Who are BK Hacken? Everything Aberdeen fans need to know about their side's Europa Conference League opponents

All you need to know about the Swedish side who will take on Aberdeen in the second qualifying round of the Europa Conference League.

Former Norway boss Per-Mathias Hogmo was hired as Hacken manager earlier this month. Picture: Getty

History

Formed in 1940, Hacken spent the first few decades of their existence battling in the lower leagues. It wouldn’t be until 1982 that they finally made it to the Allsvenskan, though they were quickly relegated and spent the rest of the 80s in the second tier. From the beginning of the 1990s they became something of a yo-yo team bouncing between the top two divisions before settling in the highest level of Swedish football since 2009. They have yet to win the title but finished second in 2012 and have won two cups within the last five years. They were also the 2020/21 losing finalists; going down on penalties to Hammarby.

Stadium

Holding just 6,500 spectators, the Bravida Arena is the second smallest stadium in the Allsvenskan. Construction was completed in 2015 on the site of Hacken’s previous ground at the cost of roughly £15 million.

2020/21

Swedish league seasons take place within a calendar year and things could scarcely have been any different from one to the next for the Gothenburg side. Last term they finished third in the table with the meanest defence, which helped them to avoid defeat in all but five of their 30 league matches, including losing only three times away from home (with a massive nine draws). At present, they currently find themselves bottom of the league with one win, three draws and four defeats from eight games. However, it does seem something of a false position for a team who’ve attempted the second most shots so far this term and are middle of the pack for shots conceded.

Manager

This is going to be the tricky part for Aberdeen and Stephen Glass. There isn’t going to be a whole lot of research to be done on how the opposition manager will line his team up as he’s just in the job. Previous boss Andreas Alm left to take control of Danish side Odense at the end of May. He’s been replaced by the experienced Per-Mathias Høgmo, who was once manager of the Norwegian national team and is the first foreign boss in Hacken’s history. He’s yet to take control of a game due to the mid-season break, though things will get back up and running again this weekend in the Allsvenskan and he’ll have five matches to get his ideas across before taking on the Dons. Alm preferred a 4-2-3-1 system, but considering their struggles so far this season in the league it wouldn’t be a surprise to see that changed.

Players

Leo Bengtsson is a goalscoring threat from midfield and was their top league scorer with eight strikes last season. They’ve improved their predatory touch this campaign with the recruitment of Alexander Jeremejeff from Twente. The forward has struck five times in eight games thus far and leads the league in shots attempted. They have plenty of players who love to run with the football. Bengtsson, Bénie Adama Traoré and youngster Patrik Wålemark are all in the top five in the league this season for attempted dribbles per 90 minutes.

Message from the editor

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