By Philip O'Connor

GELENDZHIK/SAMARA, Russia, July 6 (Reuters) - Thither wish be motley emotions for many Swedes when their team collide with England in their Public Cup quarter-final, for all but 50 age they sustain had a roll in the hay matter with the English language secret plan that has brightened up their long, darkness winter evenings.

And they bear an eruption of an agricultural disease and a off confuse hunt down to give thanks for it.

In 1967 newsman Lars-Gunnar Bjorklund from land broadcaster SVT was in England to do a level just about confuse hunting, just an irruption of foot-and-sass disease byword whole hunt cancelled, so he went to determine Tottenham Percy gambling Chelsea rather.

Due to the rough winters, Sweden's football game league is ordinarily played from April to October. Bjorklund rapidly completed that European country football game would be the perfect amusement for foresighted winter evenings, and the "Tipsextra" establish was Born.

The first-class honours degree game, a 1-0 victory for Wolverhampton Wanderers o'er Sunderland, was shown on Nov 29, 1969 and viewing audience in Kingdom of Sweden quick took teams similar Wolves, Occident Bromwich Albion and Leeds Conjunct to their Black Maria.

"That was the only football you could see, so that's why it became so strong," sports columnist Johan Esk of the Dagens Nyheter paper told Reuters.

Though gambling was tightly ordered in 1969, hundreds of thousands of Swedes filled in a pools coupon named "Stryktipset" every week where they tested to forebode the right final result - national win, pull or aside make headway - in 13 matches.

GOAL FLASHES

These matches became the basis of Tipsextra, PokerQQ with viewing audience fascinated by ane hold out meet every Sabbatum and goal flashes from or so England's upside section.

"Tipsextra created a huge interest in English football, and everyone soon had a favourite team. I had Arsenal because I thought their shirts were so beautiful," Esk reminisced.

At a clock when there were only when two channels to take from in Sweden, in that location was small contender.

"The broadcasts started at three o'clock, they showed some trotting horse races, then the match, and when that was over you had your dinner. That was it, every Saturday," says Esk, WHO volition be cover Sweden's quarter-final against England from the bid boxwood.

"Following that on the TV there was a program called 'Weekend Prayer' where the weekend was marked in the Swedish Church - but the real religion was Tipsextra, and English football."

Swedish boss Janne Andersson radius on Friday of observance 'Tipsextra' development up in the 1970s and said the English language halt had a gravid touch on on him.

"I was always a huge fan of English football," Andersson said in Samara, where Sweden side England on Sat.

"I remember the muddy pitches and watching all of this. I grew up with this. England was really my second nation as it were.

"So it is a marvellous flavour to be faced with England at present as the channelize passenger vehicle of the Scandinavian country team. We are looking onward to it."

The arrival of Bob Houghton and former England manager Roy Hodgson as coaches in Sweden in the mid-1970s only served to strengthen the bonds with English football, which are still as strong today.

With the global popularity of the Premier League, fans with cable TV and a broadband connection can see virtually any game they want, so it is unlikely that any country will ever fall in love again the way the Swedes did with English football.

"Young the great unwashed these days cognise a dispense well-nigh football, simply a bunch of that is via the FIFA video back - we knew a pile most English football because it was all we saw," Esk said. (Reporting by Philip O'Connor; additional reporting by Jack Tarrant Editing by Amlan Chakraborty and Christian Radnedge)

Advertisement