Football Club Midtjylland (Danish: [ˈme̝tjyˌlænˀ], "Central Jutland") is a Danish professional football club based in Herning and Ikast in 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 four times, most recently in 2024.

Midtjylland
Full nameFootball Club Midtjylland
Nickname(s)Ulvene (The Wolves)
Short nameFCM
Founded2 February 1999; 25 years ago (1999-02-02)
GroundMCH Arena
Capacity12,148
OwnerAnders Holch Povlsen
ChairmanHjalte Eldrup
ManagerThomas Thomasberg
LeagueDanish Superliga
2023–24Danish Superliga, 1st of 12 (champions)
Websitefcm.dk
Current season

Midtjylland is known as one of the best football clubs in Jutland. Having had international stars playing for the club, such as Jonas Borring and Pione Sisto. Midtjylland also has the oldest and one of the best and most respected football academies in Scandinavia. The academy has produced multiple Danish national team players, such as Simon Kjær, Joachim Andersen, and Rasmus Kristensen.

Club history

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Stadium of FC Midtjylland. MCH Arena

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.[1]

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 and made three Danish Cup final appearances, but had never been a top team in the Danish league. 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 finalised and announced at a press conference the next day.[2][3]

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 club Brentford) became the majority shareholder of Midtjylland's parent company FCM Holding.[4] In the 2014–15 season, they won the Danish football championship for the first time. Later on, they won two league titles in 2017–18 and 2019–20, then qualified to the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League group stage for the first time in their history.[5]

During a celebration of the inauguration of the club's new FCM House, Dream 99 on 15 August 2023, it was announced that HEARTLAND, holding company for the Danish clothing chain Bestseller, purchased Benham's shares and became majority owner of the club, as well as Portuguese side C.D. Mafra. It was also announced that FCM would embark with a women's football program in 2024.[6] On the final matchday of the championship round in the 2023–24 season, Midtjylland clinched their fourth Superliga title by just one point, following a 3–3 home draw against Silkeborg, as rivals Brøndby lost 3–2 at home against AGF.[7]

Scouting and developing

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Midtjylland have built a reputation of finding and developing promising talents, and have a highly regarded youth academy.[8]

In July 2004, Midtjylland was the first Danish club to establish their own football academy, similar to that of French side Nantes.[9] The academy attracts players from throughout Denmark, as well as players from FC Ebedei, a partnering club in Nigeria. The club has developed a network of over 100 clubs located in the western part of Jutland.[10]

In 2008, Danish centre-back Simon Kjær, a talent of the academy, was sold to Palermo for a transfer fee of approximately DKK30 million (€4 million).[11] 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 (€4.26 million).[12][13] In 2016, vice-captain Erik Sviatchenko was sold for £1.5 million to Celtic.[14]

Other notable sales of academy products include Pione Sisto to Celta Vigo, Rasmus Nissen to Ajax, Andreas Poulsen to Borussia Mönchengladbach and Mikkel Duelund to Dynamo Kyiv.

Stadium

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In 2004, the team moved to a new stadium in Herning with a capacity of 11,432 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.

On 22 June 2022, the club started an expansion of MCH Arena that would add a new hospitality lounge and 11 new VIP boxes. The expansion increased the total capacity by 720 seats, taking the capacity from 11,432 to a total of 12,152. The expansion was completed in March 2024.

Supporters

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Black Wolves is the official fanclub of FC Midtjylland.[15] 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 unofficial faction in Midtjylland, established in 2007 and later renamed Ultras Midtjylland. In 2014, Midtjylland got its second unofficial faction, a youth faction called Midtjylland Ungdom. As of today, there are three unofficial factions: Zartow, Chaos Crew, and Midtjylland Ungdom. Collectively, all FC Midtjylland supporters go under the name of Hedens Drenge.

Hedens Drenge is currently Midtjylland's largest fan-based social media account, with a following of around 11,000 on Instagram and Facebook combined.

The club's main rival is Viborg FF. This rivalry is often referred to as The Battle of the Heath, The Battle of Hatred, and The Derby of Midtjylland. The derby is claimed to be the second biggest in Denmark behind that of FC København and Brøndby IF.

Recent history

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Season League Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Cup Europe
2008–09 SL 4 33 16 7 10 55 46 55 Third 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 Fourth round UEFA Europa League Third Qualifying Round
2012–13 SL 6 33 12 11 10 51 47 47 Quarter-finals 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
2018–19 SL 2 36 21 8 7 76 43 71 Champion UEFA Champions League Second Qualifying Round
UEFA Europa League Playoff Round
2019–20 SL 1 36 26 4 6 61 29 82 Third round UEFA Europa League Third Qualifying Round
2020–21 SL 2 32 18 6 8 57 33 60 Semi-finals UEFA Champions League Group Stage
2021–22 SL 2 32 20 5 7 59 33 65 Champion UEFA Champions League Second Qualifying Round
UEFA Europa League Group Stage
UEFA Europa Conference League Knockout Round
2022–23 SL 7 32 13 12 7 55 39 51 Fourth round UEFA Champions League Third Qualifying Round
UEFA Europa League Group Stage & Knockout Round
2023–24 SL 1 32 19 6 7 62 43 63 Fourth round UEFA Europa Conference League Playoff Round

Honours

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Players

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Current squad

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As of 2 September 2024[16][17]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK   DEN Jonas Lössl
3 DF   KOR Lee Han-beom
4 DF   SEN Ousmane Diao
5 MF   URU Emiliano Martínez
6 DF   SWE Joel Andersson
7 FW   GNB Franculino Djú
8 MF   SWE Kristoffer Olsson
10 FW   KOR Cho Gue-sung
11 FW   CHI Darío Osorio
13 DF   CZE Adam Gabriel
14 FW   ZAM Edward Chilufya
15 DF   DEN Christian Sørensen
16 GK   ISL Elías Rafn Ólafsson
17 MF   NOR Kristoffer Askildsen
18 FW   POL Adam Buksa
19 MF   COL Pedro Bravo
No. Pos. Nation Player
20 MF   DEN Valdemar Byskov
21 MF   ECU Denil Castillo
22 DF   DEN Mads Bech Sørensen (captain)
24 MF   DEN Oliver Sørensen
25 FW   CZE Jan Kuchta
29 DF   BRA Paulinho
30 GK   ENG Ovie Ejeheri
38 FW   BRA Marrony
41 FW   DEN Mikel Gogorza
43 DF   SUI Kevin Mbabu
47 FW   DEN Frederik Heiselberg
53 FW   DEN Victor Lind
55 DF   DEN Victor Bak Jensen
58 FW   TUR Aral Şimşir
73 DF   BRA Juninho

Out on loan

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
DF   DEN Daníel Freyr Kristjánsson (at   Fredericia until 30 June 2025)
FW   NOR Ola Brynhildsen (at   Molde until 31 December 2024)
FW   NGA Obule Moses (at   Holstebro until 31 December 2024)
No. Pos. Nation Player
FW   BRA Júnior Brumado (at   Coritiba FC until 30 June 2025)
FW   SLE Alhaji Kamara (at   Mafra until 30 June 2025)
FW   ANG Valter Monteiro (at   Mafra U23 until 30 June 2025)

Youth team

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See: FC Midtjylland Academy

Notable players

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1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s

Personnel

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Current technical staff

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Role Name
Head coach   Thomas Thomasberg
Assistant coach   Niels Lodberg
Goalkeeping coach   Lasse Heinze
Chief Analyst   Sören Bjerg
Opponent Analyst   Oliver Heil

Management

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Role Name
Director of Football   Svend Graversen
Sporting Director   Kristian Bach Bak
Head of academy coaching   Jan Knudsen

Coaches

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FC Midtjylland in European competition

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FC Midtjylland's first competitive European match was on 9 August 2001 in the 2001–02 UEFA Cup, playing Northern Ireland's Glentoran to a 1–1 draw in the first leg of the Qualifying Round before ultimately advancing to the First Round where they were eliminated by Sporting CP. In 2016 Midtjylland reached the Round of 32 of the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League, where they achieved a 2–1 home victory over Manchester United but would end up losing 6–3 on aggregate following the second leg.

Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate
2001–02 UEFA Cup QR   Glentoran 1–1 4–0 5–1  
1R   Sporting CP 0–3 2–3 2–6  
2002–03 UEFA Cup QR   Pobeda 3–0 0–2 3–2  
1R   Varaždin 1–0 1–1 2–1  
2R   Anderlecht 0–3 1–3 1–6  
2005–06 UEFA Cup 1Q   B36 Tórshavn 2–1 2–2 4–3  
1R   CSKA Moscow 1–3 1–3 2–6  
2007–08 UEFA Cup 1Q   Keflavík ÍF 2–1 2–3 4–4 (a)  
2Q   Haka 5–2 2–1 7–3  
1R   Lokomotiv Moscow 1–3 0–2 1–5  
2008–09 UEFA Cup 1Q   Bangor City 4–0 6–1 10–1  
2Q   Manchester City 0–1 (a.e.t.) 1–0 1–1 (2–4 p)  
2011–12 UEFA Europa League 2Q   The New Saints 5–2 3–1 8–3  
3Q   Vitória de Guimarães 0–0 1–2 1–2  
2012–13 UEFA Europa League PO   Young Boys 0–3 2–0 2–3  
2014–15 UEFA Europa League PO   Panathinaikos 1–2 1–4 2–6  
2015–16 UEFA Champions League 2Q   Lincoln Red Imps 1–0 2–0 3–0  
3Q   APOEL 1–2 1–0 2–2 (a)  
UEFA Europa League PO   Southampton 1–0 1–1 2–1  
Group D   Napoli 1–4 0–5 2nd  
  Club Brugge 1–1 3–1
  Legia Warsaw 1–0 0–1
R32   Manchester United 2–1 1–5 3–6  
2016–17 UEFA Europa League 1Q   Sūduva Marijampolė 1–0 1–0 2–0  
2Q   Vaduz 3–0 2–2 5–2  
3Q   Videoton 1–1 (a.e.t) 1–0 2–1  
PO   Osmanlıspor 0–1 0–2 0–3  
2017–18 UEFA Europa League 1Q   Derry City 6–1 4–1 10–2  
2Q   Ferencváros 3–1 4–2 7–3  
3Q   Arka Gdynia 2–1 2–3 4–4 (a)  
PO   Apollon Limassol 1–1 2–3 3–4  
2018–19 UEFA Champions League 2Q   Astana 0–0 1–2 1–2  
UEFA Europa League 3Q   The New Saints 3–1 2–0 5–1  
PO   Malmö FF 0–2 2–2 2–4  
2019–20 UEFA Europa League 3Q   Rangers 2–4 1–3 3–7  
2020–21 UEFA Champions League 2Q   Ludogorets Razgrad 1–0  
3Q   Young Boys 3–0  
PO   Slavia Prague 4–1 0–0 4–1  
Group D   Atalanta 0–4 1–1 4th  
  Liverpool 1–1 0–2
  Ajax 1–2 1–3
2021–22 UEFA Champions League 2Q   Celtic 1–1 2–1 3–2  
3Q   PSV Eindhoven 0–3 0–1 0–4  
UEFA Europa League Group F   Braga 1–3 3–2 3rd  
  Red Star Belgrade 1–1 1–0
  Ludogorets Razgrad 1–1 0–0
UEFA Europa Conference League KPO   PAOK 1–0 1–2 2–2 (3–5 p)  
2022–23 UEFA Champions League 2Q   AEK Larnaca 1–1 1–1 (a.e.t.) 2–2 (4–3 p)  
3Q   Benfica 1–3 1–4 2–7  
UEFA Europa League Group F   Lazio 5–1 1−2 2nd  
  Feyenoord 2−2 2−2
  Sturm Graz 2−0 0–1
KPO   Sporting CP 0–4 1–1 1–5  
2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League 2Q   Progrès Niederkorn 2−0 1–2 (a.e.t.) 3–2  
3Q   Omonia 5−1 0–1 5–2  
PO   Legia Warsaw 3–3 1–1 (a.e.t.) 4–4 (5–6 p)  
2024–25 UEFA Champions League 2Q   UE Santa Coloma 1−0 3−0 4–0  
3Q   Ferencváros 2−0 1–1 3–1  
PO   Slovan Bratislava 1–1 2–3 3–4  
UEFA Europa League LP   Eintracht Frankfurt 1–2
  Porto
  Fenerbahçe
  Maccabi Tel Aviv 2–0
  Union Saint-Gilloise 1–0
  Ludogorets Razgrad
  TSG Hoffenheim 1–1
  FCSB 0–2

UEFA club coefficient ranking

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As of 8 November 2024[18][19]
Rank Team Points
64   Sparta Prague 29.500
65   Aston Villa 29.000
66   Midtjylland 28.500
67   Molde 28.500
68   SC Freiburg 28.000

References

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  1. ^ Heide Lund, Kasper (1 July 2019). "'Vi gad sgu ikke se på den middelmådighed mere': Superligaens frække dreng fylder 20 år". dr.dk. Danmarks Radio. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  2. ^ Flatau, Line (22 May 2018). "FC Midtjyllands stormfulde vej til toppen". tvmidtvest.dk. TV Midtvest. Archived from the original on 27 January 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  3. ^ Kristiansen, Kenneth (19 June 2019). "20 år med FCM: I begyndelsen var Ove P." herningfolkeblad.dk. Herning Folkeblad. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  4. ^ Murtagh, Jacob (2 July 2014). "Benham remains fully committed to Bees despite Danish project". Get West London. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  5. ^ "Midtjylland 4–1 Slavia Praha". UEFA. 30 September 2020. Archived from the original on 24 May 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  6. ^ "NEW OWNERSHIP, CD MAFRA AND WOMEN'S FOOTBALL: EVERYTHING FROM TUESDAY'S PRESS CONFERENCE". FCM. 15 August 2023. Archived from the original on 16 August 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  7. ^ "FC Midtjylland wins Danish league after final-day slip-up by Brondby. Kristoffer Olsson in the crowd". The Washington Post. 26 May 2024.
  8. ^ Ingle, Sean (27 July 2015). "How Midtjylland took the analytical route towards the Champions League". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  9. ^ Just Kristensen, Jørn (22 June 2019). "Akademi-ideen blev født i Nantes". herningfolkeblad.dk. Herning Folkeblad. Archived from the original on 9 April 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  10. ^ "Investor vil styrke og udvikle FC Midtjylland". fcm.dk. FC Midtjylland. 2 July 2014. Archived from the original on 9 August 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  11. ^ "FCM scorer millioner på Simon Kjær-handel" (in Danish). Tipsbladet. 8 July 2010. Archived from the original on 1 February 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2015.(subscription required)
  12. ^ "Superligaens transferoverblik". Indkast.dk. Archived from the original on 4 February 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  13. ^ "BBC Sport – Football – New Zealand international Winston Reid joins West Ham". BBC News. 5 August 2010. Archived from the original on 9 April 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  14. ^ "Erik Sviatchenko: Celtic seal £1.5m transfer of Midtjylland man". BBC Sport. 17 January 2016. Archived from the original on 19 January 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  15. ^ "Black Wolves : Homepage". Black-wolves.com. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  16. ^ "Superligatrup | fcm". Fcm.dk (in Danish). Archived from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
  17. ^ "DBU's Officielle Statistikere". Danskfodbold.com. Archived from the original on 7 November 2019. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  18. ^ "UEFA Club Coefficient Ranking". RankingandPrize.Com. n.d. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  19. ^ "FC Midtjylland UEFA Coefficient Ranking". RankingandPrize.Com. n.d. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
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  NODES
INTERN 3
Note 3
Project 1