JAN MOLBY’S EXCLUSIVE GUIDE TO ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT DANISH SUPERLIGA CHAMPIONS FC MIDTJYLLAND
What is their background?
They were actually founded only 17 years ago after a merger between Ikast and Herning Fremad, two clubs who had been rivals and were only 15km apart. The name Midtjylland comes from their local region – Central Jutland. They play in Herning in a 12,000- capacity stadium opened in 2004. Their nickname is the Black Wolves.
What is the connection with Brentford?
Matthew Benham, Brentford’s owner, invested £ 6.2m to buy a majority shareholding in Midtjylland in 2014. He made his millions at his company Smartodds. As he has done at Griffi n Park, Benham has introduced his “Moneyball” statistical analysis approach and it has worked with some success. They introduced specialist kicking coaches, in- game statistics for half- time team talks and the use of analytics for set pieces. They use a lot of stats when recruiting players as well.
What have they won and where are they in the league?
In their first season, in 1999- 2000, they won promotion to the Superliga. After finishing runners- up twice and third four times, they won their first top- fl ight title last season. The league is just about to resume after its winter break – Midtyjlland are third behind Copenhagen and AaB.
And their European pedigree?
This is their ninth season in European competition – and their most successful. They played in the qualifying rounds of the Champions League, beating Lincoln Red Imps of Gibraltar but then losing to Apoel of Cyprus. They dropped into the Europa League and beat Southampton on aggregate in the play- off round to reach the group stage – where they finished runners- up behind Napoli, ahead of Legia Warsaw and Club Bruges, who were beaten by United in the Champions League qualifi ers.
Have they produced any famous players?
Yes, their youth academy is renowned and it has produced
players such as Simon Kjaer, who now plays for Fenerbahce after spells in Italy, West Ham’s Winston Reid, Sune Kiilerich, who had a spell with Sampdoria, and Erik Sviatchenko, who has just moved to Celtic for £ 1.5m. They continue to produce talented youngsters and have been drawn against Barcelona in UEFA’s Under- 19 Champions League.
Is this the biggest match in their history?
They played Southampton and Napoli at home earlier this season and in 2008 faced Manchester City in the old UEFA Cup, losing on penalties. But United is by far their biggest match. It’s a dream come true for their Finland midfi elder Tim Sparv, who is, I’m told, a lifelong United fan!
Who is their manager?
Jess Thorup took over when Glen Riddersholm – who had been in charge since 2011 – stepped down at the end of last season, citing personal reasons, after leading the club to the title. Thorup took Denmark to the semi- fi nals of the European Under- 21 Championship in the Czech Republic last summer and was well acquainted with several of Midtjylland’s young players. THREAT: Uganda- born Pione Sisto is the midfi eld driving force
Who is their star player?
Attacking midfi elder Pione Sisto, 20, who is on the radar of many of Europe’s top clubs – including Arsenal, Juventus and even Barcelona. He was born in Uganda but raised in a suburb of Herning after his parents fl ed to avoid the civil war. Czech striker Vaclav Kadlec is also one to watch. He is set to make his debut after signing from
Eintracht Frankfurt.
Is there a chance of an upset?
Yes. Nearly half of Midtjylland’s goals last season came from set pieces and everyone knows that is United’s
vulnerability. Both Sunderland’s goals on Saturday came from set pieces, as did Southampton’s winner at Old Trafford last month and Wolfsburg’s winner when they knocked United out of the Champions League.
A lot of the credit for the set pieces is down to assistant manager Brian Priske, who played for Portsmouth under Harry Redknapp and won 24 Danish caps. Priske runs the club’s ‘ set- piece lounge’, in which stats, files and video clips are scrutinised and routines devised. They will be well versed in United’s weaknesses.
But they haven’t played a competitive game since December because of the winter break, just three warm- up matches.