FC Nordsjælland

F.C. Nordsjælland

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Full name	Football Club Nordsjælland
Nickname(s)	The Wild Tigers
Short name	FCN
Founded	1 January 1991 (1991-01-01) as Farum Boldklub
Ground	Farum Park, Farum
Ground Capacity	11,100
Owner	Pathways Group (99 %)
Chairman	Tom Vernon
Head coach	Kasper Hjulmand
League	Danish Superliga
2014–15	Danish Superliga, 6th
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Football Club Nordsjælland (FCN; Danish pronunciation: [ˈnoɐ̯ɕɛlɑnˀ]) is a professional Danish football team from the North Zealand town of Farum, Denmark. Founded as Farum Boldklub from the merger of the town's two football clubs Farum IK and Stavnsholt BK in 1991, the club changed its name to F.C. Nordsjælland in 2003.

FCN plays in the Danish Superliga, winning their first medal in the 2002–03 season, taking 3rd place. Since then the Wild Tigers have made four appearances in Europe under both the old UEFA Cup format in 2003–04, 2008–09 and in the UEFA Europa League during the 2010–11 and 2011–12 seasons. Their greatest spell of success has come within the last three years, lifting their very first trophy the Danish Cup in 2010 and successfully defending it the following year in 2011, consequently beating FC Midtjylland in both finals. FCN won the 2011-12 Danish Superliga in May 2012 which qualified the team to participate in the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League.

F.C. Nordsjælland plays its matches at Farum Park, which has a capacity of 10,100 of which 9,800 seating and 300 standing spectators. The club is known for focusing on youth and talent development. Their playing style is often referred to as aggressive and attacking minded football, where they play a 4–2–3–1 system.

History

Farum BK (1991–2003)

Farum Boldklub badge.

Established on 1 January 1991, from the merger of two football clubs, Farum Idræts Klub (formed in 1910) and Stavnsholt Boldklub af 1974, both from the then Farum municipality (now consolidated with Værløse as the Furesø municipality), Farum BK would become one of the few merger success stories in Danish football, but not without controversy. The club was an initiative local Farum residence and of then local mayor Peter Brixtofte, whom took a personal interest in the club, as well as garnered sponsorship for the team. The club kit colours became a combination of the two merged clubs, the red and white of Stavnsholt with the yellow and blue of F.I.K. combined into a kit with yellow and red striped shirts and dark blue shorts and socks, which is still used in some form to this day. Colours were not the only thing the newly formed club inherited, as Thomas Andreasen who had been with Stavnsholt BK was carried over into the new Farum squad, Andreasen would go on to make a record 295 appearances, playing from the Denmark Series all the way to the Danish Superliga, until his departure from the club in 2007.

Farum BK where placed in the second group of the Denmark Series, the fourth tier in the Danish football pyramid, they quickly gained promotion to the first group during the clubs maiden season. Jørgen Andersen, a former goalkeeper for Hvidovre took over as the club's first head coach in 1992, as club stayed in the Denmark Series first group for six years. Under the guidance of manager Jørgen Tideman who took over in 1994, Farum qualified for promotion into the 2nd Division in the 1997–98 season and subsequently turned professional for the first time in the team's history.

Farum's first full season as a professional club was a fruitful one, beating out Aalborg Chang and Skive to fifth place, by 1 point, attaining promotion for the second time in two years into the 1st Division. The club's meteoric rise was slowed at first with the new challenge of playing in the Danish second tier, it wasn't stopped however, ending the 1999-00 campaign with respectable eight spot finish, winning the same amount of games they lost. Yet Farum remained unable to make any sort of impact in the Danish Cup, having lost in the first round for the last three years, since making their debut in the tournament in the 1997–98 season. The following year saw some progression in both the league and cup, improving on last years finish with fifth place, three spots and 9 points behind second placed promotion winners Vejle, as well as breaking out of the first round of the Danish Cup to eventually fall to Fremad Amager in the third round with a 2-1 loss.

With the 2001–02 season, unconventional coach Christian Andersen was brought in to manage the team, building on the gradual footholds the club had been making in the 1st Division. Jeppe Tengbjerg played a pivotal role, brought in from B.93 the previous year, Tengbjerg scored 16 goals, becoming Farum's top goalscorer of the season, third overall in the league. The team went on to finish the campaign qualifying for promotion into the Superliga with second place, 11 points clear of third placed Sønderjylland, 1 point behind first-place winners Køge, scoring a team total of 69 goals, the highest that season and losing only four games.

Farum's 2002–03 appearance in the top flight of Danish football would be their first and last under the Farum BK name. Ending the season in third place and thus qualifying for the UEFA Cup for the first time in their history. The club's achievement was overshadowed by the controversy involving Peter Brixtofte, who had helped form and fund the club, with deals involving his municipality deliberately overpaying for welfare services bought from private companies who in return would sponsor the Farum football team. Brixtofte was forced to step down as chairman and the club became close to bankruptcy.

F.C. Nordsjælland (2003–present)

File:Full time score 01.JPG

The full-time score at Farum Park.

In March 2003, Farum BK was bought by AKP Holding, the holdings company of local businessman Allan K. Pedersen and in an effort to distance the club from the Brixtofte scandal, Farum BK was re-branded as F.C. Nordsjælland, named after the North Zealand (Danish: Nordsjælland) region to clarify the club was to represent both the region as well as the town in which the club is based. To reinforce the status as a regional team, a network of local football clubs from the surrounding area was created, consisting of around 66 teams, with the aim to highlight young talent in the region and bring it to national attention via F.C. Nordsjælland. The network is known as Fodbold Samarbejde Nordsjælland (FSN).

The club's second year in the Superliga, first as F.C. Nordsjælland, struggled to improve on the previous years outing. With their worst goal difference since turning professional, not one FCN player ended in the top ten goal scorers, fighting to avoid relegation for most of the season, ending the campaign in ninth place. The Wild Tiger fans were rewarded with European football, with the club's first appearance in the UEFA Cup, they beat Armenian team Shirak 6-0 on aggregate in the qualifying round, but were to be knocked out in the first round by Greek team Panionios. Christian Andersen was sacked at the end of the 2003–04 Superliga season, to be replaced by Johnny Petersen as head coach.

The following two years under Johnny Petersen were spent avoiding relegation, with no success to speak of in either the Superliga or Danish Cup. Petersen's reign was not completely amiss, as he was noted for creating a good young team and the emergence of players Mads Junker and Anders Due. For the 2006–07 season, Morten Wieghorst was promoted from assistant to head coach, a position the former Celtic player would retain for five years.

Wieghorst's first dilemma in charge of FCN was to fill the gap left by top scorer Mads Junker, sale to Dutch side Vitesse the previous winter. Morten Nordstrand came in on a free from nearby Lyngby after scoring 29 goals in the 1st Division that previous season. Nordstrand would go on to make an instant impact, topping the goal scorers charts for the first half of the 2006–07 season and earning himself a call up to the Danish national team. Helping the club to a fifth-place finish, Nordstrand ended the season with 18 goals after appearing in every league match that season. The Danish champions FC Copenhagen purchased the player at the end of the season for a then record 15 million Danish kroner, becoming the largest transfer fee ever paid for a player between two Danish clubs.

With lower than average attendance and issues still arising from the Brixtofte scandal, chairman Allan Kim Pedersen confirmed there had been discussions to move the club north to Hillerød, where they would be able expand to other sports, such as Ice Hockey and Basketball. The move never materialized.

Nordsjælland would find themselves in a similar position the following season, again having sold their star striker, Martin Bernburg was brought in from F.C. Copenhagen. The team only managed a ninth-place finish, yet qualified for the UEFA Cup for their second time via the UEFA Fair Play rankings. 2008–09 would become a good year for the Wild Tigers in terms of cup competitions, making it to the quarter finals in the Danish Cup for the second time in their history, the club managed to improve on their previous European outing with wins over TVMK Tallinn and Queen of the South, to been convincingly knocked out by Greek side Olympiacos 0-7 aggregate.

In October 2008, Allan K. Pedersen sold F.C. Nordsjælland from AKP Holding to himself for a reported 500,000 Danish kroner, shortly before his holding company went bankrupt. A price Pedersen denies. Following an investigation from his creditors, it was found that the sale was forced through without the bank's consent, and that the value for which the club was sold was too low, which ultimate reduced the finances the creators received for the sale. FCN was reevaluated to be worth 35 million kroner at the time of sale. The case has gone to supreme court, and is yet to be resolved, it speculated that it could take 1–4 years.

2009–10 season saw F.C. Nordsjælland lift their first trophy, the Danish Cup. FCN were not drawn against another Superliga team until the quarter final meeting with Silkeborg, winning 3-1 in extra time. The team would go on to face Midtjylland in Nordsjælland's first cup final, winning in extra time, 2-0 with goals from new signing Nicolai Stokholm and Bajram Fetai, qualifying for European competition in the newly remodeled Europa League. The team would repeat this feat the following season, facing Midtjylland once again in the finals of the Danish Cup, winning the trophy for the second time with a 3-2 win. This would be Morten Wieghorst's last trophy with the Wild Tigers, moving on to manage the Danish under 21 national team at the end of the 2010–11 campaign.

Kasper Hjulmand was named Wieghorst's successor in June 2011, promoted from the coaching staff, the former Lyngby head coach brought in two Danish internationals, Mikkel Beckmann from relegated Randers, and Patrick Mtiliga on a free from Málaga, all in preparation for the 2011–12 season. FCN would be looking to improve on last season's sixth-place finish and to defend their Danish Cup for the second year running. They would go on to play in the Europa League for second year in a row, to be knocked out of the competition in the third qualifying round by Sporting Lisbon 2-1 aggregate, who had also eliminated FC Nordsjælland from Europe the previous season.

FCN started the new season in good form, peaking as high as 2nd in the Superliga, and an undefeated run at home in all competitions until the 30 October, including an impressive 0-0 draw with Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon, making the start of the 2011–12 campaign one of their best starts in recent years. For the first time in the club's history, a total of five players were called up to the Denmark national football team to face Sweden and Finland in November, including Mikkel Beckmann, Andreas Bjelland and debutantes Tobias Mikkelsen, Jesper Hansen and Jores Okore. FCN ended the season as Danish Superliga champions for the first time in their history.

In 2012–13 FCN participated in the UEFA Champions League. FCN were drawn into a difficult group with the ruling champions Chelsea, scudetto champions Juventus and Ukrainian champions, Shakhtar Donetsk. FCN played all their home matches in the Danish national stadium Parken. The gained one point from the group stage - playing 1-1 against Juventus at home thanks to a direct freekick from Mikkel Beckmann. In the last group match a controversial goal became the talking point of the match. Luiz Adriano scored after a fair play situation to level the score. The Brazilian striker received a one match ban from UEFA after the match.

File:FCNmesterskab.jpg 300px

File:FCNCHL.jpg 300px

Players

Current squad

As of 13 January 2016

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

No. Position Player 1 GK David Jensen 2 DF Adam Örn Arnarson 3 DF Pascal Gregor 4 DF Andreas Maxsø 5 DF Ramón 6 MF Lasse Petry 7 MF Stanislav Lobotka 8 DF Patrick Mtiliga (captain) 9 MF Tobias Mikkelsen 10 MF Martin Vingaard 12 FW Joshua John 13 MF Oliver Thychosen 14 MF Guðmundur Þórarinsson 15 MF David Moberg Karlsson

No. Position Player 16 GK Runar Runarsson 17 MF Mathias Hebo 18 MF Emiliano Marcondes 19 FW Marcus Ingvartsen 20 DF Nicklas Mouritsen 21 FW Johannes Ritter 22 DF Mads Pedersen 23 MF Mathias Jensen 24 MF Christian Køhler 25 FW Adnan Mohammed 27 FW Souheib Dhaflaoui 29 FW Emre Mor 30 DF Jonathan Vervoort

Out on loan

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

No. Position Player

Out on loan

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

No. Position Player

Retired numbers

26 – Jonathan Richter (2005–09)

Overall most appearances

Rank	Nationality	Name	Years	Appearances
1		Thomas Andreasen	1999–07	295
2		Søren Christensen	2005–14	233
3		Jesper Hansen	2001–13	179
4		Nicolai Stokholm	2008–14	178
5		Henrik Kildentoft	2007–13	155
6		Morten Karlsen	2005–09	145
7		Bajram Fetai	2007–10	131
8		Michael Parkhurst	2009-12	128
9		Kim Christensen	2004–08	122
10		Dennis Sørensen	2000–04	116

Overall top scorers

Rank	Nationality	Name	Years	Goals
1		Martin Bernburg	2007–09	43
2		Bajram Fetai	2007–10	29
		Tommy Olsen	2003–06	29
4		Mads Junker	2004–06	28
5		Rawez Lawan	2009–13	21
6		Morten Nordstrand	2006–07, 2012–2014	20
7		Thomas Kristensen	2005–08	19
8		Nicki Bille Nielsen	2008–10	18
9		Andreas Granskov	2009–12	17
10		Nicolai Stokholm	2009–2014	16

Former players

Denmark Martin Bernburg Andreas Bjelland Anders Due Carsten Fredgaard Daniel Jensen Mads Junker Thomas Kristensen Kasper Lorentzen Tobias Mikkelsen Nicki Bille Nielsen Matti Lund Nielsen Danny Olsen Tommy Olsen Nicklas Pedersen Stephan Petersen Thomas Rasmussen Michael Ribers Jonathan Richter Simon Richter Kris Stadsgaard Jeppe Tengbjerg Ulrich Vinzents Canada Patrice Bernier Issey Nakajima-Farran

Costa Rica Bryan Oviedo Ghana Enoch Kofi Adu Francis Dickoh Japan Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi Macedonia Bajram Fetai Dževdet Šainovski Malawi Joseph Kamwendo Sweden Pierre Bengtsson Andreas Dahl Benjamin Kibebe Johnny Lundberg Marcus Pode United States Michael Parkhurst Heath Pearce

Club captains

Since 2001, 7 players have held the position as club captain for Farum BK or F.C. Nordsjælland. The first recorded captain was Michael Elbæk. All recorded captains to date have been of Danish nationality. The captain to have lifted the most trophies for FCN is Nicolai Stokholm, winning the Danish Cup on two occasions. Stokholm is also, coincidentally the current and longest-serving captain, having taken over from Henrik Kildentoft when he arrived at the club in 2009.

Years	Nationality	Name
????–02		Michael Elbæk
2002–04		Martin Birn
2004–05		Jacob Rasmussen
2005–06		Tommy Olsen
2006–08		Kim Christensen
2008–09		Henrik Kildentoft
2009–14		Nicolai Stokholm
2014–		Patrick Mtiliga

Stadium

FC Nordsjælland play their home matches in Farum Park which has a capacity of 10.100 attendances (9.800 seated). The stadium is the first in Denmark with artificial turf.

Club officials

As of 9 August 2011

Administration

• Chairmen: Allan K. Pedersen
• Financial director: Carsten Pedersen
• Administration management: Christian Nørkjær
• Commercial director: Hanne Rolighed
• Match Day and security manager: Claus Ingerslev
• Media officer: Steen Laursen
• Sports director: Jan Laursen
• Head of youth department: Kenneth Rasmussen
• A+ coach: Christian Nielsen
• FCN academy leader: Lars Hallengreen
• FCN affiliate clubs: Dan Pedersen

Coaching and medical staff

• Head coach: Ólafur Kristjánsson
• Assistant manager: John Bredal
• First team coach: Flemming Pedersen
• Attacking coach: Mark Strudal
• Fitness coach: Mathias Zangenberg
• Goalkeeping coach: Lars Høgh
• Head team Assistant: Jacob Schwabe
• Physiotherapists: Jakob Møller & Hans Ørting
• Doctor: Jesper Petersen
• Dietician: Lars Skotte

Managerial history

Main article: List of F.C. Nordsjælland managers

Honours

• Danish Superliga:

Champions: 2011–12

• First Division:

2001–02

• Danish Cup:

Winners (2): 2009–10, 2010–11

• La Manga Cup:

Winners (1): 2012

Season results

Season	League performance									Cup performance
	Pos	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1997–98: Denmark Series 1	#3/8	20	14	6	2	6	22	27	−5	Eliminated in first round by Virum-Sorgenfri, 0–3
1998–99: 2nd Division	#5/16	50	30	15	5	10	57	38	+19	Eliminated in first round by Nakskov, 2–3
1999–00: Faxe Kondi Divisionen	#8/16	42	30	12	6	12	48	58	−10	Eliminated in first round by Roskilde, 1–2
2000–01: Faxe Kondi Divisionen	#5/16	50	30	15	5	10	62	48	+14	Eliminated in third round by Fremad A., 1–2
2001–02: 1st Division	#2/16	66	30	20	6	4	69	33	+36	Eliminated in third round by Køge, 2–4
2002–03: SAS Ligaen	#3/12	51	33	16	3	14	49	58	−9	Eliminated in the quarter-final by Viborg, 2–5
2003–04: SAS Ligaen	#9/12	32	33	7	11	15	35	59	−24	Eliminated in fifth round by Copenhagen, 2–4
2004–05: SAS Ligaen	#10/12	30	33	8	6	19	36	59	−23	Eliminated in fifth round by Fremad A., 2–3
2005–06: SAS Ligaen	#9/12	38	33	9	11	13	49	55	−6	Eliminated in fourth round by Viborg, 0–3
2006–07: SAS Ligaen	#5/12	57	33	16	9	8	67	39	+28	Eliminated in third round by OB, 0–1
2007–08: SAS Ligaen	#9/12	43	33	11	10	12	47	51	−4	Eliminated in third round by Vejle, 1–2
2008–09: SAS Ligaen	#8/12	35	33	9	8	16	44	53	−9	Eliminated in the quarter-final by AaB, 1–2
2009–10: SAS Ligaen	#7/12	43	33	12	7	14	40	41	−1	Winner, won the final against Midtjylland, 2–0 (aet)
2010–11: Superligaen	#6/12	39	33	10	9	14	38	50	−12	Winner, won the final against Midtjylland, 3–2
2011–12: Superligaen	#1/12	68	33	21	5	7	49	22	+27	Eliminated in the quarter-final by Copenhagen, 0–2
2012–13: Superligaen	#2/12	60	33	17	9	7	60	37	+23	Eliminated in the fourth round by Midtjylland, 2–3

European competitions record

Last Update: 6 December 2012

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
2003–04	UEFA Cup	Qualifying round	Shirak	4–0	2–0	6–0
		First round	Panionios	0–1	1–2	1–3
2008–09	UEFA Cup	First qualifying round	TVMK	5–0	3–0	8–0
		Second qualifying round	Queen of the South	2–1	2–1	4–2
		First round	Olympiacos	0–2	0–5	0–7
2010–11	UEFA Europa League	Third qualifying round	Sporting CP	0–1	1–2	1–3
2011–12	UEFA Europa League	Play-off round	Sporting CP	0–0	1–2	1–2
2012–13	UEFA Champions League	Group E	Chelsea	0–4	1–6	4th
			Juventus	1–1	0–4
			Shakhtar Donetsk	2–5	0–2
2013–14	UEFA Champions League	Third qualifying round	Zenit St. Petersburg	0–1	0–5	0–6
2013–14	UEFA Europa League	Play-off round	Elfsborg	0–1	1–1	1–2

Fodbold Samarbejde Nordsjælland

Fodbold Samarbejde Nordsjælland badge often displayed by clubs participating in the FSN network.

The Fodbold Samarbejde Nordsjælland (English: Football Cooperation North Zealand or FSN in short) is a network of affiliated clubs headed by F.C. Nordsjælland, in which to highlight talent, youth development, cooperation and community in the North Zealand region. Where clubs participating receive benefits from FCN such as loan moves, friendlies, tickets to games, merchandise, coach visits, training camps and coaching courses. In return F.C. Nordsjælland get access to a large scouting network of youth players, which has helped develop many young talent to become youth internationals, who have gone on to play professionally in the Danish Superliga and beyond. FSN has also played an important role in the attendance rise in Farum Park.

Affiliated clubs

As of 6 February 2013

Allerød FK Alsønderup IF Ålholm Fodbold Ølsted IF Ølstykke FC Ballerup IF BFC Lundegården Blistrup SI Brødeskov IF Blovstrød IF

BSV Dalby IF Dragør BK Døllefjelde Musse IF Elite 3000 Espergærde IF FA 2000 Farum BK Faxe Ladeplads IF FC Holte FC Jonstrup

FIF Hillerød Frederikssund IK Frem Hellebæk G77 Gundsømagle Gilleleje FK Gørløse SI Grantoften IF Græsted IF Gundsølille IF Gundsømagle 77 Gurre IK

Hasle IF Hørsholm-Usserød IK Helsinge Fodbold Helsingør IF Hillerød GI Hornbæk IF Humlebæk BK Hundested IK IF Skjold Birkerød IS Skævinge Jyllinge FC

Jægersborg BK Kalundborg GB Karlebo IF KBK Hillerød Kirke Hyllinge IF Kirke Værløse IF KFUMs Boldklub Roskilde Kr. Værløse IF Lolland-Falster Alliancen Lynge Uggeløse IF Måløv BK

NB Bornholm Nordstevns GI Nødebo IF Nivå Kokkedal FK Oppe Sundby IF ORI Fodbold Raklev GI Ramløse Fodbold Skovshoved IF Slangerup og Omegns IF

Slangslunde-Ganløse IF Snekkersten IF Store Lyngby IF Tikøb IF Uvelse IF Værløse BK Vejby-Tisvilde Fodbold

External links

• Official website (Danish)
• FC Nordsjællands officielle facebook side
• F.C. Nordsjælland at UEFA (English)
• F.C. Nordsjælland at Football Lineups (English)