There seemed to be an unwritten rule up until the 1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden that the “Coupe Jules Rimet” remained on the continent upon which the competition was staged. The Brazilians were the first to break the series and carry of the “golden goddess Nike” over the “little pond”. Not even the Scandinavian hosts and their “12^th man”, their frenetic supporters, were able to prevent the South Americans from winning the first of their five titles.

Swedes are considered to be quiet and mannered but it did not apply to the FIFA World Cup on home soil. It was more of a case that the Swedish team were propelled to fantastic performances by their hugely enthusiastic fans. It was almost as if they had been given wings. The pre-requisites were perfect as the football association’s general secretary Holger Bergerus and the English coach Reynor travelled to Italy before the start of the finals to gather together their stars at Inter Milan (Skoglund), Padua (Hamrin), Lazio (Selmosson), AC Milan (Liedholm) and Atalanta Bergamo (Gustavsson).

But it had not always been the case. In the era when Sweden became the Olympic champions in 1950, the Scandinavians went for years without the services of the sensational and professional striking trio of Gunnar Gren, Nils Liedholm and Gunnar Nordahl, who were also known as “Gre-No-Lie”. Of the three “Italian” idols, Gren and Liedholm still had a place in the Tre Kroner team.

The fans of the stars were also amazingly well organised. They were warmed-up by the stadium’s announcers hours before each of Sweden’s matches. A man in dark trousers, white pullover, a portable microphone in the left hand and a Swedish flag to set the beat in the right took over the task of the giving the home team an added boost. The chant sung by the thousands of fans went: “Heja, Heja Sverige, heja sverige, friskt humör, det är, det som susan gör, heja, heja, heja,” which can be roughly translated as “Heja Sweden, be of good cheer, that’s the all important thing.”

Each of Sweden’s home games were therefore held in a cauldron. In the preliminary group stage they initially brushed off Mexico (3-0) in Stockholm’s Rasunda Stadium. The ground was also the venue for their 2-1 win over Hungary, the runners-up at the previous FIFA World Cup, and a goalless draw with Wales. In the quarterfinals the yellow and blues sent Russia packing (2-1) and then in the semifinals they dethroned the reigning FIFA World Champions by beating Germany 3-1.

Uwe Seeler was 21 years old when he played in his first FIFA World Cup finals in 1958, but failed against the Swedes and their fans. (Photo: Horstmüller)

The Swedes virtually turned the Göteborg venue for the encounter with West Germany into a fortress. People with megaphones and flags were posted all around the Ullevi Stadium to whip up the atmosphere. The 53,000 crowd was electrified. Sweden played magical football on the pitch and the Germans were shocked. Even the referee Zsolt from Hungary appeared a little unsettled. He made a n umber of questionable decisions and not only from a German point of view.

The 1954 FIFA World Cup winners’ team were visibly nervous playing in the atmosphere and the situation escalated when Juskowiak was sent off for a revenge foul on Hamrin. After going 1-0 up, the Germans eventually lost 3-1 and the World Champion’s reign was at an end. One could still see the pain in the faces of Sepp Herberger’s players in the third place play-off match against France. The game was lost 6-3.

The DFB team (right), France and the refereeing team enter the Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg for the bronze medal match at the 1958 FIFA World Cup. The French won 6-3. (Photo: Horstmüller)

The world formed a guard of honour for the new champions, Brazil. The South Americans crushed the hosts 5-2 in the final. The chant “Heja Sverige” gradually fell silent. But a certain Edson Arantes do Nacimento di Pele rose to become the new star in the football skies. He excited the football world with the exception that is of Sweden, who, though spellbound, felt hugely disappointed. Olympic gold medal winner Gunnar Gren later remembered the time very realistically: “Winning the silver medal in Sweden was worth its weight in gold. We had no chance against the Brazilians. The 5-2 scoreline was a true reflection of the play.”

Sweden were not only the FIFA World Cup runners-up but they created a totally new fan culture over 50 years ago. Never before had there been chanting in such an organised form as at the 1958 FIFA World Cup. The Heja-Heja chant was to be heard for many years afterwards in the sports stadiums when Swedish fans were looking to encourage their team on. And not only at football matches.