Are United next scalp in Danes’ Moneyball fairytale?
IT sounds like something out of a Hans Christian Andersen fairytale and the rise of Midtjylland, Manchester United’s opponent in the Europa League tomorrow night, has been no less magical. Formed in 1999, the year Sir Alex Ferguson delivered the Treble to Old Trafford, the Danish side were in danger of going out of business until Brentford owner Matthew Benham came to the rescue in 2014. A year later, Midtjylland were crowned champions of Denmark for the first time. Tomorrow, in the 11,800-capacity MCH Arena in Herning, they face the biggest game in the club’s short history. The transformation of Midtjylland has centred on the mathematical models devised by Benham, a professional gambler, to assess the strengths and weaknesses of different teams or players. Benham dislikes the Moneyball comparison, preferring to say his approach reduces the element of luck. His righthand man and FC Midtjylland chairman Rasmus Ankersen explains: ‘Innovation in business and football doesn’t come from the clubs with the most money. If you can win by outspending competitors, then why would you have to think different? ‘We think lots of clubs pay too much for low quality players. We’ve got tools that will make us able to evaluate teams and players much more accurately. ‘Hopefully we can give fans around the world optimism that life is too short to be a mid-table team.’ Key defensive midfielder Tim Sparv was signed from the German second division in 2014 based largely on performance data. Sparv is a boyhood United fan who came through the ranks at Southampton and played alongside Gareth Bale, Theo Walcott and Adam Lallana in the 2005 FA Youth Cup final. ‘It’s an inspiring environment,’ said the 28-year-old Finland captain. ‘This is a very ambitious club. The situation won’t be too big for us. We won’t be fazed by United. We want to make it an unpleasant visit to Denmark for them. ‘This is David versus Goliath. United are clear favourites. But this is the biggest game in the club’s history. It’s been sensational so far.’