MANY came to see just one man. And, although Anders Svensson was sat high in the stands throughout last night's 1-0 win against Division One club GAIS, the charismatic Swede was in many respects the star of the show in his home city of Gothenburg.

It might now have been more than two years ago, but no one has forgotten that free-kick against Argentina.

Girls in their teens flocked around him, every camera was pointed in the same direction.

And one of the biggest cheers of the night came when he was introduced and interviewed on the pitch before the match.

And in all honesty, that was perhaps the major high point for many of the few thousand Swedes who ventured out to watch Saints on a night which saw the rain put a slight dampener on the turn-out.

The fact that the local press publicised the fact that neither Anders nor Michael Svensson would play also probably slightly hampered a good turnout.

Yet it was still a friendly and enjoyable atmosphere.

Swedish football crowds are different to those back home.

Where there is shouting, singing and plenty of abuse to be heard within English grounds up and down the country, there is largely less vociferous support in Scandinavia.

Saints were afforded polite applause from hosts eager to welcome a Premiership club to their ground, and Paul Sturrock's men were also backed by several dozen die-hard fans from England, who certainly made themselves heard.

Far more Saints supporters are also known to be travelling out for Saturday's match against Asebro IF and many will stay on for what is the glamour fixture of the tour against Anders Svensson's former club Elfsborg.

Last night there was still a sizeable smattering of red and white stripes to be seen in the 15,000 capacity stadium, although to be fair many of them were worn by Swedes.

Saints have many fans in Scandinavia.

Part of it is naturally down to the Svenssons, as well as new arrival Mikael Nilsson.

But there are also those who remember the golden era of the late 1970s and 1980s.

One such supporter is Jurgen Larsson who lives in Skovde, a Swedish town between Stockholm and Gothenburg.

"I first fell in love with Southampton when I was about 15," he remembered.

"It was their red and white stripes at first, but they were also a great team.

"I remember greats like Keegan and Armstrong and the entertaining football that they used to play.

"But my all-time favourite player is Matt Le Tissier - he was a genius."

Another was Magnus Holmberg, who added: "Saints have a great following in Sweden and it will get only better when Mikael Nilsson joins.

"Players like Antti Niemi, Claus Lundekvam and Jo Tessem are also very popular."

But right now, there is no one who can draw a crowd like Anders Svensson.

Not even James Beattie - or Betty as the stadium announcer insisted on calling Saints' star striker.