FC Midtjylland
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| Full name | Football Club Midtjylland | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Ulvene (The Wolves) | |||
| Short name | FCM | |||
| Founded | 2 February 1999 | |||
| Ground | MCH Arena, Herning | |||
| Capacity | 11,800 | |||
| Owner | Matthew Benham | |||
| Chairman | Rasmus Ankersen | |||
| Manager | Kenneth Andersen | |||
| League | Danish Superliga | |||
| 2017–18 | Danish Superliga, 1st | |||
| Website | Club website | |||
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FC Midtjylland (Danish: [ˈmidjylanˀ], "Central Jutland") is a Danish professional football club based in Herning and Ikast in the midwestern part of Jutland. The club is the result of a merger between Ikast FS and Herning Fremad. Midtjylland competes in the Danish Superliga, which they have won twice, most recently in 2018.
Club history
FC Midtjylland was founded by Johnny Rune, a carpenter and owner of a private business in the wood-supply industry, and Steen Hessel, an authorized Mercedes Benz dealer.[citation needed]
The two men wanted to unite the football clubs Ikast FS (founded 1935) and Herning Fremad (founded 1918) – clubs that for decades had been strong rivals, but had never played any significant role in Danish football. Ikast FS had some success in the late 1970s and '80s, but that was about it. At least ten years had passed with the two clubs being unable to agree on a merger, but on 6 April 1999, a deal was finalized and announced at a press conference the next day.[citation needed]
In 2000, Midtjylland were promoted to the top-flight Danish Superliga after a season in which the team had gathered more points than any other team in the history of the first division.
In July 2014, Matthew Benham (owner of English Championship side Brentford) became the majority shareholder of Midtjylland's parent company FCM Holding.[1] In the 2014–15 season, they won the Danish football championship for the first time.
Scouting and developing
Midtjylland have generally built a reputation of finding and developing promising talents.[citation needed]
In July 2004, Midtjylland was the first Danish club to have its own football academy, similar to that of French side Nantes.[citation needed] The academy attracts players from throughout Denmark, as well as players from a partnering club in Nigeria – F.C. Ebedei. The club has developed a network of over 100 clubs located in the western part of Jutland.[citation needed]
In 2008, Danish centre-back Simon Kjær, a talent of the academy, was sold to Palermo for a transfer fee of approximately DKK30 million (€4M).[2] In 2010, Sune Kiilerich, another talent of the academy, was sold to Sampdoria, while Winston Reid, an academy product and New Zealand international, was sold to West Ham United for DKK32 million (€4.26M).[3][4] In 2016, vice-captain Erik Sviatchenko was sold for £1.5 million to Celtic.[5]
Stadium
In 2004, the team moved to a new stadium in Herning with a capacity of approximately 12,000 spectators. Midtjylland was the first Danish club to sell the stadium naming rights to a sponsor, resulting in the name "SAS Arena" which has since been changed to MCH Arena. The stadium's opening match was on 27 March; it proved to be a success, with Midtjylland beating AB 6–0. Five of the goals were scored by Egyptian striker Mohamed Zidan.
Supporters
Black Wolves is the official fanclub of FC Midtjylland.[6] It was founded in the beginning of August 1999, as the official fanclub of Ikast FS 1993 "Yellow Flames" changed their name at an extraordinary general meeting. Ultra Boys Midtjylland is the first ultra firm in Midtjylland, established in 2007 and later renamed Ultras Midtjylland. In 2014, Midtjyland got its second ultra firm, a youth department called Midtjylland Ungdom.
The clubs main rival is Viborg FF, the derby is claimed to be the second biggest in Denmark after FC København and Brøndby IF.
Recent history
| Season | Pos. | Pl. | W | D | L | GS | GA | P | Cup | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008–09 | SL | 4 | 33 | 16 | 7 | 10 | 55 | 46 | 55 | 3rd round | |
| 2009–10 | SL | 6 | 33 | 14 | 5 | 14 | 41 | 41 | 47 | Finalist | |
| 2010–11 | SL | 4 | 33 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 50 | 42 | 49 | Finalist | |
| 2011–12 | SL | 3 | 33 | 17 | 7 | 9 | 50 | 40 | 58 | 1/16 Finals | UEFA Europa League Third Qualifying Round |
| 2012–13 | SL | 6 | 33 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 51 | 47 | 47 | quarter-final | UEFA Europa League Playoff Round |
| 2013–14 | SL | 3 | 33 | 16 | 7 | 10 | 61 | 38 | 55 | Fourth round | |
| 2014–15 | SL | 1 | 33 | 22 | 5 | 6 | 64 | 34 | 71 | Fourth round | UEFA Europa League Playoff Round |
| 2015–16 | SL | 3 | 33 | 17 | 8 | 8 | 57 | 33 | 59 | Fourth round | UEFA Champions League Third Qualifying Round, UEFA Europa League Round of 32 |
| 2016–17 | SL | 4 | 36 | 15 | 9 | 12 | 67 | 53 | 54 | Semi-finals | UEFA Europa League Playoff Round |
| 2017–18 | SL | 1 | 36 | 27 | 4 | 5 | 80 | 39 | 85 | Semi-finals | UEFA Europa League Playoff Round |
Honours
Players
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Incoming players
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Youth team
Managers
Ove Pedersen (1 July 1999 – 30 June 2002)- Troels Bech (1 July 2002 – 31 Dec 2003)
- Erik Rasmussen (1 Jan 2004 – 30 June 2008)
- Thomas Thomasberg (1 July 2008 – 11 Aug 2009)
- Allan Kuhn (12 Aug 2009 – 15 April 2011)
- Glen Riddersholm (16 April 2011– 25 June 2015)
- Jess Thorup (12 July 2015 – 10 October 2018)
- Kenneth Andersen (10 October 2018 – Present)
FC Midtjylland in European competition
FC Midtjylland's first competitive European match was on August 9, 2001, in the 2001-02 UEFA Cup, playing to a draw with Northern Ireland's Glentoran, 1-1 in the first leg of the Qualifying Round, before ultimately advancing to the First Round, where it was eliminated by Sporting CP. In 2016 Midtjylland reached the Round of 32 of the 2015-16 UEFA Europa League where Midtjylland got a 2-1 home victory over Manchester United but ultimately lost 6-3 on aggregate.
UEFA club coefficient ranking
As of 07.21.2018, Source: [1]
| Rank | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 112 |  FC Zürich |
12.000 |
| 113 |  OGC Nice |
11.500 |
| 114 |  FC Midtjylland |
11.500 |
| 115 | FC Girondins de Bordeaux |
11.283 |
| 116 | Lille OSC |
11.283 |
References
- ^ Murtagh, Jacob (2 July 2014). "Benham remains fully committed to Bees despite Danish project". Get West London. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
- ^ "??" (in Danish). Tipsbladet.dk. Retrieved 30 December 2015. (subscription required)
- ^ "Superligaens transferoverblik". Indkast.dk. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
- ^ "BBC Sport – Football – New Zealand international Winston Reid joins West Ham". BBC News. 5 August 2010. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
- ^ "Erik Sviatchenko: Celtic seal £1.5m transfer of Midtjylland man". BBC Sport. 17 January 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
- ^ "Black Wolves : Homepage". Black-wolves.com. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
- ^ "Superligatrup | fcm". Fcm.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 14 July 2018.
- ^ "DBU's Officielle Statistikere". Danskfodbold.com. Retrieved 30 December 2015.