Five years ago on July 30, there was an all blue and yellow celebration as Sweden claimed the European Championships with a 16-7 win over Germany for their first title ever.

Sweden became the first team to score a touchdown against a German team who was able keep their opponents scoreless for two years and five consecutive games. Germany had won the gold medal at the Duisburg World Games just two weeks before the historic game against Sweden.

It was an exciting European Championship final that was decided in the last quarter when Germany eagerly tried to get the ball out of the hands of Swedish running back Kim Tallbi but could not as he escaped the defenders and rushed for the decisive 80-yard touchdown.  

The Swedish team now enters the upcoming European Championships game in Frankfurt, Germany with the roles being switched - Germany is the host and Sweden enters as the top seeded team.  Sweden will have to defeat fourth seed Great Britain and fifth seed France to make it back to the championship game while second seed Germany will not only have to face third seed Finland but will also have to deal with Austria.

When it comes to rivalries between neighboring countries, Sweden has many experiences. Before the Tre Kronor team got its shot at the Germans in the 2005 final, the team had to overcome Finland in the semi-final just two days before. The tournament only featured four teams and was played on a single weekend. As Sweden denied their archrival and five-time European Champions a spot in the final for only the second time in European Championship history.  This was a huge accomplishment, as in a ten year span Finland had only lost on game to a Swedish team. 

Sweden holds a slight edge over their Scandinavian rivalry with another Swedish victory coming from last year's traditional October game between the two nations. Noghor Jemide provided the two first-half touchdown rushes that helped Sweden to a 14-0 win.

While Kim Taalbi, hero of the 2005 European Championship, is still part of the team along with many new faces will attempt to defend the title at Germany. As Finland, led by 19 year-old quarterback Sebastian Thune and Anders Hermodsson will try to led their team to victory.

This year's road to European title will be an exciting one as any team could come out on top. In a three-team preliminary group, on loss may be crucial which the Swedish team was reminded of last summer participating in the "Tri Nations" tournament at Great Britain. After defeating Australia by a score of 34-0, Sweden in its first-ever game against Great Britain struggled from the first play of the game and was surprised by the Brits who handed them a stunning 31-7 loss.

So let the Swedish team warn that anything is possible when the top six nations gather at Germany from July 24 to July 31to compete for the coveted European Championship title.