AGF Champions

The first time I went to watch a football match was in 1986 in Ikast, when now foregone Ikast FS was playing AGF. AGF won the league that season, and today, 40 years later, AGF have again won the League.

AGF won deservedly as FC Midtjylland, the usual favourites (and who incidentally used to be Ikast), could not keep up with the team from Århus. They had tied to FC Nordsjælland which meant that if AGF defeated Brøndby, they would effectively be champions with one match left.

AGF did what they had to do and won 0-2; surely next week a big celebration in Århus as they get their medals in an unimportant match against Viborg. 

Some Brøndby fans, including myself, may have thought back to the sad day in 2024 when Brøndby just needed to defeat AGF at home to win the league, but AGF won and FC Midtjylland instead became champions, and thought of revenge against AGF. 

Don't mistake me: I am not an AGF fan, but revenge is so old-fashioned and pointless. Instead, I find it refreshing that finally the championship goes to a club that is not a recent money-creation (FC Midtjylland and FC Copenhagen), but is instead one of the old traditional Danish clubs, and comes from the otherwise lovely second city of Denmark, Århus.

So congratulations to AGF, but most of all to all Århusianere, who today have every reason to smile! 

Superligaen

 It is not that I get to watch much Danish football here in Mexico, and yesterday I enjoyed Cruz Azul defeating Monterrey 0-2 in a great match in the Mexican league, where Toluca continues on top.

But today the first phase of the Danish superliga was ending with the top six going to play for the title; the first historical thing that happened was that FC Copenhagen, the traditionally dominating team in Denmark over the last couple of decades, did not make the top-six for the first time since it was founded. As a Brøndby fan I am not crying (Brøndby ended in fourth place)...

The top team is AGF, from the second city in Denmark, Århus. They are one of the few traditional traditional clubs left, founded in 1880, but have not won a title since 1986, but appear now as realistic candidates. The number 2 side is the other fusion team, FC Midtjylland, who with FC Copenhagen has been dominating the league for more than 10 years (Since 2015 either side has won the league, except for 2021, when Brøndby won).

I sympathize more with FC Midtjylland, but for the variety and history in Danish football, it would be good to get a title back to one of the oldest clubs in the Superliga, meaning AGF.

But the title race will be without FCK. 

The Right to Play

Women have historically not had it easy in the male-dominated world of football, and only in the 1970s did most countries lift bans on women's football. I just listened to a very interesting podcast from Danish Radio, "Retten til Fodbold" ("The Right to Football") that through two Danish stories told about the challenges and discrimination faced by women in football.

The first story is an interview with Lone Hansen, a Danish player on the 1970 Danish National team that won the first women's World Cup in 1970, and facing the discrimination from the Danish Football Association (DBU) decided to become one of the first professional female players in Italy, in 1971, when she went to play for Fiorentina, where she stayed for four years, but never received any recognition in Denmark, where DBU only allowed women football after pressure from UEFA in 1972 (and even despite the fact that Denmark had won the Unofficial Women's World Cup in 1971).

The second story is more recent, and is that of the Afghan-born Danish player Nadia Nadim. Born in Afghanistan she experienced the Taliban takeover and her family had to flee to Denmark, where she was able to play football, and was spotted early on by scouts and was invited for the Danish National team despite all the discrimination she faced as a woman, but also as a refugee. Nadia Nadim went on to become a superstar and has been capped 104 times for Denmark!

Even today women face discrimination in football despite huge advances, and it is clear that this even happens in Denmark, and the amazing story of these two strong women is a welcome reminder, besides it being amazing stories.

Hjulmand out

Kasper Hjulmand, who has been manager of the Danish national team for the last three tournaments is a nice guy and a popular manager for Denmark who in 2021 made Danish fans happier for the national team that we had been for many years. That said, it was time for him to leave, and indeed since the disastrous 2022 World Cup he overstayed his job.

While one can argue that over his stay he has achieved good results in terms of qualifying Denmark to two Euros and a World Cup, the problem is less in terms of result and more in terms of style and commitment. There are plenty of excuses about the disaster in Qatar, but in truth there can be few excuses for what was the loss to Australia that eliminated Denmark. Following that, Denmark was shaky in qualification: leads were thrown away and a team with strong players from big clubs appeared to get nervous when subjected to pressure. They were unable to keep their heads cool.

Following a close qualification, expectation were not big in Denmark to these Euros, just a careful optimism (totally different from Qatar), and Danes appeared happy to have made it to the last-16 only to be eliminated by Germany. But in my view there were many troubles; I firmly believe that Denmark could have been much better if they had not played a cowardly defensive style in their first matches against Slovenia and Serbia, when instead they seemed satisfied against sides that were not better than Denmark. In small moments one saw the Denmark that could exist, as against England, but there was too much respect from the Danes about "the big teams". 

Denmark under Hjulmand has followed the trend of many teams: defend and be afraid to win. That only makes football less popular; the teams that are remembered are those who play good football and do not necessarily win, and in Denmark we have many examples of this: 1986, 1998, and even 2021.

I wish Mr. Hjulmand the best, but it is time for new blood and back to better football.

How I became a Brøndby fan

Recently Brøndby won the Danish league for the first time in 16 years. This made me happy, very happy, but also led to a reflection about why I support Brøndby; how did I become a Brøndby fan?

The first time I saw Brøndby play was in 1987, the year that Brøndby won their second Danish title, and were emerging as the dominant force in Danish football through the 1990s. This was in Ikast, a small town in central Jutland, which had a team that competed in the top Danish league. Now, you could consider that I was an Ikast fan; living nearby I went to many matches in Ikast, so it was the team I supported. That said, Brøndby was putting Danish football on the European stage, and that same year, 1987, Brøndby made it to the quarterfinals of the European Champions Cup only to be eliminated by the later champions of FC Porto.

In 1989 I went to the Danish Cup final with my father. Ikast-Brøndby is a legendary match that ended 3-3, and only in extra time Brøndby ended up winning 6-3 (check it out on Youtube). This was a Brøndby side with players that would become legends: Peter Schmeichel, Lars Olsen, Kim Vilfort, John Faxe Jensen, Brian Laudrup..., and although I supported Ikast in that match, I was impressed by the club and the fans.

Soon after I moved to Spain, USA, and the reference point when living abroad increasingly became Brøndby, and less and less Ikast. In fact, Ikast FS ceased to exist in 1999, when it merged with Herning Fremad to form FC Midtjylland. By this time FC Midtjylland, a team based in Herning, was simply too far from my Ikast-memories, and although I sympathize with the wolves from Herning, I simply feel no connection to the side.

My attachment to Brøndby on the other hand only grew. As I moved to the outskirts of Copenhagen for university, a rivalry was emerging between Brøndby and the newly minted FC Copenhagen. For me Brøndby, the team that had already given me some memories became my natural choice among the many teams in the Danish Superliga. 

I went to Brøndby matches  once in a while (far from enough) and in 1999, when Brøndby qualified for the Champions League, I went to all matches against Bayern Munich, Manchester United and FC Barcelona. The first match, against Bayern Munich, remains a treasured memory, when Allan Ravn's memorable late kick gave them a victory against a German side that would make it to the CL final that same season (against Manchester United).

Although I increasingly spent time outside Denmark, I was in the stadium in 2002 against FCK, another memorable match, when a late equalizer by Mads Jørgensen effectively gave Brøndby the title. 

By this time there was no doubt that I supported Brøndby, and as I have moved from country to country over the last years, Brøndby has remained my point of entry to follow the Danish League. I have been hugely disappointed over the last 10 years, as the club almost went bankrupt (and I purchased stocks in the club) and as they have been unable to wrestle the two powerhouses of Danish football: FC Copenhagen and FC Midtjylland.

But a new title has come, hopefully more years of Brøndby giving us new memories, wherever we are in the world!

Keep Attacking

 Last time Brøndby won the Danish title was in 2005 under Michael Laudrup as manager. Since then things have not been good as the club barely avoided a bankruptcy as other clubs, most notably FC Copenhagen and FC Midtjylland became the best clubs in the country.

The last couple of years Brøndby has been a title contender, but without luck for the club or the passionate fans.  This season the title race is proving particularly close, but it has always seemed that FC Midtjylland were one bit ahead in the title race. With one match left that has changed: ironically, the arch-rivals of FC Copenhagen gave Brøndby an opportunity to take first place by defeating FC Midtjylland. Brøndby "only" had to win away to AGF, from Aarhus.

Although Brøndby went ahead early, they suffered a red card and an equalizer by AGF, and things suddenly looked bleak. But deep into the second half Mikael Uhre scored a winner for Brøndby punishing a dreadful but fortunate mistake by an AGF defender. 

I did not watch the match. I am in El Salvador; I was at work, but put on the radio in the office, and must admit that I could hardly even pretend to work as the nervous second half advanced.

On Monday, Brøndby faces FC Nordsjælland at home. A victory will give them the title. So nothing is decided yet, although anything but the title would be heartbreaking for Brøndby fans all over the world, even in El Salvador...

Joke-mark

I was just browsing the news and saw that the Danish national team for the next friendly and Nations League matches against Slovakia and Wales will be a group of amateur players from the lowest leagues because the Danish football federation, DBU, and the players of the Danish national team have a dispute on commercial rights. So basically the Danish team, among the 16 best in the world in the last World Cup, are not just a joke, but also insulting the fans, their opponents and the entire footballing world.
One has to wonder why this is not happening with other national teams: surely other national teams, whose professional players also have commercial rights, have similar agreements that could be an example for these uncompromising Danes...? So either the Danish national team players had the best deal in the world, and DBU were trying to normalize it, or DBU are offering a deal that is much worse than what other national teams have.
Last year the Danish women's team refused to play a World Cup qualifier amid a similar dispute. Denmark was fined and lost the match. Why does this happen with DBU and not with other football associations? Are Danish professional players (both men and women) more complicated than the ones from other countries, or is DBU just incapable of striking an acceptable agreement that other federations in UEFA seem to have no problem with...?

I must admit that I give the benefit of the doubt to the players: DBU has historically been dismal at managing Danish football. Until 1975 DBU refused to recognize professionalism, and players who went professional were banned for life from the national team. This meant that Denmark, who had players in the top leagues in Europe throughout the 1950s and 1960s, always fielded teams of second rate amateurs, just like they are doing now!
So maybe this is just a return to the time when Danish football was dominated by glorious amateurs and would get their butts kicked by every other country. If anything, the next matches will be worth watching because Denmark will not be much better than San Marino or Liechtenstein.
Football is a joke.

Brøndby-Sønderjyske

It had been long time since I had watched a Danish league match until yesterday when I watched Brøndby play Søderjyske in the Danish league. None have a chance of winning the league, although it seems Brøndby is set for second spot. That said, neither side seemed that committed to the match: both teams are organized and physically strong, but having not watched Danish football for a while I could not help but notice the general lack of technical skills: very slow ball control and poor kicking technique was what characterized the match, in particular among the two goalkeepers, where Søderjyske goalie Lukas Fernandes cost a goal when he totally misplaced a kick. Frederik Rønnow from Sønderjyske, a player I had never heard about, will nevertheless always be remembered when I saw him make one of the biggest misses ever: in a totally open goal, goalkeeper away, he managed to miss the goal....
The match ended 1-1.

The poor men and the champions

I have not been able to watch Brøndby play the entire season, so it was perhaps in place that the match I watched was against the arch-rivals FC Copenhagen, in the match that could make the latter champions. 0-0 was enough to make the Copenhagen team champions with three rounds to go.
Deservedly.
In spite of the fact that I have not seen them play this season it was obvious that in spite of the spirit and fight that Brøndby played with, FC Copenhagen are the best side tactically and technically. Brøndby was recently saved from bankruptcy by a massive input of money by fans and supporters, and that is to be admired. That said, when the leadership of the club is talking about European football within a few seasons it seems like they have remained living on planet "Illusion". Tactically Brøndby plays a primitive type of football where high balls are kicked up to a tall (and talented) striker. Technically, the quality of the average player is no better than the lower clubs of the English Championship.
This is not a team that will play European football within a few seasons, so they should just concentrate on surviving, for now, and then on building up a new team by replacing the weaker players.

FC Copenhagen continues to be the powerhouse of Danish football. That they did not win the title last season (FC Nordsjaelland did) was largely a fluke, and the team that was created in 1992 won its 10th title, and the 9th since 2001. With a variation of strong Danish players and foreigners they remain the only team with possibilities to compete decently in Europe, and not get the thrashings FC Nordsjaelland received last season in the CL.
I am not an FC Copenhagen fan, but I recognize them as the strongest and most competitive team in Denmark, and the right chanmpions.

Saving Brondby

I must admit that I have not followed the Danish league in detail for ages. Living abroad, with plenty of work and with outstanding leagues to watch in South America, North America and Europe, the Danish league falls a bit in the background.
And the fact that my favourite side, Brondby, has been at the bottom for a couple of years has not helped on the desire to follow the Danish "Super" league...
I therefore had to find out why I was being offered options on Brondby shares when I checked my bank recently. Turns out that the club, on the verge of bankruptcy, is trying to raise 60 Million Danish Crowns through an issuing of shares, where current stockholders receive the right to buy 13 new shares for every share owned.
Believe this: there are few worse investments than investing in a football club! So the stocks worth 80 Euros I bought in years ago was more an emotional investment; to have the feeling that I am still part of the marvelous community that Brondby fans are.
But should I support the stock emission to "save" Brondby and use my options?
The fans have made a webpage calling for fans to contribute so that the club can be "saved": redbrondby.dk. The site is to gather support for the stock emission, but it says really nothing of what "saving" means. Granted, it means that Brondby will not go bankruptcy, and thus not forced down to play in the lower divisions, something that no matter how you see it, will be a huge blow to the atmosphere and excitement of the Danish league. But it seems to me Brondby may go down to the second division anyway (currently they are swerving above relegation), and that to invest in the team may be like pouring water out of the Titanic with a teaspoon...
If I put money into the club, I would like to know what the club wants to do for the future. The team has not been working since Michael Laudrup left in 2006, and a pretty lousy management, sleeping on the misplaced grandeur of the past when Brondby was the "flagship" of European football, let the club be overtaken by petty sides from the middle of nowhere, such as FC Nordsjaelland, Randers and Horsens (!?!?).
I would want a management with their feet on the ground and with a realistic view about what Brondby can achieve over the next 10 years. Frankly, this has to include some hard things to swallow: we are unlikely to win the league in the near future. If we get to play European football we cannot expect to progress beyond the first round.
We are not the 90's Brondby any longer. Wake up.
On redbrondby.dk they include some famous people that support the club. I have never heard about any of them, except Jan Bartram, a great Danish player from the 1980s who had a rather short career. He is the only footballer I see supporting the club in these difficult moments, and I have to wonder where many of the legends of the club are: Michael Laudrup, Brian Laudrup, Peter Schmeichel, Lars Olsen, Kim Vilfort, Ebbe Sand, Marc Rieper, Allan Nielsen, Daniel Agger....? Legends from Brondby. What do they think about all this?
I am sure that with the talent school, infrastructure and fan-base, Brondby surely can be fighting for the title in the future. But it will take time and realism to rebuild what has been destroyed by lousy management over a long time, and I am not sure I am seeing this in the current "offer" to contribute money to them (which sounds so much better than the fact that they are actually begging).
So what should I do?