billsportsmaps.com

July 6, 2016

Nordic countries (Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland): Highest-drawing football clubs (UEFA domestic leagues), for 2015 or 2015-16 seasons: all clubs which drew over 2,000 per game (65 clubs)./+Illustrations for the 12 highest-drawing clubs in the Nordic countries – all clubs which drew above 10 K per game (Hammarby IF, AIK Fotboll, Rosenborg BK, Malmö FF, FC København, Djurgården IF, IFK Göteborg, Brøndby IF, IFK Norrköping, Viking FK, SK Brann, Vålerenga IF).

Filed under: Denmark,Nordic: SWE/NOR/DEN/FIN,Norway,Sweden — admin @ 5:33 pm

nordic-countries_map_sweden_denmark_norway_finland_top-drawing-clubs_2015_2015-16_post_d_.gif
Nordic countries (Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland): Highest-drawing football clubs, for 2015-16 or 2015 seasons: all clubs which drew over 2,000 per game (65 clubs)



By Bill Turianski on 6 July 2016; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.
Links…
-Nordic nations (Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Faroe Islands) [aka greater Scandinavia]…Nordic countries (en.wikipedia.org).
-Best attendances in Nordic leagues in 2015…Den nordiska publikligan (ecst.se/fotboll).

-Sweden’s top flight…2016 Allsvenskan
; ALLSVENSKAN [2016] (soccerway.com).

-Denmark’s top flight…2015–16 Danish Superliga
; SUPERLIGA [2016-17] (soccerway.com).

-Norway’s top flight…2016 Tippeligaen
; ELITESERIEN [2016 Tippeligaen] (soccerway.com).

-Finland’s top flight…2016 Veikkausliiga
; VEIKKAUSLIIGA [2016] (soccerway.com).

Below: Alfheim Stadion, home of Tromsø IL (of Tromsø, Norway).
Norway’s Tromsø IL are the northern-most first division football club in the world.
alfheim-stadion_tromso-il_the-northern-most-1st-div-football-club-in-the-world_h_.gif
Photo and Image credits above -
Map of Scandinavia/Finland by NormanEinstein at File:Norwegian Sea blank map.png (commons.wikimedia.org).Aerial shot of Tromsø with Alfheim Stadion, photo by groundhopping.se/[Tromsø]. Aerial shot of Tromsø at night, photo by Action Images via dailymail.co.uk. Shot of Alfheim Stadion with pile of snow in foreground, photo by AFP/Getty Images via dailymail.co.uk.

    Nordic countries (Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland):
    Highest-drawing football clubs in 2016: all clubs which drew over 2,000 per game (65 clubs).

On the map page…
1). On the top-left-hand side are thumbnail descriptions of the 4 Nordic leagues whose teams are featured on the map. Noted are each of those 4 leagues’ current [2016] UEFA co-efficients (ie, league-ratings versus the rest of Europeans leagues within UEFA). One thing that a newcomer to Nordic football would need to know is the fact that 3 of the 4 primary Nordic leagues (Sweden, Norway, Finland) play a summer schedule (~April to November), while one league – Denmark’s Superliga – plays the standard schedule (ie, like most of the rest of Europe/ ~August to May).
1a). Right below that are 4 lists, showing the all-time title lists for each of the 4 countries, with the crests shown of the most-titled clubs from each of the 4 countries.
{Sources for title lists…
Sweden, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Swedish_football_champions#Total_titles_won_by_club;
Denmark, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Danish_football_champions#Total_titles_won;
Norway, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Norwegian_football_league_champions#By_club ;
Finland, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Finnish_football_champions#Performance_by_club.}
2). In the middle of the map-page is a long chart which shows the 65 clubs whose teams are on the map, with the following details…
2a). League the team is in, the team’s 2015-or-2015/16-league-finish, and the team’s divisional-movement from 2014-to-2016 (if any).
2b). Attendance in 2015-or-2015/16 [home league average attendance], ranked.
2c). Club name, with city/region description if not noted in club nomenclature.
3). The map, which shows Scandinavia-(Norway/Sweden/Denmark)-plus-Finland. [As with respect to the other Nordic countries...sorry, but no Icelandic or Faroe Islands teams drew above 2-K-per-game last year.]

Stadium shares
There are 3 instances of stadium-shares…in Gothenburg at Gamla Ullevi (a 3-way-share between: GAIS, IFK Göteborg, and Örgryte IS), in Stockholm at Tele2 Arena (a 2-way-share between: Hammarby IF and Djurgården IF), and in Helsinki at Sonera Stadion (a 2-way-share between: HIFK and HJK).

Notes on map
I have tried to make all the club crests on the map approximately the same size. From the original blank map I added lakes in Sweden and Finland, plus I also added flanking-edge areas not in the original blank map (in the Baltic States/Eastern Europe and in NE Netherlands). I did this because I had to tilt the original map to orient it in a more North-South axis. That was necessary because the original map’s focal point was the Norwegian Sea, not the Scandinavian Peninsula, and so Scandinavia-and-Finland looked distorted – until I tilted the whole map about ~20 degrees. I added one extra detail…the mighty Øresund Bridge. The Øresund Bridge is actually a 12 kilometre/8.5 mile-long bridge-and-tunnel. Completed in July 2000, it connects Copenhagen in Denmark to Malmö in Sweden. The Øresund Bridge is a physical manifestation of how interconnected the Nordic countries are.

Average attendance by league (2015 or 2015-16)…
Sweden, Allsvenskan: 9,961 per game.
Denmark, Superliga: 7,184 per game.
Norway, Tippeligaen: 6,711 per game.
Finland, Veikkausliiga: 2,574 per game.

    The 12 highest-drawing clubs in the Nordic countries in 2015 or 2015-16 – all clubs which drew above 10 K per game (2015 or 2015-16 season) -
    (Hammarby IF, AIK Fotboll, Rosenborg BK, Malmö FF, FC København, Djurgården IF, IFK Göteborg, Brøndby IF, IFK Norrköping, Viking FK, SK Brann, Vålerenga IF)

Highest-drawing Nordic team – Hammarby IF (Stockholm, Sweden)…
After a five-season spell in the second tier, Hammarby IF won promotion back to the Swedish top flight (the Allsvenskan), on the last day of the 2014 season {see photos below}. The next year (2015), Hammarby set the all-time record for average attendance in Sweden (and in all the Nordic countries), pulling in an impressive 25,507 per game (they finished in 11th place in 2015). Now, granted, Hammarby are playing in a sparkling new all-mod-cons sports palace (the Tele2 Arena), and that fact will have added to their crowd sizes. But their gate figures are nevertheless very impressive for Scandinavia.

Hammarby IF might seem to be an unlikely team to be the highest-ever-drawing Nordic football club, because they have only won only one Swedish title (in 2001/ all-time Swedish medal table, here). But the club has vast support among the working class of southern Stockholm and beyond. There are no plastic Hammarby fans looking for the reflected glory of a big, title-winning team. They simply support Hammarby because the club is part of them – even if the history of Hammarby IF is replete with blown chances, near-title-win-choke-jobs, and a seemingly eternal struggle to simply remain in (or return to) the top flight. The other sizable Stockholm-based clubs – AIK and Djurgården – might be able to rack up the titles, but neither can match Hammarby when it comes to filling a stadium up with supporters.

-Here is a nice post from Reddit/soccer on Hammarby…Small teams in the spotlight #8: Hammarby IF (reddit.com/r/soccer post uploaded by slicslack on 2 June 2015).
-Here is the article that was recommended in the above link, at the ESPN FC site…The story of Hammarby’s long-awaited return to Sweden’s Allsvenskan (espnfc.com/blog, article by Michael Yokhin on 7 April 2015).

hammarby-if_highest-drawing-swedish-team_nya-soderstadion_tele2-arena_stockholm_k_.gif
Photo credits above -
2015 Hammarby home jersey, photo by intersport.se/hammarby-fotboll-2015. View of central Stockholm, photo by Fotolia at travelguide.lufthansa.com/stockholm. Hammarby supporters during supportermarchen, the tradional walk from central Södermalm to the team’s home stadium, [which was at that point in time] Söderstadion , before the season’s first home game [photo from April 2013], photo by Arild Vågen at File:Supportermarschen 2013 09.jpg. Last game at Söderstadion/pitch invasion (June 2013), photo unattributed at aftonbladet.se. Aerial view of Tele2 Arena, with Ericsson Globe (aka Globen) adjacent, photo by [the main building contractors] Peab, at peab.se/tele2-arena. Street-view of Tele2 Arena from tpeinfill.com. Interior shot of Tele2 Arena, photo by groundhopping.se/Hammarby. Hammarby supporters’ pitch invasion upon winning promotion to the Allsvenskan [Oct. 2014], photo unattributed at i.ytimg.com/vi/bLFrjg-mfj0/maxresdefault.jpg via reddit.com/r/soccer post from 2 June 2015, here. Hammarby supporters’ pitch invasion upon winning promotion/photo 2, photo unattributed at i.imgur.com/h91zXjM.jpg via reddit.com/r/soccer post from 2 Nov. 2014, reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/2l2lft/hammarby_just_secured_promotion_to_allsvenskan. Hammarby fans in Tele2 Arena with flags and with scarves held up and with giant banner proclaiming ‘This Is Soderstadion’, photo by Anders Skoog via LG Skoog at runnersworld.se/blogs/lgskoog/mitt-87-e-rw-blogginlagg.htm.

2nd-highest-drawing Nordic team – AIK Fotboll (Solna, Greater Stockholm, Sweden)…
aik-fotboll_friends-arena_stockholm_d_.gif
Photo credits above -
2016 AIK home jersey, photo by uksoccershop.com/AIK-Stockholm-Adidas-Home-Football-Shirt. Aerial view of Friends Arena [Sept. 2014], photo by Arild Vågen at File:Arenastaden September 2014.jpg. Night-time/exterior shot of Friends Arena unattributed at tripadvisor.se. Interior shot of Friends Arena with AIK supporters’ tifo, photo by bildbyran.se, via haik.se/fotboll/statistik/arena. AIK Ultras [2011], photo from jojjesplejs.com via europeanultras.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=20&start=70.

3rd-highest-drawing Nordic team – Rosenborg BK (Trondheim, Norway)…
rosenborg-bk_highest-drawing-norwegian-team_lerkendal-stadion_trondheim_h_.gif
Photo credits above -
Rosenborg 2016 home jersey, photo by
aliexpress.com/Rosenborg-BK-Jersey. Aerial view of Trondheim, photo by Åge Hojem/Trondheim Havn at File:Overview of Trondheim 2008 03.jpg (commons.wikimedia.org). Tronheim in winter at twilight, photo by pitchmedia.com/photography/norway. Aerial view of Lerkendal Stadion, photo unattributed at pinterest.com. Rosenborg ultras with banners etc [photo from 2011 Rosenborg v Stabaek], photo unattributed at z6.invisionfree.com/UltrasTifosi. Alexander Søderlund being congratulated by teammates after scoring, image (screenshot) from youtube.com video uploaded by AllGoalsNorway at Rosenborg BK All Goals Tippeligaen 2015. Rosenborg players celebrating their 2015 title, photo unattributed at realfootytalk.com/2015/11/02/norwegian-tippeligaen-2015-round-29-review. Alexander Søderlund on a breakaway, photo by Rosenborg BK via vavel.com.

4th-highest-drawing Nordic team – Malmö FF (Malmö, Scania, Sweden…)
malmo-ff_swedbank-stadion_malmo-scania_b_.gif -
2016 home jersey, photo by Malmö FF at mffshopen.jetshop.se/match/matchklader/matchtroja-hemma-2016-barn. Aerial view of Malmö with Øresund Bridge in background, photo by Johan Wessman, News Oresund at File:Aerial view of Malmö towards south taken from Malmö Live 20131023.jpg (commons.wikimedia.org). View of old city-center in , photo unattributed at besttraveltips.net. Aerial shot of Swedbank Stadin, photo unattributed at pinterest.com at s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com. MFF fans at Swedbank Stadion [2009], photo by mff-familjen.se via z6.invisionfree.com/UltrasTifosi/ar/t12159.htm.

5th-highest-drawing Nordic team – FC København [aka FC Copenhagen) (Copenhagen, Denmark)...
fc-kobenhavn_highest-drawing-danish-team_telia-parken_copenhagen_2016-champions_e_.gif
Photo and image credits above - FC Copenhagen 2016 home jersey, photo by uksoccershop.com/2016-FC-Copenhagen-Adidas-Home-Football-Shirt. Aerial view of Copenhagen, image by Getty Images at gettyimages.com/detail/video/view-of-copenhagen-city-copenhagen-denmark-stock-video-footage. View of Copenhagen, photo unattributed at ems2016.org/welcome-to-copenhagen. Aerial view of Parken Stadium, photo unattributed at footballtripper.com/telia-parken-copenhagen-stadium-aerial. FC København fans' giant banner, photo from z6.invisionfree.com/UltrasTifosi/index.php?showtopic=23016&st=44. Federico Santander, photo by Jan Christensen at gettyimages.com. Thomas Delaney, photo by Jan Christenson at gettyimages.com. Nicolai Jørgensen, photo by Jens Dresling at ekstrabladet.dk.
Kasper Kusk, photo by Lars Ronbog at gettyimages.co.uk. Mathias Jørgensen, photo by Lars Ronbog at gettyimags.co.uk. Youssef Toutouh, photo by Lars Ronbog at gettyimges.co.uk. Photo of players carrying manager Ståle Solbakken, photo by Lars Ronberg at gettyimages.com.
...

6th-highest drawing Nordic team - Djurgården (Stockholm, Sweden)...
djurgarden-if_tele2-arena_stockholm_d_.gif
Photo credits above -
2016 Djurgården IF home jersey, photo by difshop.se. View of central Stockholm in winter, photo unattributed at pinterest.com at s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com. Aerial shot of Tel2 Arena lit up with Djurgården colours, photo unattributed at fmsweden.se/topic/27379-fm15-sr-djurgardens-if-du-ar-allt-jag-har. Djurgården fans with flags, photo by unattributed at jarnkaminerna.se. Djurgården fans with smoke bombs and tifo [April 2015], photo by Helena Avermark at jarnkaminerna.se/bilder/2015-04-13-hammarby-if-djurgardens-if.

7th-highest-drawing Nordic team – IFK Göteborg (Gothenburg, Sweden)…
ifk-goteborg_gothenburg_gamla-ullevi_i_.gif
Photo credits above -
2016 IFK Göteborg home jersey, photo by IFK Göteborg at blavittshopen.web02.e37.se. Aerial view of Gothenburg, photo by Alamy via telegraph.co.uk/Swedish-city-embarks-on-6-hour-workday-experiment. View of central Gothenburg at night in winter, photo by Dick Gillberg at goteborgdaily.se/christmas-city-gothenburg-kicks-off. Aerial shot of Gamla Ullevi stadium, photo by powerphoto.nu/flygbilder-gamla-ullevi. Badges on a wall of the Gamal Ullevi stadium, showing the 3 clubs that call the stadium home: GAIS, IFK Göteborg, Örgryte IS, photo by groundhopping.se/IFKGoteborg. IFK Göteborg fans’ giant tifo banner, photo by IFK Göteborg at ifkgoteborg.se/For-supportrar/Tifofonden. Shot of IFK Göteborg fans with a myriad of flags and banners, photo by IFK Göteborg at ifkgoteborg.se/In-English/Welcome.

8th-highest-drawing Nordic team – Brøndby IF (Brondby, Greater Copenhagen, Denmark)…
From 27 Sept. 2015, VIDEO: Brondby supporters unveil gladiator-themed tifo at New Firm Derby (thescore.com)
brondby-if_brondby-stadium_gladiator-tifo_c_.gif
Photo credits above -
2015-16 Brøndby home jersey, photo unattributed at 3.bp.blogspot.com. Aerial shot of Brøndby Stadium, image from Bet25/TDC: Nye services med WiFi på Brøndby Stadion | brondby.com (youtube,com video uploaded by Brøndby IF). Brøndby fans’ tifo at Brøndby Stadium [Sept. 2015], photo unattributed from z6.invisionfree.com/UltrasTifosi/ar/t33260.htm. [September 2015] 2 photos of…Brøndby fans’ giant banners depicting: Gladiator-in-coliseum-brandishing-severed-lion’s-head [the lion being their rivals' FC København's symbol], photo unattributed at dr.dk/sporten; 2nd photo, by Lars Ronbog/ Frontzone Sport/ Getty Images via thescore.com.

9th-best-drawing Nordic team – IFK Norrköping (Norrköping, Sweden)…
IFK Norrköping: 2015 Allsvenskan champions.
From UEFA.com/news, from 31 Oct. 2015, by Sujay Dutt, Norrköping defy the odds to lift Swedish title.
ifk-norrkoping_2015-allsvenskan-champions_ostgotaporten_emir-kujovic_e_.gif
Photo credits above -
2016 IFK Norrköping home jersey, photo by IFK Norrköping at ifkshop.se/webshop. Aerial view of central Norrköping, photo by Göran Billeson at lansstyrelsen.se. Aerial shot of Östgötaporten, photo by M and F Foto at mfproject.com/norrkopingsidrottspark/gallery. Norrköping supporters with flags and scarves, image from video at fotbolldirekt.se/2015/09/06/video-peking-ultras-om-succeinsamling-for-flyktingar-samlat-in-55-00. 2015 top Allsvenskan scorer, IFK Norrköping FW Emir Kujović…1st photo by Nils Petter Nilsson/Ombrello/Getty Images Europe via zimbio.com; 2nd photo (celebrating with teammmates), photo unattributed at media2.sillyseason.se. Shot of Norrköping coach Jan Andersson celebrating with trophy, photo by Getty Images via uefa.com. Shot of Norrköping players celebrating with trophy, photo by Janerik Henriksson/TT at dn.se/sport/fotboll/norrkoping-ar-allsvenska-mastare-2015.

10th-best-drawing Nordic team – Viking FK (Stavanger, Norway)…
viking-fk_viking-stadion_stavanger_preikestolen_c_.gif
Photo and Image credits above -
2016 Viking FK home jersey, illustration by
futhead.com. Panoramic view of Stavanger, photo unattributed at kayak.com/Stavanger-Hotels. Preikestolen (Pulpit Rock), which is 16 miles from Stavanger, photo by Terje Rakke/Nordic Life/Regionstavanger.com at visitnorway.com/stavanger-region. Aerial view of Viking Stadion by Viking FK, here. Viking fans with flags waving, photo by Lars Idar Waage at dagsavisen.no/stavanger.

11th-best-drawing Nordic team – SK Brann (Bergen, Norway)…
sk-brann_brann-stadion_bergen_d_.gif
Photo credits above -

2016 SK Brann home jersey, photo by SK Brann at shop.brann.no/produkter/drakter/2016-hjemmedrakt-lang-arm. Panoramic view of Bergen, photo unattributed at azamaraclubcruises.com/files/bergen-norway.jpg. View of Bergen city centre from a nearby hill, photo by Aqwis at File:SkansenSeptember2007 2.jpg (commons.wikimedia.org). Hanseatic commercial houses in Bryggen [old Bergen], photo unattributed at nordicvisitor.com/images/norway/bryggen-bergen-norway.jpg. Aerial view of Brann Stadion, photo by valrag at File:Brann stadium.jpg (commons.wikimedia.org). SK Brann supporters group Bergens Blade Gutter’s pyro/tifo from 14 April 2014, photo from their Twitter.com page at tw.google4cn.com/BGG_08/media.

12th-best-drawing Nordic team – Vålerenga IF (Oslo, Norway)…
valernga_ullevaal-stadion_oslo_b_.gif
Photo credits above -
2016 Vålerenga home jersey, photo unattributed at a soccer-jersey-site-that-never-credits-sources. Aerial view of Oslo in summer, photo unattributed at telegraph.co.uk/jpg [from this article, at Aerial view of Oslo in the evening, photo unattributed at visitnorway.com/Summer-holidays-in-Norway. Aerial view of Ullevaal Stadion, photo by John Christian Fjellestad at panoramio.com, and at File:Ullevål Stadium from air.jpg (commons.wikimedia.org). Vålerenga fans with scarves held up, photo unattributed at tipsfotball.com/.jpg.

___
Big Thanks to ecst.se/fotboll, for the list of all Nordic teams' attendances (2015 or 2014-15), at a Den nordiska publikligan [The Nordic Attendances] (ecst.se/fotboll). (This is where I got the idea for this map-and-post.)
Thanks to Soccerway for Denmark attendance figures.
Thanks to NormanEinstein at File:Norwegian Sea blank map.png (commons.wikimedia.org).
Thanks to the contributors at the following Wikipedia pages…
-Sweden’s top flight…2016 Allsvenskan / 2nd level: 2016 Superettan.
-Denmark’s top flight…2015–16 Danish Superliga / 2nd level: 2015-16 1. division (Denmark).
-Norway’s top flight…2016 Tippeligaen / 2nd level: 2016 1. divisjon.
-Finland’s top flight…2016 Veikkausliiga.
Largest metropolitan areas in the Nordic countries.
List of [3 largest] metropolitan areas in Sweden [Stockholm, Malmo, Gothenburg].
Regions of Norway.
Lands of Sweden.
Provinces of Finland.
Subdivisions of the Nordic countries.

Thanks to distancefromto.net.

Thanks to the supporter groups sites (plus one official-club-site) where I found cool tifo/supporter-made-atmosphere photos within the stadiums..
AIK Fotboll supporter-site: jojjesplejs.com.
Malmö FF supporter-site: mff-familjen.se.
Djurgården supporter-site: jarnkaminerna.se.
IFK Göteborg official site: ifkgoteborg.se/In-English/Welcome.
SK Brann supporters’ group Bergens Blade Gutter’s Twitter.com page at tw.google4cn.com/BGG_08/media.

Thanks to Anders Skoog via his brother LG, at LG Skoog’s blog at Runnersworld.se – for the nice photo of Hammarby Ultras/Hammarby IF supporters at the Tele2 Arena (aka Nya Soderstorm), here.

And a big Thank You to all who contributed at the far-ranging z6.invisionfree.com/UltrasTifosi messageboard/forum site, at z6.invisionfree.com/UltrasTifosi/[Scandinavia], for the awesome photos.

January 10, 2011

2010-11 UEFA Champions League, Knockout Phase – Round of 16, with match-ups.

Filed under: Denmark,Football Stadia,UEFA Champions League,Ukraine — admin @ 6:14 pm

uefa_cl-2010-11knockout-phase_map_post.gif
2010-11 UEFA CL, Round of 16 map





The UEFA Champions League 2010-11 Knockout Phase, Round of 16 gets underway on 15th and 16th February, with four matches; then resumes a week later for the other four 1st Leg matches. 2nd Leg matches are set for 8th and 9th / 15th and 16th March. If you want to see the 8 match-ups, with club profile boxes and 2 stadia photos for each club, scroll down a bit and click on the 2 dark blue boxes near the end of this post.

Teams that play at home for the 2nd Leg Leg were seeded higher for for the draw by winning their groups in the Group Stage. The biggest surprise in that category are Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk, who finished ahead of Arsenal in their group. This is the first time Shakhtar Donetsk have made it to the Round of 16 in the Champions League. Shakhtar come from the heavily industrialized Donbass region of eastern Ukraine, from the city of Donetsk, which is a grim city built on coal mining and heavy industry, offering little in the way of the things considered to be tourist attractions. In fact, enlarging the amount of total hotel rooms in the city is one of the most pressing issues facing Donetsk when the city hosts some of the matches for UEFA Euro 2012 (which Ukraine is co-hosting with Poland in June 2012). Shakhtar Donetsk are owned by Ukraine’s wealthiest citizen, Rinat Ahkmetov, who began his rise as an oligarch in the banking sector in Donetsk in the first half of the 1990s, when newly independent Ukraine was freeing itself from the grip of Russian imperialism and setting up a system of private enterprise. Akhmetov is an ethnic Tatar/ Ukraine-born son of a Donbass coal miner, and is 42 years old. In 2000, Akhmetov founded Systems Capital Management (SCM Holdings), which has stakes in metals, coal mining, power generation, banking, insurance, real estate, telecommunications, and media. Assets of the company, 100% owned by Akhmetov, have been recently disclosed as $18 billion {SCM.com.ua/Key Financial Indicators [to 2009]‘. Akhmetov has devoted considerable sums in turning Shakhtar Donetsk from a small cup-specialist club with no national titles to a force in Ukraine and now Europe. Their futuristic new Donbass Arena (cap. 51,504) is testament to this. Shakhtar are pulling in around 33,000 per game this season in domestic home league matches, and are running away with the Ukrainian Premier League title again (they have won 4 of the last 6 Ukrainian titles). Akhmetov has undertaken this by making sure players he lured to eastern Ukraine are treated like royalty – it is common knowledge these days among football players that Shakhtar Donetsk’s facilities and infrastructure are on par with the most elite clubs in Western Europe. Shakhtar Donetsk are managed by the Romanian Mircea Lucescu, who has also coached in Turkey (winning titles for Galatasaray in 2002, and Besiktas in 2003), and in Italy (with Internazionale in 1998-99). Lucescu has managed Shakhtar since 2004. For the past few seasons, Shakhtar has been fielding around 3 to 5 Brazilians in their starting lineups in most matches. By way of example, when Shakhtar Donetsk beat Werder Bremen in Istanbul to win the 2008-09 UEFA Cup title, Shakhtar started 5 Brazilians (including goal scorers Luz Adriano and Jadson), 3 Ukrainians, 1 Croat (captain and DF Dario Srna), 1 Romanian (DF Razvan Rat), and 1 Pole (Mariusz Lewandowski). Luz Adriano, Jadson, Srna, and Rat still figure prominently in Shakhtar’s current configuration.

The crucial match which propelled Shakhtar Donetsk to the Round of 16 this season was the 3 November, 2010 match in Ukraine which saw a 2-1 defeat of Arsenal in the Donbass Arena before 51,153. This had come two weeks after Arsenal had humiliated Shakhtar by a 5-1 score at the Emirates Stadium in North London. In the 3 November match, goals for Shakhtar were scored by western Ukraine-born DF Dmitro Chygrynskiy in the 28th minute (following a 10th minute Arsenal goal by Theo Walcott), and a 58th minute winner by former Arsenal player, the Croatian international/Brazilian-born Eduardo, who looks to be recovered from his devastating leg injury in early 2008. From uefa.com, 3 Nov. 2010, ‘Eduardo strike sinks former club Arsenal’.
shakhtar-donetsk_potted-history-with-old-crests_r.gif
Shakhtar Donetsk have drawn AS Roma for the Round of 16. They will meet for the 1st Leg on 16 February at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. 2nd Leg is for 8 March in Donetsk.

Of the 16 clubs still alive in the 2010-11 Champions League, the biggest surprise overall is the qualification of FC Copenhagen (in Danish, FC Kobenhavn). This is the first appearance in the Round of 16 for a club from Denmark. Like quite a few other football clubs in Denmark in recent history, FC Copenhagen was the result of a merger. In this case, it was between two historically successful but stagnating clubs from the country’s capital city, KB and B 1903. The two clubs had not won a Danish title between them for 12 years running when they merged; and immediately after the merger FC Copenhagen won the 1993 Danish title. KB (Kjobenhavns Boldklub) won 15 Danish titles, including the first in 1913, and most recently in 1980. B 1903 (Boldklubben 1903) won 7 national titles, their last in 1976. FC Copenhagen are the highest-drawing Danish club, and can draw in the 20,000 per game range (their peak has been 23.7 K in 2006-07).The club’s home is Parken, which is also the primary venue for the Denmark national football team. FC Copenhagen are coached by the Norwegian Stale Solbakken, who has been at the helm since 2006. Their goal scoring threats are Porto Alegre, Brazil-born FW César Santin, Senegalese FW Dame N’Doye, and Danish winger/supporting striker and former Ajax/Chelsea/Birmingham City/Atlético Madrid/VfB Stuttgart player Jesper Gronkjaer (age 33).

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FC Copenhagen have drawn Chelsea for the Round of 16, with the 1st Leg on 22 February in Copenhagen, and the 2nd Leg on 16 March in West London. Judging by Chelsea’s recent form, Copenhagen can be seen as having a fighting chance of advancing. After all, FC Copenhagen beat Manchester United in the CL Group Stage in 2006-07, and Chelsea can’t beat bottom-of-the-table clubs like Wolverhampton Wanderers these days.

Last season I posted a map of this round of the competition in December, 2009, right after the draw was held. I decided to hold off a little this season. The CL Knockout Phase still will not be starting for 36 days, but on the Sunday (13 Feb.) before the matches begin on 15 and 16 February, I will re-post the 3 gifs here (the map and the 2 match-ups pages), along with a map of the 2010-11 UEFA Europa League Round of 32 (which will begin on Thursday, 17 February).

From Backpage Football.com, from 6 January, ‘Champions League – Reason to be excited‘, by Ger McCarthey.

The following gif shows the 8 clubs involved in the first two match days of the 2010-11 Champions League Round of 16, on 15 and 16 February…
AC Milan v. Tottenham Hotspur
Valencia v. Schalke 04
Arsenal v. Barcelona
AS Roma v. Shakhtar Donetsk
Click on box below…
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The next gif shows the 8 clubs involved in the second set of match days, on 22 and 23 February…
Lyon v. Real Madrid
FC Copenhagen v. Chelsea
Internazionale v. Bayern Munich
Marseille v. Manchester United
Click on box below…
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Photo Credits -
AC Milan/San Siro…Dankuna.com, here. RossoneriBlog.com, here.

Tottenham/White Hart Lane…Jazza5 at en.wikipedia.org, here. Daily Mail.co.uk, here.

Valencia/Mestella…A Life In Valencia.com, here. z6.invisionfree.com/Ultras Tlfosi, here.

Schalke 04/Veltins-Arena…VioletaS_gr at Flickr.com, here. ArenaPark.Gelsenkirchen.de, here.

Arsenal/Emirates Stadium…ByrneGroup.co.uk,/Projects, ‘Emirates stadium – Scope of Work [6-photo slideshow]‘, here. DailyMail.co.uk, here.

Barcelona/Camp Nou…kammourewa at Photobucket.com, here. Bing.com/maps Bird’s Eye satellite view, here.

AS Roma/Stadio Olimpico…Bing.com/maps/Bird’s Eye satellite view, here. ASRomaAlive.com, here.

Shakhtar Donetsk/Donbass Arena…Elparadiso19 at en.wikipedia.org (link is to a Donbass Arena gallery, here). Ultras.org.ua, 2010 Shakhtar gallery, here.

Lyon/Stade de Gerland…Bing.com/maps Bird’s Eye satellite view, here. Chasseurdestades.com/France, here.

Real Madrid/Bernebéu…FCB Transfers.blogspot.com, here. Real Madrid Videos, here.

FC Copenhagen/Parken…Virtual Tourist.com, here. MTU.edu, here.

Chelsea/Stamford Bridge…cyberdees at Flickr.com, here. Eco Compact City.org, here.

Internazionale/San Siro…zerozerofootball.com/San Siro (gallery, 30 photos), here. oscar federico bodini at en.wikipedia.org, ‘Curva (stadia)/Italy‘.

Bayern Munich/Allianz Arena…Karl Leidorf at Leidorf.blogspot.com, here. Maximillian Dörrbecker (Chumwa), at en.wikipedioa.org, here.

Marseille/Stade Vélodrome… Projets-Architecte-Urbanisme.fr. fredGLLS at Flickr.com, here.

Manchester United/Old Trafford… ManUtd24.com, ‘Nervous Glazers tell ManUtd players not to wear Green and Gold!’. ManUtdPics.com , (Manchester United/Old Trafford photo).

Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org, ‘2010-11 UEFA Champions League‘.
Thanks to E-F-S site, for attendance figures from 2009-10, and for Shakhtar Donetsk current attendance figures. Thanks to ESPN Soccernet for most of the current attendance figures. Thanks to Soccerway.com for FC Copenhagen current attendance figures {Danish Super Liga at Soccerway.com}

November 22, 2009

Denmark: 2009-10 Superliga.

Filed under: Denmark — admin @ 1:07 pm

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Denmark,  Superliga table  {click here (Soccerway.com)}.  16 of 33 rounds have been played in the competition,  which will go into its long winter break after matches on 9 December, 2009,  to start up again on 14 March, 2010.

Denmark is currently ranked 16th,  for 2010-11 UEFA competitions {see this}.  That’s up 3 places from the last ranking,  and is indicative of the progress Denmark has been making in football.  The Denmark National Football Team’s recent qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup is another example of this. 

The Danish Superliga is currently playing it’s 20th season.  Reigning champions are FC Copenhagen  (FC Kobenhavn in Danish).  FC Copenhagen won the double in ’09,  with a 1-0 win over AaB in the Danish Cup final,  for their fourth Cup title. 

Like quite a few other football clubs in Denmark in recent history,  FC Copenhagen was the result of a merger.  In this case,  it was between two successful clubs from the country’s capital city,  KB and B 1903.  KB (Kjobenhavns Boldklub)  won 15 Danish titles,  including the first in 1913,  and most recently in 1980.  B 1903 (Boldklubben 1903)  won 7 national titles,  their last in 1976.  The two clubs merged in 1992 to form FC Copenhagen.  The club’s home is Parken Stadium,  which is also the venue for Denmark national football team matches.

FC Copenhagen maintains a big rivalry with Brondby IF (Brondbyernes Idraetsforening),  who were formed in 1964,  and are from the town of Brondy,  which is 15 km. (9 mi.) west of Copenhagen. 

FC Copenhagen and Brondby IF are sometimes called “the New Firm”.  The two have won 11 of the last 16 Danish Superliga titles.   FC Copenhagen and Brondby also draw the largest support,  20,038 per game last season for Copenhagen;  16,908 per game for Brondby. 

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The third highest drawing club in Denmark is the football division of a venerable old sports club from Jutland,  AGF [Aarhus] (Aarhus Gymnastikforening).   Arhus is a city of 239,000 (2008 figure).  It is the second largest city in Denmark,  and the country’s principal port.  It’s unofficial name is the capital of Jutland,  Jutland being the peninsula that forms the mainland part of Denmark.  AGF holds the record for longest run in the Danish top flight,  with 65 consecutive seasons,  a run that ended in 2005-06 (AGF won promotion back to Superliga the following season).  The last of Aarhus’ 5 championships came over 2 decades ago,  though,  in 1986.  AGF have won the most Danish Cup titles,  with 9 (their last in 1996).  Here are two photos of AGF Aarhus’ stadium {click here (World stadiums.com).  AGF Aarhus have a very distinctive,  medieval-looking club crest (see it here}. 

The one club with the most Superliga trophies outside of the New Firm are AaB (Aalborg Boldspilklub),  who are from Aalborg,  northern Jutland.  Aab have won 3 Danish Superliga titles,  their last in  2007-08.  AaB have also had recent success in Europe,  making it to the 2007-08 UEFA Cup Group Stage,  the 2008-09 Champions League Group Stage (where they beat Celtic, 2-1 in Aalborg),  and the 2008-09 UEFA Cup Round of 16.   The club play in a small 13,800-capacity stadium [see it above];  they averaged 7,068 last season in the Danish Superliga.

Current league leaders are Odense BK (they are also referred to as OB).  Odense Boldklub are from Odense,  on the island of Fulan.  Odense is the third largest city in Denmark (158,000; 2009 census).  Odense BK are the fourth-highest drawing club in Denmark,  averaging 10,219 per game last season.  Odense play at the 15,761-seat Fiona Park {panorama view photo,  here}.  Odense has won 3 Danish titles and 5 Danish Cups (last in 2007).  The club’s last national title came in 1989,  2 seasons before the re-organization that led to the Danish Superliga.  Odense came up just short of the title last season,  but the squad look well positioned to take the crown this season.  Odense BK feature the league leading scorer,  Nigerian Peter Utaka (joint lead with Morten Rasmussen of Brondby).  The club just had a big 3-1 victory away to Brondby earlier today,  with Utaka scoring his 12th goal of the season (and Rasmussen netting his 12th in the losing cause).  The result puts Odense 4 points up on Copenhagen and Esbjerg,  and 8 up on Brondy.

Thanks to the Danish Football Association site {click here}.   Thanks to Brondby IF site {click here}.   Thanks to Friis-Moltke.dk {architecture,  including Aalborg stadium, click here}. 

Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org {click here (2009-10 Danish Superliga page)}.

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