Jacob Bergstrom, the 31-year-old striker for Mjallby, is aiming to continue his club's remarkable journey in the Champions League. Bergstrom, who was playing amateur football at 22 and worked at Subway after joining Mjallby in 2018, helped the club win the Swedish championship and Swedish Cup for the first time in their 87-year history last season.
He scored on his Champions League debut and now hopes to help Mjallby overcome Slovan Bratislava. Slovan Bratislava's new head coach is Yaya Toure, the former Manchester City midfielder and Champions League winner.
Bergstrom expressed his astonishment at Mjallby's success, stating, "I never dreamed of anything like this. It was like, I didn't even think about it. For me to be here now is crazy, and to do it with Mjallby as well is amazing." Mjallby, based in the coastal village of Hallevik with fewer than 1,000 residents, attracts an average home crowd of 5,000 fans.
Hallevik has become the second smallest village to host a Champions League fixture. Mjallby progressed to the third qualifying round after a 3-0 win over Lincoln Red Imps and a 0-0 draw in Gibraltar. Even if Mjallby do not advance further in the Champions League, they are guaranteed to play in at least this season's Conference League.