Football Club Copenhagen ( da, Football Club København, ), commonly known as FC København, FC Copenhagen, Copenhagen or simply FCK, is a professional Danish
football club in
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
, Denmark. FCK was founded in 1992 as a superstructure on top of
Kjøbenhavns Boldklub
Kjøbenhavns Boldklub or KB is a Danish sports club based in Copenhagen. The club was founded 26 April 1876 on the grassy fields in outer Copenhagen which later became Fælledparken.
Tennis has been played since 1883. The club hosted, in 1921, on ...
and
Boldklubben 1903
Boldklubben 1903 or B 1903 is a football club founded on 2 June 1903, located in Copenhagen, Denmark. Seven times winner of the Danish championship (introduced 1913) in 1920, 1924, 1926, 1938, 1969, 1970 and 1976 and twice winner of the Dani ...
.
F.C. Copenhagen has won 14
Danish Football Championships and 8
Danish Cup
The Danish Cup ( da, Landspokalturneringen; often referred to as Pokalen) is the official "knockout" cup competition in Danish football, run by the Danish Football Association. The cup has been contested annually since 1955.
The winner will quali ...
s. In European football F.C. Copenhagen has reached the group stage of the
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
and the group stage of the
UEFA Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...
more times than any other Danish club and are the only Danish club who has reached the knockout stage of the Champions League. As of December 2022, Copenhagen are the highest ranked Scandinavian club in the UEFA team rankings list.
Copenhagen plays its matches at the
Parken Stadium
Parken Stadium, also known simply as Parken and as Telia Parken (2014–2020), is a football stadium in the Indre Østerbro (''Inner Østerbro'') district of Copenhagen, Denmark, built from 1990 to 1992. The stadium, which features a retractable ...
, which also serves as the venue for
Denmark national football team matches. Since their foundation, FCK have developed a fierce rivalry with
Brøndby IF. The
Copenhagen Derby
The Copenhagen Derby is a Danish football rivalry between Brøndby and Copenhagen.
Matches
''As of 28 October 2021''
Abbreviations
*DSL – Danish Superliga
*DC – Danish Cup
*RL – Royal League
The Royal League was an annual Scandinav ...
games between the two sides have attracted some of the biggest crowds in Danish football history.
History
Early success
Football Club Copenhagen is, in many ways, both an old and a new club. Even though the club was established in 1992, it is rooted in more than 100 years of club tradition. The club's first team represents two separate clubs:
Kjøbenhavns Boldklub
Kjøbenhavns Boldklub or KB is a Danish sports club based in Copenhagen. The club was founded 26 April 1876 on the grassy fields in outer Copenhagen which later became Fælledparken.
Tennis has been played since 1883. The club hosted, in 1921, on ...
(continental Europe's oldest football club) founded in 1876 and
Boldklubben 1903
Boldklubben 1903 or B 1903 is a football club founded on 2 June 1903, located in Copenhagen, Denmark. Seven times winner of the Danish championship (introduced 1913) in 1920, 1924, 1926, 1938, 1969, 1970 and 1976 and twice winner of the Dani ...
founded in 1903. Due to financial difficulties throughout the clubs in the Copenhagen area in the 1980s and
Kjøbenhavns Boldklub's on the verge of bankruptcy, the two old Copenhagen clubs got together and established the superstructure which is FC København. Copenhagen used Boldklubben's club license to play in the
Danish Superliga
The Danish Superliga ( da, Superligaen, ) is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each ye ...
championship, while
Kjøbenhavns Boldklub
Kjøbenhavns Boldklub or KB is a Danish sports club based in Copenhagen. The club was founded 26 April 1876 on the grassy fields in outer Copenhagen which later became Fælledparken.
Tennis has been played since 1883. The club hosted, in 1921, on ...
became the official reserve team of the club. With the rebuilding of the
Parken Stadium
Parken Stadium, also known simply as Parken and as Telia Parken (2014–2020), is a football stadium in the Indre Østerbro (''Inner Østerbro'') district of Copenhagen, Denmark, built from 1990 to 1992. The stadium, which features a retractable ...
, Denmark's national team stadium, the new club had a modern stadium to play at from the beginning. The initial ambition of the club was continually to qualify for one of the European competitions each season. To reach this goal, the club needed a solid economy, a relatively big fan base and an "attractive and positive style of football."
Benny Johansen
Benny Johansen (born 18 March 1949) is a Danish former football player and manager. He won the Danish championship twice as a player for B 1903 and once as a manager of FC Copenhagen. He played one game for the Denmark national under-21 footbal ...
managed the club and started its maiden season well. FCK made its first appearance in the European tournaments when it beat Swiss team
Grasshoppers
Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are among what is possibly the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago.
Grasshop ...
2–1 in the
1992 UEFA Intertoto Cup.
FCK won the Intertoto Cup that year and thereby qualified for the
UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...
, where it was eliminated in the second round by French team
Auxerre
Auxerre ( , ) is the capital of the Yonne department and the fourth-largest city in Burgundy. Auxerre's population today is about 35,000; the urban area (''aire d'attraction'') comprises roughly 113,000 inhabitants. Residents of Auxerre are r ...
. The club won the
1992–93 Superliga season one point ahead of
Odense Boldklub
Odense Boldklub (; also known as Odense BK or the more commonly used OB) is a Danish professional football club based in the city Odense. The club has won three Danish championships and five Danish Cup trophies. OB play in the Danish Superliga ...
and two points ahead of third-place
Brøndby IF.
For the
1993–94 Superliga season, expectations were high. The season opened with a 0–6 thrashing at the hands of Italian team
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
in the
1993–94 Champions League qualification. FCK went on winter break after the first half of the Superliga season in third place. In the spring of 1994, Copenhagen gained on leading team
Silkeborg IF
Silkeborg Idrætsforening, (; commonly known as Silkeborg IF or SIF in short) is a professional football club based in Silkeborg, Denmark. The club was founded in 1917, reached the highest level of Danish football in 1987, and afterwards became ...
. In the penultimate match of the season, the two teams met at the Parken Stadium. In front of a record-setting attendance of 26,679,
FCK won the match 4–1. The club was one point ahead of Silkeborg, but because FCK lost 3–2 to Odense in the final game of the season, it had to settle for second place.
Years of underachievement
For the next three seasons, Copenhagen had little success in the Superliga, despite winning two
Danish Cup
The Danish Cup ( da, Landspokalturneringen; often referred to as Pokalen) is the official "knockout" cup competition in Danish football, run by the Danish Football Association. The cup has been contested annually since 1955.
The winner will quali ...
s. The team won the 1995 Cup final against
Akademisk Boldklub
Akademisk Boldklub Gladsaxe (or AB) is a Danish professional football club from Gladsaxe north of Copenhagen,
currently playing at the 3rd highest level of Danish domestic football in the Danish 2nd Division group 1.
The club was established on ...
with a 5–0 win, qualifying for European football once again, despite mediocre results in the league.
Kim Brink
Kim Brink (born 19 November 1958) is a Danish football manager.
Coaching career
Kim Brink started as manager of Odense Boldklub, and later managed Ikast fS and F.C. Copenhagen.
OB
He was the Odense Boldklub manager, at the time of the 'Miracle ...
took over as manager in 1996, but despite winning the second Cup trophy for the club, the eighth-place finish in the
1996–97 Superliga season prompted another change in managers.
Flemming Østergaard joins the board
In February
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...
,
Flemming Østergaard
Flemming Ammentorp Østergaard (born 31 October 1943 in ''Det Gule Palæ'' (Danish: ''The Yellow Palace''), Ordrup) is a retired businessman, best known as long-time chairman of Parken Sport & Entertainment, who owns the football club F.C. Cop ...
, later given the nickname "Don Ø," joined the board of the club as
vice chairman
The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the group ...
and
CEO. After a successful
IPO
An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...
, generating
DKK 75 million, FCK was introduced on the
Copenhagen Stock Exchange
The Nasdaq Copenhagen, formerly known as the Copenhagen Stock Exchange ( da, Københavns Fondsbørs), is an international marketplace for Danish securities, including shares, bonds, treasury bills and notes, and financial futures and options.
...
in November 1997. The 1997–98 season marked the first season that Copenhagen averaged more than 10,000 spectators at home, and the club bought their stadium Parken for DKK 138 million in June 1998.
The self-acclaimed "best manager in Denmark,"
Christian Andersen, began managing the club in January
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
. After 75 controversial days, however, he was fired in March 1999; Sports Director
Niels-Christian Holmstrøm explained Andersen had created frustration among the players.
In 1999, Copenhagen made its impact in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
when it faced English side
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
in the second round
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tourn ...
. In the first leg away at
Stamford Bridge,
Bjarne Goldbæk
Bjarne Goldbæk (born 6 October 1968) is a Danish former professional footballer and current sports pundit for Eurosport. An attacking midfielder, he played for a number of foreign clubs, including Chelsea and Fulham in England and several club ...
gave Copenhagen the lead nine minutes before the end of the match, but Chelsea scored in the last minute of the game. Chelsea later won the second game at Parken with a goal by the Dane
Brian Laudrup
Brian Laudrup (, born 22 February 1969) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a winger, forward or as a midfielder, and was regarded as one of the most talented players of his generation. He currently works as a football co ...
, knocking out FCK. At the post-match press conference, it was announced that Chelsea's Brian Laudrup was signing with Copenhagen in January 1999, with Bjarne Goldbæk moving in the other direction for Chelsea. A four-time
Danish Player of the Year The Danish Player of the Year award is an annual prize, which has been given to the best male Danish football player by the Danish Football Association since 1963. The winner is decided in a vote among the professional Danish footballers. Since 2000 ...
award winner, Laudrup, however, could not help Copenhagen improve their league position, and the club ended the year in seventh in the
1998–99 Superliga season. Laudrup only stayed for just six months at the club before signing for
Ajax
Ajax may refer to:
Greek mythology and tragedy
* Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea
* Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris
* ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...
at the end of the season.
In the
1999–2000 season, F.C. Copenhagen struggled to make any significant impact and finished eighth in the league.
Champions again
In the winter
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
transfer window
A transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other playing staff into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA. "Transfer wi ...
, South African striker
Sibusiso Zuma was signed from South African side
Orlando Pirates
Orlando Pirates Football Club (often known as "The Buccaneers") is a South African professional football club based in the Houghton suburb of the city of Johannesburg and plays in the top-tier system of Football in South Africa known as DStv ...
,
and in May 2000, English manager
Roy Hodgson became the new manager. From the
2000–01 season, the club started to improve. The club won its second Superliga championship, winning 3–1 in the last
Copenhagen Derby
The Copenhagen Derby is a Danish football rivalry between Brøndby and Copenhagen.
Matches
''As of 28 October 2021''
Abbreviations
*DSL – Danish Superliga
*DC – Danish Cup
*RL – Royal League
The Royal League was an annual Scandinav ...
match of the season, at the Parken Stadium. The 2–0 goal was a
bicycle kick
In association football, a bicycle kick, also known as an overhead kick, scissors kick, is an acrobatic strike where a player kicks an airborne ball rearward in midair. It is achieved by throwing the body backward up into the air and, before d ...
by Zuma, who received the ball at his chest, bounced it in the air and in the same motion executed the overhead kick, volleying the ball into the far corner out of Brøndby goalkeeper
Mogens Krogh
Mogens Krogh (; born 31 October 1963) is a Danish former professional football player who was most recently manager of Næstved BK. In his playing career, Krogh was the first choice goalkeeper of Ikast fS between 1981 and 1991 and of Brøndby f ...
's reach. This was later voted the Danish goal of the year,
and was voted the best Superliga goal of the decade in December 2009 and was in 2013 voted as the greatest moment in the history of FCK. Roy Hodgson broke his contract with Copenhagen a few weeks after having won the championship, signing with Italian team
Udinese
Udinese Calcio, commonly referred to as Udinese, is a professional Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, that currently plays in Serie A. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sports club, and on 5 July 1911 as a ...
, and he was replaced by Swede
Kent Karlsson
Kent Karlsson (born 25 November 1945) is a Swedish football coach and former player.
He was capped 38 times for the national team and played at the 1974 FIFA World Cup.
As a manager, he has managed Swedish, Danish and Norwegian clubs such as IFK ...
. The 2001 season is also remembered for a highly dramatic event. During training on 13 March 2001 charismatic midfielder
Ståle Solbakken
Ståle Solbakken (born 27 February 1968) is a Norwegian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of the Norway national team.
During his playing career, Solbakken was named 1995 Norwegian midfielder of the year, and h ...
suffered a heart attack. He was rapidly attended to by club doctor Frank Odgaard who found that his heart had stopped beating and started to administer cardiac massage. Upon the ambulance's arrival, Solbakken was pronounced clinically dead at the scene, but on the way to the hospital in the ambulance he was revived nearly seven minutes later. He survived the episode and had a pacemaker fitted. Shortly after, on medical advice, he announced his playing retirement, but would later return to the club and become its most successful manager.
Copenhagen faced Italian team
Lazio
it, Laziale
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
for qualification to the
2001–02 Champions League qualification. A 2–1 win for FCK in the first game proved moot, as Lazio ultimately progressed with a 5–3 aggregate score. Copenhagen thus entered the
2001–02 UEFA Cup, where it defeated Dutch giants Ajax 1–0 on a goal from left back
Niclas Jensen
Niclas Christian Monberg Jensen (born 17 August 1974) is a Danish former professional football player and current football agent. He played as a left-back, and most notably won three Danish Superliga championships with F.C. Copenhagen. He pla ...
. In the next round, however, German team
Borussia Dortmund
Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional fo ...
eliminated Copenhagen. The
2001–02 Superliga season also ended in disappointment for København, as Brøndby won the championship on
goal difference after FCK had caught up with Brøndby's ten-point lead after the first half of the season.
In the second-last round of the
2002–03 Superliga season, FCK faced Brøndby at
Brøndby Stadium. In extra time,
Hjalte Nørregaard scored his first goal for Copenhagen and brought the championship back to Parken.
In the Champions League second qualifying round in
2004–05, FCK won the first match against Slovenian club
ND Gorica
Nogometno društvo Gorica, commonly referred to as ND Gorica or simply Gorica, is a Slovenian football club based in the town of Nova Gorica. They are one of the most successful Slovenian clubs with four Slovenian PrvaLiga and three Slovenian Cu ...
2–1, but later lost at Parken 0–5. Under Backe, Copenhagen went on to win the 2004 and 2006 Danish championships and the 2004 Danish Cup. Copenhagen also won the inaugural
2004–05 edition of the
Royal League
The Royal League was an annual Scandinavian football tournament held three times between teams from the three Scandinavian monarchies (Denmark, Sweden, and Norway), starting after the end of the regular domestic seasons of Norway and Sweden. De ...
tournament, beating Swedish team
IFK Göteborg
Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna Göteborg (officially IFK Göteborg Fotboll), commonly known as IFK Göteborg, IFK (especially locally) or simply Göteborg, is a Swedish professional football club based in Gothenburg. Founded in 1904, it is the ...
on
penalty shootout
The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...
in the
2005 final.
Copenhagen repeated the achievement in the
2006 edition of the tournament, this time beating Norwegian team
Lillestrøm SK
Lillestrøm Sportsklubb is a Norwegian professional football club from the city of Lillestrøm, just outside of the capital Oslo. Lillestrøm SK is a Norwegian football club based in Lillestrøm, playing in Eliteserien. The club was founded in ...
1–0 in the
2006 final.
Backe became the longest-serving coach for FCK before leaving the club in December 2005. Former Copenhagen player
Ståle Solbakken
Ståle Solbakken (born 27 February 1968) is a Norwegian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of the Norway national team.
During his playing career, Solbakken was named 1995 Norwegian midfielder of the year, and h ...
took over as manager.
European ambitions
For the
2006–07 season,
Danish national team player
Jesper Grønkjær
Jesper Grønkjær (; born 12 August 1977) is a Danish former professional footballer.
A pacey winger, Grønkjær played primarily on the right or left wing, or as a second striker. He played a total 400 league games for a number of European cl ...
reinforced Copenhagen. FCK looked forward to the
2006–07 Champions League qualifiers, where it beat
Ajax
Ajax may refer to:
Greek mythology and tragedy
* Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea
* Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris
* ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...
. For the first time in the club's history, FCK entered the group stage of the Champions League, being grouped with
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
,
Benfica and
Manchester United, all former winners of the trophy. Despite not losing a game at Parken (Benfica 0–0, Manchester United 1–0 and Celtic 3–1), FCK failed to qualify from the Champions League group stage after losing all of its away games.
On 9 May, Copenhagen defeated Brøndby 1–0 and won its fifth Danish championship in seven years with four games to spare in the league.
In the
2007–08 season, Copenhagen lost the third qualification round of the Champions League with a 1–3 aggregate score to Benfica. After beating
Lens
A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements ...
3–2, FCK qualified for the group stages of the
2007–08 UEFA Cup
The 2007–08 UEFA Cup was the 37th edition of the UEFA Cup, UEFA's second-tier club football tournament. The final was played at the City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester, England on 14 May 2008 between Rangers of Scotland and Zenit Saint ...
, where it played
Panathinaikos
Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...
(H),
Lokomotiv Moscow
FC Lokomotiv Moscow (''FC Lokomotiv Moskva'', russian: link=no, Футбольный клуб "Локомотив" Москва, ) is a Russian professional football club based in Moscow. Lokomotiv have won the Russian Premier League on three oc ...
(A),
Atlético Madrid (H) and
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
.
Copenhagen fell to Panathinaikos and Atlético, but a win against Lokomotiv meant that the club needed only a draw against Aberdeen to qualify for the next round. However, a 0–4 defeat to Aberdeen put them out of the tournament. In the
2007–08 Superliga season, Copenhagen finished third, with
AaB taking the title.
In the
2008–09 season, Copenhagen began strong. The team qualified for the
2008–09 UEFA Cup group stage by eliminating Northern Ireland club
Cliftonville
Cliftonville is a coastal area of the town of Margate, situated to the east of the main town, in the Thanet district of Kent, South East England, United Kingdom. It also contains the area known as Palm Bay.
The original Palm Bay estate was ...
, Lillestrøm and
FC Moscow :''This article refers to the Moscow government team formed in 2004. For the predecessors in the Russian Premier League, see FC Torpedo-ZIL and FC Torpedo-Metallurg.''
FC Moscow (Russian: Футбольный клуб Москва) was a Russian ...
. In the group, FCK lost at home to AS Saint-Étienne, Saint-Étienne and drew 1–1 against Valencia CF, Valencia. With a 1–1 draw against Rosenborg BK, Rosenborg and a win over Club Brugge KV, Club Brugge, Copenhagen qualified for the knockout phase of the competition, where it drew 2–2 in the first leg of the round of 32 against Manchester City F.C., Manchester City on 19 February 2009. The club lost 1–2 in the second leg, a loss that ended its European season. In the domestic league, FCK battled for first place with Brøndby and Odense. Eventually, Copenhagen won the Cup final against AaB and claimed the league title with one game to spare in the tournament, thus securing the Double (association football), Double for the second time in the club's history. 2010 proved to be yet another European success. Even though the team lost the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League, 2009–10 Champions League playoff match to APOEL FC, APOEL with a 2–3 aggregate loss, the team had already qualified to the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League group stage, 2009–10 Europa League group stage by eliminating FK Mogren and Stabæk Fotball, Stabæk. Copenhagen lost away to CFR Cluj, won 1–0 at home against AC Sparta Prague, Sparta Prague, 0–1 away loss against PSV Eindhoven, PSV and by beating Cluj at home 2–0 and 3–0 away over Sparta, Copenhagen qualified for the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League knockout phase#Round of 32, round of 32 to face Olympique de Marseille, Marseille. The match-up, however, resulted in two 1–3 losses for Copenhagen, thus eliminating them from the competition.
The team's qualification to the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League, 2010–11 Champions League was secured after it beating FC BATE Borisov, BATE Borisov (0–0 / 3–2) and Rosenborg (1–2 / 1–0). The team thus entered the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League group stage, group stage in Group D and met FC Barcelona, Barcelona, Panathinaikos and FC Rubin Kazan, Rubin Kazan. After a 3–1 win against Panathinaikos in their last group stage match, they qualified for the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League knockout phase, round of 16—thereby becoming the first-ever Danish club to reach the stage in the Champions League—where
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
defeated them.
Solbakken returns
Copenhagen won the 2012–13 Danish Superliga to secure a direct place in the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League group stage, group stage of the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League, 2013–14 Champions League. However, after a horrific start to the 2013–14 Danish Superliga season, FCK fired manager Ariël Jacobs, rehiring
Ståle Solbakken
Ståle Solbakken (born 27 February 1968) is a Norwegian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of the Norway national team.
During his playing career, Solbakken was named 1995 Norwegian midfielder of the year, and h ...
as his replacement. Solbakken was given a two-year contract with the option for a further two-year extension. In the Champions League, the club was placed into Group B alongside Real Madrid CF, Real Madrid, Juventus F.C., Juventus and Galatasaray S.K. (football), Galatasaray. FCK secured four points by drawing 1–1 against Juventus at home and winning 1–0 at home over Galatasaray after a great goal by Daniel Braaten. The club, however, conceded its first-ever Champions League group stage home defeat after falling 0–2 to Real Madrid in the last round of the group stage.
Copenhagen finished the 2013–14 league in second place, despite having been situated third for numerous weeks. A 3–2 away win against FC Midtjylland saw them closing in on the second place. In the last round of the league, FCK beat
Odense Boldklub
Odense Boldklub (; also known as Odense BK or the more commonly used OB) is a Danish professional football club based in the city Odense. The club has won three Danish championships and five Danish Cup trophies. OB play in the Danish Superliga ...
3–2 at home whilst Midtjylland lost their game 3–1, ensuring Copenhagen's seizure of second place and its subsequent spot in the qualifying round of the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League qualifying phase and play-off round, 2014–15 Champions League.
After a busy summer transfer window with numerous new players arriving at the club, Copenhagen was drawn against Ukrainian outfit FC Dnipro, Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in the third qualifying round of the 2014–15 Champions League. After an aggregate victory of 2–0 over Dnipro, Copenhagen was drawn against German club Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Bayer Leverkusen in the play-off round. The Germans, however, defeated Copenhagen 7–2 aggregate, dropping Copenhagen to contention in the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League, 2014–15 Europa League.
FCK drew Italian club Torino F.C., Torino, Club Brugge and Finnish side Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi, HJK Helsinki. Its campaign started well, securing a deserved 2–0 victory over HJK at home from two goals by Nicolai Jørgensen. Copenhagen's next two games were against Torino and Club Brugge respectively; it lost 1–0 against Torino and played to a 1–1 draw against Brugge after conceding a late goal in injury time in both matches. Copenhagen then failed to secure an important win against Brugge at home, a match they lost 0–4, setting up a must-win situation for FCK against HJK to progress to the round of 32. Copenhagen, however, failed—Macoumba Kandji managed to secure a 2–1 victory for HJK, their second win in the group, with another late goal. The result eliminated Copenhagen. The 2014–15 F.C. Copenhagen season, 2014–15 season ended with Copenhagen winning the 2014–15 Danish Cup, Danish Cup and finishing second in the 2014–15 Danish Superliga, Superliga.
The 2015–16 F.C. Copenhagen season, 2015–16 season began with FCK bringing in six new players, most notably Danish international and former
AaB player Kasper Kusk. By placing second in 2014–15, Copenhagen began in the second qualifying round of the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League, where they were drawn against Welsh club Newtown A.F.C., Newtown, defeating them 5–1 on aggregate to qualify them for the next round against Czech outfit FK Baumit Jablonec, Baumit Jablonec. The opening game of the 2015–16 Danish Superliga ended in a 2–1 away win for FCK against Esbjerg fB through goals from Marvin Pourié and Nicolai Jørgensen. Despite a 0–1 away win over Baumit Jablonec, Copenhagen lost its home game 2–3, resulting in a 3–3 aggregate loss on the away goals rule. This marked the first time in ten years that Copenhagen failed to qualify for either the Champions League or Europa League. On 5 May, the 2015–16 Danish Cup, Danish Cup was won, after a 2–1 win Over AGF, with goals from Nicolai Jørgensen and William Kvist.
After winning the title the previous season, Copenhagen would compete in the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League, 2016-17 Champions League qualifiers. In the playoff round they met APOEL FC, and was faced with the challenge on getting revenge after their tie against them in 2009. The first leg at Parken stadium ended 1–0 to the home team, and in the second leg, Copenhagen equalised in the 86th minute via Federico Santander's shot from a wide angle, qualifying for the group stage, with an aggregate score of 2–1. Copenhagen were subsequently placed in a group with Leicester City F.C., Leicester City, FC Porto and Club Brugge KV, Club Brügge. They would after 2 wins, 1 loss and 3 draws, finish 3rd in their group and move on to the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League, 2016–17 Europa League Round of 32 where they met PFC Ludogorets Razgrad, Ludogorats, whom they beat 2–1 on aggregate. In the round of 16, they met AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam. In the first leg at home, Copenhagen won 2-1 after a first-minute goal from Rasmus Falk and a goal in the 59th minute by Andreas Cornelius. The away leg finished 2–0 to Ajax, and Copenhagen were knocked out of the tournament, with that seasons achievements in the Europa League being their best finish in the competition at the time. Domestically, the season was another season to enjoy for fans of the club. Copenhagen won the league with the closest competition, Brøndby, finishing 24 points behind them. At the time they were crowned champions, following a draw against FC Nordsjælland they were unbeaten in the league, with their first loss of the season coming against FC Midtjylland 2 rounds later, and subsequently another loss against Lyngby Boldklub, Lyngby BK the round right after. Copenhagen also reached the cup final, where they met arch-rivals Brøndby. Copenhagen opened the scoring via Andreas Cornelius's first ever goal against the club, with Brøndby responding just 10 minutes later with an equaliser. Copenhagen secured the win with two goals in rapid succession, in the 83rd and 85th minutes, both long balls from defence to attack, scored by Santander and Cornelius respectively, thus resulting in the club from the capital winning their third consecutive cup final, along with their second consecutive domestic double.
In September 2019, the club announced that it would change its name in European competitions and would subsequently be known as F.C. Copenhagen with UEFA changing their abbreviation 'KOB' to 'CPH'.
Winning the 2018–19 Danish Superliga placed Copenhagen in the second qualifying round of the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League, beating Welsh outfit The New Saints. The following round against Red Star Belgrade ended 2–2 on aggregate, with Copenhagen pulling the shortest straw and going out in penalties, thus sending Copenhagen to the
UEFA Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...
instead. Here Latvian team Riga FC, Riga were beaten 3–2 on aggregate thus securing qualification for the Group Stage. Copenhagen finishing second in Group B contested with FC Lugano, FC Dynamo Kyiv, Dynamo Kyiv and Scandinavian rivals Malmö FF. Copenhagen were then drawn against Scottish outfit
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
in the first knockout round of the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League, UEFA Europa League. The first match in Telia Parken finished 1–1, whilst Copenhagen won the return leg 3–1 at Celtic Park. The opponent for the next round were the Turkish club İstanbul Başakşehir F.K., Istanbul Başakşehir. The game ended 1–0 with Copenhagen falling to a late penalty converted by Edin Višća. The subsequent return match in Copenahagen was temporarily put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On 5 August 2020, Copenhagen won 3–0 over Istanbul Başakşehir to reach the quarter-finals for the first time in their history. In the quarter-finals, Copenhagen lost 0–1 to
Manchester United with a penalty from Bruno Fernandes coming in after extra time.
After poor results in the beginning of the 2020–21 Danish Superliga, 2020-21 Danish Superliga, and failure to qualify for the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League, 2020-21 Europa League, Ståle Solbakken was sacked by the club, and Hjalte Nørregaard, Hjalte Bo Nørregaard took over as caretaker manager, until Jess Thorup was appointed in November 2020.
Stadium
![Fc Copenhagen v Juventus, 17 Sept 2013](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Fc_Copenhagen_v_Juventus%2C_17_Sept_2013.jpg)
FCK owns its stadium, the national arena
Parken Stadium
Parken Stadium, also known simply as Parken and as Telia Parken (2014–2020), is a football stadium in the Indre Østerbro (''Inner Østerbro'') district of Copenhagen, Denmark, built from 1990 to 1992. The stadium, which features a retractable ...
. It was built in 1992, the same year the club was founded. Until the stadium opened (as Parken) in September 1992, the club played its first home matches at the smaller Østerbro Stadion, which is located adjacent to Parken. Parken has 38,065 seats, 4,000 fewer seats than the original capacity of 42,305.
Supporters
After 2000, the club has regularly attracted one of the highest attendances in Scandinavia. The official fan club, F.C. København Fan Club has more than 20,000 members.
"FCKFC" was founded on 24 October 1991, approximately half a year before FCK played its first match.
Furthermore, there are many unofficial "factions" connected to Copenhagen, the biggest being ''Urban Crew'', ''Copenhagen Cooligans'' and ''Copenhagen Casuals''. These are also reported to have friendships with factions from Hamburger SV, Rangers F.C., Rangers, HIFK Fotboll, IFK Helsinki and Helsingborgs IF. For the 2006–07 season, there were 23,795 spectators on average.
For many years, the lower part of the "C-stand" at Parken, ''Nedre C'', has been the main stand for the supporters of FCK. In 2006, a part of the lower "B-stand" was made a separate fan section for the fans who wanted to create more of an atmosphere and named ''Sektion 12''. In general, most of FCK's supporters are from, and live, in the Copenhagen area, unlike their rivals, Brøndby IF, who have a reported 57% of their fanbase coming from Jutland. The area Sektion 12 on the lower "B-stand" grew so popular that the fans in a dialogue with the club made it bigger. That meant that the former family-area in the stadium in the other part of the "B-stand" got the whole new area called the "D-stand". The Sektion 12 area on the whole lower "B-stand" grew more and more popular which meant that the fans had a new dialogue with the club. That dialogue went well for the supporters and the club supported the suggestion of making the upper "B-stand" the second part of Sektion 12. Sektion 12 on the whole "B-stand" is now Northern Europe's biggest active stand.
Honours
National
* List of Danish football champions, Danish Superliga
**Winners (14): 1992–93 Danish Superliga, 1992–93, 2000–01 Danish Superliga, 2000–01, 2002–03 Danish Superliga, 2002–03, 2003–04 Danish Superliga, 2003–04, 2005–06 Danish Superliga, 2005–06, 2006–07 Danish Superliga, 2006–07, 2008–09 Danish Superliga, 2008–09, 2009–10 Danish Superliga, 2009–10, 2010–11 Danish Superliga, 2010–11, 2012–13 Danish Superliga, 2012–13, 2015–16 Danish Superliga, 2015–16, 2016–17 Danish Superliga, 2016–17, 2018–19 Danish Superliga, 2018–19, 2021–22 Danish Superliga, 2021–22
**Runners-up (7): 1993–94 Danish Superliga, 1993–94, 2001–02 Danish Superliga, 2001–02, 2004–05 Danish Superliga, 2004–05, 2011–12 Danish Superliga, 2011–12, 2013–14 Danish Superliga, 2013–14, 2014–15 Danish Superliga, 2014–15, 2019–20 Danish Superliga, 2019–20
*
Danish Cup
The Danish Cup ( da, Landspokalturneringen; often referred to as Pokalen) is the official "knockout" cup competition in Danish football, run by the Danish Football Association. The cup has been contested annually since 1955.
The winner will quali ...
**Winners (8): 1994–95 Danish Cup, 1994–95, 1996–97 Danish Cup, 1996–97, 2003–04 Danish Cup, 2003–04, 2008–09 Danish Cup, 2008–09, 2011–12 Danish Cup, 2011–12, 2014–15 Danish Cup, 2014–15, 2015–16 Danish Cup, 2015–16, 2016–17 Danish Cup, 2016–17
**Runners-up (4): 1997–98 Danish Cup, 1997–98, 2001–02 Danish Cup, 2001–02, 2006–07 Danish Cup, 2006–07, 2013–14 Danish Cup, 2013–14
*Danish League Cup
**Winners: 1996
**Runners-up (2): 2005, 2006
*Danish Super Cup
**Winners (3): 1995, 2001, 2004
*Ørestad Cup
**Winners (2): 2000, 2002
*The Atlantic Cup (football), The Atlantic Cup
**Winners (1): The Atlantic Cup (football)#2022 edition, 2014
**''Runners-up'' (2): The Atlantic Cup (football)#2022 edition, 2020, The Atlantic Cup (football)#2022 edition, 2022
Regional
*
Royal League
The Royal League was an annual Scandinavian football tournament held three times between teams from the three Scandinavian monarchies (Denmark, Sweden, and Norway), starting after the end of the regular domestic seasons of Norway and Sweden. De ...
**Winners (2): 2004–05 Royal League, 2004–05, 2005–06 Royal League, 2005–06
**Runner-up: 2006–07 Royal League, 2006–07
Copenhagen in European competitions
Copenhagen's first competitive European match was on 16 September 1992, in the 1992–93 UEFA Cup, beating Mikkelin Palloilijat, MP 10–1 before losing to AJ Auxerre in the second round. In their first ever
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
group stage match, they beat
Manchester United 1–0 at home, via a goal in the 73rd minute by Marcus Allbäck.
Since then, the club has quickly become the most successful Danish team in European competition, reaching the group stage of the
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
five times and advancing to the Round of 16 in 2010–11 UEFA Champions League, 2010–11. They also reached the quarter-finals of the
UEFA Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...
in 2019–20 UEFA Europa League, 2019–20 which they lost to Manchester United 1–0 in extra time.
UEFA club coefficient ranking
''As of 31 December 2022, Source
UEFA club coefficients'
Players
Current squad
Out on loan
Reserves and youth teams
:''See F.C. Copenhagen Reserves and Youth Team''
Captains
FC Copenhagen All Stars
In 2014, 32,000 fans participated in a fan vote selecting their 11 all-time favourite Copenhagen players.
Staff
Current technical staff
Coaching history
There have been fifteen different coaches (permanent coaches and caretakers) of FC Copenhagen since 1992. One of the caretakers,
Kim Brink
Kim Brink (born 19 November 1958) is a Danish football manager.
Coaching career
Kim Brink started as manager of Odense Boldklub, and later managed Ikast fS and F.C. Copenhagen.
OB
He was the Odense Boldklub manager, at the time of the 'Miracle ...
, has coached the club during three separate tenures. The only non-Scandinavians to coach FCK are
Roy Hodgson and Ariël Jacobs. The longest-running coach is
Ståle Solbakken
Ståle Solbakken (born 27 February 1968) is a Norwegian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of the Norway national team.
During his playing career, Solbakken was named 1995 Norwegian midfielder of the year, and h ...
who has been in charge of FCK from 2006 to 2011 and from 2013 until 2020. Ståle Solbakken is also the most successful coach, in terms of winning percentage, with a winning percentage at 58.5%.
Christian Andersen is FCK's least successful coach with a winning percentage at 0%. Andersen is also the shortest-running permanent coach of FCK as he only was in charge of FCK for just a single match before he was fired.
Records
All-time goal scorers in all official tournaments
*1 Dame N'Doye 118 Goals (217 Games)
*2 César Santin 84 Goals (220 Games)
*3 Todi Jónsson 68 Goals (207 Games)
*4 Lars Højer 66 Goals (214 Games)
*5 Andreas Cornelius 63 Goals (184 Games)
*6 Peter Møller 55 Goals (203 Games)
*7
Sibusiso Zuma 53 Goals (188 Games)
*8 Nicolai Jørgensen 52 Goals (146 Games)
*9 Álvaro Santos 50 Goals (120 Games)
*10 Federico Santander 48 Goals (112 Games)
*11 Jonas Wind 46 Goals (114 Games)
*12 Marcus Allbäck 45 Goals (120 Games)
*13 David Nielsen 43 Goals (133 Games)
*14 Morten Nordstrand 41 Goals (130 Games)
*15 Martin Johansen 41 Goals (146 Games)
*16 Ailton Almeida 37 Goals (139 Games)
*17 Pieros Sotiriou 35 Goals (110 Games)
*18 Hjalte Bo Nørregaard 34 Goals (320 Games)
*19 Robert Skov 33 Goals (72 Games)
Most matches
*Superliga: William Kvist (2005) – 285
*UEFA tournaments: William Kvist (2005) – 90
*Overall: William Kvist (2005) – 425
Most goals
*Superliga: Dame N'Doye (2009) – 90
*UEFA tournaments: Dame N'Doye (2009) – 21
*Overall: Dame N'Doye (2009) – 118
Biggest victory in the Superliga
*6–0 home against Esbjerg fB, Esbjerg on 17 March 2002
*7–1 home against HB Køge, Køge on 25 July 2009
Biggest defeat in the Superliga
*0–5 away against Silkeborg IF, Silkeborg on 17 April 1994
*0–5 away against Brøndby IF, Brøndby on 16 May 2005
Biggest victory in European cups
*7–0 home against
Cliftonville
Cliftonville is a coastal area of the town of Margate, situated to the east of the main town, in the Thanet district of Kent, South East England, United Kingdom. It also contains the area known as Palm Bay.
The original Palm Bay estate was ...
on 31 July 2008 (
UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...
)
Biggest defeat in European cups
*0–6 home against
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
on 20 October 1993 (UEFA Champions League, Champions League)
Attendance record
*41,201 spectators against Brøndby IF, Brøndby on 30 April 2006
Youngest and oldest player playing in the Superliga
*Youngest player playing for Copenhagen: Roony Bardghji – 16 years and 6 days against Aarhus Gymnastikforening, AGF on 21 November 2021
*Oldest player playing for FC Copenhagen: Per Poulsen – 42 years and 125 days against Brøndby IF, Brøndby on 18 June 1995
Most Danish national championships won as player and manager
*Player: William Kvist – 8
*Manager:
Ståle Solbakken
Ståle Solbakken (born 27 February 1968) is a Norwegian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of the Norway national team.
During his playing career, Solbakken was named 1995 Norwegian midfielder of the year, and h ...
– 8
''(In brackets debut year)''
Season results
Esports
F.C. Copenhagen launched an esports division called North in 2017, with a Danish team in ''Counter-Strike: Global Offensive''. The team had some success, making the playoffs of two Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major Championships, ''Global Offensive'' Majors and winning DreamHack Masters Stockholm 2018. The team ceased operations in February 2021, citing financial difficulties brought on in part by the COVID-19 pandemic.
See also
*
Copenhagen Derby
The Copenhagen Derby is a Danish football rivalry between Brøndby and Copenhagen.
Matches
''As of 28 October 2021''
Abbreviations
*DSL – Danish Superliga
*DC – Danish Cup
*RL – Royal League
The Royal League was an annual Scandinav ...
Footnotes and references
Further reading
* Kurt Thyboe, "''FCK – På evig jagt efter den umulige drøm''" (FCK – On eternal hunt for the impossible dream), Denmark, 1999,
* Kaare Johnsen and Jan Erik Hansen, "''FC Krøniken''" (The FC Chronicle), Denmark, 2001,
* Flemming Østergaard and Lars Werge, "''Don Ø''", Denmark, 2002,
* Christian Thye-Petersen and Kasper Steenbach, "''Spillet om FCK''" (The game for FCK), Denmark, 2002,
* Jens Jam Rasmussen and Michael Rachlin, "''Slaget om København''" (Battle of Copenhagen), Denmark, 2005,
* Flemming Østergaard, "''Varmt hjerte, koldt blod''" (Warm heart, cold blood), Denmark, 2005,
* Magazine: "''FCK Balls''", Denmark, 2005–, ISSN 1901-1555
External links
Official websiteFCKFC(official fanclub)
Nipserstat(Web site containing statistical information about games played by FCK)
FC Copenhagen: From pipe dream to European success
{{Authority control
F.C. Copenhagen,
Association football clubs established in 1992, Copenhagen, F.C.
Football clubs in Denmark, Copenhagen, F.C.
Publicly traded sports companies
1992 establishments in Denmark
Football clubs in Copenhagen