Hibernation status

Denmark

51.5% of the season's matches have resulted in 44.1% home wins, 28.4% draws and 27.5% away wins. My "creative" league standings puts Copenhagen firmly in the top three with a nice unbeaten at home record:



League resumes 1st of March with the Brøndby away darby.

Europe

Amazingly, Wednesday we beat Club Brügge to advance in the UEFA Cup.

Club Brugge 0 - 1 FC Copenhagen

FC Copenhagen pulled off a smash-and-grab job to beat Club Brugge 1-0 and claim Group G's final place in the knock-out stages. Club Brugge started the night in third place, needing only to avoid defeat to go through, but after dominating the opening half, they fell behind when Cesar Santin fired Copenhagen ahead just before the hour mark.

In the "Round of 32" we will clash with Manchester City at 18th or 19th February and 26th of February 2009.

FC Pornography

About 30% of the traffic to this blog (that's you) come here looking for something... a bit more erotic than football usually is. Google Analytics reveals everything. There are no pictures of a nude Niklas Bendtner here but there are links to a certain training session.

Since I just hate to disappoint people I guess I might as well throw in a few links for the story of the week (sic!): A sponsor ships free pornographic DVD's to the training grounds after wins.

Free Porn Is Always A Great Incentive

Hell yeah there's nothing wrong with it. In fact, this might be the only thing that can prevent the Lions from going winless this season.

"Winless"? I suggest they spend a bit more time following the Danish league and a bit less time manipulating images.

Former Old Firm stars get interesting win bonus.. porno films

Copenhagen, known locally as FCK, screen the films at their training ground - although they refuse to reveal who gets to keep them afterwards.

Here's a recommendation...

The world's 50 greatest soccer derbies

44 - FC Copenhagen v Brondby

Denmark's big derby is called the "New Firm" with Brondby founded in 1964 in the drab industrial section of the city while Copenhagen, who have a huge white-collar fan base, came about after a merger of minor clubs in 1992. Copenhagen have a "cool" image while their rivals have a "big fat chip on their shoulder".

UEFA Cup blues

OK so we lost to a really good team round 1, right? Since then their league results have been...

• St. Etienne-Grenoble 0-2


• St. Etienne-Lorient 1-4


• Marseille-St. Etienne 3-1

Impressive. Their coach has been given until Sunday: First beat Rosenborg then beat Rennes... or you're fired. Coincidentally our coach, Solbakken, has stated his intentions to move to something bigger than FC København. I suppose a lot of fans will agree the feeling is mutual. Perhaps there is a job for you in France next Sunday? Perhaps not.

Tomorrow is round 2 which - of course - I look so much forward to I search the web for obscure info: Uefa Cup Preview: Valencia - FC Copenhagen

Valencia will be looking to make a strong start in Europe as they play their first group game when FC Copenhagen visit Mestalla on Thursday evening, while the visitors will be looking for their first points.

[...]

Valencia in Mestalla will, arguably, be their toughest game and without first-choice centre-backs Ulrik Laursen and Peter Larsson they will not be relishing the prospect of an in-form David Villa. Defeat for the visitors could mean that they face an uphill struggle to make the next round

[...]

PREDICTION

Copenhagen are likely to travel to Mestalla to defend, but with a rearranged rearguard things may not be as organised as coach Ståle Solbakken would like and that is where Valencia could take advantage. There may be a few nerves from the home side at the outset, but an early goal should lift the team and then a comfortable victory is likely to be theirs.

Valencia 2 - 0 FC Copenhagen

Let me just mentally prepare for this sight for a second...

Group G Pld Pts
St Etienne 2 6
Valencia 1 3
Club Brugge 1 1
Rosenborg 2 1
København 2 0

Goodnight.

Oscar Wendt at IMScouting.com

Just found two interesting things: an article featuring one of my favourite players right now and the site the article is on. Check out 10 young players to watch:

6) Oscar Wendt (22), Left defender, FC Copenhagen (Denmark)

The Swedish international defender is one of the best defensive players in the Danish league, and is already being tracked by Borussia Monchengladbach and Italian clubs Juventus and Siena.

The fact that Wendt was part of the Swedish 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign has given him experience and confidence. Wendt is a very strong defender who combines a physical game with good pace and technique which allows him to provide good scoring opportunities. Definitely a player to keep an eye on.
(my emphasises)

Another semi-user-generated content site this one claims to be a valuable tool for agents, managers and fans. At the very least it's another must have link for my right hand column list of FC København relevant web pages. I personally couldn't resist signing up for a free account to see how much it rocks. Here is what they promise so far:

As a FREE member of IMScouting you can access a huge amount of features from the largest football player database in existence, including a basic search tool, player information, results, match events, fixtures and league information for more than 500 competitions around the world including Europe, Africa, South America, North America and Asia. [...] The database has been completed, and is constantly updated by a network of football experts based locally across the globe, with the sole focus to provide you with a genuine global grassroots insight into the world of professional football.

So what my little Google helper found for me was some type of blog post or news article that included information about one of FC København's players. But what else does the site tell me as a free account user? At Oscar's profile I'm quickly disappointed all I get is the "Overview" part - tabs General, Career, Media, Medical and Skills are all premium content for paying users. Current contract details are hidden for me too.

Oscar Wendt at IMScouting.com

However, if the site is really being used by agents, I'd guess it's info in general being relatively trustworthy. I like the position map bottom right. I'll try and see if they post more interesting articles and if it's useful for getting info on semi-obsure teams... such as Club Brugge we'll be facing in the UEFA Cup. With the free account. Which after browsing the site for a few minutes I fear isn't that usefull at all. But at 1,200 € a year the premium account is not something I'll try out anytime too soon I'm afraid. The FC København team profile shows a pretty dope nationality break down though:

I'm sure more usefull and/or funny features will entertain me. But for now just let it be known Oscar rules :-)

Checking out Footbo.com

Yet another chunk of my "need" for this blog has been chopped off. Perpetrators being the people behind Footbo.com, a social website for football fans.

So what is that site about? I've been checking it out lately and have gone from quite skeptical to nearly excited. It's a "Facebook only about football" type thing. You create a profile, connect with "friends" and write on their walls, show off your favourite teams, pick your favourite 11, taunt the opponent fans at the match page et cetera. What use is another social networking website then!?

What makes it worth your time is functionality it has that potentially leaves hitherto essential football sites obsolete. Like livescore.com, Footbo has that. And football-lineups.com too. For each game users can grade the players and best-of teams are automatically generated. Of course, there are league tables and all the usual sort of stuff. Users guess at any future result and "distribution cakes" are generated to illustrate expectations before the result is settled and each users prediction score is calculated (so far I didn't do too well). Sort of useful for match probabilities. And they have Michael Ballack write a blog (well one post so far).

Since I first set up Copenhagen Files in excitement about Google News and Blogger (Hello World) I have successively changed scope and direction (Media & Mission Statement (sort of) and Spring cleaning). Footbo has managed to merge so many features in one site it is actually both useful and fun. I'll now (every now and then) participate in their never-ending prediction game, grade players of matches I've seen, follow live scores and mingle with fellow football geeks. And perhaps post a bit less here at Copenhagen Files.

It remains to be seen how succesful Footbo will become. Will users add to its value or mess it up? And if the few weird kinks (it's still in beta) will be worked out nicely. But I already added a link to FC Københavns team page there in this blogs right hand column. And if you read this, please consider visiting my Footbo profile and add me as a "friend".

Enjoy.

Our standing

I guess when I get a nerdy idea I can't help pulling it through. Here's a merged table of all Danish Superliga plus our UEFA Cup group opponents. Points are home league point averages times country UEFA coefficient. A rough measure...

League pos.	Team	Funny points
1	Valencia	177
13	St. Etienne	54
3	Club Brugge	53
1	OB	50
2	FC København	48
3	Brøndby IF	45
4	FC Midtjylland	43
4	Rosenborg	30
5	AGF	29
6	Randers FC	26
7	AC Horsens	21
8	Vejle	21
9	FC Nordsjælland	19
10	SønderjyskE	19
11	AaB	19
12	Esbjerg fB	14

UEFA Cup group stage secured

We're through but it wasn't particularly pretty. I'm not going to elaborate on it, but there's a short review at UEFA.com - "Star attractions make it to the draw" - and I did type in some player grades at the footbo.com match page. Good luck to FC Moscow in the future.

Here's a list of possible group stage opponents, one team from each seeding pot: 1) AC Milan, Sevilla, Valencia, Benfica, Schalke 04, CSKA Moscow, Tottenham Hotspur, Hamburger SV; 2) VfB Stuttgart, Ajax, Olympiakos Piraeus, Deportivo La Coruña, Club Brugg, Spartak Moscow, Paris Saint-Germain, Heerenveen; 3) Rosenborg BK, Udinese, Feyenoord, Sporting Braga, Slavia Praha, Manchester City, Galatasaray, Sampdoria; 5) AS Saint-Étienne, VfL Wolfsburg, Standard Liège, FC Twente Enschede, NEC Nijmegen, Metalist Kharkiv, Lech Poznan, MSK Zilina (c/p from kassiesa.com, should probably double check it).

International performances - FIFA, UEFA and the "mediasphere"

As I surf the football-Internet waiting for today's home encounter with champions AaB let me share with you a couple of links, notes and thoughts on what has happened in the long break since last league game.

FIFA World Cup qualification, 6th of September: Albania vs Sweden 0-0
Oscar Wendt played 77 minutes as a left wing in a three defenders lineup. More: UEFA.com / Albania stifle Sweden challenge, The Local / Sweden draw a blank in World Cup opener.

FIFA World Cup qualification, 6th of September: Hungary vs Denmark 0-0
A dull game with participation of zero current FC København players but several former ones. Good performances by Hungary's Tamas Hajnal and a couple of others. Danish media went nuts after this one - each furious match report inspired the next one to go even lower. A losing battle for most as Ekstra Bladet will always win such a game (except if we'd played a Muslim country I'd have considered Jyllands-Posten a dark horse in the race). More: UEFA.com / Hungary and Denmark share spoils.

FIFA World Cup qualification, 10th of September: Northern Ireland vs Czech Republic 0-0
Had Libor Sionko starting and doing 67 minutes to be substituted by Zdenek Pospech. The Irish goalie "had to get down low to keep out a shot from Libor Sionko" FIFA's match report says. More: UEFA.com / Czechs checked in Belfast opener, FIFA.com / Czech stalemate for Northern Ireland, BBC / N Ireland 0-0 Czech Republic.

FIFA World Cup qualification, 10th of September: Portugal vs Denmark 2-3
A magnificent win with Hjalte Bo Nørregaard on the bench. The players didn't bother with the post-match press conference leading aforementioned media circus into another self-induced week long state of rage. Pathetic if you ask me. For once the tabloid didn't patent the truth but what do I care as long as the players put three points on the table? More: UEFA.com / Denmark pip Portugal at the last.

FIFA World Cup qualification, 10th of September: Mexico vs Canada 2-1
Atiba Hutchinson played all 90 minutes.
More: Mexico beats Canada 2-1 in World Cup qualifier, Knight: World Cup reality check.

FIFA World Cup qualification, 10th of September: Sweden vs Hungary 2-1
This time with Oscar Wendt benched seeing no action.

A meager break of international games to say the least. Speaking FC København.

UEFA Cup, 18th of September: FC Moscow vs FC København 1-2
A strangely slow game except for the second half injury time. Nice to see the team go into overdrive as an extra effort was suddenly needed to clinch all three points. The "Russian News and Information Agency" sums up their nation's teams performances:

FC Moskva, playing in the Russian capital, went behind to a first half penalty in their match against the Danes FC Kobenhavn. A last minute equalizer by Aleksandr Samedov looked to have saved the match for Oleg Blokhin's men, but the Danes struck back in injury time, a header from substitute Libor Sionko earning the visitors a surprise win.

[CSKA and Spartak win away, Moskva suffer home defeat in UEFA Cup]

Blokhin said at the press conference we were "better than Spartak". More: Ajax take applause amid Kalmar clamour.

Wendt in 3 m€ transfer to Genoa?

We have received a offer from Serie A's Genoa Cricket and Football Club [Wikipedia] for our extraordinarily talented left back Oscar Wendt bold.dk reports. Oscar has firmly established himself in the starting 11 this season, relegating Denmark national veteran Niclas Jensen to the reserves. He is also making his mark as a Sweden national.

Personally I'd hate to see him leave. He's one of my favorites right now. Great speed, hard work, killer precise crossing, good ball control and just getting better for every match. Did some center back and left wing duty too. And did good. Luckily, FC København management is reported to have informed the Italians no players are leaving Copenhagen right now. Whew!

(Sources: bold.dk / Italienere vil lægge 20 mio. for Wendt | reuters.com / Lagerback names Sweden squad against Albania and Hungary)

Zanka for Liverpool?

Scout Jakob Friis-Hansen who also tipped Liverpool about Daniel Agger has now told them about our amazing yougster Zanka [info at FCK.dk | Wikipedia | this blog]. According to him they like what they see but would also prefer to let him mature a bit where he is. Phew! Please stay a while, Zanka!

(Source: Liverpool holder øje med Zanka)

Standings and tendencies - 1/7 into the season

30 games already played let me drop a snap shot of how the league is unfolding this season.


Standings with each team's finishing points tendency as a probability distribution. 'X' marks most likely finishing points; line begins at current points and ends at maximum points.

An entirely different picture than last time I shot it. But revealing none the less.

We're doing OK, placed second making up a sort of early title race along with OB and FC Midtjylland. Unbeaten and having conceded only three goals. Followed by Randers and Brøndby in a not too dangerously looking pursuit.

The promoted teams, Vejle BK and SønderjyskE, have done very well so far. Vejle has more points (7) but SønderjyskE has actually managed to draw both us and FC Midtjylland at home (1-1 both).

Esbjerg fB and FC Nordsjælland are in relegation zone and the disappointments for now. They have lost home games to Vejle and SønderjyskE respectively. Both still without wins.

Junior gives Cliftonville a lesson

Sublime sub Jose Junior put Cliftonville to the sword with two sensational strikes at Mourneview Park last night as FC Copenhagen wrapped up a 4-0 first-leg win against spirited opponents.

[...]

The opening goal came on 21 minutes when Aaron Smyth - playing in an unfamiliar left sided role - missed an interception from Kvist's cross field ball and Sionko squared for Norregaard to convert.

[...]

Nordstrand supplied the pass, Junior miscontrolled his initial touch but regained his composure to spin Declan O'Hara and thunder a drive into the roof of the net - it wouldn't be his last moment of inspiration.

[...]

Zdenek Pospech struck from 30 yards to make it 3-0 with 11 minutes left and the final goal came when Jose Junior claimed possession with his back to goal 20 yards out, flicked the ball up and smashed a delightful scissor kick home.

Friendly vs FC Zenit St Petersburg

This year's first friendly match was played today in Helsingør. You may have heard of the opponent! The result was an unexpected 2-0 win.

The official club site has a match report with starting lineup, substitutions etc. A rather impressive range of youngsters played today but that goes for the Russian team as well. Entirely sans Russian national team players obviously. Only name I recognized was Ricksen. And the ref did miss whistling a penalty for them while handing us one for mysterious reasons. That being said it was a little impressive and/or disappointing from the Russian point of view.

But look at these names: Bertolt, Neestrup, Albrechtsen, Danni Jensen, Zanka, Neestrup, Nikolaj Hansen and Coe. They all finished on the field. Like the commentators said: it was like watching a high school team!

Transfer rumors: Gravgaard and Løvenkrands

Out: Michael Gravgaard to FC Nantes or Sunderland AFC

Danish media reports FC Nantes have pretty much already signed center defense Michael Gravgaard (FC Nantes vil have Gravgaard). Then I just saw this:

Sunderland have also been credited with an interest in FC Copenhagen defender Michael Gravgaard, Porto midfielder Paulo Assunção and Real Zaragoza midfielder Peter Luccin, among others, in recent days.

(Happier fans is target for Quinn)

In: Peter Løvenkrands
Danish football newspaper Tipsbladet is quoted in several media linking the winger to Copenhagen. Both Schalke 04 management and player agent suggests otherwise. (Løvenkrands tæt på FCK, Shalke vil ikke give danskere væk)

Star of the Euro 2008: Libor Sionko

The Czech striker looked lively and the biggest threat to Portugal's dominance alongside Milan Baros. Indeed, with a powerful header, the hard-working frontman put his side on level terms after Deco's eigth-minute opener.

Sionko is in fine form, knocking in two past Scotland in a pre-tournament friendly a fortnight ago.

I agree so far. Not too sure how realistic a transfer to Stoke is though!

Friendly and half-naked internationals

Last training before summer break was yesterday's football golf competition. Once again it's Ailton Almeida's butt we see in the pictures at fck.dk - although this time he won! Last time they said it was because he lost!? (Although to admit it I have always been wondering - how could Ailton have lost a ball juggling contest?)

Other players already left to warm up for the EURO 2008. Just take a look at this beautiful sight...

Article from official EURO 2008 website: Sionko strikes twice to cheer Czechs.

Czech Republic - Scotland 3-1

It's all in above link title. Our Czechs helped beat Scotland.

former Rangers FC player Sionko produced a sudden burst of pace in the box to run on to Zdeněk Pospěch's pass and confidently shoot past Craig Gordon.

Neither played earlier this week when Lithuania was beaten 2-0.

Netherlands - Denmark 1-1

Denmark did much better than feared when drawing with the Netherlands. Goalie Jesper Christiansen played because Sørensen was injured warming up and William Kvist Jørgensen did 82 minutes of right back duty. Former players Lars Jacobsen, Christian Poulsen (goal) and former youth player Niklas Bendtner (assist) played too.

Sunday's games

Atiba Hutchinson will play with Canada who host Brazil.

The midfield presents a lot of options with Julian de Guzman of Spain's Deportivo La Coruna, Dwayne De Rosario of the Dynamo and Atiba Hutchinson of Denmark's FC Copenhagen sure to be in the mix.

Canada looks forward to friendly with Brazil
And Denmark will play Poland. Last time we beat them 6-0.

Goodbye...

Yesterday's match was a goodbye to more than just this season.

...Lyngby

Our opponent will play next season in the 2nd best division. Their last game was pretty much like the rest of their season: attacking but losing. Two goals by Atiba Hutchinson who did an inspired effort on the left wing finished them off.

...Marcus Allbäck

Scored his 45th goal on a competent header at Oscar Wendt's sugar sweet cross in his 120th and last game with us. Will be sorely missed! Good luck with Sweden in Austria/Switzerland.

...Michael Silberbauer

Played his 196th an last game - so far. Good luck in Utrecht (the rumor was fact). Hope to see you again some time.

...fan unity

After the game the players didn't go to the "Sektion 12" at the "B" stand to celebrate. But everywhere else. A very strong message that they really didn't appreciate last week's flame throwing. Urban Crew et al are crying their hearts out. According to this fan's comment club director Jørgen Glistrup has said the idea was the player's own entirely, not the club management's.

The official fan club made a similar statement by this banner:

Reads "We are nothing without football". Copyright FCK and Carl Redhead.

Not as bleeding heart fanatical as it may seem the banner is a direct comment to the "Sektion 12" banner we have been embarrassed with for some time now that reads "Football is nothing without us". A welcome humble message to counter the horribly misplaced arrogance of "Sektion 12". The difference between old time fans at "Nedre C" and the new ultra boys at "Sektion 12" is growing.

...2007/08 season

FC København Fan Club members has voted (I forgot) for the player of the year title and chosen Czech Libor Sionko. Well deserved for his hard work up and down the muddy Danish sidelines. Good luck with the Czech Republic in Austria/Switzerland to you and Zdenek Pospech too.

This post was greatly inspired by Politiken's match review. But obviously much better and more insightful ;-)

Pyrotechnics

Yesterday's derby will be remembered for the pyrotechnics competition between Urban Crew (I assume) and Southside Whatever (I don't know) that got a bit out of hand. Check it out:



I sort of enjoy a bit of crazy atmosphere myself. But any kind of pyrotechnics are banned at Danish stadiums. I suspect this has led to rivalry as to who can break this ban in the most spectacular way. These incidents are a bit overkill visually and must be damn annoying to breathe the smoke from. But what Denmark is discussing today is how to make life harder for us fans, because obviously we're murderous. Because the Copenhagen crowd had a couple of unthinking individuals who tossed the fireworks into the neighboring stand below them (to the right in the first clip of the video)! Now that's idiocy!

I'm a bit satisfied the first thing I see at Urban Crew's forum is people expressing exactly the same sentiments. Here's a Danish course for you:

• Olsson: "At lysene kastes mod en neutral tribune er FUCKING pinligt!" = "That lights were thrown at a neutral stand is F*CKING embarrassing!"


• hjorte: "...men det gik altså over gevind, uacceptabelt.. Hvis lysene var blevet holdt på tribunen havde det været flot..." = "...but it went wrong, unacceptable.. If the lights had been held up at our own stand it had been beautiful..."


• Etc.

Main stream media has visited the same forum. But quoted quite differently - need I go into details?

Another incident yesterday was Denmark's Olympic 100 meter sprinter and long jumper, Morten Jensen, and his family were attacked by a group of Brøndby hooligans. Beaten up pretty badly it seems, but Morten says he'll still go to China. (Source: OL-kandidat tæsket af hooligans)

Oh and the game? We lost 1-2.

Transfer rumors

A couple of early rumors for you.

"In the absence of truth.
Nothing is true. Everything is permitted."

Michael Silberbauer to Utrecht

A Bosman transfer for the man with the power. Agent Karsten Aabrink confirms several offers has been received from both the Netherlands and England and that Utrecht is one of the interested clubs. Sad to see you leave, Michael.
(Silberbauer synes tæt på skifte til Holland, FCK'er på vej til hollandsk fodbold)

Atiba Hutchinson

Atiba has been outstanding recently and has received some offers to consider. He also reiterates his belief he's ready for a bigger league.
(Atiba klar til udlandet)

Rasmus Würtz back to AaB

Würtz has had a slow season and injury trouble. The rumor he was buying a house in Jylland grew out of proportion. The man himself says he's staying.
(Avis: AaB køber Würtz tilbage)

Jesper Christiansen to West Bromwich Albion FC

"I have always said that I would only move abroad again if a club better than FCK made an offer."
- Jesper Christiansen

(West Brom set to sign great Dane)

Incoming: Espen Ruud of Norwegian Odd Greenland

Personally, I don't see the need for yet another defender. Given we keep the ones we already got. But let us just watch a goal of his:

(Avis: AaB og FCK ser på nordmand)

Aalborg clinched Danish title; Brøndby darby tomorrow

In case you didn't notice...

Aalborg clinched the Danish championship with two matches to go on Thursday, beating Brondby at home 2-0 and opening an insurmountable eight-point lead over last year’s champions, FC Copenhagen.

Most likely final standings include:

1. Gold / Champions League qualification: AaB 68, 69 or 71 points


2. Silver / UEFA Cup qualification: FC København 60, 61 or 63 p


3. Bronze / UEFA Cup qualification: FC Midtjylland 59 or 62 p


4. Fourth / TOTO Cup: OB 52, 53, 54, 55 or 57 p


5. Fifth / n/a: AC Horsens 47, 49, 51 or 53 p

(My emphasis on most probable final points.)

So this season's far from over: Tomorrow we have to beat former rivals Brøndby to put them in place and secure the silverware!

Placed ninth Brøndby looks relatively easy this year and statistics speak of a possible win. But actually they made 28 points at home so far, FC København only 23 away. And averaging this season's scores the tendency is 1.05 - 1.4 which is a bit narrow for my liking - but since 53% of the team's games had less than three goals, that might be a good bet. Significant injuries: Brøndby IF: Mikkel Bischoff, Morten 'Duncan' Rasmussen, Morten Rasmussen and Trond Andersen; FC København: Jesper Grønkjær is recovering from knee surgery while Mikael Antonsson, Niclas Jensen and Rasmus Würtz might soon be playing.

Wild guess: 1-1 draw, our goal scored by Morten Nordstrand ;-)

Aalborg about to take gold

Today's 0-1 AaB win away at Viborg moves Aalborg within effectively just two more wins distance of the gold medal. Still possible for them to miss it, but now unlikely.


My little league predicting Perl script now emits a graph.

FC København, OB and FC Midtjylland are the three contenders for the two UEFA qualification spots. It is also looking more or less inevitable that Lyngby and Viborg will relegate. Computer aided or not, a quick look at the 1st Division tells us Vejle and probably SønderjyskE will gain promotion. Only Herfølge and Silkeborg retain chances of nabbing SønderjyskE's second place.

FC Copenhagen nearly out of the race

Another subpar effort has relegated the defending league champs to fourth place in the top division

Crisis: 2008/09 Eurpean games in danger

Readers of my humble blog will know I'm not the type of fan to join the first choir of critics when something goes wrong. But a number of things has now added up to the 4th position being more realistic than the gold medal. Here is a quick look at how the league will end and the most obvious issues.

Monday Esbjerg fB drew 1-1 against AaB. Crucial actually, as a Aalborg win would have definitely put them in a position to move past the painful 60 point barrier. It was when looking forward to that game I realized how much in trouble we are. But thanks to Esbjerg the league is still open.

My prediction is actually done by a Perl script that eats the league table and the remaining matches outputting a distribution of likely finishing points for each team. It's still in beta (whatever you'd call a big hack) and I don't have time to figure out how to show you the actual distributions because i do not agree with the code tag right now ;-) but look:


AaB 64
FC Midtjylland 58
FC K�benhavn 57
OB 55
AC Horsens 51
Esbjerg fB 46
FC Nordsj�lland 47
Randers FC 45
Br�ndby IF 44
AGF 32
Viborg 24
Lyngby 19
Most guesses are about +/- 6 "precise". Meaning it wouldn't be unreasonable to hope for more than 60 points and that AaB can still miss that threshold.

And a bit of the harsh criticism I agree with:

• Jesper Grønkjær is not a striker


• A number of players deserves more playing time: Oscar Wendt, Ailton Almeida a.o.


• New players hasn't played fully as good as expected


• The midfield is impotent

Whatever the problem we need to win our three games versus the bottom three teams with whatever team we got. Take revenge on Esbjerg on the 27th. And approach the AaB game on the 12th of May like it was life or death. And on the 24th of May we play relegating Lyngby (3 points) while AaB host OB in a very open game. Nothing is settled until the 90th minutes of those games is my guess.

Wonderful Copenhagen elimination

AET Esbjerg [2 - 2] FC Copenhagen
67' [0 - 1] M. Jørgensen
104' [1 - 1] J. Bech
114' [1 - 2] J. Grønkjær
120' [2 - 2] J. Lange
Copyright © 1998-2008 LiveScore.com

Meaning Esbjerg fB progress to the final on 3-2 aggregate.

And that Danish journalists will have to make up new wild stories to portray a crisis situation. Because this game as well as the April 13th 0-0 draw in Odense saw some very good performances and seemingly reasonable tactics. The two games before that didn't but I'll leave that for now.

But winning the league is the priority now. Which isn't at all impossible. Looking at the standings and the remaining matches I'd say there is at least 40% chance of that happening by "chance" (yes I'm doing a statistical analysis that isn't quite ready for the limeligth yet) - and add to that the frustration gained today and the overall performance progress. But it will be a lot more exciting than in most recent seasons. Stay tuned on the Danish league.

Michael Silberbauer Lost Four Teeth for FC Copenhagen: The Danish League Round Up

Michael Silberbauer had to be substituted in the first half of FC Copenhagen's game against fellow Champions League hopefuls OB.

A head collision with OB's Esben Hansen meant that Silberbauer had to pay an urgent visit to a nearby dentist. He lost FOUR teeth (My God!!).

Allbäck returning to native Sweden

Allback, who turns 35 in July, signed a contract Wednesday with second-division side Orgryte, where the Sweden striker broke through in 1992.

Fully as expected. Thank you for your services, Mr. Allbäck.

International friendlies Wed 26

Denmark - Czech Republic 1-1

Zdeněk Pospěch earned another cap at the Czech right back. Libor Sionko put a cross to Kollar's forehead in the 42nd minute for the Czech goal. In the 59th minute left back Niclas Jensen replaced Brøndby's Thomas Rasmussen. William Kvist who did service both at the right back and in midfield nearly made it 2-1 shortly before the end whistle. Ulrik Laursen did not look quite as comfortable as he does in regular Danish league games.

[Koller picks up Czechs in Denmark | Koller gives Czechs draw in Denmark | Honours Even In Denmark | DBU | Olsen's choices systematic]

U21 Denmark - Sweden 0-1

Debut of Mathias "Zanka" Jørgensen.

[Experimental Sweden edge Danes]

Estonia - Canada 2-0

I suppose Atiba Hutchinson was there.

[Fans help friendly go ahead | Estonia defeats Canada 2-0 in men's soccer friendly on snowy pitch | image: President of the Estonian Football Association and football fans clear the field from snow]

Sweden - Brazil 1-0

No mention of FC København players apparent, but a Swedish article quotes Marcus Allbäck he's "close to making up his mind" on transferring to either Spain's Primera Division or Swedish boyhood club Örgryte (Allbäcks val: Till Örgryte eller Spanien).

[Pato breaks duck to sink Sweden | Pato's debutant ball]

Spring cleaning

Outside it's snowing but calendar says it's spring so as regular visitors will have noticed I've gotten rid of the old layout in a spring clean-up and the team has undertaken the last part of the championship begun last year. What you see isn't the 'next version' since I think of this blog as an ongoing experiment, so for now you have to put up with the somewhat weird and 90ies looking chalked grass thing I got going out on the right... I'll also have to come up with somewhere to put this...

...so no, I'm not done.

And neither is the team! The first of four encounters with Esbjerg fB this half season ended as a loss (2-1 away, defender assisted goal by Jesper Grønkjær). Annoying, but also why we love the game. When it comes down to it all three goals were rather random. Then this Saturday AC Horsens were beaten (1-0 home, goal on penalty by Libor Sionko). Media have been quite aggressive towards FC København for being 'boring' and old know-betters have reared their ugly heads again at this slightest chance to reinvigorate their bashing of the contract with Ailton Almeida (coach Ståle has to do some rotation in his starting 11, but obviously ONE game without Ailton is PROOF he's a waste of money). Anyway, we're second with three points to #1 AaB and five points to #3 FC Midtjylland.

Lastly, as I'll remove some of the more exotic features of my sidebar I'll leave them here for probably very few people to ever find again. First, the Copenhagen Football Map made with Google Maps... you guys really don't need to know where Hvidovre Stadium is at.

Vis stort kort
Then there were a few polls on expectations for our European campaign this season. Since I have no idea what type of people actually vote I don't know who the results says anything about. But generally votes were evenly distributed. Which makes sense since we played teams like Beitar Jerusalem and RC Lens - pretty solid teams that we can both win over and lose to.

Guess I better do a poll on who you are?

Images of Lyngby

1-4 win, goals by Libor Sionko, Zdenek Pospech, Mathias Jørgensen and Jose Luis Junior. League position: First :-)

Spring season kick-off

Sometimes it's a bit annoying but there are other teams in the Danish league. Spring season kicks off today so here are a few links about it in general.

Incomplete but long list of transfers @ Ekstra Bladet. Since then at least one significant transfer has been made when FC Nordsjælland sold goalie Kim Christensen to Swedish champs IFK Göteborg. They have signed a new one but must be considered weakened.

Top teams: AaB is topping the league right now but will have to finish without Rade Prica whom they have shipped off to Sunderland.
AC Horsens coach Kent Nielsen doesn't belive in bronze medals (Source in Danish) so why should we? FC Midtjylland's Winston Reid is out injured for about a month and a half and coach Erik Rasmussen has declared his resignment following this season. OB will be missing a central defender obviously. Both OB and Midtjylland are expected to finish top three rather than top five though.

Middle teams: Randers FC has had four players out ill this week and didn't doo too well in the cup vs Brøndby. As mentioned FC Nordsjælland will miss their goalie but probably still produce plenty of chances and get the occasional sensational win. How Esbjerg fB does depends on how Niki Zimling does and right now he's injured. Brøndby IF, our old rivals, has finally signed a manager. Hermann Haraldsson proved both optimist and/or funny in instantly declaring a goal of being the wealthiest club in Scandinavia and finishing top four this season. It's possible but we'll see.

Fighting for survival: AGF has a nice white shirt and the top scorer, Peter Graulund. I wish they make it. Viborg FF are doomed for relegation it seems but have signed none other than Elvis (Wikipedia). Lyngby will take their first of many beatings this Sunday. Goodbye, Lyngby.

Also, there is a jersey gallery @ Ekstra Bladet.

Danish Cup

Saturday

• Næstved - FC København 0-2

Sunday

• Skive - Esbjerg fB 0-4


• Vejle - FC Midtjylland 1-2


• Brøndby IF - Randers FC 2-1

Draw

• Brøndby IF - FC Midtjylland


• FC København - Esbjerg fB

Add 1^st semifinal to Google Calendar:

Update:

"Riot" video at YouTube

Friendly: Stabæk home 4-0 win

Your blogger and his buddy defied the February weather and went to see today's friendly vs Norwegian Stabæk, and here is a quick report and a couple of pictures for you.

It was windy, it rained and the pitch was slightly muddy but it was a good day for a game. Stabæk finished 2nd in Norway last season and proved a worthy opponent although clearly not in the shape Copenhagen is in. For most of the game the lower 3rd of the Danish league would have had no business in it. Our defense was quite solid, the offense snappy and everyone hard working. An encouraging experience.


Most of the sun rays of the day are in this picture.

1st half

(Line-ups are approximate as some substitutions were made outside the half time break.)

Ailton - Allbäck

Grønkjær - Kvist - Hutchinson - Silberbauer

Jensen - Zanka - Laursen - Pospěch

Christiansen

Allbäck had scored for 1-0 by the time I arrived which was only a little late. In short we had the ball while Stabæk managed a couple of counters that Jesper Christiansen saved. Ailton Almeida made it 2-0 by hammering a loose ball in the net just before the half-time whistle.

2nd half

Junior - Nordstrand

Grønkjær - Nørregaard – Würtz - Sionko

Wendt - Zanka - Laursen - Pospěch

Christiansen

A more aggressive offense rattled the struggling Norwegians further backwards. Sionko had to leave the game to have his eyebrow stitched back together but for the playing time he got he was on fire. 3-0 by our new striker, José Junior, who played the beginning of 2nd half in an all-Brazilian attack. With 10 minutes to go Zanka made it 4-0 on a corner kick follow up header that made us forget Hangeland.

Man of the match: Mathias 'Zanka' Jørgensen [Wikipedia] - for someone turning 18 in two months this was an outstanding performance. Topped with a goal.

Most reassuring: Ulrik Laursen. Given the captaincy in Michaels Gravgaard's absence and living up to the trust by playing with the confidence and authority of a star player of years of team experience.

Most exciting: The offense in general. Four equally competent yet different strikers, very prolific wingers and Atiba Hutchinson getting back into shape.


Morten Nordstrand battling Christian Keller for the ball.

Atiba Hutchinson: Recovered and on his way out

We got some mixed news about Canadian midfielder Atiba Hutchinson recently: his below par performances during fall 2007 was due to illness and now he's looking for another club.

The illness issue was revealed by coach Ståle Solbakken. Atiba has been suffering from mononucleosis (AKA "the kissing disease" AKA "Pfeiffer's disease" AKA "glandular fever"). Now I haven't had the thing myself but judging from the list of possible symptoms (fever, Enlarged spleen (!!!), Dizziness or disorientation, Depression etc.) it's just not something that works out with the typical schedule of a professional athlete.
Sources: bold.dk / Hutchinson havde verdens værste sygdom and Wikipedia / mononucleosis.


When I visited a training session last summer Atiba was doing light exercises only due to his illness.

Now he and his agent says he's on his way out of here!

"I don't see myself stay very long. It's a possibility to follow Hangeland because I'd like to play in the Premier League. But Germany, Spain, Italy or France could be fun too."
- Atiba Hutchinson

"A lot of clubs have scouted him and we had interest from England, Germany and France but the price tag has been a problem."
- Andreas Kirsch (Hutch's agent)

(My own not too accurate translations.)
Sources: bold.dk / Atiba Hutchinson klar til større liga, bold.dk / Agent: FCK bremser Hutchinson.

Pre-season friendlies round-up

The friendly vs Legia Warszawa mentioned below is only one of five. Here is a quick look at the other four.

Today: FC København - FC Nordsjælland 2-2
Almost a reserve team game. José Junior said to have been on fire and scored both goals.

Last Friday: FC København - Viking FK (Norway) 2-2
Marred by intense winds. Ailton Almeida reported to have been very strong compared to last season, and Zdenek Pospech "much better than Lars Jacobsen was" as a friend told me.

Friday the 15th: Djurgården (Sweden) - FC København 1-4
Three goals by the Brazilian strikers and a smiling coach.

La Manga camp: Brann (Norway) - FC København 1-0
Norwegian referee awarded us two red cards which should have pretty much spoiled the game.

Saturday the 1st of March we'll play Stabæk in Copenhagen.

New team, new season

The transfer window has closed and the first friendly been played. Meaning we get a quality peek at what's in wait for the spring 2008 season.

Last minute transfers

Obviously, most transfer rumors were just rumors and probably little else. Hangeland left for England and Albäck probably just decided to stay the remainder of his contract to pick up another Danish title.

Besides right back Zdeněk Pospěch, central defender Ulrik Laursen (OB, Hibernian, Celtic; three matches for Denmark) and Brazilian striker José Luiz Guimarães Sanabio Júnior (OB, Malmö) were signed.

La Manga Friendly: Legia Warszawa - FC København 2-2

Allbäck - Ailton

Grønkjær/Hutchinson - Kvist - Würtz - Sionko

Wendt - Antonsson - Gravgaard/Zanka - Pospech

Coe

Lineup (with subs) as according to FCK.dk.

Goals by Ailton Almeida and Jesper Grønkjær.

Transfers Update: Second Czech international under way

FC København have left a bid at about 1.2 m€ for 29 years old Czech Zdeněk Pospěch of AC Sparta Praha. Zdeněk Pospěch is a right back which is just what we need. He has played five games with the Czech national team and will travel to Cyprus for their friendly World Cup European Championship warm-up tournament with Greece and Poland.

Sources: Politiken / FCK jagter tjekkisk landsholdsspiller, Bruckner selects 4 uncapped players for European Championship warmups, Zdeněk Pospěch entry at de.Wikipedia.org.

Formerly of Copenhagen: Zuma & Bendtner

Independent Online / Profile: Sibusiso Zuma

As the goals flowed at club level there were moves to much more glamorous Johannesburg-based Orlando Pirates and FC Copenhagen of Denmark before Zuma arrived at his current home, Bundesliga club Arminia Bielefeld.

Times Online / Dane attraction

Nicklas Bendtner leaves his teens this week looking to cement a place with Arsenal [...] Consider him as he was at age 10, when he was invited to join the oldest and most prestigious amateur club in Denmark, Copenhagen Boldklub.

Transfer: Brede Hangeland to Fulham

Norwegian defender reportedly having Craven Cottage medical.

This story is on most Danish newspaper sites as well.

Obviously a weakening of our central defensive line but not too bad considering we still have Gravgaard, Antonsson, Zanga and no international games.