Örebro Sportklubb, more commonly known as Örebro SK, Örebro or (especially locally) ÖSK, is a Swedish professional football club based in Örebro. The club are affiliated to Örebro Läns Fotbollförbund and play their home games at Behrn Arena. The club colours are white shirts and black shorts, leading to the nickname Svartvitt (black-whites). Formed on 28 October 1908 the club have played 50 seasons in Sweden's highest football league Allsvenskan, the club's first season in the league was in 1946–47.
History
The first years
The club was founded in 1908 when a group of 79 youngsters split from IFK Örebro following internal conflicts; Pelle Molin and Karl Graflund were the protagonists of the newly founded club. The club was first suggested to be named Örebro Idrottsförening (eng: Örebro athletic association) or Örebro Allmänna Idrottsklubb (eng: Örebro Public Athletic club), but the final choice was that the club should be called Örebro Sportklubb (ÖSK) and should play in all black.
In 1909 ÖSK won their first title, a local bandy tournament. The club's first football match was played the same year and in 1911 they first played league football in the Örebro League. ÖSK won the league for the first time in 1913.
In 1917 they participated in the Västmanland-Närkeserien and reached the semifinals in district championship.
In 1920 the first coach arrived, Hjalmar Bergman, and ÖSK participated in the cup for the national championship. ÖSK also played its first international match against B 93 Copenhagen.
1922 the club changed from all black to white shirts and black shorts.
Örebro SK celebrated 15 years anniversary in 1923 and Eyravallen, since 2005 known as Behrn Arena.
In 1925 Örebro finished last in Division 2 but were allowed to stay due to the fieldowner rule. In 1926 ÖSK was promoted to Division 1. After a first game draw, Örebro lost 0–4 to Westermalms IF in Stockholm and were relegated back to Division 2.
In 1928, when celebrating their 20th anniversary, ÖSK were relegated from Division 2 to Division 3. The third tier spell was believed to be 1-year only, but Örebro lost the play-off against Mariehovs IF. However, ÖSK returned to Division 2 in 1933 after winning Division 3 and in 1934 they finished second after IK Brage, only to be relegated back to Division 3 in 1936.
In 1939 Hungarian Konrad Kalman became new manager and Fritjof "Tjoffe" Olsson became the first ÖSK player to represent Sweden.
The club returned to Division 2 in 1940 after cruising through Division 3 undefeated and winning against IF Rune in the play-off. In the following year they finished runners-up in Division 2.
In 1946 ÖSK was promoted to Allsvenskan for the first time after defeating Surahammar in the play-off, however the spell in the top flight lasted for one season only as they were relegated in 1947. The club returned to Allsvenskan yet again in 1948, when they were celebrating their 40th anniversary, but like last time the spell was only one year.
After yet again defeating Surahammar, this time in the final league game, they returned to Allsvenskan and this time they were there to stay a bit longer after defeating IF Elfsborg with 2–0 in the last game of the season. In 1952 the club made their best season so far and ended up on eighth place, but the following year the club was relegated back to Division 2.
In 1958 Orvar Bergmark played for the club and won silver in the 1958 FIFA World Cup that was hosted by Sweden. One of the club's founding members, Karl Graflund, retired after 48 years as chairman and two years as secretary, due to illness.
Established in Allsvenskan (1960–1978)
Örebro SK returned to Allsvenskan in 1960 after defeating IFK Kristianstad and IFK Luleå in the play-off. The same year the club sold its stadium Eyravallen to the municipality of Örebro.
The club won the bronze medal in 1961 after finishing fourth. The derby against rivals Degerfors IF was attended by 20,066 spectators, which still stands as club record. In 1962 the club finished sixth position and Orvar Bergmark left the club to join AS Roma.
After finishing eighth both in 1963 and in 1964, sixth in 1965 and seventh in 1966, Örebro SK were an established mid table team but in 1967 they won their second bronze medal. After a good start but a poor following season the team had to settle with the fifth spot in 1968 but in 1969 they were close to win Stora Silvret (eng: big silver, runners-up) but just missed after losing the last game of the season. Instead, they finished fifth yet again in the very tight race for silver.
In 1970 the club was close to relegation, but stayed up after defeating the previous year's champions IFK Göteborg 1–0, sending the champions down to Division 2 instead. The game became known as the first instance of hooliganism in Sweden. Disgruntled IFK Göteborg fans stormed the pitch and removed the goal posts. Between 1971 and 1976 were stuck in the mid- to bottom range of Allsvenskan. In 1977 Örebro was close to relegation but secured a continued spell in the top flight in the last game of the season. That only lasted for one more year. After 18 straight seasons in Allsvenskan, Örebro was relegated to Division 2 in 1978.
Struggle in the second division (1979–1987)
Between 1979 and 1981 the club finished runners-up for three consecutive seasons, losing out to teams like IK Brage and AIK. After losing several players, the 1982 season become a disappointment with ÖSK finishing fifth of Division 2. Before the following season 1983 the board decided to push hard for a comeback to Allsvenskan. The club signed star manager Roy Hodgson, who in the last few years had won two gold medals to Halmstads BK and new players were brought in. However IFK Norrköping and Djurgårdens IF were the stronger teams in a tough second division and Örebro finished third.
In 1984 ÖSK, still managed by Hodgson, won Division 2 North. However, play-off against the runner up of Division 2 South was now required for promotion to Allsvenskan. Mjällby AIF proved too strong and ÖSK lost both games and at the end of the season Hodgson moved to Malmö FF, replaced by fellow Brit Stuart Baxter, who had just retired as a player for ÖSK. After finishing fourth in 1985, the 1986 season was close to end in disaster. The club was only saved from relegation by rivals Västerås SK who defeated Enköpings SK in the final day of the season. A new major attempt to reach Allsvenskan in 1987 including the signing of high-profile coach Rolf Zetterlund ended in disappointment as the club only finished third.
The Dahlkvist era – Örebro SK back in the top flight (1988–1999)
The next attempt in 1988 would be more successful. Before the season, Zetterlund brought Sven Dahlkvist to ÖSK from his former club AIK. Dahlkvist, player of the year in Sweden in 1984, was one of the highest profile signings in club history, and became a club icon as player and coach. Simultaneous with the club's 80th anniversary, ÖSK secured the long-awaited promotion back to Allsvenskan. At the same time Örebro SK Fotboll became independent from Örebro SK and organized as a club focused solely on football. Örebro SK Ungdom was also formed to cater for the junior age groups.
Örebro SK's comeback was successful, and the club immediately established itself as a team subscribing to top positions in Allsvenskan. Already in the first year, ÖSK qualified for the play-offs (fourth) for the championship but lost the semi-final against IFK Norrköping. In 1990 the club was able to yet again reach the semi-finals (finishing third) but this time IFK Göteborg proved too strong in a nerve-racking play-off were IFK Göteborg keeper Thomas Ravelli made one of the saves of his career on a header from the home team captain Sven Dahlkvist.
In 1991 a new league system was introduced. In the new 10-team league, the club finished runners up (second to IFK Göteborg only on goal difference) but dropped to third in the Mästerskapsserien between the top six teams. The strong results of ÖSK were very much thanks to new striker Miroslaw Kubisztal, signed from GKS Katowice in Poland. "Miro" or "Kuba" soon became a big home crowd favourite, and still today the ÖSK fans are called "Kubanerna" as a tribute to the Pole.
The impressive performance in the previous season also earned Örebro its debut in the 1991/1992 UEFA cup. ÖSK were however unfortunate enough to draw champions-to-be Ajax already in the first round. After holding the Dutch team goalless for 60 minutes in the first leg, ÖSK in the end lost 3–0 and then lost 1–0 in the second leg at home.
The following year became a failure as the team did not qualify for Mästerskapsserien but instead had to fight against relegation in Kvalsvenskan. After a bad start where Örebro SK struggled to score Örebro effectively secured continued participation in Allsvenskan after an epic 7–1 win against BK Häcken, finishing second and qualifying for the yet again amended Allsvenskan, as of 1993 consisting of 14 teams and with no play-off for the championship. Örebro also participated in the UEFA cup for the second time, losing a close tie against KV Mechelen (2–1 on aggregate) in the first round.
Coach Zetterlund left the club after the end of the 1992 season, to be replaced by Kent Karlsson. ÖSK looked sharp in the pre-season games, but performed badly when the league season started. Karlsson soon had to leave the coaching job for personal reasons. As replacement, the club brought on Dahlkvist, who had retired after the 1991 season to become technical director of the club, only to make a temporary and highly celebrated comeback in the autumn of 1992. Dahlkvist know had the double role of coach and technical director. The 1993 season however ended with a disappointing 12th spot for Dahlkvist's team, which meant that ÖSK had to enter play-off to against Vasalund/Essinge IF to stay up. The club was able to stay in Allsvenskan on the away goal rule after the first match ended 2–2 and the return game at home 0–0.
Before the 1994 season, Örebro SK only made one player acquisition. However, it proved absolutely crucial. former Anderlecht star Arnor Gudjohnsen was signed from BK Häcken. As an attacking midfielder behind prolific polish striker Miroslaw Kubisztal and starlet Mattias Jonson Gudjohnsen immediately became the architect of the most feared attack in Allsvenskan. 1994 became the best season to date in the club history were the club scored 62 goals and fought for the championship until the dying minute of the season. The day of the season had a spectacular set up; ÖSK, IFK Göteborg and Malmö FF all had the chance to win Allsvenskan, and the latter two played against each other. As Örebro SK won comfortably away against Landskrona Bois, the only result that would snatch the title from the club was an IFK Göteborg win. IFK Göteborg scored a late winner to secure the championship. Örebro in 1994 also became the first Swedish club ever to score in each of the 26 games of the season.
The club didn't reach the same level in 1995 as the year before, even if they were close to win a medal, again failing on the finishing line. The club also made an embarrassing third appearance in the UEFA cup, being disqualified after having used too many foreign players in the preliminary round against Avenir Beggen of Luxembourg. The oversight raised questions over the double role of Dahlkvist as coach and technical director of the club.