Danish Superliga 2012/2013 [R]

Brøndby have had great trouble paying wages in the winter break and are on the brink of bankruptcy... now they have finally revealed the plan, how they are going to survive... their bank and investors demand that they cut wages right now, so if they are to survive this winter, their management, coaches and all their players have to agree to a 25% pay cut, though only through the next 3 month... and a permanent 10% pay cut after the winter break... if some players chose to say no, they will be free to leave the club... or more correctly, they have to agree to leave the club on a free transfer, because Brøndby have no 'plan B' and quite simply will go bankrupt, if some players stick to their contracts and demand to get their full wages.

But a wage reduction will not save the club, if some of their creditors also demand payment of debts during the winter break and probably also until the summer break... it will be interesting to see what SønderjyskE have to say about this, because they sold Quincy Antipas to Brøndby last summer, agreeing to get most of the transfer fee later, because Brøndby were not able to pay the full $877k transfer fee at that point in time... SønderjyskE is close to the drop zone in the Superliga, and it will become very costly if they suffer relegation, so in reality SønderjyskE could chose to take a loss by demanding to get their money, to see Brøndby relegated from the Superliga.
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As written earlier, then the Brøndby players agreed to taking a 75% salary cut in January, but now it's February and neither Goodson or any of the other Brøndby players have received any money at all... so they have told the club, that if they don't receive their wages on Monday, they are going to file for bankruptcy, which gives Brøndby exactly 3 days to find the money before all the player are declared free agents and Brøndby are finished in the Superliga.

The main problem is, that the negotiations has broken down between Brøndby and the 'Danish Players Association' over the payment of $4.5 million in debt to some former players, and they cant come to an agreement over the 18% interest (around $ 1 million so far ) Brøndby now also have to pay the players according to Danish law.

According to Danish law, all employees in Denmark are entitled to 5 weeks paid vacation a year as a minimum + also in most cases some pension... this vacation money also by law has to be calculated and deducted correctly on your paycheck and send to something called 'FerieKonto' every month, who they pay you the money when you at some point go on vacation.. it's actually a bit more simple than it sounds, and 'FerieKonto' is run by the private company ATP which ranks among Europe's largest and most successful pension investors, but the main point here is, that it regulated by Danish law, so that employers are not able to cheat their employees by just writing on your paycheck that vacation and pension is included in your wages, which is exactly what Brøndby seem to have been doing for years, especially regarding their foreign players and the Danes who have played most of their careers abroad... they have also "forgotten" to deduct the vacation/pension money from sign-on fees and so they have been taken to court and of course lost the case (btw on 9/11 2012 )...

As the case stands right now, Brøndby are saying that the investors they have lined up, are only ready to save they club on condition that the 'Danish Players Association' agree not to charge the 18% interest, but since the 18% (or 1.5% a month ) is also according to law, then there is little that the 'Danish Players Association' actually can do about it, except to offer a longer installment agreement, which then of course is going to be even more costly for Brøndby and their investors, having to pay the 18% interest....

The bottom line is, that Brøndby now either totally have run out of money, or perhaps they are just so desperate, that they deliberately are not paying their players wages, in hope that it will bring the 'Danish Players Association' to the table on Monday and force them to agree on their demands... but as also written, then the 'Danish Players Association' are not really able to bend the law and agree on these demands, so either Brøndby are going to file for bankruptcy within the next week, or their investors have to give up their foolish demands and save the club... if they do not like to pay interest, they can just pay up right now, and save some money.
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First of all, Brøndby have been a one-man dictatorship for way too long and dictator Bjerregaard never had any sense of how to run a professional business... Brøndby almost crashed in the 90's because of Bjerregaards reckless investments in a bank that went bankrupt, but for many years Bjerregaard was still successful at bringing in big sponsorships, while not handing over any influence to investors.

However, as the sport has become more and more professional, demanding bigger and bigger sponsorship, not to forget the financial crisis that suddenly struck, the big sponsors were no longer happy just to hand over their money to Bjerregaard ... or well, he did manage to fool their last investor Kasi-Jesper, but his big investment in brøndby made them think that they could "walk on water" which made them throw away ridiculous money on players who were no longer good enough to be regular starters for the club in a Superliga that also had improved ... $1 million a year to the flop signing Jan Kristiansen and even more to Alexander Farnerud, not to forget that they agreed on paying a $2 million sign-on fee to an over-the-hill Peter Madsen...

As an AGF supporter I have experienced a lot of bad management through the years, but at least AGF never were in actual debts, despite their huge annual deficits, because rich investors always were throwing money at the club, or in some cases, AGF took money from investors in exchange for the transfer rights of some players that then later was sold, so AGF never had to borrow any money from banks... which is also why AGF was able to survive two relegation's, and now seem in better financial shape.

Brøndby on the other hand are in huge debts, not only to their bank Nordea, but also to former players, as written in my earlier post... and when you are this much in debt, there is little chance that investors are coming to the rescue since the money they invest is practically gone before they hand it over.... I mean, a $5.5 million debt (including interest), just to pay off some former Brøndby players, is a terrible start to an investment, not to forget that they are around $15 million in debt to their bank, at least $1.8 million in debt to their board member Benny Winther + that they have already borrowed and spend around $2 million in exchange for the transfer rights of Simon Makienok ... and they are also still are around $700k in debt to SønderjyskE, because they have not payed for Quincy Antipas who they signed in the summer transfer window... they also are in debt to Brøndby municipality and a lot of small business partners... so it all adds up.... though they do not have to pay it all at once.

If they are lucky, then I estimate they will be able to raise around $4.5 million from investors by selling shares... but this money also have to cover their expected annual deficit of around $3.5 million this season, which only leaves them $1 million to pay off a small fraction of their debts... and should they suffer relegation at the end of the season they will lose at least yet another $3 million worth of TV-money next season, that they do not have.... so even if they should manage to save themselves financially right now, by raising around $4.5 million from investors, they will most surely go bankrupt, if they suffer relegation.
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Superliga 2012/13, round 20 (of 33) :

Match bans :
http://www.superstats.dk/kort/karantaner
Injuries: football injuries
---
FC København v FC Nordsjælland, 4-1 (2-0)
1-0 Thomas Delaney (24)
2-0 César Santín (38)
3-0 César Santín (52)
3-1 Mikkel Beckmann (pen.) (76)
4-1 Andreas Cornelius (90)
Attendance: 15,934
Possession : 52% - 48%
Lineups and match stats from Football-Lineups.com
Highlights : Superliga TV
---
AaB Aalborg v OB Odense, x-x (x-x), postponed and rescheduled to 6
March due to heavy snowfall
---
AGF Aarhus v Silkeborg, 3-3 (1-1)
0-1 Thomas Delaney (28)
1-1 Jesper Mikkelsen (pen.) (44)
1-2 Jesper Mikkelsen (52)
1-3 Marvin Pourie (71)
2-3 Petri Pasanen (85)
3-3 Jens Jønsson (90+3)
Attendance: 4,559
Possession : 62% - 38%
Lineups and match stats from Football-Lineups.com
Highlights : Superliga TV
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AC Horsens v FC Midtjylland 0-2 (0-1)
0-1 Tim Janssen (10)
0-2 Morten "Duncan" Rasmussen (70)
Attendance: 2,631
Possession : 59% - 41%
Lineups and match stats from Football-Lineups.com
Highlights : Non
---
Randers FC v Esbjerg fB, 2-1 (1-1)
0-1 Peter Ankersen (12)
1-1 Ronnie Schwartz (20)
2-1 Ronnie Schwartz (71)
Attendance: 2,309
Possession : 54% - 46%
Lineups and match stats from Football-Lineups.com
Highlights : Superliga TV
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SønderjyskE v Brøndby, 2-2 (1-1)
0-1 Dennis Rommedahl (6)
Conor O'Brien, misuse penalty (35)
1-1 Conor O'Brien (35)
1-2 Quincy Antipas (64)
2-2 Eyjolfur Hedinsson (71)
Attendance: 2,370
Possession : 55% - 45%
Lineups and match stats from Football-Lineups.com
Highlights : Superliga TV
---

Code:

Danish Superliga 2012/13 (round 20 of 33) :
 
   Club              G  W  D  L  Gf-Ga  P
 
1  FC København     20 14  5  1  46-17 47
2  FC Nordsjælland  20 10  5  5  37-21 35
3  AaB Aalborg      19 10  2  7  33-24 32
4  OB Odense        19  9  4  6  33-25 31
5  Randers FC       20  9  4  7  25-31 31
6  AGF Aarhus       20  8  6  6  35-27 30
7  AC Horsens       20  5  8  7  19-29 23
8  FC Midtjylland   20  5  7  8  27-32 22
9  SønderjyskE      20  6  3 11  29-41 21 
10 Esbjerg fB       20  4  7  9  18-24 19 
-------------------------------------------
11 Silkeborg IF     20  5  3 12  22-42 18
12 Brøndby IF       20  3  8  9  21-32 17

Danish Superliga 2012/13 fixtures :
http://www.bold.dk/fodbold/Danmark/Superligaen/2012-2013/program
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1. Champions League (Group stage or 3rd Qualifying Round for Champions)
2. Champions League (3rd Qualifying Round for Non-Champions)
3. Europa League (3rd Qualifying Round)
4. Europa League (2nd Qualifying Round)
Danish Cup winner: Europa League (4th Qualifying Round)
---

Goal scorers list, top 10 :
1. Aron Jóhannsson (Iceland),AGF.............. 14
-. > Andreas Cornelius,FCK......................... 14
3. Ronnie Schwartz,Randers........................ 10
4. César Santín (Brazil),FCK.......................... 9
> Joshua John (Holland),FCN....................... 9
-. Marvin Pourie (Germany),Silkeborg.......... 9
-. >Nicolai Jørgensen,FCK............................. 9
8. Kasper Kusk,AaB........................................ 8
-. Nicklas Helenius,AaB................................. 8
-. Simon Makienok,Brøndby.......................... 8
> = Signed or promoted to first team in the Summer break.
----
Assists:
http://www.superstats.dk/maal/assist?aar=2012/2013
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It's time for a winter transfer update... I'll start from the bottom as usual :

Superliga winter transfers 2012-13 part one :

SønderjyskE: (finished 6 last season, but are now in 9th place)
IN:
24-yo central midfielder, Nicolaj Madsen (HB Køge, 3-year contract, fee ?)
26-yo central midfielder, Rasmus Hansen (Randers FC, on loan for the rest of this season)
33-yo goalkeeper, Marin Skender, Croatia (FC Dila Gori, signed for the rest of this season, free)
OUT:
24-yo central midfielder, Conor O'Brien, USA (contract expired --> FC Nordsjælland )
29-yo holding midfielder, Henrik Bødker (Sold --> Vejle BK, fee ?)
30-yo goalkeeper, Håkon Opdal, Norway, 12 caps (free transfer --> IK Start)
19-yo right back/midfielder, Morten Hansen (contract expired --> FC Sydvest 05)
18-yo right back/midfielder, Jakob Eriksen (contract expired --> FC Sydvest 05)

*28-yo holding midfielder, Eyjólfur Héðinsson, Iceland 5 caps (to join FC
Midtjylland at the end of this season when his contract expire)
---
Though SønderjyskE find themselves only 3 points above the relegation zone with only 13 games left of this season, they have not really done much to to actually reinforce the team in the winter break. They were not able to come to an agreement with Conor O'Brien, who has now moved on to FCN at the top of the table, just as they have sold Henrik Bødker to vejle BK, replacing them with HB Køge captain Nicolaj Madsen and Rasmus Hansen, though they are also still considering to sign French central midfielder Hérold Goulon who is now a free agent after his unsuccessful stint at Blackburn Rovers. They have also signed the Croatian goalkeeper Marin Skender as the replacement of the flop signing Håkon Opdal who was granted a free transfer, but it more or less seem like a status quo for SønderjyskE in this winter transfer window.
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Esbjerg: (newly promoted and are just above the drop zone, in 10th place)
IN:
34-yo box-to-box midfielder, Hans Henrik Andreasen, Den 1 cap (OB Odense, 3-year contract, free)
23-yo winger/striker, Emil Lyng (FC Lausanne-Sport, 1½-year contract, free)
19-yo striker, Mikkel Agger (returned from loan at FC Hjørring)
19-yo winger/striker, Youssef Toutouh (on loan from FC København to the end of this season)
OUT:
33-yo striker, Demba-Nyrén, Gambia 11 caps, 2 goals (free transfer --> IK Brage)
21-yo centre back, Martin Rauschenberg (on a 1½-year loan --> UMF Stjarnan)
21-yo centre back, Kristoffer Sørensen (contract expired --> Varde IF)
---
Knowing how tough a relegation battle is, Esbjerg have signed the tough and highly experienced box-to-box midfielder Hans Henrik Andreasen from OB Odense and they have also managed to add a bit of depth to their squad, but we are clearly not talking about players from the top shelf of the Superliga. On the other hand, Esbjerg have not lost any players who will be missed, since Demba-Nyrén clearly has seemed over-the-hill this season, only having played 1 of 12 Superliga games from start and an average 18 minutes a game, not scoring a single goal. So he clearly wont be missed.
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Silkeborg: (finished 8 last season, but are now in the relegation zone, in 11th place)
IN:
26-yo striker, Steven Morrissey, Jamaica (Vaasan Palloseura, 1-year contract, free transfer)
26-yo striker, Daniel Flyger (FC Skanderborg, signed for the rest of this season, free)

64-yo head coach, Viggo Jensen, Den 8 caps (Esbjerg, signed to the end of this season)
OUT:
37-yo defender/striker, Henrik Pedersen, Den 3 caps (retired)

49-yo head coach, Keld Bordinggaard, Den 4 caps (fired --> ? )
---
Silkeborg have lost their most experienced player Henrik Pedersen to retirement and have signed a two "lottery tickets", no doubt hoping that one of them will do the trick. As for the team, it should not really be good enough to escape relegation, so their key to survival in the Superliga is no doubt going to depend on their tactically clever head coach Viggo Jensen, who has coached Silkeborg twice before and is exactly the right kind of coach for a tough and tight relegation battle, with his cautious and cynical approach and his great expertise regarding set pieces, which no doubt will come in handy.
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Brøndby: (finished 9 last season, but are rock bottom in 12th place so far this season)
IN:
18-yo left back, Patrick Da Silva, Den U18 NT (own youth)
OUT:
25-yo central midfielder, Mike Jensen, Den 1 cap (contract expired --> Rosenborg BK)

Youth/reserve teams :
IN:
18-yo defensive midfielder, Lebogang Phiri, South Africa (BIDVest Wits FC, free )

33-yo head coach U19, Peter Foldgast (former assistant coach at FC Vestsjælland )
OUT:
18-yo left winger/striker, Mikkel Jensen, Den U18 NT (Sold --> FC Nordsjælland, fee ?)
21-yo central midfielder, Azad Corlu (on loan for the rest of the season --> Hvidovre IF)

Financially Brøndby are still not out of the woods, though it now seem like some former Brøndby stars Daniel Agger, Johan Elmander, Thomas Kahlenberg and Per Nielsen are making an attempt to save the club... and who knows, perhaps Peter Schmeichel and Michael Laudrup are also going to join in, to save the club financially, at least Schmeichel has made the attempt to take charge of the club before. But lets see how much money they are ready spend. Another question is the young Brøndby talents that seem to keep leaving the "sinking ship" which I think is a huge problem for Brøndby that have always been able to rely much on their great youth development in the past.

As for this transfer window, then there were little the club could do to reinforce the team. They have lost their tireless midfielder Mike Jensen who could not come to an agreement with the club over his personal terms to extend his contract, so now he has joined Rosenborg, otherwise Brøndby are still trying to make up their mid if they are going to sign the central midfielder Stanley Aborah as a replacement for Mike Jensen. But it is going to be difficult for Brøndby to escape relegation with a young team like this and with hardly no depth at all.
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Superliga winter transfers 2012-13 part two :

Randers FC: (Newly promoted, but are now in 5th place)
IN:
26-yo defensive midfielder/left back, Lorenzo Davids, Holland (Bournemouth, 2½-year contract, free)
23-yo centre back, Elfar Freyr Helgason, Iceland 1 cap (Stabæk Fotball, signed for the rest of this season, free)
OUT:
27-yo central midfielder, Tidiane Sane, Senegal (contract expired --> Elazigspor)
20-yo left back/winger, Mikkel Cramer (contract expired --> AC Horsens)
36-yo striker, Frank Kristensen (free transfer --> FC Midtjylland )
26-yo central midfielder, Rasmus Hansen (on loan for the rest of this season --> SønderjyskE)
----
Randers have done far better than it was expected before this season, but this has mainly been thanks to their clever choice of head coach, because Colin Todd had already done a solid job for them in the past, just as he has been a huge success this time around. There was a dispute regarding his "missing" or expired coaching licence at top-flight level, but this problem now seem to have been solved by the English FA, UEFA and the Danish FA, so he can stay more permanently at the club.

Randers have mainly lost Tidiane Sane in central midfield and they did try to sign Icelandic international Ari Skúlason, who I suppose was to be his replacement, but their offer was rejected by his club, so instead they have signed former Dutch international Edgar Davids' younger cousin Lorenzo Davids who did not become a success when he moved to the Bundesliga and then later to England, but he seemed to be a solid Dutch Eredivisie player the years he played for NEC Nijmegen. They have also signed a short-term deal with the Icelandic centre back Elfar Freyr Helgason, I guess in lack of other options... but as written, it is mainly up to Colin Todd to keep making this team a success. They are not going to win league medals with this team and squad, but considering that several of the Superliga clubs are in a process of rejuvenation, using more homegrown talent this season, Randers could surely finish in top 5.
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AGF Aarhus: (finished 5 last season, but are now in 6th place)
IN:
18-yo striker, Marcus "Hulk" Solberg, Den U19 NT (own youth)
OUT:
22-yo striker, Aron Jóhannsson, Iceland U21 NT (sold -->AZ Alkmaar, fee €1.75 million + add-ons)
36-yo striker, Peter Graulund (retired --> AGF U19 assistant coach)
36-yo right winger/striker, Søren Berg Den 2 caps (free transfer --> FC Vestsjælland )
32-yo striker, Morten Moldskred, Norway 9 caps, 1 goal (free transfer --> Tromsø IL)

youth/reserve teams :
IN:
18-yo left/right back, Dominic Oduro, Ghana (On a 1½-year loan from Manchester City)
36-yo assistant coach U19, Peter Graulund (own ranks )
----
AGF Aarhus are 7 points ahead of AC Horsens and only 1 point behind Randers and OB Odense and in a very good position of staying in the fight for league medals, so it is a bit of a mystery why they chose to sell their league topscorer Aron Jóhannsson, while not signing any replacements at all, despite the loss of good players like Søren Berg and AGF legend Peter Graulund who has retired. Though they no longer were at the top of their game, it is still a loss of depth and experience. AGF did sign Mate Vatsadze last summer because they knew that Graulund was soon going to retire, so in a sense they already signed a replacement, but can he also fill the shoes of a league topscorer like Aron Jóhannsson ? and why have they not signed a replacement for Søren Berg ?...

When you ask the AGF management, it's really not a question of money this time, because they have said that the money from the Aron Jóhannsson sale is now safely in the bank and that they already had money set aside for reinforcements before this sale, they are just not in a hurry to spend it. At least not at this point in time, though they do promise to sign reinforcements in the summer. But it does seem like the fairly successful rejuvenation of the team this season, replacing some of the older key players with young talent like Aron Jóhannsson, the two Georgian internationals
Skhirtladze and Vatsadze, not to forget Casper Sloth and Mikkel Kirkeskov who have both made it to the Danish NT fairly quickly, also have made the club think twice about signing reinforcements this winter, though their expectations are still to finish at least in 5th place when you ask the AGF coach and the director of sport Brian Steen Nielsen... So less than a 5th place is not good enough in their opinion, even with the loss of a league topscorer and the good experienced players mentioned above, which makes me a bit worried, because the AGF management have so often managed to overestimate the quality of their squad in the past, often using young talents too soon, before they were ready to fly... Danish youth international Marcus "Hulk" Solberg is no doubt a big talent, but he is hardly ready to play more than a few minutes at the end of the games, in my opinion.

Though AGF did not really sign any players this winter, they did sign a deal with Manchester City, so that young promising City players in the future are going to join AGF on loan deals. It is the former AGF player Scott Sellars (now Head of Academy Coaching at Manchester City) who is behind the deal between City and AGF... and as you can see above, the first young City player has already moved to AGF, though he is not suppose to play in the Superliga straight away.
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AC Horsens: (finished 4 last season, but are now in 7th place)
IN:
28-yo attacking midfielder, Charles Takyi Ghana 3 caps (FC St. Pauli, signed for the rest of this season, free)
20-yo left back/winger, Mikkel Cramer (Randers FC, signed for the rest of this season, free)
20-yo attacking midfielder/striker, Esben Petersen (Marienlyst, fee ?)
OUT:
31-yo full back/midfielder, Anders Nøhr Den 2 caps (retired)
36-yo goalkeeper, Søren Jochumsen (retired)
27-yo right back, Henrik Smedegaard (retired)
---
AC Horsens are 5 points above the relegation zone and 7 points behind the 6th place, so there is not much they can do except to stay clear of relegation, which really should not be a problem unless they get badly struck by injuries. They have lost a few of their experienced players to retirement, but on the other hand they seem to have made a bit of a scoop by signing the attacking midfielder Charles Takyi from FC St. Pauli. Though he has mainly been playing 2. Bundesliga the past 5 seasons, he seem to be a player of Bundesliga quality who has just been a bit out of luck, so I'm pretty sure he is getting his contract extended, if they manage to keep him that is.
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FC Midtjylland: (finished 3 last season, but are now in 8th place)
IN:
36-yo striker, Frank Kristensen (Randers FC, signed for the rest of this season, free agent)
26-yo right back, Kristijan Ipsa, Croatia (free agent, signed for the rest of this season)
18-yo centre back, Patrick Jensen, Den U19 NT (Vejle BK, 4½-year contract, fee ?)

*28-yo holding midfielder, Eyjólfur Héðinsson, Iceland 5 caps (to join FCM from SønderjyskE at the end of this season, 2½-year contract, free)
OUT:
31-yo centre back, Benjamin Kibebe, Sweden 1 cap (free transfer --> ?)
21-yo left winger, Rasmus Christensen (On loan for the rest of this season --> Hobro)
20-yo central midfielder, Mads Pedersen (on loan for the rest of this season --> Skive IK)

Youth/reserve teams :
OUT:
17-yo central midfielder, Morten Knudsen, Den U17 NT (Sold --> FC Internazionale, fee €1 million)
---
FCM are not quite out of the woods financially, so it was expected that they were going to sell Mads Albæk as they more or less had proclaimed that they would, but the offers on Albæk did not meet their expectations and since they had already sold the young midfield talent Morten Knudsen to FC Internazionale for €1 million, they were not really in desperate need of selling on of their Superliga players, pehaps also considering that they are only 4 points above the relegation zone, so it would not really be a good time to sell. On the other hand, they had no real money for reinforcements, so instead they chose to drag a few old horses out of the barn, by signing the highly experienced former FCM players Frank Kristensen and Kristijan Ipsa. Two players where they know exactly what they are getting, while they have also signed the SønderjyskE midfielder Eyjólfur Héðinsson, but starting next season when his contract expire, so that they do not need to pay a transfer fee.

FCM also managed to pick up the Danish U19 NT captain Patrick Jensen fairly cheaply from Vejle BK, so they have made a few good deals this winter, not really having to use much money.... You could suspect that Patrick Jensen has been signed to replace their talented centre back Erik Sviatchenko, who probably will be one of the players FCM are going to try to sell in the summer, because they are surely going to need to sell at least one of their players in the summer transfer window... but for now they need to stay clear of the two relegation spots, which they also should be able to do.
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Superliga winter transfers 2012-13 part three :

FC København: (finished 2 last season, but are now in 1st place)
IN:
33-yo central midfielder, Daniel Jensen, Den 52 caps, 3 goals (Novara Calcio, signed for the rest of this season, free)
26-yo left wing/striker, Pape Paté Diouf, Senegal (Returned from loan at Molde )
OUT:
23-yo right back/midfielder, Cristian Gamboa, Costa Rica 10 caps, 1 goal (sold --> Rosenborg BK, fee €400k)
29-yo central midfielder, Christian Grindheim, Norway 52 caps, 2 goals (On loan for the rest of this season --> Vålerenga)
23-yo right winger/striker, Søren Frederiksen (free transfer --> AaB Aalborg)
19-yo winger/striker, Youssef Toutouh (on loan to the end of this season --> Esbjerg fB)
---
FC København have a 12 point lead at the top of the table with only 13 rounds left to play, and no team has ever lost that big a lead in the Superliga after the winter break, so it's now safe to say that FCK are going to win the Danish Championship this season, which is probably also why FCK have not made any major changes to the team this winter. They got rid of some of their bench sitters while signing a short-term deal with a aging Daniel Jensen, who has been much troubled by injuries the past few years.... So there is not much to say, except that FCK have done as little changes as possible and are just going to focus on keeping their lead.
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FC Nordsjælland : (Danish Champions last season, but are now in 2nd place)
IN:
22-yo Left/centre back, João Pereira, Portugal U21 NT (FC Sheriff Tiraspol, 3-year contract, fee ?)
20-yo Left/centre back, Francisco Calvo, Costa Rica 3 caps (Municipal Pérez Zeledón, 2½-year contract, fee ?)
19-yo attacking midfielder/striker, Uffe Bech, Den U21 NT (Lyngby BK, 3½-year contract, fee €268k)
24-yo central midfielder, Conor O'Brien, USA (SønderjyskE, 2½-year contract, free)
25-yo striker, Ricardo Bueno, Brazil (on loan from Atlético Goianiense, with and option to buy at a fixed price at the end of the season)
19-yo Striker, Kristian Lindberg, Den U19 NT (own youth)
18-yo centre back, Andreas Maxsø (own youth)
18-yo centre/right back, Pascal Gregor (own youth)
OUT:
22-yo central midfielder, Enoch Adu, Ghana (Sold --> Club Brugge, fee €2 million)
29-yo winger, Mikkel Beckmann, Den 7 caps (Sold --> APOEL FC, fee €200k)
28-yo right back, Michael Parkhurst, USA 15 caps (contract expired --> FC Augsburg)
22-yo attacking midfielder, Andreas Laudrup, Den U21 NT (on loan for the rest of this season, with an option to buy --> AS Saint-Étienne)
20-yo left/right back, Seejou King (on loan for the rest of this season, with an option to buy --> Sporting CP )
32-yo centre back, Ragnvald Soma, Norway 5 caps (contract expired --> Lyngby BK)
25-yo striker, Rawez Lawan, Sweden (Sold --> IFK Norrköping, fee ?)
27-yo right/centre back, Henrik Kildentoft (contract expired --> Haugesund )
21-yo striker, Christian Gytkjær (Sold --> Haugesund, fee ?)
20-yo goalkeeper, David Jensen, Den U21 NT (on loan for the rest of this season --> Akademisk Boldklub )
21-yo centre back, Søren Henriksen, Den U20 NT (free transfer --> HB Køge)

Youth/reserve teams :
IN:
18-yo left winger/striker, Mikkel Jensen, Den U18 NT (Brøndby IF, fee ?)
18-yo left footed Centre back, Nicolai Johannesen, Den U19 NT (Lyngby BK, fee ?)
---
No doubt because of the Champions League exposure, there were several FCN players moving abroad this winter, though not their biggest young star player Jores Okore, who they simply did not want to sell before the summer break, despite some very good offers. Especially considering that they are using the opportunity to changing tactics to a three man defense now that Michael Parkhurst has moved to the Bundesliga, so they simply were in need of keeping their key centre back Okore and have also been signing some young left footed centre backs, the Portuguese U21 international João Pereira and the Costa Rican international Francisco Calvo.

To replace Enoch Adu who was sold to Club Brugge, FCN were quick to sign Conor O'Brien who really has done well for SønderjyskE, while Mikkel Beckmann and Andreas Laudrup have been replaced by the young Danish U21 international Uffe Bech and Brazilian striker Ricardo Bueno who is said to have been a bit of a troublemaker at the clubs he has been at so far, but still has played 48 games in the Brasileirão Serie A the past few years, though for 3 different clubs. So I guess he was in need of a fresh start abroad, while it is up to the FCN coach to help him fit in. Or in other words, he is on loan with an option to buy, because he is talented but also has created some trouble in the past, so that FCN did not want to sign a permanent deal straight away, but want to give him the benefit of the doubt and the opportunity to prove himself.

FCN have btw also picked up Mikkel Jensen from the Brøndby youth academy, which just show that Brøndby have lost some of their "magic" and FCN now are stepping in and taking their place as a main attraction for young highly talented players in the Copenhagen area.... In any case, we are going to see some changes to the FCN lineup as well as a change in tactics with a 3 man defense, so FCN is hardly going to be able to be a threat to FC København at the very top of the table, but is more likely to keep their focus on the Silver medals and the second Champions League spot.
---

AaB Aalborg: (finished 7 last season, but are now in 3rd place)
IN:
23-yo right winger/striker, Søren Frederiksen (FC København, 2-year contract, free)
20-yo central midfielder/winger, Hallur Hansson Faroe Islands U21 NT (HB Tórshavn, 1½-year contract, fee undisclosed )
18-yo centre back, Jakob Blåbjerg Mathiasen, Den U18 NT (own youth)
20-yo centre back, Kasper Pedersen (own youth)
OUT:
32-yo right back, Kasper Bøgelund, Den 17 caps (retired)

Youth/reserve teams :
IN:
18-yo striker, Lukas Spalvis, Lithuania U21 NT (SC Freiburg U17, 2-year contract, free)
OUT:
23-yo centre back, Nicholas Gotfredsen (free transfer --> Viborg FF)
---
Financial problems have forced AaB Aalborg to cut their wage budget to an absolute minimum over the past few seasons and they are still not quite oute of the woods, but fortunately their young guns have been a very positive surprise so far. AaB have also been able to hold on to their most talented young players this winter and reinforce the attack by signing Søren Frederiksen, but on the other hand they have lost the highly experienced defender Kasper Bøgelund to retirement.

Because of their lack of money, they have been forced to promote even more young players to the first team, which of course is going to be a problem in case of injuries, because there is a limit of how many young inexperienced players you succesfully are able to implement and field, also considering that young players need some older experienced players to lean on and learn from. So a few injuries among some of their more experienced key players is no doubt going to cause them problems. Because ot their lack of depth, it is unlikely that AaB are going to be a threat to FCN in second place and they most surely have to worry about especially OB Odense in the fight for the 3rd place and Bronze medals.
---

OB Odense : (finished 10 last season, but are now in 4th place)
IN:
24-yo striker, Darko Bodul, Austrian/Croatian (Sturm Graz, 2½-year contract, fee ?)
26-yo winger/striker, David Löfquist, Sweden (On loan from Parma FC for the rest of this season, with an option to buy)
20-yo centre back, Niclas Vemmelund (FC Fyn, signed for the rest of this season, free)
46-yo Assistant coach, Flemming Povlsen, Den 62 caps, 21 goals (former Director of Football at Hessel Fodboldkostskole/College)
OUT:
34-yo attacking midfielder/striker, Andreas Johansson, Sweden 16 caps (contract expired --> Djurgårdens IF)
34-yo box-to-box midfielder, Hans Henrik Andreasen, Den 1 cap (free transfer --> Esbjerg fB)
58-yo Director of Football, Poul Hansen (resigned --> ?)
---
OB Odense have picked up the Austrian/Croatian striker Darko Bodul and the Swedish winger/striker David Löfquist on a loan deal... in fact OB now have several players on loan with an option to buy in the summer transfer window, so we are probably not going to see all that many new players in the summer, because they are more likely to spend their money on signing more permanent deals with players like Michael Silberbauer and Marcus Pedersen, though the Nigerian international Sunday Mba is being rumoured to Odense by Nigerian football websites.

In any case, with the departure of Andreas Johansson and Hans Henrik Andreasen OB have now probably finished their rejuvenation of the team, also getting rid of their older and too expensive foreign players. But OB have been able to sign good replacements in the past few transfer windows, with players like Krisztián Vadócz, Marcus Pedersen and Michael Silberbauer all having been a solid success so far this season, so perhaps OB Odense could actually be a threat to FCN in the fight for Silver medals and the second Champions league spot.
.

 

The whole FC Midtjylland team were quite terrible in their first match after the winter break, as also written below in my match report, so I wouldn't single out Petter Andersson or any of their other players... or you could argue, that he at least managed to score a decisive goal.

As for AGF, then they lost 0-1 to Elfsborg in a total mess of a fight, but then totally trashed Helsingborg ... but then you cant really use these winter pre-season training games as a measuring stick, where a coach may try different line-ups and some new talent, while perhaps also trying a new tactical approach in some of the games.

Superliga 2012/13, round 21 (of 33) :
Match bans at : superstats.dk
Injuries at : football injuries
---
Silkeborg v AaB Aalborg, 3-2 (1-1)
0-1 Kasper Pedersen (3)
1-1 Jesper Bech (17)
1-2 Patrick Kristensen (49)
2-2 Kasper Risgård (69)
3-2 Marvin Pourie (74)
Attendance: 3,409
Possession : 49% - 51%
Lineups and match stats from Football-Lineups.com

AaB Aalborg were badly struck by injuries in defense and also missing their key central midfielder Augustinussen. So the AaB coach was forced to dig deep and field the two newly promoted and totally inexperienced youngsters Jakob Blåbjerg Mathiasen and Kasper Pedersen, who actually both got a fairly good debut in central defense all considering, with Kasper Pedersen even scoring the first goal of the match after only 3 minutes, through a nice header after a corner kick, though he was also involved in the last Silkeborg goal by Marvin Pourie.

However, as the match progressed it seemed quite clear that Silkeborg physically had the upper hand against a very youthful AaB team that had an average age of only 22 years and 52 days. Though AaB have done well so far this season, fielding some highly promising young players, there is still a limit of how many young talents you are able to field from start in the Superliga if you are not to get run over and squashed physically, like the young AaB team did in this match.

So though AaB were able to take the lead twice, Silkeborg were able to strike back and take home a deserved win, mainly because they were physically stronger and more experienced and of course thanks to their tactically clever head coach Viggo Jensen and his cynical approach and great expertise regarding set pieces, which also clearly paid off this time as well, when Kasper Risgård scored against his former club after a corner kick. Silkeborg have managed to score 3 goals a game in their last 3 Superliga games in a row, but on the other hand they also let in two goals in this match and 3 against AGF, so obviously they still have some defensive problems they need to solve, if they are to escape relegation.

Highlights : Superliga TV
---

FC Midtjylland v SønderjyskE, 1-0 (1-0)
1-0 Petter Andersson (32)
Rasmus Hansen, SønderjyskE misuse penalty (43)
Attendance: 4,365
Possession : 50% - 50%
Lineups and match stats from Football-Lineups.com

FC Midtjylland were quite terrible in their first game after the winter break, but somehow they still managed a slim 1-0 home win due to some terrible finishing and a misused penalty by SønderjyskE... at times it almost looked like Ice hockey-style "power play", with FCM defending low in and around their own box, not being able to get hold on the ball and just kicking it aimlessly upfield. SønderjyskE on the other hand looked like they were in much better physical shape and really should have scored at least 3-4 goals, while FCM produced little to nothing... but Rasmus Hansen, who has returned to SønderjyskE from Randers this winter, is no doubt going to get his big share of blame for this loss, not only because he misused a penalty, but also because of some terribly poor corner kicks. However, except for some poor finishing, SønderjyskE do seem in fairly good shape for a tough relegation battle, while FCM do not seem ready at all, despite getting 3 points in this match.

Highlights : Superliga TV
---

 

Superliga 2012/13, round 21 (of 33) :
'Team of the week' according to Danish TV3 Sport and Jesper Grønkjær (3-5-2) :
Ousted (Randers *4) - L. Jacobsen (FCK *5), A. M. Christensen (OB *2),K. Hansen (Esbjerg *2) - Uffe Bech (FCN), Michael Silberbauer (OB), Claudemir (FCK *3), Kasper Risgård (Randers), N. Jørgensen (FCK *6) - Darko Bodul (OB), Pourie (Silkeborg *2).
---
Match bans :
http://www.superstats.dk/kort/karantaner
Injuries: football injuries
---

After a very good first 45 minutes by OB Odense and some terrible goalkeeping by a very rusty looking Johan Wiland, FC København stepped up the level and took charge of the match in the second half, to keep their 12 point lead to FC Nordsjælland... and it was mainly Nicolai Jørgensen who saved the day for the visitors through an excellent goal and assist, though I also need to mention the impressive Superliga debut by Odenses newly signed Darko Bodul, who scored a goal and made an assist in the first half, and then went on to score his second goal and made yet another assist in his second game for OB in the round 20 match against AaB, that was rescheduled to 6 March due to heavy snowfall before the winter break.

FC Nordsjælland took an early lead and kept it fairly easily against a rather toothless Horsens team. Also in this match we got an impressive debut by the young and very technically strong FCN winger Uffe Bech who managed to dazzle with some great moves and passes and a secondary assist. He seem to be a real scoop and fit right in at FCN.

At the bottom of the table Brøndby got a horrible start when their key centre back Martin Albrechtsen was sent off early in the match against Randers, due to a last man foul against the young Danish U20 international Nicolai Brock-Madsen just outside the penalty area. Unfortunately for Brøndby, the visitors were also wrongfully awarded a penalty, so being 0-1 down and one man short, it seemed like a mission impossible, though Brøndby actually had their opportunities, especially 3 close-range attempts in the 27th minute, where the now former Brøndby captain Clarence Goodson should have scored an equalizer. Goodson who btw had been dropped from the line-up and voluntarily had handed his captaincy over to team-mate Dennis Rommedahl, but then suddenly now find himself back on the team in central defense after the red card and two-match ban to Martin Albrechtsen... But this was clearly not the start they had hoped for, while Randers just keep surprising at the top of the table. Especially their young striker Nicolai Brock-Madsen has come off to a great start after the winter break. Surely a young player to keep an eye on.... While Brøndby are in deep trouble, both Silkeborg and Esbjerg did well in their first game after the winter break, taking home wins against AaB Aalborg and AGF Aarhus, though the AGF players felt robbed by the referee not giving them a penalty when Stephan Petersen quite clearly was knocked down in the box. Still, the result and win to Esbjerg was deserved in my opinion.
----

OB Odense v FC København, 2-3 (2-1)
0-1 Daniel Høegh (owngoal) (11)
1-1 Emil Larsen (27)
2-1 Darko Bodul (34)
2-2 Nicolai Jørgensen (54)
3-2 Claudemir (70)
Attendance: 10,314
Possession : 38% - 62%
Lineups and match stats from Football-Lineups.com
Highlights : Superliga TV
---

FC Nordsjælland v AC Horsens, 1-0 (1-0)
1-0 Kristian Lindberg (9)
Attendance: 5,112
Possession : 63% - 37%
Lineups and match stats from Football-Lineups.com
Highlights : Superliga TV
---

Brøndby IF v Randers FC, 0-2 (0-1)
Martin Albrechtsen, Brøndby (8)
0-1 Ronnie Schwartz (pen.) (9)
0-2 Nicolai Brock-Madsen (81)
Attendance: 8,385
Possession : 42% - 58%
Lineups and match stats from Football-Lineups.com
Highlights : Superliga TV
---
Esbjerg v AGF Aarhus, 2-1 (1-0)
1-0 Hans Henrik Andreasen (27)
1-1 Mate Vatsadze (66)
2-1 Jesper Lange (76)
Attendance: 5,848
Possession : 47% - 53%
Lineups and match stats from Football-Lineups.com
Highlights : Superliga TV
---

Superliga 2012/13, round 20 (of 33) :
AaB Aalborg v OB Odense, 2-2 (2-1)
1-0 Nicklas Helenius (3)
1-1 Darko Bodul (32)
2-1 Nicklas Helenius (37)
2-2 Cedric N'koum (90+3)
Attendance: 4,778
Possession : 48% - 52%
Lineups and match stats from Football-Lineups.com
Highlights : Superliga TV
---

Code:

Danish Superliga 2012/13 (round 21 of 33) :
 
   Club              G  W  D  L  Gf-Ga  P
 
1  FC København     21 15  5  1  49-19 50
2  FC Nordsjælland  21 11  5  5  38-21 38
3  Randers FC       21 10  4  7  27-31 34
4  AaB Aalborg      21 10  3  8  37-29 33
5  OB Odense        21  9  5  7  37-30 32
6  AGF Aarhus       21  8  6  7  36-29 30
7  FC Midtjylland   21  6  7  8  28-32 25
8  AC Horsens       21  5  8  8  19-30 23
9  Esbjerg fB       21  5  7  9  20-25 22
10 SønderjyskE      21  6  3 12  29-42 21 
-------------------------------------------
11 Silkeborg IF     21  6  3 12  25-44 21
12 Brøndby IF       21  3  8 10  21-34 17

Danish Superliga 2012/13 fixtures :
http://www.bold.dk/fodbold/Danmark/Superligaen/2012-2013/program
---
1. Champions League (Group stage or 3rd Qualifying Round for Champions)
2. Champions League (3rd Qualifying Round for Non-Champions)
3. Europa League (3rd Qualifying Round)
4. Europa League (2nd Qualifying Round)
Danish Cup winner: Europa League (4th Qualifying Round)
---

Goal scorers list, top 10 :
1. *Aron Jóhannsson (Iceland),AGF............. 14
-. Andreas Cornelius,FCK............................. 14
3. Ronnie Schwartz,Randers......................... 11
4. Marvin Pourie (Germany),Silkeborg........ 10
-. Nicolai Jørgensen,FCK............................. 10
-. Nicklas Helenius,AaB............................... 10
7. César Santín (Brazil),FCK.......................... 9
-. Joshua John (Holland),FCN...................... 9
9. Kasper Kusk,AaB....................................... 8
-. Simon Makienok,Brøndby......................... 8
* = Moved abroad in the winter break.
> = Signed in the winter break.
----
Assists:
http://www.superstats.dk/maal/assist?aar=2012/2013
.

 

Superliga 2012/13, round 22 (of 33) :

Randers FC v SønderjyskE, 2-0 (1-0)
1-0 Nicolai Brock-Madsen (42)
2-0 Nicolai Brock-Madsen (90+3)
Attendance: 3,481
Possession : 59% - 41%
Lineups and match stats from Football-Lineups.com

I'm not sure which year it is in China, but 2013 seem to be the 'year of the Horse' in Europe, considering that there is horse meat everywhere, even in the famous IKEA meatballs, and in Denmark the newly promoted "Horses" from Randers could be heading for a highly surprising Champions League spot, having won their last 3 Superliga games in a row.. and once again their young Danish U20 international Nicolai Brock-Madsen impressed and became match winner. He has now managed to score 3 goals in two games after the winter break. But it was also a fairly easy home win for Randers against a toothless looking SønderjyskE team, that just seemed to lack the last bit of everything, even their usual fighting spirit was missing, so it did not seem to make much of a difference when they were forced to push forward using a 3 man defense in the last 10 minutes or so, that just gave Randers some more space and good opportunities to counter attack, which then paid off at the very end. Though Randers and especially Charlie Davies should have been able to take better advantage of this by scoring a goal or two more. Besides the attempt you can see in the highlights below, Davies also had a one-on-one with the keeper, but missed the target, while an attempt by Jonas Kamper struck the top bar. But it was a highly deserved win for the "Horses" while SønderjyskE need to wake up from their winter hibernation very soon, if they want to stay clear of relegation.

Highlights : Superliga TV
---

AaB Aalborg v Esbjerg fB, 0-0 (0-0)
Attendance: 4,019
Possession : 56% - 44%
Lineups and match stats from Football-Lineups.com

Esbjerg have done well in their fight to escape relegation, now being undefeated in their first two games after the winter break, but in compare to their match against AGF, it was obvious that they were missing their Norwegian play-maker Magnus Lekven, who really has been a key player in central midfield for Esbjerg this far. So the Esbjerg play lacked the usual flow, but like in the match against AGF, it was mainly Jesper Lange assisted by young Braithwaite, who were providing the few but dangerous Esbjerg attempts in the first half and also a goal by Lange in the 53rd minute that correctly was ruled offside. However, it was AaB Aalborg dominating this fairly entertaining 0-0 match, producing most of the big opportunities as you can also see in the highlights below, but the Esbjerg defense and keeper Lukas Hradecky saved the day for Esbjerg by keeping especially Helenius and a well playing Søren Frederiksen from scoring... While Esbjerg are looking good in the battle against relegation, AaB seem to be slipping a bit at the top of the table, but as I have also written before, this otherwise talented young team cant really afford too many injuries, if they want stay in the fight for medals.

Highlights : Superliga TV
---

 

Superliga 2012/13, round 22 (of 33) :
'Team of the week' according to Danish TV3 Sport and Peter Graulund (3-4-3) :
Hradecky (Esbjerg *3) - L. Jacobsen (FCK *6), Kielstrup (Horsens *2),Stenderup (Brøndby) - N. Jørgensen (FCK *7), Keller (Randers *2), Kristiansen (Brøndby), Uffe Bech (FCN *2) - Makienok (Brøndby *4), Nicolai Brock-Madsen (Randers), Cornelius (FCK *9).
---
Match bans :
http://www.superstats.dk/kort/karantaner
Injuries: football injuries
---

While FC København just keep extending their lead at the top of the table, the rest of the top-6 clubs keep slipping up and AGF Aarhus have had an absolutely horrible start after the winter break, losing to Esbjerg and getting trashed by 0-3 at home by Brøndby, which in fact was AGF's first home loss to Brøndby in the Superliga since April 2006 and the biggest AGF loss at home to Brøndby since 1997. But is this a sign that Brøndby now finally are on the right track, or was this just AGF showing weakness after the loss of Graulund, Aron Jóhannsson and Søren Berg ?... the next few games will probably reveal the truth.

It was FCN's newly signed Danish U21 talent Uffe Bech and FCM's young highly praised play-maker Mads Albæk scoring the goals in the 1-1 draw between FCM and FCN, but also FCN's new American "Pirlo", Conor O'Brien, was showing some good work and nice long passes, as you can also see in the 10 minutes extended highlights below, while FCN striker Morten Nordstrand made an assist but also misused a penalty just before the break.

It was on the other hand a great week for Horsens. First their annual accounts revealed that they had made a €970k or $1.25 million profit in 2012 and then they took a good step away from the drop zone by beating OB Odense 2-0, also helped by some brilliant saves by Horsens young U21 NT keeper Frederik Rønnow who now has a remarkable 15 clean sheets in his first 33 Superliga games for Horsens. No doubt a future Danish NT keeper by the look of his performance so far this season.
SønderjyskE have btw signed the 32-yo Nigerian WC-10 defender Rabiu Afolabi for the rest of this season, in hope that he will be able to reinforce their defense and help them escape relegation. Afolabi has been playing for AS Monaco the past few years.

FC København v Silkeborg, 3-1 (2-0)
1-0 Nicolai Jørgensen (28)
2-0 Andreas Cornelius (39)
3-0 Andreas Cornelius (76)
3-1 Jesper Mikkelsen (80)
Attendance: 12,296
Possession : 59% - 41%
Lineups and match stats from Football-Lineups.com
Highlights : Superliga TV
---

FC Midtjylland v FC Nordsjælland, 1-1 (0-1)
0-1 Uffe Bech (42)
Morten Nordstrand,FCN miss penalty (45+1)
1-1 Mads Albæk (75)
Attendance: 3,271
Possession : 48% - 52%
Lineups and match stats from Football-Lineups.com

Extended highlights ! :


or Superliga TV
---

AC Horsens v OB Odense, 2-0 (1-0)
1-0 Charles Takyi (9)
2-0 Jude Nworuh (74)
Attendance: 2,365
Possession : 50% - 50%
Lineups and match stats from Football-Lineups.com
Highlights : Superliga TV
---
AGF Aarhus v Brøndby IF, 0-3 (0-1)
0-1 Simon Makienok (44)
0-2 Jens Stryger Larsen (49)
0-3 Simon Makienok (65)
Attendance: 7,967
Possession : 55% - 45%
Lineups and match stats from Football-Lineups.com
Highlights : Superliga TV
---

Code:

Danish Superliga 2012/13 (round 22 of 33) :
 
   Club              G  W  D  L  Gf-Ga  P
 
1  FC København     22 16  5  1  52-20 53
2  FC Nordsjælland  22 11  6  5  39-22 39
3  Randers FC       22 11  4  7  29-31 37
4  AaB Aalborg      22 10  4  8  37-29 34
5  OB Odense        22  9  5  8  37-32 32
6  AGF Aarhus       22  8  6  8  36-32 30
7  FC Midtjylland   22  6  8  8  29-33 26
8  AC Horsens       22  6  8  8  21-30 26
9  Esbjerg fB       22  5  8  9  20-25 23
10 SønderjyskE      22  6  3 13  29-44 21 
-------------------------------------------
11 Silkeborg IF     22  6  3 13  26-47 21
12 Brøndby IF       22  4  8 10  24-34 20

 

Distribution of TV-money.

As written elsewhere in this thread, the Superliga signed a new 3-year TV-deal starting this season, worth just around DKK 1,200 million (around $210m) The Danish FA gets 20% for the Danish Cup games and for some specialized talent development programs, of which the Superliga clubs of course also get their share. The Danish 1. Division has changed name in the winter break from the Betsafe Liga to the NordicBet League and get to share just around DKK 34 million ( $6m) a year, shared equally by the 12 clubs.

This leaves around DKK 270 million ( $47,3 m) on average a year to be shared between the 12 Superliga clubs, though of course they get a bit less starting this season and a bit more in the seasons to come. This season the clubs are to share around DKK 250 million (around $44m). In the past the TV-money has been distributed every ½ season, but now that the clubs get to share around DKK 95 million (around $17m) more on average a season, the TV-money is to be distributed after every 11 rounds.

The money is fairly evenly distributed, not to make the gap between the rich and poor too big, so that all the clubs get a raise in compare to last season, though the clubs at the top of the table get a bigger raise, but there is also going to be a bigger share for the clubs that has the most viewers, based on TV ratings, or more correctly, the clubs that get to be 1st and 2nd pick each week by the TV stations are getting more money. So because Brøndby are still highly popular and always are 1st or 2nd pick, they get a fairly big share, despite their poor results in the league, though of course their opponents also get a bigger share, because they also get to be 1st or 2nd pick when they face Brøndby. So the distribution of TV-money has become slightly more complicated, both rewarding the bigger and more popular clubs, but also rewarding the smaller clubs to some extend.... but here you are, the first around DKK 84 million was distributed after the first 11 rounds, and the next around DKK 82 million was distributed after the round 22 based on how the clubs had done in the league table, but also to some extend based on TV ratings :

Distribution of TV-money after round 22 :
1. FC København - around $2.29 m
2. FC Nordsjælland - $1.6 m
3. Randers FC - $1.36 m
4. AaB Aalborg - $1.24 m
5. OB Odense - $1.24 m
6. AGF Aarhus - $1.1 m
7. FC Midtjylland - $1.08 m
8. AC Horsens - $880k
9. Esbjerg fB - $890k
10. SønderjyskE - $750k
11. Silkeborg IF - $740k
12. Brøndby IF - $1.08 m

Distribution of TV-money after round 11 :
1. FC København..... $2.29 million
2. AaB Aalborg........ $1.68 m
3. FC Nordsjælland. $1.4 m
4. AGF Aarhus........ $1.42 m
5. Randers FC......... $1.19 m
6. OB Odense......... $1.15 m
7. SønderjyskE....... $1.03 m
8. AC Horsens.......... $960k
9. FC Midtjylland..... $930k
10. Silkeborg IF....... $800k
11. Esbjerg fB........... $790k
12. Brøndby IF..... $1.07 m
As you can see, then especially Brøndby profit by being highly popular in the TV ratings.
.

 

I'll do a final analysis of this season in a day or two... the reason why I have not being writing much this winter is because I have been terrible disappointed regarding the quality we have seen after the winter break and which also has made if difficult to make much of an analysis from round to round...

There is a Danish expression I would like to use .... Det har været 'lort og lagkage' ... a translation into English would be something like: It has been 'Crap and cupcakes', meaning that the cake and icing on the cake that we got, does not hide the taste of the terrible crap that most of the teams have delivered ... especially OB Odense, AGF Aarhus and AC Horsens have been a terrible disappointment and I think it says it all when the two promoted teams both managed to reach the Danish Cup final and also both finished in top-4 in the Superliga... that is the first time ever this has happened in the history of the Superliga.
.

 

Well... most of the clubs have been trying to build up a new team this season, but still we saw some highly interesting and classy young players and some nice football at the start of this season, but looking back it seems that the clubs perhaps became a bit to happy with how their young star players were doing, so considering that there were only 13 rounds left to play, they were trying to cut corners financially in the winter break, not getting the reinforcements you need in the winter when the pitch quality is very poor and injuries start piling up... so they seemed quite unprepared and the young players were not able to keep up the level once the more experienced key players got injured.
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...Perhaps you can also say, that it is a more physical kind of football the teams are playing in the winter, so the light-footed young talents more easily get squashed, when the bottom teams try to defend and muscle their way out of the relegation zone.... and considering that most of the teams were in relegation danger at some point, it became some rather nervous and poor quality football most of the time.
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Well, considering that AC Horsens managed to reach the Europa League play-off's earlier this season by beating Elfsborg away from home and then playing 1-1 at home against Sporting CP, it's also highly disappointing how they managed to suffer relegation.
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