finished in fifth place, its best showing in Allsvenskan. The club would stay in Allsvenskan through the rest of the 1970s, attracting large crowds, despite not returning above fifth place. Also in 1978, the club changed from black/yellow to green/white colours. In the 1982 season, Swedish football introduced a playoff system for the top 8 teams in Allsvenskan to decide a champion. The playoffs consisted of two matches in which the aggregate score would determine who would advance. The club had placed second overall that season and had not lost a home game. After defeating Örgryte in the quarter-finals, and coming back from a 1–3 deficit to beat Elfsborg 4–3 in the semi-finals, Hammarby was in the final against IFK Göteborg. Hammarby won its away match 2–1, but lost 1–3 in its home match to a sold out crowd. In the following year, Hammarby finished fifth in the league, but lost to AIK in the play-offs. In the Svenska Cupen tournament, Hammarby reached the finals but lost against IFK. However, since IFK qualified for the UEFA Cup that year, Hammarby qualified for the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, its first major international competition, where the club lost to Finland's FC Haka in the second round. The Hammarby squads finished consistently in the top six in the league every year through 1987. In 1988, Hammarby finished last in the standings and were relegated to the second tier. Although the club placed first in 1989, it finished last in 1990. 1990s–2000s: Tough nineties, restructuring, champions Hammarby would stay in the second tier in 1991 and 1992, but in 1993, the team finished in first place and were promoted to Allsvenskan. In 1995 Allsvenskan, the team finished last and were relegated, but returned to the 1998 Allsvenskan with a third-place finish. Prior to the 2001 Allsvenskan season, the club had financially tough times, leading experts to conclude that the team was weak, and one journalist predicted a last place finish. Halfway through the 2001 season, manager Sören Cratz was informed that his contract would not be extended because the club's board wanted Hammarby to play a positive, attacking and fun football, something the board did not think that Cratz did. However, the club took the lead in the standings and in the second-to-last match, which was against Örgryte IS on 21 October, the club won 3–2 and secured its first ever Allsvenskan championship. Hammarby