Östersund, the club with 'no history and no ideas' that took on Europe

When Östersund fell into Swedish fourth tier – ‘the lowest of the low’ – in 2010 they tried something new. It’s still working

A film by Copa90 of the Guardian Sport Network

European football can feel very predictable. The same clubs spend their fortunes on the world’s most valuable stars, cruise to the final eight of continental tournaments, and dominate their domestic leagues. In a way, football at the very top has stagnated. But in the geographical centre of Sweden, in an isolated place known to the rest of the country as “up in the mountains of the north,” a new approach has taken root and blossomed on the European stage.

Östersund were in the fourth tier of Swedish football as recently as 2010. They had little by way of vision or resources and were struggling to make football work in a town dominated by winter sports, in a country dominated by clubs in the south, and in a game dominated by money. So how did this club based 240 miles from the Arctic Circle find themselves playing Arsenal in the last 16 of the Europa League?

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