F.C. Copenhagen

 

For current news on this topic, see F.C. Copenhagen season 2007-08

F.C. Copenhagen
Full name	Football Club København
Nickname(s)	Byens Hold (The City's Team) Løverne (The lions)
Short name	FCK
Founded	1992
Ground	Parken, Copenhagen
Capacity	42,358
Chairman	Flemming Østergaard
Head coach	Ståle Solbakken
League	Danish Superliga
2006-07	Superliga, Winner
Home colours 　 Away colours

F.C. Copenhagen (Danish: F.C. København, or FCK in short) is a Danish football team located in Copenhagen. It is a part of the Parken Sport & Entertainment company. They play in the Danish Superliga and are one of the most successful clubs in Danish football. They have won six Danish Superliga championships, three Danish Cup trophies, and the Scandinavian tournament Royal League twice. They qualified for the 2006-07 edition of the UEFA Champions League, for the first time in club history.

F.C. Copenhagen was founded in 1992, as a merger between 15-time Danish football champions Kjøbenhavns Boldklub (KB) and seven-time Danish football champions Boldklubben 1903, both clubs from Copenhagen. The club plays its matches at the Parken Stadium, which also serves as the venue for Denmark national football team matches. Since its founding, F.C. Copenhagen have had a fierce rivalry with fellow Copenhagen club Brøndby IF, and the so-called "New Firm" games between the two sides attract the biggest crowds in Danish football.^[1]

History

Main article: History of F.C. Copenhagen

Parken Sport & Entertainment
F.C. Copenhagen Parken Stadium Concerts FCK Handball Frederiksberghallen Lalandia Billetlugen fitness dk Flemming Østergaard Carsten V. Jensen Jørgen Glistrup Dan Hammer

The two Copenhagen clubs Kjøbenhavns Boldklub (KB) and Boldklubben 1903 merged to found F.C. Copenhagen on 1 July 1992. FCK used B1903's club license to start its history in the top-flight Danish Superliga championship, while KB became the official reserve team of the club. With the rebuilding of the Parken Stadium, Denmark's national team stadium, the new club had a ready-made, top-modern stadium to play at. The first ambition of the club was to continually qualify for one of the European competitions each season. The means to attain these goals were a solid economy built upon a big fan base, and an "attractive and positive style of football".^[2]

The club was managed by Benny Johansen, and in its first season, FCK got off to a great start. FCK made their first appearances in the European tournaments when they beat Swiss team Grasshopper Zürich 2-1 in the 1992 UEFA Intertoto Cup. FCK won the Intertoto Cup that year, and qualified for the UEFA Cup, where they were eliminated in the second round by French team AJ Auxerre. The club won the 1992-93 Superliga season one point ahead of Odense BK in second place, and two points ahead of third placed Brøndby IF. For the 1993-94 Superliga season, expectations were high for FCK. The start of the season was marked by a 0-6 loss to Italian team A.C. Milan in the 1993-94 UEFA Champions League qualification. FCK went on winter break as the third placed team in the first half of the Superliga season. In spring 1994, F.C. Copenhagen gained on leaders Silkeborg IF. In the penultimate match of the season, the two teams met at Parken. In front of a record setting attendance of 26,679 spectators,^[3] FCK won the match 4-1. They were one point ahead of Silkeborg, but as FCK lost 3-2 to Odense BK in the last game of the season, they had to settle for second place.

For the next three seasons, FCK found no success in the Superliga, but went on to win two Danish Cup trophies. FCK won the 1995 Cup final against Akademisk Boldklub with a superior 5-0 win, qualifying for European football once again, despite mediocre results in the league. Kim Brink took over as manager in 1996, but despite winning the second Cup trophy for the club, the 8th place in the 1996-97 Superliga season prompted yet another manager replacement.

In February 1997, FCK got a new management, when Flemming Østergaard entered the board of the club as vice chairman and CEO. In November 1997, FCK was introduced on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange through a successful IPO, generating DKK 75 million. The 1997-98 season marked the first season that FCK averaged more than 10,000 spectators at their home games, and the club bought their stadium Parken for DKK 138 million in June 1998. The self-appointed "best manager in Denmark" Christian Andersen took the manager seat in January 1999. After just 30 controversial days, Andersen was fired, which started a strained relationship between Andersen and Østergaard.

FCK made its then biggest imprint in the European tournaments when it faced Chelsea F.C. in the second round of the 1999 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. In the first game at Stamford Bridge, Bjarne Goldbæk gave FCK the lead 1-0, nine minutes before the end, but Chelsea managed to score in the last minute of the game. Chelsea won the second game at Parken on a goal scored the Dane Brian Laudrup. At the post-match press conference, it was announced that Brian Laudrup was signing with FCK from January 1999, with Bjarne Goldbæk signing for Chelsea. A four-time Danish Player of the Year award winner, Brian Laudrup could not help FCK improve their league position as they ended 7th in the 1998-99 Superliga season. Laudrup stayed half a year in FCK, before switching to Ajax Amsterdam at the end of the season in summer 1999. In the 1999-2000 season, still struggled, and ended 8th in the league table.

In the winter 2000 transfer window, South African striker Sibusiso Zuma was bought by FCK, and in May 2000, English manager Roy Hodgson was hired. From the 2000-01 season, things went well for FCK. They won their second Superliga championship, when FCK won 3-1 in the last New Firm match of the season, played at Parken. The 2-0 goal was a bicycle kick by Sibusiso Zuma. Zuma received the ball in chest height, bouncing the ball in the air with his chest, and in the same motion making the overhead kick. Zuma volleyed the ball into the far corner, out of reach of Brøndby keeper Mogens Krogh. This goal was one of the best ever scored in the Superliga, and was awarded as the Danish goal of the year. Hodgson broke his contract with FCK a few weeks after celebrating the championship, signing with Italian team Udinese Calcio, and he was replaced by Swede Hans Backe.

FCK faced Italian team S.S. Lazio in the UEFA Champions League qualification, but a 2-1 win in the first game was not enough, as Lazio won 5-3 on aggregate. FCK entered the UEFA Cup, where they defeated Dutch club Ajax Amsterdam 1-0 on a goal by left back Niclas Jensen. In the next round, German team Borussia Dortmund eliminated FCK. The 2001-02 Superliga season ended in disappointment for FCK. Brøndby won the championship on goal difference, after FCK had caught up with Brøndby's 10 point lead after the first half of the season. In the penultimate round of the 2002-03 Superliga season, FCK faced Brøndby at Brøndby Stadium. In extra time, Hjalte Nørregaard scored his first goal for FCK, and brought the championship back to Parken. Under Backe, FCK went on to win the 2004 and 2006 Danish championships and the 2004 Danish Cup. F.C. Copenhagen also won the inaugural 2004-05 edition of the Royal League tournament, beating Swedish team IFK Göteborg on penalty shootout in the 2005 final. FCK repeated the achievement in the 2006 edition of the tournament, after this time beating Norwegian team Lillestrøm S.K. 1-0 in the 2006 final. Backe became the longest serving coach for FCK, before leaving the club in December 2005, vacating the manager spot for former FCK player Ståle Solbakken.

For the 2006-07 season, FCK was reinforced by Danish national team player Jesper Grønkjær. FCK looked forward to the 2006 UEFA Champions League qualifiers, where they beat Ajax Amsterdam. For the first time in the club's history, FCK entered the group stage of the Champions League, being grouped with Scottish club Celtic F.C., Portuguese club S.L. Benfica and Manchester United from England. Despite not losing a game at home in Parken (Benfica 0-0, Man Utd. 1-0 and Celtic 3-1), FCK failed to qualify from the Champions League group stage losing all away games. On May 9 FCK beat Brøndby 1-0 away winning their 5th Danish championship in seven years with four games to go in the tournament.

In the 2007-08 season FCK lost the 3rd qualification round of the Champions League with 3-1 agg. to Benfica. Beating RC Lens (France) 3-2 FCK qualified for the group stages of the UEFA Cup, where they will play Panathinaikos FC (H), FC Lokomotiv Moscow (A), Atlético Madrid (H) and Aberdeen (A).

Colours

In Superliga home matches, F.C. Copenhagen plays in white shirts with blue collar, white shorts and white socks with blue Kappa logos.^[4]

Away in the Superliga, they play in black shirts with blue collar, black shorts and black socks. White Kappa logos.^[5]

In European games, the home shirt is white with golden collar, with big golden Kappa logos on the shoulders.^[6] The away shirt is light blue, with big white Kappa logos on the shoulders.^[7] The third shirt is red, with big white Kappa logos on the shoulders.^[8]

The main goalkeeper kit is gray with black collar and white Kappa-logos. Alternatively the keeper will play in the same red or light blue colour as the European jerseys. All the keeper kits include black shorts and socks.^[9]

All kits sport gold printings on the back, which have either a black or white border.^[4]

Home European kit

Away European kit

Away European kit

Main goalkeeper kit

Alternative goalkeeper kit

Alternative goalkeeper kit

Shirt sponsors and manufacturers

Period	Kit Manufacturer	Shirt Sponsor
1992-94	Puma	Danica
1994-96	adidas
1996-97	hummel
1997-98		Kinnarps
1998-99	Umbro
1999-2000		Carlsberg
2001	FCK Line/Nike
2001-04	FCK Line
2004-08[10]	Kappa
2008-12[11]

Stadium

Main article: Parken Stadium

F.C. Copenhagen is owner of their stadium, the national arena Parken. It was built in 1992 - the same year FCK was founded. Until Parken opened, they played their home matches at the much smaller Østerbro Stadion, which is located just next door.

In Parken there are 42,358 seats,^[12] but in the future the Coca-Cola stand will be demolished, and replaced by a new one. Hereby the capacity will be raised to 42,765. On 2006-11-11 chairman of Parken Sport & Entertainment, Flemming Østergaard, told about the good dialog with Copenhagen Municipality about the construction permit, and the possibility about building a multiarena at Parken.^[13]

Supporters

F.C. Copenhagen has the biggest fanbase in Denmark, as the official fanclub, F.C. København Fan Club (FCKFC), has more than 17,000 members.^[14] Furthermore, there are many unofficial "fractions" connected to FCK, and the biggest is Urban Crew, Copenhagen Cooligans and Copenhagen Casuals.

For the 2006-07 season there were 23,795 spectators on average.^[15]

For many years the lower part of the "C-stand" at Parken Stadium, Nedre C, has been the main stand for the supporters of FCK. In 2006 also a part of the lower "B-stand" (Section 12) were made fan section and named Stemningstribunen (lit. Atmosphere Stand).

Records

(In brackets debut year)

Most matches^[16]

• Superliga: Michael Mio Nielsen (1993) - 231
• European Cup: Christian Lønstrup (1992) - 28
• Overall: Michael Mio Nielsen (1993) - 284

Most goals^[16]

• Superliga: Lars Højer (1992) and Todi Jónsson (1997) - 54
• European Cup: Todi Jónsson (1997) - 9
• Overall: Todi Jónsson (1997) - 68

Biggest victory in the Superliga^[17]

• 7-2 away against Viborg FF on 28 November 1993
• 7-2 away against Vejle BK on 26 March 2000

Biggest defeat in the Superliga^[17]

• 0-5 away against Silkeborg IF on 17 April 1994
• 0-5 away against Brøndby IF on 16 May 2005

Biggest victory in European cups^[17]

• 6-0 home against FK Karabakh on 13 August 1998 (Cup Winners' Cup)

Biggest defeat in European cups^[17]

• 0-6 home against A.C. Milan on 20 October 1993 (UEFA Champions League)

Attendance record^[18]

• 41,201 spectators against Brøndby IF on 30 April 2006

Players

For full season squads see F.C. Copenhagen season 2007-08

Current squad

Up to date as of 2007-07-08^[19]

No. Position Player 1 GK Jesper Christiansen 3 DF Niclas Jensen 4 MF Hjalte Nørregaard 5 DF Brede Hangeland (vice-captain) 6 MF Rasmus Würtz 7 FW Aílton José Almeida 8 MF Michael Silberbauer 9 FW Morten Nordstrand 10 MF Jesper Grønkjær 11 FW Marcus Allbäck (vice-captain) 13 MF Atiba Hutchinson 14 DF Michael Gravgaard (captain)

No. Position Player 15 DF Mikael Antonsson 17 DF Oscar Wendt 22 MF Morten Bertolt 23 MF William Kvist 24 MF Libor Sionko 25 DF Mathias "Zanka" Jørgensen 26 DF Nikolaj Hansen 27 MF Jacob Neestrup 28 MF Mads Laudrup 29 FW Lasse Qvist 41 GK Nathan Coe -- GK Frederik Vang Larsen

Players out on loan

No. Position Player FW Erton Fejzullahu (at Mjällby, until January 2008[20])

Reserves

Up to date as of 2007-08-19.^[21]

No. Position Player GK Martin Jacobsen DF Rasmus Bogh DF Bongumusa Mthethwa DF Peter Piil DF Mikkel Voge

No. Position Player DF Casper Windfeld MF Mikkel Linnet MF Kim Tandrup MF Kenneth Thinter FW Kenneth Beck

Hall of fame

For full list of players, see List of F.C. Copenhagen players

This list is according to a fan vote, which was held during the winter of 2006.^[22]

Sibusiso Zuma Peter Nielsen Lars Højer Christian Poulsen Todi Jónsson Bjarne Goldbæk Erik Mykland Peter Møller Michael Mio Nielsen Niclas Jensen Ståle Solbakken Christian Lønstrup Michael Manniche

Álvaro Santos Tobias Linderoth Lars Jacobsen Bo Svensson Diego Tur Jesper Christiansen Hjalte Nørregaard Jacob Laursen Martin Johansen Michael Johansen Antti Niemi Morten Bisgaard

Managers

Updated at October 20 2007^[16]

Name	Years	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win %
Benny Johansen	1992-94 1994-95	120	60	24	36	50,0%
Keld Kristensen	1994	8	1	2	5	12,5%
Michael Schäfer	1995-96	37	14	10	13	37,8%
Kim Brink (caretaker manager)	1996-97 1998 1999-2000	109	42	32	35	38,5%
Kent Karlsson	1997-98 2001	65	36	13	16	55,4%
Christian Andersen	1999	1	0	0	1	0,0%
Roy Hodgson	2000-01	35	18	12	5	51,4%
Niels-Christian Holmstrøm (caretaker manager)	2001	2	0	1	1	0,0%
Hans Backe	2001-05	199	110	56	33	55,3%
Ståle Solbakken	2006-present	100	57	24	19	57,0%
Total	1992-present	676	336	177	163	49,7%

Honours

See also: F.C. Copenhagen seasons

• Danish Superliga
  • Champions (6): 1993, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007
  • Runner-up (3): 1994, 2002, 2005
  • 3rd placed (1): 1998
• Danish Cup
  • Winners (3): 1995, 1997, 2004
  • Runner-up (3): 1998, 2002, 2007
• Danish League Cup
  • Winners: 1996
  • Runner-up: 2005, 2006
• Danish Super Cup
  • Winners (3): 1995, 2001, 2004
• Ørestad Cup
  • Winners: 2000
• Kings Cup
  • Winners: 1994

European performances

• UEFA Champions League
  • 2nd qualifying round: 2004-05
  • Second round/3rd qualifying round: 1993-94, 2001-02, 2003-04, 2007-08
  • Last in group: 2006-07
• UEFA Cup
  • First round: 1994-95, 2002-03, 2005-06
  • Second round: 1992-93, 2003-04
  • Third round: 2001-02
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
  • First round: 1995-96
  • Second round: 1997-98, 1998-99
• UEFA Intertoto Cup
  • Fifth in group: 1993
  • Second in group: 1996
  • Group winners: 1992
  • Second round: 1999
• Royal League
  • Winners: 2004-05, 2005-06
  • Runner-up: 2006-07^[23]

Season-by-season results

For more details on this topic, see F.C. Copenhagen seasons.

Season	League performance									Cup performance
	Pos	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
07-08: SAS Ligaen[24]	#1/12	26	13	7	5	1	16	6	+10	Knocked out FC Fredericia in third round[25]
06-07: SAS Ligaen[26]	#1/12	76	33	23	7	3	60	23	+37	Lost the final against OB, 1-2[27]
05-06: SAS Ligaen[28]	#1/12	73	33	22	7	4	62	27	+35	Knocked out in the quarter final by Brøndby IF, 0-1 (aet)[29]
04-05: SAS Ligaen [30]	#2/12	57	33	16	9	8	53	39	+14	Knocked out in the semi finals by Brøndby IF, 2-3 agg.[31]
03-04: SAS Ligaen[32]	#1/12	68	33	20	8	5	56	27	+29	Winner, won the final against AaB, 1-0[33]
02-03: SAS Ligaen[34]	#1/12	61	33	17	10	6	51	32	+19	Knocked out in the quarter final by Brøndby IF, 0-1[35]
01-02: SAS Ligaen[36]	#2/12	69	33	20	9	4	64	25	+39	Lost the final against OB, 1-2[37]
00-01: Faxe Kondi Ligaen[38]	#1/12	63	33	17	12	4	55	27	+27	Knocked out in 5th round by Brøndby IF, 0-2[39]
99-00: Faxe Kondi Ligaen[40]	#8/12	44	33	12	8	13	44	37	+7	Knocked out in the quarter final by AB, 1-1 (4-5 on penalties)[41]
98-99: Faxe Kondi Ligaen[42]	#7/12	46	33	12	10	11	55	52	+3	Knocked out in the quarter final by AB, 0-1 (aet)[43]
97-98: Faxe Kondi Ligaen[44]	#3/12	61	33	18	7	8	66	48	+18	Lost the final against Brøndby IF, 1-4[45]
96-97: Faxe Kondi Ligaen[46]	#8/12	41	33	10	11	12	35	43	-18	Winner, won the final against Ikast fS, 2-0[47]
95-96: Coca-Cola Ligaen[48]	#7/12	48	33	13	9	11	48	49	-1	Knocked out in 5th round by AGF, 0-2[49]
94-95: Superligaen[50]	#6/8	22	14	5	4	5	21	28	-7	Winner, won the final against AB, 5-0[51]
93-94: Superligaen[52]	#2/8	29	14	8	2	4	27	19	+8	Knocked out in 5th round by B 1909, 0-3[53]
92-93: Superligaen[54]	#1/8	32	14	8	3	3	31	23	+8	Knocked out in the semi finals by OB, 1-4 agg.[55]

Sponsorships

• Carlsberg (head sponsor)^[11]
• Kappa (material sponsor)^[10]

Address

F.C. København
Øster Allé 50
DK-2100 København Ø
Telephone: +45 3543 7400
Fax:       +45 3543 7422
E-mail:    info@fck.dk

Footnotes and references