2012/13 Danish Superliga Thread

So this is the 23rd season of the Danish Superliga and 100th anniversary of a Danish Football Championship so it is an important season. Esbjerg fB and Randers FC were promoted after one season in the 1st Division.

You gonna try to catch a game or two Weather?

The first round started out fantastic, 25 goals in the 6 games, high scorers being SønderjyskE against Randers with 6-1, sharply followed by last seasons champions FC Nordsjælland who won 4-0 away against AC Horsens.

The round also included a quite amazing comeback by FC Copenhagen which was turned into a EA Fifa Football club Challange. Copenhagen were behind 0-2 at home after a dreadful 70 minutes against FC Midtjylland, they were out done in every category. Right up until Brazilian Claudemir got a straight red after being slightly provoked by dutch Tim Janssen when about to take a free kick, that sparked something especially in Copenhagens loaned player Nicolai Jørgensen who decided to show why he was bought by Bayer Leverkusen straight from the 2nd tier of danish football.

What followed was a well done combination play by Copenhagen to make it 1-2 by the foot of Cesar Santin, a good run by Nicolai Jørgensen tricking Midtjyllands defense to let it finally drop in front of Cornelius and Santin for a tap-in which equalized the game. The last 2 goals were all Costa Rican player Bryan Ovideo's after Midtjylland central defender Erik Sviatchenko was sent off with a 2nd yellow. Santin broke through the middle, but Midtjylland Lössel keeper blocked the shot from him it fell to his right where left back Bryan Ovideo appeared. The very same Ovideo were then the assistant to the 4-2 goal, with a strong tackle right on the midfield line it was an open run at goal, his attempt was blocked by Lössel, it fell back to him and he could easily pass it for Santin to tap it in. Overall a highly entertaining match, very good football by Midtjylland in the first 70 minutes, and Copenhagen showing what happens when a team takes it a bit too easy due to a red card.

FC Midtjylland face FC Nordsjælland in the Saturday game, the league has switched to a 4 day play weekend, 1 game Friday, Saturday and Monday, 3 games on Sunday, every game is televised. Friday evening had AC Horsens against Silkeborg IF, AC Horsens won the game 2-0 in Silkeborg and got a bit of an uprising after being battered at home last weekend.

Aarhus GF (AGF), AC Horsens and FC Midtjylland are qualified for the Europa League (round 2 - 3 and playoff respectively) none of them have note worthy seeding (or any at all) and aren't expected to make it to the group stage.
FC Nordsjælland as the champions are directly in Champions league as the lowest seeded team in pot 4. FC Copenhagen are as runners up in the non-champions route round 3 for Champions League.

The games are often not played the same time as the dutch league so i try to catch both unless there is an interesting EPL game colliding with it. Nordsjælland is probably my favorite team because they remind me of Ajax and have been trying to play good football regardless of the results which finally began turning out trophies 3 years ago. The club doesn't have many fans/supporters but most danish football viewers and goers agree that they are a nice team to watch. It will probably be a bit odd seeing them in Champions League, especially away with the very few traveling fans they generally have, although should they get a good draw i imagine there would be a few more subscriptions to the fan club.

Muhkoo wrote:You gonna try to catch a game or two Weather?

Any chance to find an English stream online? If so I will look around to try to find some games to watch. If not perhaps I will watch a really big game or maybe something like 1st v 2nd or something. I can watch football in other languages but obviously I prefer to watch games in English.

I actually use FC Nordsjælland in my FIFA 11 manager mode right now. I never bothered to buy the latest game because I feel this one is good enough for me and I am not about to throw out the extra cash for a new game right now.

The only place i know of English streams are on the betting sites, i don't know if they work in the US. Last season FC Nordsjælland's last game was streamed in English so its possible.

Muhkoo wrote:The only place i know of English streams are on the betting sites, i don't know if they work in the US. Last season FC Nordsjælland's last game was streamed in English so its possible.

Maybe I will just have to learn some Danish.

They rarely say something worth knowing anyway.

Its likely the 2nd choice and early Sunday game are streamed in English from betting sites by other people (so everyone can see) due to them being broadcast on a TV Channel that a lot of people still don't have.

Although if there is a game worth watching it is the one today between Midtjylland and Nordsjælland. The match of the week tomorrow between Aab and Brøndby are simply because of their fanbases gathering the most viewers, they are former giants fallen on hard times due to, well the one thing that gets in the way of football, greed.

Early days here but it is good to see the table in full form.

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification or relegation

1	SønderjyskE	3	2	1	0	9	3	+6	7	2013–14 UEFA Champions League Third qualifying round
2	F.C. Copenhagen	3	2	1	0	8	3	+5	7
3	Randers FC	3	2	0	1	4	7	−3	6	2013–14 UEFA Europa LeagueThird qualifying round
4	FC Nordsjælland	3	1	1	1	6	4	+2	4	2013–14 UEFA Europa LeagueSecond qualifying round
5	FC Midtjylland	3	1	1	1	7	7	0	4
6	OB	3	1	1	1	2	2	0	4
7	AC Horsens	3	1	1	1	4	6	−2	4
8	AaB	3	1	1	1	3	5	−2	4
9	Brøndby IF	3	1	0	2	3	4	−1	3
10	Silkeborg IF	3	1	0	2	4	6	−2	3
11	AGF	3	0	2	1	2	3	−1	2	Relegation to the 2013–14Danish 1st Division
12	Esbjerg fB	3	0	1	2	3	5	−2	1

SønderjyskE have opened impressively with good attacking flow in their game. The biggest disappointment so far has to be either AGF or Brøndby, both former giants while OB have shown more with the many young talents they have despite being deemed too inexperienced to play a part.

I believe it will still be between the 3 FC clubs, København, Nordsjælland & Midtjylland. The richest and the 2 best academies battling for the league, SønderjyskE could be a night touch but while they are already going at what looks like maximum the other teams need a little to settle the new players they got in, and SønderjyskE could still lose some key players to abroad adventures.

It might be early in the season but I notice that FC Copenhagen are already 3 points clear and that could be the beginning of the end.

Weather130 wrote:It might be early in the season but I notice that FC Copenhagen are already 3 points clear and that could be the beginning of the end.

Ariel Jacobs look to be a good choice for coach although it does seem like he is not getting total freedom with transfers as he was denied the possibility of bringing in an old player of his from Belgium. However their young acquired talents are doing very well.

It looks like another season of every team being unstable with FC Copenhagen just being able to get points in every game thus getting a clear advantage. Besides Brøndby IF they just seem to suck which includes Clarance Goodson, he has not had a good year, the club still has national team player and Europe goal scorer Michael Krohn Dehli, but just a few days ago he was caught drinking apparently fairly heavily before a game.

Went to a game today between FC Nordsjælland and Silkeborg IF, an easy 1 hour with train from where i live to the stadium, and i got 4 free tickets when i got there so a cheap day out too.

After 35 minutes FC Nordsjælland were up 5-0 and the game was completely over, Joshua John (Loanee from FC Twente) was everywhere in first half and scored 4 goals and helped crown the 6-1 victory with a good assist for Kasper Lorentzen in the 2nd half. Nordsjælland had 3 players called up for the national friendly on wendsday, Jores Okore, Kasper Lorentzen and veteran captain Nikolaj Stokholm.

Yesterday OB's talents again showed their worth to beat FC Midtjylland 2-1, they have some good young players in Emil Larsen, Rasmus Falk Jensen & Bashkim Kadrii who are all u-21 national team players.

It has been awhile since I have updated this thread so I have done so now

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification or relegation

1	F.C. Copenhagen	9	6	3	0	21	10	+11	21	2013–14 UEFA Champions League Third qualifying round
2	AaB	9	6	2	1	23	7	+16	20
3	FC Nordsjælland	9	4	3	2	19	9	+10	15	2013–14 UEFA Europa League Third qualifying round
4	AGF	9	4	2	3	16	11	+5	14	2013–14 UEFA Europa League Second qualifying round
5	OB	9	4	2	3	9	13	−4	14
6	AC Horsens	9	3	3	3	11	16	−5	12
7	Randers FC	9	4	0	5	9	17	−8	12
8	FC Midtjylland	9	3	2	4	14	17	−3	11
9	SønderjyskE	9	3	1	5	12	17	−5	10
10	Brøndby IF	9	1	4	4	8	12	−4	7
11	Silkeborg IF	9	2	1	6	8	19	−11	7	Relegation to the 2013–14 Danish 1st Division
12	Esbjerg fB	9	1	3	5	8	10	−2	6

Top goal scorers

RankPlayerClubGoals

1	Aron Jóhannsson	AGF	7
	Andreas Cornelius	F.C. Copenhagen	7
3	Joshua John	FC Nordsjælland	6
	Kasper Kusk	AaB	6
5	César Santin	F.C. Copenhagen	5
	Marvin Pourie	Silkeborg IF	5
7	Jeppe Curth	AaB	4
	Nicklas Helenius	AaB	4
	Sylvester Igboun	FC Midtjylland	4
10	Martin Braithwaite	Esbjerg fB	3
	Nicolai Jørgensen	F.C. Copenhagen	3
	Lasse Nielsen	AaB	3
	Ronnie Schwartz	Randers FC	3
	Lasse Vibe	SønderjyskE	3

There are more goals this season and more candidates for top scorers, last season there was just the 2 Copenhagen strikers N'doye and Santin for the title with Helenius catching up in the spring.

Aron Johansson could potentially play for United States, a trait he shares with another superliga scorer from a few seasons ago Yura Movsisiyan. But it is most likely he is getting called up for Iceland as Kolbeinn Sigthorsson is out for them and thats his heritage. Aron is born in Mobile, Alabama. Unlikely USA needs him with the very inform Jozy Altidore in the Eredivise though.

He has the fastest hatrick in the leagues history, just 3 minutes and 50 seconds in the away game against AC Horsens. While Joshua John set the record for the fastest to score 4 goals in a match taking 33 minutes. ( 9 minutes between his last 3)

While i said OB's talents were on the up they decided to prove me wrong and lose to Esbjerg this Friday in the worst displays from them this season, looked like something straight out of last fall.

Muhkoo wrote:
Aron Johansson could potentially play for United States, a trait he shares with another superliga scorer from a few seasons ago Yura Movsisiyan. But it is most likely he is getting called up for Iceland as Kolbeinn Sigthorsson is out for them and thats his heritage. Aron is born in Mobile, Alabama. Unlikely USA needs him with the very inform Jozy Altidore in the Eredivise though.

He has already played for the Iceland U-21 team 9 times so I think that is the most likely direction he will take. Iceland needs hinm much more than the United States would.

Weather130 wrote:

Muhkoo wrote:
Aron Johansson could potentially play for United States, a trait he shares with another superliga scorer from a few seasons ago Yura Movsisiyan. But it is most likely he is getting called up for Iceland as Kolbeinn Sigthorsson is out for them and thats his heritage. Aron is born in Mobile, Alabama. Unlikely USA needs him with the very inform Jozy Altidore in the Eredivise though.

He has already played for the Iceland U-21 team 9 times so I think that is the most likely direction he will take. Iceland needs hinm much more than the United States would.

When he was confronted with the question by a journalist that is also what he said but if USA called him up he wouldn't say no

Yeah, he has started to garner attention here. I haven't seen him play, but we are always in need of goal scorers. Of course, with Jurgie in charge, he might be wasted anyways...

Iceland beating Norway looks much better than the United States losing to Jamaica. If that might help determine his choice then Iceland might look at the more interesting option.

Weather130 wrote:Iceland beating Norway looks much better than the United States losing to Jamaica. If that might help determine his choice then Iceland might look at the more interesting option.

Iceland has a fairly decent squad but a relatively limited talent pool, i do believe they can go somewhere with this team (few key members also from the u-21 that went to the 2011 Euro, big thing for the tiny tiny nation)

Personally i would think USA is the better choice, but if you are going for a club career as well that jet lag trip twice in a week is gonna do you no good when its internationals time.

Muhkoo wrote:

Weather130 wrote:Iceland beating Norway looks much better than the United States losing to Jamaica. If that might help determine his choice then Iceland might look at the more interesting option.

Iceland has a fairly decent squad but a relatively limited talent pool, i do believe they can go somewhere with this team (few key members also from the u-21 that went to the 2011 Euro, big thing for the tiny tiny nation)

Personally i would think USA is the better choice, but if you are going for a club career as well that jet lag trip twice in a week is gonna do you no good when its internationals time.

Where ever this guy decided to play club football might determines which way he goes. I mean going from Spain or Portugal is not that bad than coming from a Eastern European country. Iceland would make more sense if he decides to play in a cold climate country.

It has been awhile since updated this thread so here goes nothing...







Form

1.	FC Copenhagen	14	8	5	1	30:14	29
2.	Aalborg	14	8	2	4	29:14	26
3.	Nordsjaelland	14	7	4	3	27:13	25
4.	Aarhus	14	7	4	3	28:17	25
5.	Randers FC	14	7	2	5	18:23	23
6.	Odense	14	5	4	5	18:22	19
7.	Horsens	14	4	7	3	16:20	19
8.	Sonderjyske	14	5	2	7	20:26	17
9.	Midtjylland	14	3	5	6	19:25	14
10.	Esbjerg	14	2	5	7	13:17	11
11.	Silkeborg	14	3	2	9	12:31	11
12.	Brondby	14	1	6	7	13:21	9

It actually worked wow! I would have used the Wikipedia page but it is not completely up to date. This info is slightly old (by one round of games) but I do not know where to find up to date info for all of this.

RankPlayerClubGoals

1	Aron Jóhannsson	AGF	12
2	Andreas Cornelius	F.C. Copenhagen	10
3	Joshua John	FC Nordsjælland	8
4	Kasper Kusk	AaB	7
	Nicklas Helenius	AaB	7
6	César Santin	F.C. Copenhagen	6
	Nicolai Jørgensen	F.C. Copenhagen	6
	Marvin Pourie	Silkeborg IF	6
8	Martin Braithwaite	Esbjerg fB	5
	Ronnie Schwartz	Randers FC	5

Interesting to see the top scorers and the Table go so well, the first 7 people on the list are in the top 4, and then there is Marvin Pourie who has scored half his teams goals at the other end of the table.

Nordsjælland are steady going similar to last year while Copenhagen have begun to show signs of weakness not having any glory moments in Europe to take home while Nordsjælland finally captured a point with a good performance against Juventus. Aab are doing well now but have a young and inexperienced squad, its all Danish bar one Brazilian which is a good sign for the national talent level but could prove to be lacking in the last 1/3 of the season.

The Transfer window could change a lot, Nordsjælland will probably be losing some as Parkhurst wants to move on and Jores Okore might not be able to say no to big offers from around Europe. In summer they will have to let Joshua John go back to Twente (or somewhere else, he is too good for the league) and it looks like Andreas Laudrup will be leaving as well as Adu who is just a quality CDM.