After winning Allsvenskan in 1977, the club qualified for the 1978–79 European Cup. After an initial 0–0 draw home against French champions Monaco it seemed difficult for Malmö FF to progress further in the competition. However the club won away on a single decider scored by Jan-Olov Kinnvall. Now Malmö FF had to face the champions of the Soviet Union, Dynamo Kyiv. And after a goalless match in Kiev, suddenly the expectations rose. And with a 2–0 victory at home, the club became the second ever Swedish club to reach the quarter-finals. After an unusually cold winter, Malmö FF played Polish champions Wisla Krakow. After a 1–2 defeat away, the return match began ill-fitting for Malmö FF as the Polish side scored in the 58th minute. However Malmö FF turned the match back around as Anders "Puskas" Ljungberg scored a hat trick that together with a goal from Tore Cervin completed the comeback. With a 4–1 home victory and 5-3 aggregate score, Malmö FF now had reached the Semi-finals. In the semi-finals the club faced Austrian champions Austria Wien. After a goalless draw in Vienna, Tommy Hansson scored the single decisive goal that brought Malmö FF to the final of the European Cup. The Final was played at the Olympiastadion in Munich against Nottingham Forest, the English champions. In the last minute of the first half Trevor Francis scored the only goal for the Englishmen. Jan-Olov Kinnvall however was close to scoring an equalizer. As of 2015 the achievement of reaching the European Cup final has never been repeated by a Nordic club. In recognition of the achievement, Malmö FF was awarded the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal in 1979. Malmö FF is also the only Nordic club to have been represented at the Intercontinental Cup (succeeded by FIFA Club World Cup) in which they competed for the 1979 title.