United's Swedish Connections

As Manchester United prepare to play in Gothenburg on Saturday for the final match of Tour 2016, presented by Aon, we've compiled a number of the club's connections with Sweden...

First Swedish Red
While Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the fourth Swedish player to join United, the distinction of being the first is held by Jesper Blomqvist. Part of United’s Treble-winning squad, the winger arrived from Italian side Parma in the summer of 1998 and went on to start in the 1999 Champions League final against Bayern Munich. He was followed to the club by Bojan Djordjic, who was on United's books between 1999 and 2005.

Loan star Larsson
In January 2007, the Reds signed Henrik Larsson on loan, during the close season in his homeland, and the forward played his part by scoring three goals in 13 games across all competitions. Despite not featuring in enough league fixtures to automatically qualify for a title winner's medal, Larsson was granted special dispensation and collected a fantastic memento of his short but sweet time at Old Trafford.

First games in Gothenburg
United played in Sweden in 1955 as part of an end-of-season tour to Scandinavia, with the final game of the tour pitting Matt Busby's side against Gothenburg Alliance. The Reds claimed a 4-2 victory with Johnny Berry (two), Billy Whelan and Jeff Whitefoot scoring the goals. United returned to the same Ullevi stadium in the same circumstances almost exactly one year later, in May 1956, and achieved a similar outcome, this time winning 4-0 with Whelan (two) and Berry joined on the scoresheet by Dennis Viollet.

Last time on Swedish turf
The club’s most recent trip to Sweden was back in 2013, at the end of a tour that also encompassed matches in Thailand, Australia, Japan and Hong Kong. David Moyes and his men travelled to Stockholm and played out a 1-1 draw with AIK Fotboll.

Something to play for
As well as friendlies, United have also faced Swedish opposition in competitive action, albeit just four times - the latest of these being in the 1994/95 Champions League group stage. In the first game at Old Trafford, Gothenburg took the lead after 26 minutes but were eventually beaten 4-2. The reverse fixture again had the Swedish side striking first and, this time, with future Reds star Jesper Blomqvist finding the net, they held their nerve to beat Alex Ferguson's side 3-1. Some 30 years earlier, United had drawn 1-1 away to Djurgardens IF before thrashing them 6-1 at Old Trafford in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup first round.

Sheringham in Sweden
Long before his move to Old Trafford, United legend Teddy Sheringham played for the aforementioned Djurgardens while on loan from Millwall. His time in the Swedish Second Division may well have helped him to become a first choice when he returned to The Den, as he scored 13 goals in 21 matches for his temporary employers and helped them to top the table and gain promotion.

Murphy makes the quarter-finals
Ullevi, where Saturday’s match will take place, was built as a venue for the 1958 World Cup finals. It hosted a number of matches, including the quarter-final when Wales - coached by United's assistant manager Jimmy Murphy and featuring Reds player Colin Webster - were defeated 1-0 by eventual winners Brazil. The decisive goal was scored by Pele, who was then just 17 years old.

Great nights for the Great Dane
The connection with United legends continued when Sweden hosted Euro '92 and Reds goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel helped Denmark to win the tournament. The Great Dane was in fine form as his side beat the Netherlands on penalties in the semi-final and then famously upset Germany in the final, both at Ullevi.

Credit: Manutd.com