S.C. Anderlecht becoming to hard in the UEFA Champions League and Sporting Clube de Portugal in the UEFA Cup, Tom Prahl also left the club after six successful years at the club.
The club started poorly in 2002, under new manager Jonas Thern. After 15 games the club was dead last, however the club was ended the season in 6th place after an impressive eleven undefeated games in a row.
In 2003 Halmstad made a strong bid for both the Allsvenskan and the cup titles, but failed at both, losing to Elfsborg in the cup semifinal with 4-0 at home, and collapsing in the Allsvenskan after the summer.
In 2004 Halmstad was among the three clubs fighting until the last game for the title. The club were 36 minutes away from the title, but had to see Malmö FF triumph after a mere 1-1 against IFK Göteborg, the third team in the run for the title. Markus Rosenberg become the league top goalscorer with 14 goals, and also topped the chart for assists (10) together with teammate Sharbel Touma.
In 2005, the club were a dissapointment in the league as the club finished 10th. The big event of the season was knocking out Sporting Clube de Portugal, the UEFA Cup 2004-05 runners-up, in the UEFA Cup, 1-2 home and 3-2 away, winning on away goals after extra time.
In the 2006 season the club had to wait until the 7th game before scoring the first goal of the season. The club did not secure their place in Allsvenskan until the 24th round, defeating Gefle IF 2-0 away. The club finished at 11th place, securing their 15th consecutive season in the top flight - a new club record.
In 2007, the club was in the title race until shortly after midseason. Finnish international goalkeeper Magnus Bahne had a severe knee injury during the game against eventual champions IFK Göteborg. The club swiftly brought in Khazakstani keeper David Loria for the rest of the season on loan. However, in the remaining seven games the club failed to win a single one, and the season ended in disaster as the team crashed to a staggering 9-0 defeat at the hands of Helsingborg.
Club crests: (roll on the crest to get more informations)
Halmstads Bollklubb
