Only a short time to liga start, so time for a new thread ! ---- Last seasons Superliga facts: http://www.soccer24-7.com/forum/showthread.php?t=135699&page=9 Code: [b]Danish Superliga 2007/08 (33 rounds):[/b] [b] Club G W D L Gf-Ga P[/b] 1 AaB Aalborg 33 22 5 6 60-38 71 2 FC Midtjylland 33 18 8 7 53-36 62 3 FC København 33 17 9 7 51-29 60 4 OB Odense 33 12 16 5 46-27 52 5 AC Horsens 33 14 10 9 47-43 52 6 Randers FC 33 13 8 12 41-33 47 7 Esbjerg fB 33 13 6 14 59-54 45 8 Brøndby IF 33 11 10 12 44-44 43 9 FC Nordsjælland 33 11 10 12 47-51 43 10 AGF Aarhus 33 7 8 18 33-51 29 -------------------------------------------- 11 Viborg FF 33 5 5 23 29-68 20 12 Lyngby BK 33 3 9 21 33-69 18 Danish Clubs in Europe 2008/09 : 1. AaB Aalborg ..... Champions League (2nd Qualifying Round) 2. FC Midtjylland... UEFA Cup (1st Qualifying Round) 3. FC København..... UEFA Cup (1st Qualifying Round) 4. OB Odense........ UEFA Intertoto Cup (2nd Round) Danish Cup winner: Brøndby.......... UEFA Cup (1st Qualifying Round) UEFA Fair Play: FC Nordsjælland .... UEFA Cup (1st Qualifying Round) --- Goalscorers list, top 25 : 1. Jeppe Curth,AaB................................... 17 2. Martin Bernburg,FCN.............................. 14 3. Peter Graulund,AGF............................... 13 -. Henrik H. Hansen,AC Horsens.................. 13 5. Frank Kristensen,FCM............................ 12 6. Christian Holst (Far),Lyngby..................... 9 -. Gilberto Macena (Brazil),AC Horsens.......... 9 -. Morten Nordstrand,FCK........................... 9 -. *Rade Prica (Sweden),AaB...................... 9 10 Atiba Hutchinson(Canada),FCK................ 8 -. Hans Henrik Andreasen,OB...................... 8 -. *Marcus Allbäck (Sweden),FCK................ 8 -. Mikkel Beckmann,Lyngby......................... 8 -. Rawez Lawan (Sweden),AC Horsens.......... 8 15 Andreas Johansson (Sweden),AaB............ 7 -. Baye Djiby Fall (Senegal),OB..................... 7 -. Bédi Buval (France), Randers.................... 7 -. Issey Nakajima-Farran (Canada),FCN......... 7 -. Jonas Borring,OB.................................... 7 -. Martin Vingaard,Esbjerg........................... 7 -. Martin Ericsson (Sweden),Brøndby............ 7 -. Morten "Duncan" Rasmussen,Brøndby......... 7 -. *Njogu Demba-Nyrén (Gam/Swe),Esbjerg.... 7 -. Søren Rieks,Esbjerg................................ 7 -. *Thomas Dalgaard, Randers FC................. 7 * = Moved abroad ---- Average Superliga attendance 2007/08 : 8,502 Average attendance 2006/07 : 8,105 Average attendance 2005/06 : 7,954 Average attendance 2004/05 : 8,589 Average attendance 2003/04 : 7,980 ---- Goal average 2007/08 : 543 goals in 198 games = 2.74 2006/07 average : 2.80 2005/06 average : 2.80 2004/05 average : 2.92 ---- Code: [b]Danish Superliga 2008/09 :[/b] [b] Club G W D L Gf-Ga P[/b] 1 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AaB_Football#Current_squad]AaB Aalborg[/url] 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 2 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Midtjylland#Current_squad]FC Midtjylland[/url] 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 3 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F.C._Copenhagen#Current_squad]FC København[/url] 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 4 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odense_Boldklub#Current_squad]OB Odense[/url] 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 5 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC_Horsens#Current_squad]AC Horsens[/url] 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 6 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randers_FC#Current_squad]Randers FC[/url] 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 7 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esbjerg_fB#Current_squad]Esbjerg fB[/url] 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 8 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Br%C3%B8ndby_IF#Current_Squad]Brøndby IF[/url] 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 9 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Nordsj%C3%A6lland#Current_squad]FC Nordsjælland[/url] 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 10 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AGF_Aarhus#Current_squad]AGF Aarhus[/url] 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 ------------------------------------------- 11 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vejle_Boldklub#Current_squad]Vejle BK[/url] 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 12 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%B8nderjyskE#Current_squad]SønderjyskE[/url] 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 Danish Superliga 2008/09 fixtures : http://www.bold.dk/statistik/tabel.php?liga=1&saeson=46&program=fuldt#kampprogram .
Ceres, Thanks for the data. Two quick questions. Are the Danish clubs pre-season training sessions in Denmark or in another country? Are the Danes, Norwegians and Swedes working on a replacement for the Royal League competition or is that sort of tournament a thing of the past?
Mainly in Denmark, though some clubs have been playing their pre-season games in Germany As for the Royal League competition, then ther is probably going to be a smaller more Cup like tournament this season.. .
Ceres, Thanks. I just returned from Norway, where I got to see a couple of games. I didn't realize that the Danish League (Superliga) opened so soon. Good luck to your team. And thanks for the Royal League information. I hope you are right. The Scandinavian clubs need something like this to stay fresh for European competition. Too often the Norwegian teams are eliminated from the UEFA cup competition in February. It makes sense. They haven't played a competitive game since early November. At least the Superliga runs into December.
Superliga 2008/09, round 1 : Randers FC v AGF Aarhus, 3-1 (2-1) 1-0 Bédi Buval (2) 2-0 Tidiane Sane (15) 2-1 Dioh Williams (40) 3-1 Tidiane Sane (69) Attendance: 6,612 Highlights: http://tv2sport.dk/node/13407 --- FC Nordsjælland v Brøndby 0-2 (0-1) 0-1 Kasper Lorentzen (44) 0-2 Samuel Holmén (80) Attendance: 6,672 Extended highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjCJPnZ7tEg --- AC Horsens v SønderjyskE 2-0 (0-0) 1-0 Gilberto Macena (46) 2-0 Niels Lodberg (Pen.) (90) Attendance: 3,594 Highlights: http://tv2sport.dk/node/13356 --- AaB Aalborg v FC Midtjylland, 1-2 (0-0) Martin Pedersen, AaB (45) 0-1 Kim Christensen (61) 0-2 Mikkel Thygesen (80) 1-2 Jeppe Curth (90) Attendance: 7,215 Highlights: http://tv2sport.dk/node/13408 --- FC København v Esbjerg fB, 1-0 (0-0) 1-0 Libor Sionko (73) Attendance: 15,150 Highlights: http://tv2sport.dk/node/13457 --- I have had some computer problems the past few days and now I,m going on vacation, so no updates the next week or so... .
Superliga, round 1 : Vejle BK v OB Odense, 1-3 (0-1) 0-1 Baye Djiby Fall (33) 0-2 Baye Djiby Fall (57) 0-3 Henrik H. Hansen (61) 1-3 Sladan Peric (90) Attendance: 8,081 Highlights: onsideTV ---- Superliga 2008/09, round 2 Brøndby IF v AaB Aalborg, 2-1 (2-1) 1-0 Max von Schlebrügge (27) 1-1 "Caca" -Lucas de Deus Santos (29) 2-1 Max von Schlebrügge (42) Attendance: 11,560 Ratings : http://www.onside.dk/node/12866 Juventus coach Claudio Ranieri was praising the Brøndby play, saying they were playing some good football when Juventus won 2-1 in a pre-season match last week and it does seem like Brøndby are back on track after they have made some big changes to the squad in this transfer window, picking up Jon Jönsson from Toulouse, Alexander Farnerud from VfB Stuttgart and Jan Kristiansen from FC Nürnberg, who no doubt are all very good players, while their big winter-signing Max Von Schlebrügge has shown to be a real scoop. So the club now feel that they will be able to win league medals this season. The Champions from Aalborg on the other hand have lost their two first games of the season and most Danish football experts believe that AaB is going to have a tough time staying in top 4 this season, with clubs like FCM, OB and FCK being the favorites to win the Championship and Brøndby having signed some major reinforcements. It's not that AaB really look all that much weaker on paper in compare with last season, but they are in need of a classy looking forward and the other clubs have just reinforced their teams to become that bit stronger in the summer transfer window. Highlights : TV2 Sport --- Randers FC v FC København, 1-1 (1-0) 1-0 Bédi Buval (42) 1-1 Jose "Junior" (83) Attendance: 7,328 Ratings : http://www.onside.dk/node/12916 Lee Nguyen replaced Randers' French forward (and Man of the Match) Bédi Buval to play the last 12 minutes. FCK not only lost two points in Randers, but also saw their two central defenders Ulrik Laursen and newly signed Peter Larsson suffer injuries, that surely will keep them out of the next UEFA Cup match against Cliftonville, so not at all a good match for the away team that perhaps had a lot of possession but looked rather toothless in attack, while Randers manager Colin Todd had good reason to be disappointed about not getting away with all 3 points. However, it should be said that it was a classy looking goal by José "Junior" that secured a 1-1 result for FCK, and did look very good after he he had replaced fellow brazilian "Aílton" in the 57th minute... Infact, "Junior" has good reason to be disappointed about not being a regular starter for FCK at the moment, because he is looking much more sharp and on target than the other FCK forwards. FCK have btw just signed a 5-year deal with the 27-yo Swedish international, Johan Wiland, who is going to join the club from Swedish side Elfsborg on January 1st 2009. The transfer fee is said to be just around €1.1 million. A few words frm Randers English manager Colin Todd about this game and Randers next game against Brøndby : http://www.onside.dk/onsideTV/12954 Highlights : Link or Link 2 and onsideTV --- Esbjerg fB v Vejle BK, 0-1 (0-0) 0-1 Frank Hansen (owngoal) (52) Attendance: 7,059 By the look of this match, it seem like Esbjerg could get in trouble this season and join Vejle in the fight against relegation, though teams maanged to create several huge opportunities and 4 attempts on the woodwork, the defending and finishing skills were not impressive, so it took an owngoal by Esbjergs Frank Hansen for Vejle to secure a slim 1-0 away win and also secure Esbjerg a new rather sad club record, because their opponents have now managed to score atleast one goal a game in each of Esbjergs last 11 Superliga home games in a row. So not really a club record for Esbjerg to be happy about. Vejle on the other hand can so far be happy about a fairly good start in the Superliga by getting all 3 points in this away match. Esbjergs newly signed Icelandic striker Gunnar Heiðar Torvaldsson btw did not make himself all too popular, being lucky to escape a straight red card for a foul on Vejle defender Bora Zivkovic.. Tally Hall watched the match from the Esbjerg bench. Highlights : Link or Link 2 and TV2 Sport or onsideTV --- SønderjyskE v FC Midtjylland, 1-1 (0-0) 0-1 Jonas Borring (69) 1-1 Jesper Kjærulf (82) Attendance: 2,781 Also the other newly promoted team, SønderjyskE, managed to get a surprise result at home against one of the favorites to win the Danish Championship this season. In fact FCM played very poorly and were rather lucky to get away with one point, because it was SønderjyskE dominating all over the pitch in this low paced match.. It's not the first time FCM fail against the smaller teams in the league and they need to do much better in games like this if they want to win the Championship. Danny Califf played all 90 minutes for FCM.. Highlights : Link or Link 2 and TV2 Sport or onsideTV --- AGF Aarhus v AC Horsens 3-1 (1-1) 0-1 Niels Lodberg (18) Peter Graulund, AGF miss penalty (20) 1-1 Michael Lumb (33) 2-1 Ulrik Lindkvist (65) Niels Lodberg, Horsens (66) 3-1 Peter Graulund (90) Attendance: 10,005 Highlights and match report in the Jeremiah White at AGF Aarhus thread... https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=668078&page=15 --- OnsideTV Special highlights from round 2 : http://www.onside.dk/onsideTV/12930 Code: [b]Danish Superliga 2008/09 (round 2 of 33) :[/b] [b] Club G W D L Gf-Ga P[/b] 1 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Br%C3%B8ndby_IF#Current_Squad]Brøndby IF[/url] 2 2 0 0 4-1 6 2 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randers_FC#Current_squad]Randers FC[/url] 2 1 1 0 4-2 4 3 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Midtjylland#Current_squad]FC Midtjylland[/url] 2 1 1 0 3-2 4 4 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F.C._Copenhagen#Current_squad]FC København[/url] 2 1 1 0 2-1 4 5 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odense_Boldklub#Current_squad]OB Odense[/url] 1 1 0 0 3-1 3 6 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AGF_Aarhus#Current_squad]AGF Aarhus[/url] 2 1 0 1 4-4 3 7 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC_Horsens#Current_squad]AC Horsens[/url] 2 1 0 1 3-3 3 8 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vejle_Boldklub#Current_squad]Vejle BK[/url] 2 1 0 1 2-3 3 9 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%B8nderjyskE#Current_squad]SønderjyskE[/url] 2 0 1 1 1-3 1 10 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AaB_Football#Current_squad]AaB Aalborg[/url] 2 0 0 2 2-4 0 ------------------------------------------- 11 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Nordsj%C3%A6lland#Current_squad]FC Nordsjælland[/url] 1 0 0 1 0-2 0 12 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esbjerg_fB#Current_squad]Esbjerg fB[/url] 2 0 0 2 0-2 0 Danish Superliga 2008/09 fixtures : http://www.bold.dk/statistik/tabel.php?liga=1&saeson=46&program=fuldt#kampprogram .
Superliga, round 3 : Vejle BK v AaB Aalborg, 2-3 (2-2) 1-0 Thomas Røll Larsen (5) 2-0 Valentino Lai (34) 2-1 Sladan Peric (owngoal) (60) 2-2 "Cacá" -Lucas de Deus Santos (62) 2-3 "Cacá" -Lucas de Deus Santos (80) Bora Zivkovic,Vejle (90) Attendance: 5,273 Newly promoted Vejle looked like the better team and seemed to have all under control in the first 60 minutes of this match against the Danish champions from Aalborg, but then an unfortunate owngoal by defender Sladan Peric turned the match around and the AaB Brazilian "Cacá" saved the day for the visitors. The 25-yo Brazilian who won the U17 World Cup in 1999 and has won 20 caps up until U20 level for Brazil, has very much been troubled by injuries and lack of self-confidence the past 1½-years, but is now fit for fight and under the leadership of the new AaB manager Bruce Rioch he has become a regular starter in right wing position and so far looked very good in the Europa Cup and Superliga this season. Besides Vejle losing the match, their captain in defense Bora Zivkovic was send off for trying to score a hand-goal in the last minute, so they are going to do without him the next game or two. Highlights : onsideTV or TV2 Sport .
Superliga, round 3 : FC Midtjylland v AC Horsens, 2-1 (0-1) 0-1 Gilberto Macena (28) 1-1 Morten Rasmussen (owngoal) (55) 2-1 Danny Olsen (81) Attendance: 7,335 FCM han not impressed in their first 3 games this season, getting a slim victory in Aalborg mainly because they were playing 11 against 10 the last 45 minutes and being lucky to secure 1 point away against newly promoted SønderjyskE. In this match they were in truble at home, though they managed to get away with all 3 points in the end, but only because the visitors were so nice to score an owngoal. Still, FCM can be happy abou setting a new record, now being undefeated in the past 23 home games in a row. The past years Horsens have been good at collecting the needed points at the start of the season, then to run out of Gas as the season progress, most likely due to lack of depth in their squad, but they dont seem quite as sharp looking this season and this could beome fatal at the end of the season. Danny Califf played the full 90 minutes for FC Midtjylland. Highlights : onsideTV or TV2 Sport --- Esbjerg fB v FC Nordsjælland, 1-1 (1-0) 1-0 Jesper Bech (5) 1-1 Martin Bernburg (75) Attendance: 5,972 FCN have been doing well in the UEFA Cup this season, but also showing some weakness in the Superliga games, while Esbjerg have been playing some nice football and producing lots of opportunities so far this season, but they seem to lack the needed sharpness in attack and they also make som big mistakes in defense, so they are not getting the points needed, which also was the case in this match. In a well played first 45 minutes of this match, it was Esbjerg and especially Martin Vingaard looking good. As you also may notice in the highlights below, the 23-yo midfielder was simply to difficult to handle for the visitiors. However, besides the goal by Jesper Bech, Esbjerg did not manage to score the goals they perhaps deserved, so when Vingaard got injured and replaced in the 62th minute, it was now FCN dominating the match and in the end also getting away with a draw. FCNs newly signed Swedish central defender Benjamin Kibebe got his debut playing from start, doing well for the visitors, FCN manager Morten Wieghorst btw was send off for punching a hole in his chair, when he and the FCN players felt cheated off a penalty. As usual Tally Hall watched the match from the Esbjerg bench. Highlights : onsideTV or TV2 Sport --- OB Odense v AGF Aarhus, 3-1 (2-1) 0-1 Ulrik Lindkvist (11) 1-1 Baye Djiby Fall (31) 2-1 Björn Runström (45) 3-1 Johan Absalonsen (83) Attendance: 10,036 Extensive highlights and match report in the Jeremiah White at AGF Aarhus thread : https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showpost.php?p=15323066&postcount=146 --- Brøndby IF v Randers FC, 0-3 (0-1) 0-1 Carsten Fredgaard (75) 0-2 Bédi Buval (75) 0-3 Tidiane Sane (77) Attendance: 15,453 Newly signed central defender Jon Jönsson from Toulouse got injured when Brøndby very surprisingly lost 0-3 at home to an efficient Randers team. Brøndby have just sold their Zambian international Chris Katongo to German Bundesliga side Arminia Bielefeld this week and by the look at how they played in this match they really need to find a replacement as quickly as possible, because their attack was absolutely toothless, which again made it fairly easy for a well playing Randers team get away with all 3 points. The Randers forward Bédi Buval and midfielder Tidiane Sane have on the other hand really looked sharp an on target so far this season. Lee Nguyen only got to watch the match from the bench for Randers. Highlights : onsideTV or TV2 Sport .
Superliga, round 3 : SønderjyskE v FC København 1-1 (0-1) 0-1 Atiba Hutchinson (5) 1-1 Anders Egholm (67) Attendance: 5,721 FCK mave have done well in the UEFA Cup qualifiers, but they have lost 4 points and not impressed in their two first Superliga away games this season and besides the quick goal by Canadian international Atiba Hutchinson they looked to slowpaced and toothless, which no doubt made newly promoted SønderjyskE belive that they could secure a good result.. FCK could probably blame the poor results on players like Grønkjaer, Libor Sionko and their captain Ulrik Laursen being injured, but the fact is that their squad seemed to small last season and since then, they have not been signing more players than they have sold, so it should not come as a surprise that they still lack some depth in compare with the other top teams in the Superliga. SønderjyskE have on the other hand done better than expected, Two points in their first 3 games is a good start, though they are still heading for relegation. Highlights : TV2 Sport and onsideTV . Code: [b]Danish Superliga 2008/09 (round 3 of 33) :[/b] [b] Club G W D L Gf-Ga P[/b] 1 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randers_FC#Current_squad]Randers FC[/url] 3 2 1 0 7-2 7 2 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Midtjylland#Current_squad]FC Midtjylland[/url] 3 2 1 0 5-3 7 3 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odense_Boldklub#Current_squad]OB Odense[/url] 2 2 0 0 6-2 6 4 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Br%C3%B8ndby_IF#Current_Squad]Brøndby IF[/url] 3 2 0 1 4-4 6 5 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F.C._Copenhagen#Current_squad]FC København[/url] 3 1 2 0 3-2 5 6 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AaB_Football#Current_squad]AaB Aalborg[/url] 3 1 0 2 5-6 3 7 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC_Horsens#Current_squad]AC Horsens[/url] 3 1 0 2 4-5 3 8 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AGF_Aarhus#Current_squad]AGF Aarhus[/url] 3 1 0 2 5-7 3 9 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vejle_Boldklub#Current_squad]Vejle BK[/url] 3 1 0 2 4-6 3 10 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%B8nderjyskE#Current_squad]SønderjyskE[/url] 3 0 2 1 2-4 2 ------------------------------------------- 11 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Nordsj%C3%A6lland#Current_squad]FC Nordsjælland[/url] 2 0 1 1 1-3 1 12 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esbjerg_fB#Current_squad]Esbjerg fB[/url] 3 0 1 2 1-3 1 Danish Superliga 2008/09 fixtures : http://www.bold.dk/statistik/tabel.php?liga=1&saeson=46&program=fuldt#kampprogram Goalscorers list, top 8 : 1. "Cacá" -Lucas de Deus Santos AaB (Brazil)... 3 -. Baye Djiby Fall (Senegal),OB...................... 3 -. Bédi Buval (France), Randers...................... 3 -. Tidiane Sane (Senegal), Randers................. 3 5. Gilberto Macena (Brazil),AC Horsens............. 2 -. Niels Lodberg,AC Horsens........................... 2 -. Ulrik Lindkvist,AGF.................................... 2 -. Max von Schlebrügge,Brøndby.................... 2 > = Newly signed .
Superliga, round 2 : OB Odense v FC Nordsjælland, 3-1 (1-0) 1-0 Chris Sørensen (40) 2-0 Johan Absalonsen (55) 2-1 Søren Christensen (76) 3-1 Björn Runström (90) Attendance: 9,281 I'll just add to the highlights below, that Odense have been looking very strong so far this season and they have been signing some very good players.. So they seem to be the favorite to win the Danish Championship.. Highlights http://tv2sport.dk/node/14568 .
Superliga, round 4 : AaB Aalborg v Esbjerg, 1-1 (0-1) 0-1 Martin Vingaard (pen.) (21) 1-1 Thomas Enevoldsen (55) Attendance: 6,073 The Danish champions from Aalborg have really not been blessed by good results so far this season, and they were absolutely furious after this match, because they felt cheated by the referee who allowed the Esbjerg players to get away with making two penalties... and in truth the referee did seem to have a total off-day, but the AaB players also misused some big opportunities, so perhaps they should have been able to secure a win anyway, despite some very poor refereeing.. In any case it was an intense fight but not really a very good match and you could suspect that it has something to do with the AaB players thinking more about their highly important CL 3rd qualifying games against FBK Kaunas. As usual Tally Hall watched the match from the Esbjerg bench. Newly signed Polish international Marek Saganowski did not manage to get ready to play this match, but watch from the stands, though he will be ready for the CL games against Kaunas. Saganowskis career stats may seem a bit up and down, but he really is a classy looking player. He has done very well playing for Legia Warszawa, scoring 41 goals in 67 league games and he was also a success in Portugal playing for Vitoria Guimaraes. In 2007 he managed to score 10 goals in the first 13 games he played for Southampton, but then it all went bad for the club financially. They lost their manager and many players was being sold over the summer... adding to the problems both inside and outside the pitch, their new manager started to use rotation among the forwards, so Saganowski was no longer used as a regular starter. He felt that he was being treated badly and clearly lost his self-confidense and did poorly in the games last season, just like the rest of the team... Southampton also made it no secret that they wanted to get rid of him because of his very high wages, so they were trying to force him out of the team by not letting him play in the pre-season games. Should he do well for AaB, then they got the option to buy Saganowski at a fixed price (around €1 million), though they so far have paid €540k to get him on a 5-moth loan deal ... Highlights : onsideTV or TV2 Sport Penalty or not ? : onsideTV A few words (in English) from Saganowski: http://www.onside.dk/onsideTV/13773 a few words by Australian international Michael Beauchamp : http://www.onside.dk/onsideTV/13870 AaB manager Bruce Rioch about the match in general: http://www.onside.dk/onsideTV/13769 ---- AC Horsens v Brøndby IF, 0-1 (0-0) 0-1 Thomas Rasmussen (54) Søren Jochumsen,ACH misuse penalty (62) Attendance: 5,860 AaB felt cheated by the referee in Aalborg, but ther was also some dispute about a penalty in Horsens, when Brøndby keeper according to the referee saved the penalty shot by Horsens keeper Søren Jochumsen. Highlights : onsideTV or TV2 Sport ---- FC Midtjylland v OB Odense, 4-0 (0-1) 1-0 Baba Collins (11) 2-0 Baba Collins (19) 3-0 Baba Collins (41) 4-0 Kim Christensen (69) Attendance: 7,250 FCM han not impressed in their first games this season, but they often play rather poorly and lose points to the smaller clubs, then to beat the better teams in the league and then they are always very strong at home and undefeated in their past 23 home games, but a 4-0 victory against the league favorites OB Odense is no doubt a shock result. Danny Califf played the full 90 minutes for FCM, doing a very good job of it, just like the rest of the team....More about this match from UEFA.com : http://www.uefa.com/competitions/uefacup/news/kind=1/newsid=738205.html Highlights : onsideTV or TV2 Sport --- FC København v AGF Aarhus, 1-0 (1-0) 1-0 Morten Nordstrand (19) Attendance: 16,240 Match report and highlights in the Jeremiah White at AGF Aarhus thread, plus some transfer news about Benny Feilhaber ! : https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=668078&page=15 ---- FC Nordsjælland v Randers FC, 1-1 (0-0) 1-0 Bajram Fetai (pen.) (65) 1-1 Marc Nygaard (84) Attendance: 2,388 Once again Lee Nguyen only got to watch the match from the bench for Randers. Highlights : onsideTV or TV2 Sport ---- Vejle BK v SønderjyskE, 2-1 (2-2) 0-1 Morten Bertolt (29) 1-1 Pablo Piñones-Arce (pen.) (56) 2-1 Steffen Kielstrup (73) Attendance: 6,013 Highlights : onsideTV or TV2 Sport ---- Code: [b]Danish Superliga 2008/09 (round 4 of 33) :[/b] [b] Club G W D L Gf-Ga P[/b] 1 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Midtjylland#Current_squad]FC Midtjylland[/url] 4 3 1 0 9-3 10 2 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odense_Boldklub#Current_squad]OB Odense[/url] 4 3 0 1 9-7 9 3 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Br%C3%B8ndby_IF#Current_Squad]Brøndby IF[/url] 4 3 0 1 5-4 9 4 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randers_FC#Current_squad]Randers FC[/url] 4 2 2 0 8-3 8 5 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F.C._Copenhagen#Current_squad]FC København[/url] 4 2 2 0 4-2 8 6 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vejle_Boldklub#Current_squad]Vejle BK[/url] 4 2 0 2 6-7 6 7 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AaB_Football#Current_squad]AaB Aalborg[/url] 4 1 1 2 6-7 4 8 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC_Horsens#Current_squad]AC Horsens[/url] 4 1 0 3 4-6 3 9 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AGF_Aarhus#Current_squad]AGF Aarhus[/url] 4 1 0 3 5-8 3 10 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esbjerg_fB#Current_squad]Esbjerg fB[/url] 4 0 2 2 2-4 2 ------------------------------------------- 11 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%B8nderjyskE#Current_squad]SønderjyskE[/url] 4 0 2 2 3-6 2 12 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Nordsj%C3%A6lland#Current_squad]FC Nordsjælland[/url] 4 0 2 2 3-7 2 Danish Superliga 2008/09 fixtures : http://www.bold.dk/statistik/tabel.php?liga=1&saeson=46&program=fuldt#kampprogram Goal scorers list, top 12 : 1. "Cacá" -Lucas de Deus Santos (Brazil), AaB ... 3 -. Baba Collins (Nigeria),FCM........................... 3 -. Baye Djiby Fall (Senegal),OB........................ 3 -. Bédi Buval (France), Randers........................ 3 -. Tidiane Sane (Senegal), Randers................... 3 6. Gilberto Macena (Brazil),AC Horsens............... 2 -. Niels Lodberg,AC Horsens............................. 2 -. Ulrik Lindkvist,AGF...................................... 2 -. Max von Schlebrügge,Brøndby...................... 2 -. >Björn Runström (Sweden),OB ..................... 2 -. Johan Absalonsen,OB. ................................ 2 -. >Kim Christensen,FCM................................. 2 > = Newly signed .
They have been struck by injuries and starting a bit slow this season, but now seem to be back on track.. ----- Superliga, round 5 : After this round it is clear that the Superliga 2008/09 is the most unpredictable ever... The Champions from Aalborg find themself just above the relegation line and the usual solid mid-table teams like Esbjerg and FCN are in trouble, while especially newly promoted SønderjyskE are doing much better than expected... Unlike the past many seasons, the outcome of this summer transfer window has become extremely important, because the new TV deal has made it possible for the clubs to use much more $$ to sign better players abroad. So it has been very important thet the players they have been able to pick up from the Bundesliga, EPL or the Dutch league really are of the needed quality and able to adapt and fit in. Neither FCN or Esbjerg have been able to raise their game by reinforcing their team, so they are now in trouble, while newly promoted Vejle so far seem to have found the right reinforcements. Also AGF now seem much stronger than last season, so we will perhaps see some panic in the last days of the transfer window from the teams who are not doing all too well. Randers FC v Esbjerg fB, 1-1 (1-1) 0-1 Martin Vingaard (pen.) (12) 1-1 Marc Nygaard (pen.) (26) Nikolaj Høgh,EfB (72) Attendance: 6,350 Lee Nguyen (Randers) and Tally Hall (Esbjerg) both watched the match from the bench. Highlights : onsideTV or TV2 Sport ---- AaB Aalborg v OB Odense, 0-3 (0-1) 0-1 Henrik H. Hansen (8) Michael Beauchamp,AaB (18) 0-2 Eric Djemba-Djemba (57) 0-3 Johan Absalonsen (90) Attendance: 7,033 Highlights : onsideTV or TV2 Sport ---- FC København v FC Midtjylland, 3-1 (2-0) 1-0 César Santín (31) 2-0 William Kvist (43) 3-0 William Kvist (71) 3-1 Jonas Borring (80) Attendance: 17,321 Danny Califf played all 90 minutes for FCM. Highlights : onsideTV or TV2 Sport ---- AGF Aarhus v Brøndby, 2-1 (1-1) 1-0 Nando Rafael (26) 1-1 Morten Duncan Rasmussen (33) 2-1 Peter Graulund (62) Attendance: 16,032 Benny Feilhaber still need a work permit, so he watched from the stands while Jeremiah White played the first 81 minutes of this match ... match report and highlights in the Feilhaber and White at AGF Aarhus thread : https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showpost.php?p=15463302&postcount=172 ---- AC Horsens v Vejle, 0-0 (0-0) Attendance: 6,930 Highlights : TV2 Sport ---- FC Nordsjælland v SønderjyskE, 0-1 (0-1) 0-1 Kenneth Fabricius (40) Attendance: 2,019 ---- Code: [b]Danish Superliga 2008/09 (round 5 of 33) :[/b] [b] Club G W D L Gf-Ga P[/b] 1 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odense_Boldklub#Current_squad]OB Odense[/url] 5 4 0 1 12-7 12 2 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F.C._Copenhagen#Current_squad]FC København[/url] 5 3 2 0 7-3 11 3 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Midtjylland#Current_squad]FC Midtjylland[/url] 5 3 1 1 10-6 10 4 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randers_FC#Current_squad]Randers FC[/url] 5 2 3 0 9-4 9 5 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Br%C3%B8ndby_IF#Current_Squad]Brøndby IF[/url] 5 3 0 2 6-6 9 6 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vejle_Boldklub#Current_squad]Vejle BK[/url] 5 2 1 2 6-7 7 7 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AGF_Aarhus#Current_squad]AGF Aarhus[/url] 5 2 0 3 7-9 6 8 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%B8nderjyskE#Current_squad]SønderjyskE[/url] 5 1 2 2 4-6 5 9 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC_Horsens#Current_squad]AC Horsens[/url] 5 1 1 3 4-6 4 10 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AaB_Football#Current_squad]AaB Aalborg[/url] 5 1 1 3 6-10 4 ------------------------------------------- 11 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esbjerg_fB#Current_squad]Esbjerg fB[/url] 5 0 3 2 3-5 3 12 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Nordsj%C3%A6lland#Current_squad]FC Nordsjælland[/url] 5 0 2 3 3-7 2 Danish Superliga 2008/09 fixtures : http://www.bold.dk/statistik/tabel.php?liga=1&saeson=46&program=fuldt#kampprogram Goal scorers list, top 18 : 1. "Cacá" -Lucas de Deus Santos (Brazil), AaB ... 3 -. Baba Collins (Nigeria),FCM........................... 3 -. Baye Djiby Fall (Senegal),OB........................ 3 -. Bédi Buval (France), Randers........................ 3 -. Johan Absalonsen,OB. ................................ 3 -. Tidiane Sane (Senegal), Randers................... 3 7. Gilberto Macena (Brazil),AC Horsens............... 2 -. Niels Lodberg,AC Horsens............................. 2 -. >Björn Runström (Sweden),OB ..................... 2 -. >Henrik H. Hansen,OB ................................ 2 -. Ulrik Lindkvist,AGF...................................... 2 -. Peter Graulund,AGF.................................... 2 -. >Kim Christensen,FCM................................. 2 -. >Jonas Borring,FCM.................................... 2 -. Martin Vingaard,Esbjerg............................... 2 -. Marc Nygaard,Randers................................ 2 -. Max von Schlebrügge,Brøndby...................... 2 -. William Kvist,FCK........................................ 2 > = Newly signed .
Ceres, What's up at Randers? Will John goes off to the land of the lost and Lee Nguyen (sp) can't get on the field. Has Lee fallen out of favor, injured, brought in by the former coach and not one of the new coach's guys, ...? It just seems stange to me. Denmark has always been a great place for US players to "find a home" playing football. Last year, Randers picked up two players trained in the US and now neither is making a contribution for the team.
I really dont know for sure, but the word is that Nguyen is to easy to push aside by the opponents because he is rather small physically... and as you perhaps know then Randers got an English manager, ( Colin Todd ) so perhaps the physical aspect could play a big part in Nguyen being benched.. .
Danish Cup 2008/09, Round 2 : Silkeborg IF (1st Div.) v AC Horsens, 1-2 1-0 Henrik Pedersen (8) 1-1 Rawez Lawan (66) 1-2 Gilberto Macena (89) --- Greve (2nd Div.) v FC Nordsjælland, 1-9 0-1 Bo Storm (9) 0-2 Andreas Dahl (11) 0-3 Nicklas Pedersen (20) 0-4 Bo Storm (24) 0-5 Marcus Pode (43) 1-5 Thomas Pedersen (46) 1-6 Philip Rasmussen (59) 1-7 Bajram Fetai (65) 1-8 Bo Storm (83) 1-9 Bo Storm (87) --- BK Frem Sakskøbing (4th level) v Brøndby IF, 1-7 0-1 Jan Kristiansen (16) 0-2 Peter Madsen (31) 0-3 Peter Madsen (Pen.) (42) 1-3 Nikolaj Lohse (44) 1-4 Patrick Mortensen (50) 1-5 Peter Madsen (62) 1-6 Patrick Mortensen (87) 1-7 Mark Howard (90) --- Assens FC (5th level) v SønderjyskE, 0-4 0-1 Ken Ilsø (?) 0-2 Jacob Stolberg (?) 0-3 Jesper Kristoffersen (?) 0-4 Jesper Kristoffersen (?) --- Viby IF (5th level) v AGF Aarhus, 0-8 0-1 Peter Graulund (2) 0-2 Nando Rafael (16) 0-3 Jerry Lucena (23) 0-4 Peter Graulund (28) 0-5 Lasse Vibe (56) 0-6 Dioh Williams (79) 0-7 Dioh Williams (85) 0-8 Lasse Vibe (89) Attendance : 1,447 Jeremiah White played all 90 minutes for AGF ... Feilhabers contract is valid starting monday, so he was not able to play. Highlights : Ekstra Bladet TV or TV2 Sport --- Taars/Ugilt IF (6th level) v Vejle BK, 0-8 0-1 Martin Borre (?) 0-2 Valentino Lai (?) 0-3 Alex Nørlund. (?) 0-4 Bora Zivkovic (?) 0-5 Steffen Kielstrup (?) 0-6 Martin Borre. (?) 0-7 Martin Borre (?) 0-8 Adeshina Lawal (?) --- Møldrup/Tostrup IF (7th level) v Randers FC, 0-5 0-1 Issah Ahmed (35) Tiago Targino, Randers misuse penalty (38) 0-2 Lee Nguyen (52) 0-3 Ricky Olsen (60) 4-0 Bédi Buval (65) 0-5 Søren Holdgaard (88) Lee Nguyen scored Randers second goal, but it was a rather disappointing performance by the away team. --- Tjæreborg IF (7th level) v Esbjerg fB, 1-10 0-1 Martin Fribrock (13) 0-2 Martin Fribrock (18) 0-3 Jeppe Mehl (23) 0-4 Frank Hansen (31) 0-5 artin Vingaard (61) 0-6 Søren Rieks (67) 0-7 Gunnar Heidar Thorvaldsson (68) 1-7 Michael Vind (71) 1-8 Thiago Pinto Borges (78) 1-9 Gunnar Heidar Thorvaldsson (85) 1-10 Søren Rieks (90) --- more Cup results : http://resol.dr.dk/sportservice_competition.aspx?competitionid=296 .
Superliga, round 6 : OB Odense v Randers FC, 2-1 (2-0) 1-0 Baye Djiby Fall (19) Chris Sørensen,OB misuse penalty (27) 2-0 Hans Henrik Andreasen (39) 2-1 Kenneth Møller Pedersen (41) Attendance: 8,105 Highlights : onsideTV or TV2 Sport --- AGF Aarhus v FC Nordsjælland, 0-3 (0-1) 0-1 Nicklas Pedersen (5) 0-2 Nicklas Pedersen (pen.) (54) 0-3 Martin Bernburg (90) Attendance: 12,828 Match report in the Feilhaber and White at AGF Aarhus thread... https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showpost.php?p=15607093&postcount=219 Highlights : onsideTV or TV2 Sport --- Brøndby v FC København, 1-0 (1-0) 1-0 Jan Kristiansen (24) Attendance: 22,345 Highlights : onsideTV or TV2 Sport Newly signed Ousman Jallow get the grand tour at Brøndby Stadion before the match: http://www.onside.dk/onsideTV/15354 ---- Esbjerg fB v AC Horsens, 0-1 (0-0) 0-1 Gilberto Macena (77) Attendance: 6,139 Highlights : onsideTV or TV2 Sport --- SønderjyskE v AaB Aalborg, 1-2 (0-2) 0-1 Jeppe Curth (16) 0-2 Thomas Augustinussen (22) 1-2 Sölvi Jónsson (60) Attendance: 3,080 Highlights : onsideTV ---- FC Midtjylland v Vejle, 1-1 (1-0) 1-0 Danny Olsen (17) Danny Califf,FCM (39) 1-1 Eduardo Delani (59) Attendance: 7.813 American international Danny Califf has not had a good week for FCM, first making a very unfortunate owngoal in the UEFA Cup against Manchester City and then also geting send off in this Superliga match vs. Vejle. However, the coach said after the match that he otherwise has been very happy with Califfs performance for FCM so far. Danny Califfs two yellow cards : TV2 Sport ---- Code: [b]Danish Superliga 2008/09 (round 6 of 33) :[/b] [b] Club G W D L Gf-Ga P[/b] 1 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odense_Boldklub#Current_squad]OB Odense[/url] 6 5 0 1 14-8 15 2 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Br%C3%B8ndby_IF#Current_Squad]Brøndby IF[/url] 6 4 0 2 7-6 12 3 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Midtjylland#Current_squad]FC Midtjylland[/url] 6 3 2 1 11-7 11 4 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F.C._Copenhagen#Current_squad]FC København[/url] 6 3 2 1 7-4 11 5 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randers_FC#Current_squad]Randers FC[/url] 6 2 3 1 10-5 9 6 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vejle_Boldklub#Current_squad]Vejle BK[/url] 6 2 2 2 7-8 8 7 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC_Horsens#Current_squad]AC Horsens[/url] 6 2 1 3 5-6 7 8 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AaB_Football#Current_squad]AaB Aalborg[/url] 6 2 1 3 8-11 7 9 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AGF_Aarhus#Current_squad]AGF Aarhus[/url] 6 2 0 4 7-12 6 10 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Nordsj%C3%A6lland#Current_squad]FC Nordsjælland[/url] 6 1 2 3 6-7 5 ------------------------------------------- 11 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%B8nderjyskE#Current_squad]SønderjyskE[/url] 6 1 2 3 5-8 5 12 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esbjerg_fB#Current_squad]Esbjerg fB[/url] 6 0 3 3 3-6 3 Danish Superliga 2008/09 fixtures : http://www.bold.dk/statistik/tabel.php?liga=1&saeson=46&program=fuldt#kampprogram Goal scorers list, top 7 : 1. Baye Djiby Fall (Senegal),OB........................ 5 2. "Cacá" -Lucas de Deus Santos (Brazil), AaB ... 3 -. Baba Collins (Nigeria),FCM........................... 3 -. Bédi Buval (France), Randers........................ 3 -. Johan Absalonsen,OB. ................................ 3 -. Tidiane Sane (Senegal), Randers................... 3 -. Gilberto Macena (Brazil),AC Horsens............... 3 > = Newly signed .
It's time for the big transfer update... The league TV deal has grown by 50% just as the clubs rapidly have improved financially the past few years. So it was expected that the Superliga clubs would use much more $$ on transfer fees and wages this summer than ever seen before in the history of the Danish league, so this update is a bit later than usual because this summer transfer window has been exceptionally important, with more and bigger transfer than usual. SUMMER TRANSFER WINDOW 2008 : AaB Ålborg: IN: forward, Marek Saganowski Poland 26 caps, 3 goals (Southampton, on a loan for the rest of the year, fee €540k, option to buy later for €1m) central defender, Michael Beauchamp, Australia, 17 caps, 1 goal (FC Nürnberg, fee €150k) right back, Kasper Bøgelund, Den 15 caps (Borussia Mönchengladbach, 1-year contract, free ) manager, Bruce Rioch (On a 6-month contract, until 1 of January) OUT: central defender, Danny Califf, USA 20 caps, 1 goal (FC Midtjylland, 4-year contract) central midfielder, Benedict Vilakazi, South Africa 31 caps, 2 goals (Mamelodi Sundowns , fee ?) 33-yo right back, Allan Olesen (Vejle BK, free) forward, Lars "Lasse" Nilsson, Sweden 2 caps (returned from loan, Saint-Étienne) defender, Jón Rói Jacobsen, Faroe Islands, 31 caps (BK Frem) all-round defender/midfielder, Súni Olsen, Faroe Islands, 31 caps, 1 goal (B36 Torshavn, free) 22-yo goalkeeper, Ivo Vazgec, Bosnia/Sweden (Assyriska, free) 41-yo manager, Erik Hamrén (contract expired, Erik Hamrén) The Danish Champions has not done too well in their first 6 games of this season, but it is really no surprise if you look at their transfers this summer in compare with the rest of the bigger Superliga clubs. First of all it took quite some time for the management to find the replacement for manager Erik Hamrén. No doubt Bruce Rioch has shown to be a very good manager, but it still take some time for a new manager to settle and he and the club also had the UEFA Champions League to focus on besides the league games, so it has been a difficult task from the very start for a new manager. On the transfer market AaB have replaced Swedish Lars "Lasse" Nilsson with the Polish Euro-08 forward Marek Saganowski... They have lost their Captain in defense Danny Califf to FCM and replaced him with Michael Beauchamp, who unfortunately got injured straight away and then when he finally was fit, he was send off in his Superliga debut in round 5, so not really the best start for the Australian central defender. The only actual reinforcement of the team is Kasper Bøgelund, but he is known to be troubled by injuries very often, so though it may seem like the team has been slightly upgraded, it may not be the case in reality. Ther dont seem to much of a chance of AaB securing league medals this season, but their season has already become a success by qualifying for the CL, so they will probably be happy if they finish in top 4 in the Superliga and depending on if Bruce Rioch chose to stay, they now got quite alot of extra CL $$ to spend on transfers in the winter so that they are going to look much stronger next season... --- FC Midtjylland: IN: left winger Jonas Borring, League NT, 2 caps (OB Odense, 4-year contract, fee €2.6 million) right back/midfielder, Filip Marcic, Croatia (HNK Rijeka, 4-year contract, fee €400k) central defender, Kristijan Ipsa, Croatia U21 NT (Energie Cottbus, 4-year contract, fee €350k) central defender, Danny Califf, USA 18 caps, 1 goal (AaB Aalborg, 4-year contract) forward Kim Christensen (Barnsley, 2-year contract, free transfer) 19-yo midfielder, Ayinde Jamiu Lawal, Nigeria (returned from loan at SønderjyskE) 20-yo winger, Christian Sivebæk (son of John Sivebæk), Den U20 NT (Back from loan to Skive IK) left back/winger, Jesper Juelsgård, Den U19 NT (Back from loan to Skive IK) goalkeeper, Jesper Weinkouff (on a one year loan deal to Holstebro) 18-yo midfielder, Mads Winther Albæk, Den U19 NT (own youth) 18-yo midfielder, Sekou Oliseh, Nigeria (own youth) 33-yo head coach, Thomas Thomasberg (Own ranks) OUT: central defender, Simon Kjær, Den U19 NT (Palermo, fee €4 million or (US$5,9 million) holding midfielder, Oluwafemi Ajilore, Nigeria (FC Groningen. fee €3.3 million) central defender, Magnus Troest Den U21 NT (Parma, release clause 3,75 millioner €500k) central defender, Maros Klimpl, Slovakia, 19 caps, 1 goal (Motherwell, 5-month loan deal, fee €?) winger, Petter Furuseth Olsen, Norway (retired) attacking midfielder,Nick Ragus (Viborg FF, fee ?) goalkeeper, Anders Rasmussen (contract expired,Viborg FF) forward, Christian Olsen (Viborg FF, fee ?) right winger, Adeola Runsewe (on loan to Skive for the rest of the year) utility midfielder, Ayinde Lawal (on loan to Skive for the rest of the year) head coach, Erik Rasmussen (?) 2nd team: forward, Martin Jungbloot (Brabrand) FCM have won Danish league Silver medals the past two seasons in a row and now want the Danish Championship very badly. Unfortunately being a young talented team, doing well in the league and now also having looked very good in the UEFA Cup against Manchester City, it has attracted much attention from bigger clubs abroad who are very interested in some of FCMs young key players.. In this transfer window they have lost Simon Kjær, Oluwafemi Ajilore and Magnus Troest. Still, they have a very strong looking squad with players who are actually regarded to be just as talented as the players they have lost, besides they have also been able to afford some very good reinforcements this summer, FCM have been able to sign the AaB Aalborg captain Danny Califf to replace Maros Klimpl who never became the expected success. Winston Reid is regarded to be a bigger talent than than Magnus Troest who was sold to Italian side Parma and the young Nigerian midfielder Adigun Taofeek Salami as already shown to be more than good enough to replace Oluwafemi Ajilore in central midfield. The now former Croatian U21 NT right back/midfielder Filip Marcic was actually suppose to replace Kolja Afriyie who was expected to return Germany, but Afriyie surpringly chose to stay. FCM have also reinforced the left wing position by signing Jonas Borring, not to forget that they have signed Kim Christensen from Barnsley as an extra backup forward, so their squad now look quite alot stronger than last season.. The question is more how many of the young key players they are going to lose in the winter.. Several English clubs are now showing big interest in young Winston Reid, after his excellent performance against Manchester City in the UEFA Cup and as written, then also other of the yong FCM players have attracted much attention from bigger clubs abroad.. Never the less, now that FCM do not have the UEFA Cup to think about, they can focus 100% on the Danish Championship that they so badly want to win... --- FC København: IN: forward/Left winger César Sántin, Brazil (Kalmar FF, 5-year contract, fee €2.2 million) central defender Peter Larsson, Sweden 2 caps (Halmstads BK, 5-year contract, fee €2.0 million, US$ 3.4 million). midfielder, Thomas Kristensen, Den 2 caps (FC Nordsjælland, 3½-year contract, fee ?) left back, Danni Jensen, Den U19 NT (own youth/KB ) central defender, Jacob Albrechtsen, Den U18 NT (own youth/KB ) 46-yo assistant coach, Bård Wiggen, Norway (IK Start, fee ?) *goalkeeper, Johan Wiland, Sweden 3 caps (Elfsborg, 5-year contract, from January 1st 2009, fee €1.1 million) OUT: central defender, Michael Gravgaard Den 18 caps, 5 goals (Nantes, fee €4 million) midfielder, Michael Silberbauer (contract expired, FC Utrecht) striker, Marcus Allbäck, Sweden 74 caps, 30 goals (contract expired, Örgryte IS) defensive midfielder, Morten Bertolt (SønderjyskE, fee €135k) forward, Lasse Qvist (contract expired, Lyngby) assistant coach, Peter Nielsen (has resigned) While their competitors mainly have been looking for reinforcements in the German, English and Dutch league, FCK have (more or less as usual) been looking in Scandinavia to find the players they think they need. Some see this as as a weakness and lack of ambitions and you could also argue that the FCK squad lack some depth in compare with FCM and OB Odense. The past year or so FCK have been losing absolute key players like Tobias Linderoth, Lars Jacobsen, Brede Hangeland and now also Michael Gravgaard and Marcus Allbäck (though he was over the hill). But they have also been losing a Michael Silberbauer, not to forget that Jesper Grønkjaer is long-term injured and you could argue that far from all the replacements have been of the same quality and that the FCK squad at the same time has been shrinking to a minimum. No boubt that FCK a very strong looking lineup by Scandinavian standards, but it's going to be a long tough season, so the question is more if their squad has the needed depth and quality to do well in Europe as well as to win the Superliga. --- OB Odense : IN: defensive midfielder. Eric Djemba-Djemba, Cameroon 20 caps (Qatar SC, 3-year contract, free) striker, Björn Sandro Runström, Sweden (Fulham, free) midfielder, Henrik H. Hansen (AC Horsens, fee €500k) right back/midfielder, Espen Ruud, Norway (Odd Grenland, 4-year contract, swap deal) left back/midfielder, Timmi Johansen, Den U21 NT (Heerenveen, 1-year loan deal with an option to buy ) striker, Emmanuel Clottey, Ghana 1 cap (Accra Great Olympics, on loan for the rest of the year) forward, Peter Utaka,Nigeria (Royal Antwerp, 3-year contract) goalkeeper, David Preece, England (free transfer, Silkeborg) OUT: left winger, Jonas Borring, League NT, 2 caps (FC Midtjylland, fee €2.6 million) forward, Mads Timm (free transfer, Lyngby) midfielder, Bechara Oliveira, Brazil (Vejle BK) defender, Søren Jensen (Odd Grenland, swap deal) defensive midfielder, Mustapha Papa Diop, Senegal (free transfer, ?) forward, Srdjan Radonjic, Montenegro 3 caps (on loan for the rest of the year to IK Start) midfielder, Matti Lund Nielsen (on loan to Lyngby for the rest of the year) goalkeeper, Anders Lindegaard (on loan to Kolding FC for the rest of the year) forward, Anders K. Jacobsen (on loan to Vejle BK for the rest of the year) Reserve team: 20yo left winger, Morten W. Hansen (Slagelse ) right back, Jens Mårtensen (Slagelse, 2-year contract) OB Odense alway seem to end up in 4th place because they, despite having a strong and solid looking team, are not quite able finish off their opponents but have to settle with an unfortunate draw in most of their league games. However, this season they seem much more efficient and Baye Djiby Fall seem to be the real classy looking top scorer they have been in need of. Several foreing clubs are also watching him closely, so he could be gone in the winter break and this would no doubt be a disaster for OB if they want to win the Championship. Only great loss in this transfer window was Jonas Borring, otherwise OB have as usual reinforced their team and squad, by signing some strong solid looking players, like Eric Djemba-Djemba, Henrik H. Hansen, Espen Ruud, but also adding some younger talented players to the squad. However, Björn Sandro Runström has not made much of an impression so far. So the squad seem very strong by Superliga standards, they very much depend on Djiby Fall scoring the needed goals.. Still, as it is, they must be counted among the favorites to win the danish Championship this season along with FCM and FCK... --- AC Horsens : IN: utility midfielder, Martin Spelmann, Den U21 NT (Brøndby IF, 3½-year contract, fee ?) midfielder, Simon Nagel (relegation clause, Viborg FF, free) central defender, Georges Ndoum Cameroon U23 NT (MSV Duisburg, 1½-year contract, fee ?) left back, Adam Eckersley, England (Port Vale, 2-year contract, free) central defender, Morten Rasmussen (Brøndby IF, swap deal) central defender, Nabil Aslam (BK Frem, 2-year contract, free) 19-yo left back/winger Mark Maze (Grenå IF, 2-year contract) 21-yo forward, Jimmy Mayasi (Silkeborg IF, 4-year contract, €100k). 21-yo goalkeeper, Allan Nielsen (free agent, 1-year contract) 16-yo goalkeeper,Frederik Rønnow (own youth, 1½-year contract) OUT: midfielder, Henrik H. Hansen (OB Odense, fee €500k) defender, Lars Jensen (retired) forward, Ibrahim Babatunde, Nigeria (free transfer, ?) goalkeeper, Mads Markfoged (Silkeborg IF) midfielder, Kenneth Sørensen (Herfølge) defender, René Christensen (free transfer, ?) attacking midfielder, Kasper Klausen (contract expired, Hvidovre) defender, Per Gade (free transfer, Blokhus FC, 1-year contract) central defender, Steffen Algreen (free transfer, FC Fyn) *head coach, Kent Nielsen (Brøndby, 1. january 2009, swap deal + fee ?) Unlike most of the other Superliga teams, AC Horsens have mainly been signing cheap reinforcements and since they have lost their top scorer and key player Henrik H. Hansen to OB Odense and also are losing their biggest Star, head coach Kent Nielsen to Brøndby in the winter, the future does not look all to bright for the club. They are no doubt going to struggle at the bottom of the league this season, if not right now, then later as the season progress... --- Randers FC: IN: winger, Mikkel Beckmann, Den 2 caps (Lyngby, 4-year contract, fee ?) central defender, Steven Pressley, Scotland 32 caps (Celtic, 4-month contract, free) left winger Tiago Targino, Portugal (1-year loan deal from Vitória de Guimarães) left back/winger, David Addy, Ghana U20 NT (International Allies) forward, Søren Ulrik Vestergaard, Den U21 NT (Returned from loan at Viborg FF) right back, Allan Olesen, (FC Nordsjælland, 3-year contract) 19-yo utility midfielder, Ricki Olsen (son of Lars Olsen) (Brøndby II, 1-year contract) *defender, Bobbie Friberg da Cruz, Brazil/Sweden (GAIS Göteborg, 4-year contract, on January 1st 2009) OUT: central defender, Ralf Pedersen (Viborg FF, fee ?) 30-yo forward, "Fabinho" - Fabio Trindade da Silveira, Brazil (Herfølge, 3-year contract, free) central defender, Søren Holdgaard (contract expired, ?) forward, Søren Ulrik Vestergaard, Den U21 NT (Viborg FF, 3-year contract) right back/winger, Jeppe Brandrup (on a 1-year loan deal to Silkeborg IF, fee ?) winger/forward Will John, USA (free transfer, FC Cukaricki) Randers made a few last minute signings, which make the squad look stronger than last season, still, they have not really been doing as many big signings as most of their competitors, so the question is if they are going to do any better in the final analysis, they should be good enoguh to escape the relegation fight, but not really strong enough to be among the top 5-6 teams. They have lost their captain in defense Ralf Pedersen and signed the former Scottish international Steven Pressley to replace him, but their only big signing is Mikkel Beckmann and he has not all that much top-fligt experience, having played for a team like Lyngby... --- Esbjerg: IN: right back, Alexander Östlund, Sweden 22 caps (Southampton FC, 2½-year contract, free) left winger, Martin Fribrock, Sweden (Halmstads BK, 4-year contract, fee €530k) striker, Gunnar Heiðar Þorvaldsson, Iceland 19 caps, 5 goals (Hannover 96, fee €200k ) central defender, Adrian Cann Canada 3 caps (Vancouver Whitecaps, 4-year contract, fee ?) OUT: AM/F, Michaël Murcy, France (contract expired, Clermont Foot) defender, Fernando Derveld, Netherlands (Dordrecht, free transfer) forward, Rajko Lekic (on a 1-year loan deal to Silkeborg, fee ?) central defender, Lars Christian Nielsen (contract expired, Kolding) 22-yo goalkeeper, Jonas Jensen (contract expired, FC Fyn, 2-year contract) On paper Esbjerg may seem to have signed a few fairly good reinforcements, but neither Gunnar Heiðar Þorvaldsson or Martin Fribrock have looked good in the Superliga so far and the loss of Michaël Murcy may be bigger than expected. So ther is not really much to say about Esbjerg being at the bottom of the league at the moment, considering that most of their competitors have done much better on the transfer market this summer. Esbjerg really could be in danger of relegation this season... --- Brøndby: IN: midfielder, Alexander Farnerud, Sweden 4 caps, 1 goal (VfB Stuttgart, 4-year contract, fee €800k) central defender, Jon Jönsson, Sweden (Toulouse FC, 4-year contract, fee €500k) utility midfielder/left back Jan Kristiansen, Den 11 caps, (FC Nürnberg, 5-year contract, free) winger, Michael Krohn-Dehli, Den 1 cap (free transfer, Ajax Amsterdam) striker, Ousman Jallow, Gambia 3 caps, 1 goal (Al-Ain FC, 3-year contract, fee ?) right back/winger, Daniel Wass (own youth) *Head coach, Kent Nielsen (AC Horsens, 1. January 2009, 3½-year contract, swap deal + fee ? ) OUT: forward, Chris Katongo, Zambia 41 caps, 10 goals (Arminia Bielefeld, fee €1.75 million) midfielder, Martin Retov, Den 3 caps (Hansa Rostock fee €1 million ) central defender, Per Nielsen, Den 10 caps (retired) right back, Thomas Rytter, Den, 4 cap (retired) central defender, Morten Rasmussen (AC Horsens, swap deal) utility midfielder, Martin Spelmann, Den U21 NT ((AC Horsens, fee ?) central defender, Trond Andersen, Nor 38 caps (contract expired, ?) 19-yo utility midfielder, Ricki Olsen (son of Lars Olsen) (Randers FC, free) goalkeeper, Morten Cramer (retired) midfielder, Mike Jensen), Den U21 NT (on loan to Malmö FF) 20-yo D/DM, Kristian Bo Andersen (free transfer, Hvidovre) 20-yo forward, Lukasz Cieslewicz (free transfer, Hvidovre, 2-year contract) Brøndby have no doubt been a big club in Denmark since the 80's. They got the second largest stadium in the country and one of the biggest budgets in the league. Of course they can not just sit back and watch clubs like OB, FCM and AaB leaving them behind in the league and on the transfer market, so it was no surprise that Brøndby would be the most agressive club on the transfer market this summer. They have let some of the players go that was either too old, too much injured or has just not been able to help the club to the needed results the past few years. You could argue that Martin Retov was going to be a big loss, but the club really did nothing to stand in his way and seemed happy to let him go, no doubt because it was their plan to make some major changes to the team in this transfer window. Alexander Farnerud, Jan Kristiansen and Jon Jönsson are players they expect could make a difference straight away, while also Michael Krohn-Dehli and Ousman Jallow are expected to make the team look stronger. They seem to belive that Ousman Jallow has a much bigger potential than Chris Katongo. Will brøndby be able to challenge for the Championship this season ?.. Hardly, but perhaps they could be fighting for the Bronze medals if some of their competitors slip up. ---- FC Nordsjælland : IN: midfielder, Patrice Bernier, Canada 31 caps (Kaiserslautern, 3-year contract, fee ?) left back, Dennis Cagara (Hertha Berlin, contract expired, 2-year contract) central defender, Benjamin Kibebe, Sweden, 1 cap (Aalesunds FK, fee ?) 18-yo midfielder, Ercan Demirbas (back from loan to Værløse BK) 19-yo midfielder, Philip Rasmussen (back from loan to Værløse BK) assistant manager, Kasper Hjulmand (Lyngby BK) OUT: midfielder, Thomas Kristensen, Den 2 caps (FC København, fee ?) defender, Michael Ribers, League NT, 1 cap (retire at the end of this season) right back, Allan Olesen, (contract expired, Randers FC) midfielder, Henrik Bødker, (SønderjyskE, fee ?) 28-yo (or 26-yo, according to a DNA test) forward, "Ali Akida" Emmanuel Ake Richard Muttendango, Kenya, 10 caps, 2 goals (Herfølge) midfielder, Søren Krogh (BK Frem) midfielder, Kenni Olsen (on loan to AB ) 20-yo defender, Anders Qvist (Fremad Amager) 18-yo Defender, Nicklas Granzow (On loan for the rest of the season to Værløse BK) 19-yo forward, Tobias Toftesgaard (On loan for the rest of the season to Værløse BK) FCN have lost their Star player Thomas Kristensen but signed the experienced Canadian international Patrice Bernier. They have also signed the strong looking defender Benjamin Kibebe... So in other words they have added some needed "muscle" and experience to an otherwise young looking team. The question is if this will be enough to save then from the relegation battle in a much stronger looking Superliga this season ?... --- AGF Aarhus: IN: forward,Nando Rafael, Germany (Borussia Mönchengladbach, 3-year contract, fee €500k) central defender, Dan Thomassen (Vålerenga, 4-year contract, fee €600k) utility midfielder/defender Jakob Poulsen (Heerenveen, fee €300k) midfielder/playmaker, Benny Feilhaber USA, 16 caps, 2 goals (Derby County, 3-year contract, sign-on fee $1 million) all-round defender, Gustavo Cabrera, Guatemala, 80 caps, 3 goals (CSD Comunicaciones, fee ?) 20-yo midfielder/playmaker, Davit Devdariani, Georgia U21 NT (FC Olimpi Rustavi, 3-year contract, fee ?) 20-yo striker, Morten Beck Andersen (own youth) *right back, Arthur Sorin France (Kalmar FF, 1. January 2009, 3½-year contract) Youth Aacdemy: 16-yo forward/Winger, Stefan Hansen (Vejle, 1-year contract) OUT: left winger, Emil Lyng (Lille, fee €550k + more later if he is successful) right/left winger Alex Valencia, Norway 5 caps, (Odd Grenland, fee US$ 420k €270k) attacking midfielder, Mads Jørgensen, Den, 1 cap (retired) AM/F, Peter Foldgast (contract expired, EB Streymur) central defender, Thomas Hansen (Silkeborg IF, fee ?) left back/midfielder, Martin Mikkelsen (contract expired, FC Fredericia, 2-year contract) right back, Jimmi Høyer (free transfer, Vikingur Reykjavik) midfielder, Anders Syberg (contract expired, Slagelse, 2-year contract) 22-yo, Cental defender, Andreas Schultz (contract expired, Slagelse, 2-year contract) Just like Brøndby, AGF did little to nothing in the last winter transfer window, no doubt with the plan of being very agressive on the treansfer market this summer. However, unlike Brøndby, AGF were in needed of finding some $$ to afford the players they wanted, but they managed to get exactly what they needed by selling Emil Lyng and Alex Valencia. Players who had not yet managed to do show their worth for the club. So in that sense it was very cleverly done, being able to "replace" them with much more experienced players from the German and Dutch league. Like Brøndby, AGF axe some of the old, too injured and players who have just not made a difference, mainly to make room for reinforcements who have experience from playing English PL, German Bundesliga and in the Dutch league. Unfortunately AGF have (as usual, when things are starting to look bright ) been badly struck by injuries in defense. AGF lost their key central defender from last season Ole Budtz to long-term injury on the very first day of training and though ther was still no reason to panic, because AGF had signed a new captain in defense Dan Thomassen, he then also got seriously injured just as the summer transfer window was about to close.. Typical AGF misfortune... So instead of having been able to reinforce the defense, the AGF central defense now seem much weaker than last season... The midfield and attack is on the other hand much stronger looking than perhaps ever seen before, but the question is if a weaker defense is going to make the rest of the team look shaky, lose confidence and make it it an uphill battle for AGF, as it was the case in the last game against FCN and as it has often been the case in the past, when AGF have lacked the needed captain in central defense.. If they somhow can make it work, and/or finally are able to make use of Olof Persson, they should do very well in the Superliga this season with the reinforcements they have signed, but the big question is sadly once again the quality of the AGF defense... More about the AGF reinforcements at: https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showpost.php?p=15444216&postcount=167 ---- Vejle BK: IN: right back/central defender, Brian Priske, Den 24 caps (Club Brugge, 3-year contract, fee ?) midfielder, Bechara Oliveira, Brazil (OB Odense, 3-year contract) right back, Allan Olesen (AaB Aalborg, 1-year contract) right winger, Martin Borre (IK Start, 3-year contract) left back, Hélder Henrique Silva Cabral, Portugal (Estrela da Amadora, 3-year contract) forward, Wassim El Banna (BK Frem, contract for the rest of the year) forward, Edin Cakovic, Sweden (Bunkeflo, 3-year contract) forward, Anders K. Jacobsen (on loan from OB Odense for the rest of the year) right winger, Dalil Benyahia, Sweden (IF Brommapojkarna,3-year contract) OUT: 23-yo defender, Thomas Guldborg Christensen (free transfer) eft back, Andreas Sørensen, (contract expired,AB) forward, Sammy Youssouf (retired) forward, Ulrik Balling (free transfer, Næstved) midfielder, Kim Kristensen (contract expired, Holstebro) striker, Andreas Haddad, Swe (?) forward, Edin Cakovic, Sweden (released from his contract after only a month at the club !, ?) Vejle broke FCMs all-time record (from 2000) when they managed to collect no less than 78 points in the Danish 1st division last season. So no doubt Vejle finished as the best 2nd level team ever, last season. They have also been acting agressive on the transfer market, both in the winter break and in this summer break, making preparations for the Superliga this season. They have not lost any real key players, and by getting Brian Priske from Club Brugge, the former AaB keeper Jimmy Nielsen from Leicester City, Allan Olesen from AaB, Thomas Røll from FCM and Bechara Oliveira from OB plus several other experienced players, they should be good enough to escape relegation. Though the league no doubt is stronger than ever and you could argue that many of the Vejle reinforcements are a bit old, which could become a problem as the season progress... ---- SønderjyskE: IN: defensive midfielder, Morten Bertolt (FC København, 2-year contract, fee €135k) defender, Sölvi Geir Ottesen Jónsson, Iceland 2 caps (Djurgårdens IF, 3-year contract, fee €100k) midfielder, Henrik Bødker, (FC Nordsjælland, 3-year contract, fee ?) striker, John Mosquera, Colombia U20 NT (on a 1-year loan deal from Werder Bremen, fee ?) left winger, Andrei Sidorenkov, Estonia 11 caps (FC Flora Tallinn, 3-year contract, fee ?) 21-yo forward, Mark Amofah, Ghana (Bloemfontein Celtic) 25-yo defender, Anders Østli, Norway (BK Skjold, 1-year contract, free) OUT: AM/F, Heinrich Isaacks, Namibia, ? caps, ? goals (long-term injured, contract expired, Namibia) right/left back, Martin Thomsen (contract expired,Kolding FC ) left winger, Marc Olsen (contract expired,Hvidovre) midfielder, Ayinde Jamiu Lawal, Nigeria (FCM, returned from loan deal) 22-yo defender, Casper Grønn Larsen (on loan to BK Frem) SønderjyskE have been doing more than surprisingly well so far, but the first games of the season are always more even and the difference in quality between the teams and the squads show up as the season progress, so SønderjyskE is still the big favorit to finish last in the league table at the end of this season and nothing they have done on the transfer market this summer should make us believe otherwise. Signing players from other teams surplus stock will not make this team good enough to survive in the Superliga... .
With a much bigger TV deal, much more $$ being spend by the clubs and the league quite clearly having improved from top to bottom the past few years, the question is if the Danish league has not become too small. So I'm going to add a transfer update of some of the top teams in the Danish 1. division, just like I did last season... Are the top teams good enough to play Superliga ?... I think so, even without a big share of the TV money 2-3 teams in the Danish 1. Division are alrerady showing Superliga level, so with more $$ to improve their squads it should be possible to expand the Superliga with perhaps even 4 more teams... But judge for yourself by looking at some highlights below... It was yesterdays top clash in the Danish 1. Division... and it was a quite entertaining match. Viborg v Silkeborg, 3-2 (1-2) 0-1 Rajko Lekic (15) 0-2 Rajko Lekic (36) 1-2 Lasse Kryger (41) 2-2 Christian Olsen (69) Henrik Pedersen, Silkeborg 3-2 Dan Anton Johansen (74) Attendance: 4,148 Highlights : TV2 Sport 1. Division standings : http://www.bold.dk/statistik/tabel.php?liga=2 Summer transfers 2008, (only the two relegated Superliga teams + Silkeborg) Viborg FF: IN: right back, Dan Anton Johansen (free agent, 1-year contract) forward, Søren Ulrik Vestergaard, Den U21 NT (Randers FC, 3-year contract) central defender, Ralf Pedersen (Randers FC, fee ?) attacking midfielder,Nick Ragus (FC Midtjylland, 2-year contract, fee ?) forward, Christian Olsen (FC Midtjylland, 3-year contract, fee ?) 24-yo left midfielder, Thomas Raun (Silkeborg IF, 3-year contract, fee €160k) 20-yo right/left winger, Sebastian Göransson, Sweden (IFK Värnamo, 2-year contract) 22-yo left/utility midfielder, Christian Overby (back from loan to Hobro) goalkeeper, Anders Rasmussen (FC Midtjylland, free) central midfielder, Eldin Karisik, Sweden (IFK Göteborg, 2-year contract, fee ?) 17-yo defender, Alexander Juel Andersen Den U17 NT (own youth, 3-year contract) 18-yo midfielder, Niclas Tüchsen Jensen, Den U19 NT (Hvidovre, 1½-year contract) OUT: goalkeeper, John Alvbåge, Swe 3 caps (Örebro SK, fee ?) midfielder, Simon Nagel (relegation clause, AC Horsens, free) midfielder, Thomas Frandsen, Den 1 cap (contract expired, now player/assistant coach at Skive) central defender, Zoltán Balog, Hungary, 6 caps (contract expired, Ferencváros ?) utility defender/midfielder, Súni Olsen, Faroe Islands, 31 caps, 1 goal (returned to AaB Aalborg) utility defender/midfielder, Robert Åhman-Persson, Sweden (Malmö FF, fee ?) right back, Robbie Russell, USA (Real Salt Lake, free transfer) forward, Lasse Kryger (free transfer) defensive midfielder, Morten Bertolt (Returned from loan, FCK) forward, Jacob Olesen (Kolding, fee ?) 22-yo goalkeeper, Robert Veselovsky, Slovakia (Returned from loan, Östers IF) 21-yo left back/winger Elvis Johnny Correa, Brazil (free transfer) Viborg have mainly cleaned their squad of foreign players and replaced them with some Danish players of solid Superliga quality. No big names really, but players who know how to do the hard work of getting back to the Superliga as quickly as possible.... and they have won their first 5 games so far... --- Lyngby BK: IN: 21-yo forward, Lasse Qvist (contract expired, FC København) 23-yo forward, Mads Timm (free transfer, OB Odense, 1-year contract) 22-yo forward, Tore Andreas Gundersen, Norway (on loan for the rest of the year from Lillestrøm) 21-yo utility defender/midfielder, Andreas Wihlborg, Sweden (On a 1-yer loan deal from Trelleborgs FF) 20-yo midfielder, Matti Lund Nielsen (on loan from OB Odense for the rest of the year) 42-yo head coach, Henrik Larsen, Den 39 caps (Køge BK) OUT: winger, Mikkel Beckmann, Den 2 caps (Randers FC, fee ?) right back, Rasmus Daugaard (contract expired, ?) AM/F, Jesper Håkansson (contract expired, Newcastle Jets) defender, Danny Andersen (free transfer, BK Frem) goalkeeper, Thomas Seidelin (free transfer, BK Frem) forward, Danny Andersen (free transfer, BK Frem) goalkeeper, Josh Wagenaar, canada 1 cap (Yeovil Town) winger, Emil Dyre (free transfer, B93) defender, Rang Shawkat Barawy (free transfer, B93) 36-yo head coach, Kasper Hjulmand (FC Nordsjælland) *26-yo forward, Christian Holst, Faroe Islands 11 caps, 2 goals (Silkeborg IF, 1 January 2009) Lyngby have lost their Star player Mikkel Beckmann and to be honest, their young looking squad perhaps now lack the needed quality to secure a quick return to the Superliga, especially since other teams (like Silkeborg) have done well on the transfer market this summer... --- Silkeborg IF: IN: right back/Forward, Henrik Pedersen Den 2 caps (Hull City, free) central defender, Thomas Bælum (Willem II, 3-year contract, fee ?) forward, Rajko Lekic (on a 1-year loan deal from Esbjerg, fee ?) central defender, Thomas Hansen (AGF Aarhus, 2-year contract, fee ?) right back/winger, Jeppe Brandrup (on a 1-year loan deal from Randers FC, fee ?) goalkeeper Kenneth Falkenberg (free, Kolding FC) goalkeeper, Mads Markfoged (Silkeborg IF, 2-year contract) 42-yo Director of Football, Peter Kjær, Den, 4 caps. *forward, Christian Holst, Faroe Islands 11 caps, 2 goals (Lyngby, 1 January 2009) OUT: 31-yo goalkeeper, David Preece, England (free transfer, OB Odense) 24-yo left midfielder, Thomas Raun (Viborg FF, fee €160k) 21-yo forward, Jimmy Mayasi (AC Horsens, fee €100k) 29-yo forward, Kim Olsen (on loan for the rest of the year to Örebro, fee ?) 27-yo all-round midfielder, Hólmar Örn Rúnarsson, Iceland (Keflavík, fee ?) 25-yo Striker, Hörður Sveinsson, Iceland (Keflavik, fee ?) 24-yo defender, Jesper Nielsen (free transfer, Skive) ??-yo defender/midfielder, Patrick Nielsen (contract expired, Skive) For Silkeborg failure is not really an option this season and they have done all they can to make the squad ready for Superliga next season by signing highly experienced Henrik Pedersen from English PL side Hull City, Thomas Bælum from Dutch Eredivisie side Willem II and the highly controversial but also very good striker Rajko Lekic from Esbjerg. Players who really should make a huge difference at this level and help Silkeborg to win promotion. More 1. Division transfers : http://www.bold.dk/transfers/?league=2 .
Superliga, round 7 : AaB Aalborg v AGF Aarhus, 0-2 (0-1) 0-1 Jakob Poulsen (7) 0-2 Jeremiah White (86) Attendance: 7,406 Match report in the Feilhaber and White at AGF Aarhus thread. https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showpost.php?p=15729115&postcount=247 .... and a highly interesting article about AaB manager Bruce Rioch by TimesOnline : http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/european_football/article4748347.ece Highlights : onsideTV or TV2 Sport --- FC Midtjylland v Esbjerg fB, 3-1 (2-0) 1-0 Jonas Borring (21) 2-0 Danny Olsen (28) 2-1 Emmanuel Ukpai (68) Martin Vingaard, Esbjerg (74) 3-1 Frank Kristensen (82) Attendance: 9,065 Before this match, FC Midtjylland were undefeated in their last 25 home games in the Superliga and now share an all-time league record of being undefeated in 26 home games in a row (along with AGF and FCK), so it was no surprise that they also managed to beat an Esbjerg team that has not done well so far this season. As for Esbjerg, then it is not so much this loss that should worry them, but that their young midfield Star Martin Vingaard was send off and their newly signed striker Gunnar Heiðar Þorvaldsson got injured. So far this season the Esbjerg team has very much struggled with key players being injured, so they really did not need to lose a few more for their next match. as the highlights also show, then FCMs Danish NT winger Jonas Borring showed his worth in this match, though also well assisted by a not all too solid looking Esbjerg defense, while Frank Kristensen finally was back from long-term injury (a broken leg), scoring the last goal of the match. American international Danny Califf was not able to play for FCM because he was serving a match ban. Highlights : onsideTV or TV2 Sport ---- Vejle v Brøndby, 0-0 (0-0) Attendance: 10,092 It was a very tactical and tough fight between Vejle and Brøndby, so it was not the most polished football, but it was still entertaining and intense and ther is really not much to say about the 0-0 result, because the two teams did not give up much space for their opponents to create all that many clear-cut opportunities. However, the Vejle players looked very tired the last 10 minutes, but survived the Brøndby pressure and almost managed to steal the win at the very end.... a fair and very hard earned result. Highlights : onsideTV or TV2 Sport ---- AC Horsens v Randers FC, 1-1 (0-0) 0-1 Søren Berg (82) 1-1 Simon Nagel (86) Attendance: 4,183 Randers FC dominated most of this match and especially Marc Nygaard was creating several good opportunities for Randers, but Horsens keeper Søren Jochumsen saved the day several times for the home team, though Randers keeper Kevin Stuhr-Ellegaard was also put to the test a few times, making some good saves. Former Scottish international Steven Pressley btw did not look in shape to play Superliga in his debut debut for Randers, but perhaps he is just a bit rusty. Never the less it was the home team being more happy about the result. Highlights : onsideTV .
Good start this year by Brøndby that have me hoping for a Superliga title this year but I just feel that their away form is not good enough. There were multiple chances to put away scoring chances against Vejle but nothing happened. I'm really liking both Jan Kristiansen and Max Von Schlebrügge.
I think the main problem for Bøndby is that just about all the teams from top to bottom in the league has become better and have signed good reinforcements in this summer transfer window... also a newly promoted team like Vejle. So ther really are no easy games. In my opinion OB Odense, FC Midtjylland and FC København seem about equally strong and are the favorites to finish in top 3, then Brøndby and perhaps a few other teams could challenge the 3 strongest teams. .
Randers has a new manager. I assume John was the old manager's project. The new manager didn't feel the same way. Ceres may have a better idea.
I only partly agree with you. All teams has improved, but I think that Brøndby has improved the most - and definetly have a better chance at winning something this year compared to last year. But it is a very interesting season with many clubs at around the same level. FCK, FCM, OB, Aab (poor start, but the quality is there) and Brøndby are very close and the rest aren't too far behind.