On July 27, our team will play the first leg of the second qualifying round of the Conference League. The rival is Kalmar from the Swedish city of the same name. The club plays in the country's top division Allsvenskane and has never left it since 2005. We will tell about important events in the past and present of the Swedish team.

The club was founded in 1910 and in 1949 made it to the top Swedish division for the first time. From 1955 to 1975, Kalmar left Allsvenskane and came back only in 1976 and fought for bronze in the next season. In the 80s and 90s, the team played mainly in the second league.

The club periodically reached the main division and won significant victories: a silver medal in 1985 (then two members of the squad, Billy Lansdowne and Peter Karlsson, became the league's top scorers) and two Swedish Cups, in 1981 and 1987. At the beginning of the new century, Kalmar was fighting economic difficulties and changing the management structure. From the middle of the 2000s, the club was already ready to fight for titles. In the 2006/07 season, Kalmar became a silver medalist and a Cup winner, and in 2008 achieved his main success at the moment - the champion title. Our rival is one of the 14 clubs in Sweden that have managed to win both the Championship and the Cup. Kalmar is also one of the 14 teams that have played in one of the main divisions throughout their history.

Since 2022, the club has been coached by Henrik Jensen. The 38-year-old Danish specialist began his managment career in 2013 and spent most of it at home. Since 2018, Jensen has worked in Midtjylland as an assistant and head coach of the youth and main team and won the Danish youth league. Under the leadership of Henrik Jensen, Kalmar ended the last season in the 4th position of the standings with 51 points in 30 rounds and a goal difference of 41-27.

Mileta Rajović is the team's top scorer in the current season. The 24-year-old Danish forward has scored 7 goals and 1 assist in 16 matches. The Finnish winger Simon Scrubb, who scored 4 times and helped his teammates as many times, also stands out with high effectiveness.

According to Transfermarkt, the market value of each of these players is €1m. This rate is exceeded only by Carl Gustafsson, who is currently missing matches due to injury. His market value is €1.2 m. The Swedish forward is one of three Kalmar players representing their national teams. The other two players are Saku Ylätupa from Finland and David Kristian Olafsson from Iceland. The average age of Kalmar players is 24.9.

Most often, the team uses a 4-3-3 game formation. When defending, Kalmar strives for total pressure in the penalty area and on its outskirts in order to destroy the rival’s attack at an early stage. According to statistics, the percentage of confrontations won is 51.

After getting acquainted with the history of the rival, the composition of the team and tactical features, we are looking forward to seeing him on the pitch!