Quest for Nordic Domination - Copenhagen

[Mongrel]

Manchester United 0-1 FC Copenhagen

Linesman disaster secures European history for Copenhagen

A thirteenth minute goal from 22-year old Danish starlet Jan Agger was enough to secure Scandinavia's first ever Champions League crown, following FC Copenhagen's stunning 1-0 upset over Manchester United in front of 72,500 people at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

The match was not without its controversies, though, as a goal from Pietro Paolo Sirigu was incorrectly ruled offside in the thirtieth minute, following a decision that is likely to dominate talks for days to come and reignite calls for increased access to technology.

Despite victories over Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona, many had written off Copenhagen in just their second ever European final - their first being a 3-1 defeat to Toulouse in the 2019-20 Europa League final. Nevertheless, the steely Danish side produced the same football they had all tournament, to secure a second victory over Manchester United this season, and this time on the grandest stage of them all.

Copenhagen sprung a small selection surprise, as Norwegian midfielder Fredrik Gravdal was selected as a striker, with Swedish midfielder Christian Häggqvist passed fit and paired with Ole Overgaard in central midfield. 22-year old Agger, however, caused the United defence troubles early, and might have scored in the eleventh minute as he hit the crossbar. Another run down the left saw him fouled by the defence just moments later, which directly resulted in Oxtorp heading the ball back to Agger, who, from just inside the box, put the ball into the back of the net. The traveling pack of Copenhagen fans rushed down to the corner, where Agger met them in a moment of absolute pandemonium.

Copenhagen realised, however, that the job was far from done, and in the 24th minute Manchester United finally produced their first real chance as Xherdan Shaqiri tested Swedish international Jonas Roth from a distance. The youngster, in his twelfth Champions League start of the season following eight clean sheets, was unphased, though, as he saved the ball easily.

In the thirtieth minute, though, controversy struck as prolific striker Pietro Paolo Sirigu looked to have found an equaliser as he got his head up to a cross from Sosa. His header beat Roth easily, but his celebrations were rudely interrupted by an offside call from the linesman. Subsequent replays showed the decision to not only be a wrong one, but an absolute disaster, with Sirigu a good yard or two onside of Jonas Jacobsen as Sosa struck the ball. A furious Luis Enrique raged against the decision to the fourth official, but Copenhagen were clearly rattled by a rare defensive lapse.

Sirigu and captain Marco Verratti had further chances on goal before the end of the first half, as Copenhagen looked increasingly overawed by the occasion and the experience Red Devil midfield started to control the game more. Despite going into half-time ahead 1-0, Copenhagen made a change at the half as Häggqvist, who had played relatively well up to that point, reaggravated his injury and was replaced by experience centre half Tommi Aaltonen. That led to a reshuffling, as Tom Kristensen replaced Häggqvist in central midfield, and Jonas Jacobsen moved further up the field to a defensive midfield position.

The change prompted something in the Copenhagen side, who looked more composed following their scratchy end to the first half. The exciting Jan Agger continued to make things happen on the left, with his captain Niels Pedersen struggling to influence the match on the right. Both Agger and Shaqiri had chances for their respective sides denied by the opposing goalkeeper, and by the eightieth minute Manchester United still found themselves without a goal, and their attacking threats to an extent nullified by the settled Copenhagen defensive line.

Some were perplexed by the decision replace the experienced Phil Jones with another centre half, Said Ashour, in the 84th minute, but the English giants nearly had an equaliser as Vinicius had a great opportunity on the edge of the box fly just over the bar. Manchester United kept coming, but the awesome resilience of the FC Copenhagen defence prevailed to secure the first Champions League victory for a Scandinavian team in the history of the tournament and its equivalents.

For United, their pain following an undeserved loss was compounded by their fifth placed Premier League finish, which will deny them Champions League football next season.

One suspects that Copenhagen won't mind, though.

FC København Player Ratings

Jonas Roth - 7.0

Kristen Thygesen - 7.3 (sub @ 89 mins)

Jonas Jacobsen - 8.7

Casper Oxtorp - 8.3

Hannu Hietala - 7.2

Tom Kristensen - 7.8 (sub @ 85 mins)

Christian Häggqvist - 6.9 (sub @ 45 mins)

Ole Overgaard - 6.7

Niels Pedersen - 6.8

Jan Agger - 7.7 (1 goal)

Fredrik Gravdal - 7.0

---

Tommi Aaltonen - 7.1 (on @ 45 mins)

Tun Tun Win (on @ 85 mins)

Lauri Pennanen (on @ 89 mins)

[Mongrel]

And the offside decision....

:o

[Mongrel]

Also, apparently winning the Champions League wasn't enough to get a single player in the UEFA Champions League Dream Team - this despite the defense conceding just four goals all tournament!

Particularly stiff -

• Jonas Roth, 13 apps, 4 conceded, 9 clean sheets, 7.12 ave. A goalkeeper is only as good as his defence, but he made few mistakes and was the safest pair of hands throughout the tournament. Shocking decision to leave him out.
  
• Jonas Jacobsen, 9(1) apps, 1 assist, 4 MotM awards, 8.06 ave. Come on, what a decision!
  
• Casper Oxtorp, 13 apps, 1 assist, 2 MotM awards, 7.93 ave. Former part of the best defensive duo in Europe, and was also incredibly unlucky to miss.
  

Still, maybe it is a sign of a champion team instead of a team of champions!

It still rankles, though.

[Mongrel]

May 2026

LEAGUE

I've given the game away a bit in previous posts, but things were close with five points separating us from VB Kolding at the start of the month. We began by dropping points at Esbjerg in a poor start to the month, before scraping past lowly SønderjyskE in our next fixture, despite 62% possession and 25 shots on goal. Things were less one-sided at Silkeborg, as an understrength side all but secured the title with a 2-1 win in an entertaining fixture, while it was party time at Parken in the final fixture of the year as we put a 6-2 hurting on FC Nordsjælland in the final starts for veterans Pontus Jansson, Mohammed Elyounoussi and Hannu Hietala ahead of their expected departures at the end of the year. Niels Pedersen finished his standout year with a hat trick.

The margin was again five points as VB Kolding failed to make up any ground at the end of the year. Kolding were again a strong side who had a big run of wins mid-year, but were also let down by a poor start to the year for the second season running. They have to sort that out. Rivals Brøndby IF were in real trouble by the mid-year break and sacked their coach, but came back incredibly strongly to finish ahead of a huge pack of teams on 37 points in sixth. They won six games in the third period.

At the other end, FC Nordsjælland and SønderjyskE go straight back down after promotion, while, in division one, Aarhus Fremad come straight back up after winning the league by three points from the also promoted FC Vestjælland. It will be Vestjælland's first Superliga season since a three-year stint ended in 2020-21.

EUROPE

DANISH CUP

[Mongrel]

FCK stalwarts Jansson and Elyounoussi confirm departures

Former FC Copenhagen captain Pontus Jansson has confirmed he will retire from professional football at the end of the season, while Norwegian international Mohammed Elyounoussi has rejected Copenhagen's final contract offer and will seek another club upon the expiry of his current contract.

The 31-year old, who joined Copenhagen for €4 million in the summer of 2016, fell out of favour last season, and has elected to seek new challenges following Copenhagen's Champions League victory. In his ten seasons at the club, the Norwegian managed 190 league appearances and another 86 in Europe, and made a name for himself as one of the Danish Superliga's most dynamic left wingers.

"I have had a great time in Denmark, but all things have to come to an end," Elyounoussi said in a media release. "I have enjoyed my time at Parken and will look back on it very fondly, but it is in my best interests to keep playing first team football.

"I could not be guaranteed first team football at FCK, so I have made the difficult decision to continue my career elsewhere."

In more expected news, the Swedish international and former club captain Jansson announced his official retirement from football following a thirteen year stint with FC Copenhagen. The 34-year old made his final start in FCK's match against FC Nordsjælland to end the season, and was given a standing ovation by the crowd after his late substitution.

"Copenhagen has been a second home to me for a third of my life now, and I would love to remain involved with the club in some way," he said. "But I don't think I can add enough to the side on the field any more, so I have decided to retire from professional football."

Throughout his thirteen seasons, Jansson made 226 league appearances, and fell just five short of Michael Mio Nielsen's club record 231 appearances. Taking into account his 104 European and 20 cup appearances, though, he's easily Copenhagen's highest capped player. The Swedish veteran served as Copenhagen captain from 2016 to 2020, and as vice-captain from 2015 to 2016, and 2020 to 2025.

Jansson and Elyounoussi's departures see them join veteran left-back Hannu Hietala on their way out of the European champions at the end of this season.

Pontus Jansson

Mohammed Elyounoussi

[Mongrel]

F.C. København - Season 2025-26

Season Review

LEAGUE: Champions

We charged into first place early and never let go, with another relatively dominant season where VB Kolding tried to charge us down, but fell short again. Considering our European successes, we dropped too many points against teams we should have beaten, and so long as we play consistent European football I'm not sure we have the depth to hold off a season from Kolding where they actually start well for once. It will be interesting.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Champions

Well, it has to be seen as a success... History will regard us as an undeserving champions considering how dour the football we played was, but our defence was utterly sublime and managed to shut down some of the best attacking forces on the continent. In hindsight, knocking out Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona and Manchester United were impressive performances, but, in fairness, both Barcelona and Manchester United suffered long spells of poor form and finished fifth in their respective leagues. I'm not complaining, though!

DBU POKALEN: Champions

The back-to-back disappointments were finally broken with a rearguard effort to beat VB Kolding in the final (and finally knock off Midtjylland on the way there!). Not a bad way to start the Continental Treble that followed.

Key players:

• Niels Pedersen: Installed as captain at the start of the year, Pedersen had his best year for the club by a long way with 20 goals and nearly forty assists as he lead the team to our maiden Champions League crown. His performance in Europe was not as quite as dominant as elsewhere, as teams successfully closed him down throughout the season. Nevertheless, he was an integral part of our success.
  
• Jonas Jacobsen: The young centre half, in his first full season at the club, was an absolute standout in Europe as he picked up four MotM awards in an incredible season. He formed a formidable central pairing with Casper Oxtorp, and quickly cemented himself a place in the side on the back of some great performances. He's also capable of slotting in at the defensive midfield position.
  
• Ole Overgaard: While he lost the captaincy, it was clearly that he benefited from the lower expectations as he moved further down the field to a central midfield position. There he managed to show his fine passing abilities, and still get further up the field to score regularly. He's a hero at FCK, and will surely be the club's record caps holder soon.
  
• Jonas Roth: Competed with Carl Jaksic at the start of the year, and clearly emerged the No. 1 for FCK on the back of some consistently awesome European performances. While the defence was rock solid, the young Swede was unflappable in goals and produced some fantastic football. He'll be a great servant for years to come.
  
• Alexander Mourad: The new signing slotted in right where Simon Makienok did, and in many ways offered more to the team with his ability to create assists. He started off brilliantly, but had a long patch in the middle of the year where he struggled for goals. He missed the end of the year through injury in a test of our depth, but scored a crucial goal against Barca and is still hitting his prime.
  

Squad:

Next season:

I think this might be where my journey ends. I have achieved what I set out to do by winning the Champions League with an all-Nordic side, and in fairness the league has become slightly boring now. The team has a lot of promise, but there's not a lot of quality elsewhere in the Nordic countries, so it is becoming increasingly difficult to find new talent.

What do you guys think? Should I (a) continue with FCK; (b) resign, and look elsewhere; or © commence a new game?

[thorganator]

Continue on the save, you're building an excellent team. Could possibly attempt this kind of challenge at another Scandinavian club?

[thorganator]

Continue on the save, you're building an excellent team. Could possibly attempt this kind of challenge at another Scandinavian club? Also, mind posting updates on what else has gone on in world football during this save?

[Mongrel]

Continue on the save, you're building an excellent team. Could possibly attempt this kind of challenge at another Scandinavian club? Also, mind posting updates on what else has gone on in world football during this save?

Sure, is there anything in particular you'd like to know? I'll limit myself to the past ten years.

In England - Things have been relatively consistent, with Manchester United and Manchester City sharing eight of the last ten titles, with Tottenham Hotspur (2017, 2023) taking the other two. No one outside of the "Big Six" has managed a top three finish since Newcastle way back in 2014.

In Spain - The 24-year Barca/Real reign was finally broken last season with Levante finally breaking through. It has been in the making for a while, though, with Swedish tycoon Niklas Wiklund actually taking them over twelve years ago and pumping a huge amount of money into the club. Despite the huge spending, they managed a best finish of fifth before Ricardo Moniz came in and led them to the title for the first time. Sevilla have actually been a regularly competitor without winning the La Liga - they have come second three times in the last ten years, and third four times.

In Italy - The Serie A is now the sixth ranked league in Europe - now behind France and the Netherlands. I guess a lot of this comes down to the finance bug, which I don't think I ever rectified. Juventus were the juggernauts of Italian football, as they won the title six times out of seven between 2012 and 2018. Since then, though, there have been five different champions in the past six seasons (Juve, Inter, Atalanta, Empoli and Cagliari), in a very entertaining period of football. AC Milan are struggling - their last top three finish was 2018-19, and they finished as low as 14th in 2023-24. They've been through twelve manages since the start of the game.

In France - There has been healthy competition in recent years, after PSG went on a tear that saw them win six titles in eight seasons. They have won three of the past six, but at least now Marseille (2021, 2023) and Lyon (2025) have got in on the act. Stade Rennais managed a third place finish last year - their best finish ever.

The current top ten ranked nations in the world, before this year's World Cup, are:

1. England
   
2. Germany
   
3. Portugal
   
4. Italy
   
5. Argentina
   
6. France
   
7. Spain
   
8. Ukraine
   
9. Uruguay
   
10. Brazil
    

From the Nordic countries, Denmark are down in 30th (they missed out on qualifying for this World Cup, in a huge disappointment), Norway are 50th, Finland are 53rd, Sweden are 61st, the Faroe Islands are 141st, and Iceland are 172nd.

Also, the ten richest clubs are (in terms of estimated value):

1. Real Madrid
   
2. Manchester United
   
3. Arsenal
   
4. Manchester City
   
5. Chelsea
   
6. Bayern Munich
   
7. Barcelona
   
8. Tottenham
   
9. Liverpool
   
10. Paris-Saint Germain
    

Unfortunately, quite a boring game world!

[Gundo]

Great read this, found it really inspiring too. I tried it with much the same ideals in my Gundo's challege attempt last year, so I know how difficult it can be for quality of newgens.

[Mongrel]

Transfers in:

Ómar Torfason (Köln, €3M) - The 28-year old was not my first choice, but he's a solid hand with experience in one of the best leagues in Europe. The Icelandic international has come a long way since joining Lyngby from the Icelandic league way back in 2018, but his four Bundesliga seasons with Duisberg, and then Köln, has seen him become a very fine midfielder. His stats aren't the greatest, but I think he'll fit into my system pretty well. He's by no means of the same quality as Jonas Petersen, though.

Robert Norlén (Halmstad, €1M) - The young defender played two years in the Swedish top flight, where he solidified himself as a regular for Halmstad. With the departure of Hannu Hietala to Cardiff City, there's a big chance for him to challenge for a spot in a Champions League team that is in a rebuilding phase. He works hard and is fit, and gives the coaches a lot to work with.

Karsten Feldballe (SønderjyskE, €975K) - One of the few shining lights in a disappointing year last year for SønderjyskE, Feldballe made 28 Superliga starts and performed admirably in a poor attacking side. While he only scored eight goals, he played a lot of the season in the midfield as well. He's a physically gifted 20-year old, who is rated highly by my coaches, and could complete a massive journey into Champions League football at FCK considering he began his career with 2. Division Vest side Næsby in 2021-22.

Nicki Bille Bjur (AGF, €750K) - One of the more exciting young signings, Bjur could be yet another in the line of quality right backs to make his name at FCK. The 18-year old is a highly brave and determined customer, whose only real weakness now is his lack of physical prowess. He made nine Superliga appearances with AGF, so is really a speculative signing.

Bjørn Kirk (AGF, €700K) - The youngster made 20 Superliga appearances for AGF in three seasons, and is a towering 193 cm at just eighteen years of age. He can also play in the midfield and on the right, so there's a lot to work with, and he's very good in the air. I'm almost tempted to retrain him as a target man (his finishing is poor). He'll spend the year on loan at FC Midtjylland.

Roger Bergenheim (IFK Norrköping) - The quick winger spent two years playing Allsvenskan football, and joins FCK for less than a million euros. He'll immediately go on loan to Swedish giants Malmö, and will hopefully play some first team football there.

Tore André Snekkevik (Vålerenga, €425K) - Another speculative signing, the 19-year old has made 17 appearances for the Norwegian U-21 side, and will almost certainly spell the end for Carl Jaksic at the club by the end of the year. He's a bit eccentric, but has a heap of potential to become a fine goalkeeper.

Heini Olsen (B36, €10K) - He's clearly not good enough, but he brings the Faroese contingent at the club to 2.

Jimmie Lauritzen (VB Kolding, Free) - The five-time Danish international has been a rock in Kolding's defence for five seasons, and joins a team that will play more Champions League football (but he will probably not, ironically, play as much). The 27-year old provides fantastic depth at the back in a team likely to play a lot of football, but is yet another slow-but-skilled centre half.

Anan Bazel (KV Kortrijk, Free) - Strong and good in the air, Bazel is here for depth after playing a lot of football in the Belgian leagues. He spent about five years at FCK without making a senior appearance - instead he spent seasons on loan with Silkeborg, Nordsjælland and Randers. In hindsight, we don't need him and he could be on his way out by the winter, but I expected to lose at least one or two central defenders at the time I signed him.

Bashkim Kadrii (Esbjerg fB, Free) - At 35-years of age, the guy clearly isn't good enough any more, but he's a favoured personnel at the club, and made 205 league appearances before deciding to leave at the end of the 2022-23 season. He might play the odd game off the bench, and in fairness he was quite good at Esbjerg, but he's mainly here for tutoring and sentiment.

Transfers out:

Jonas Petersen (Gladbach, €15M) - The big money signing, and one we didn't want to lose as the 23-year old Danish international still isn't close to his peak, despite being one of the best midfielders in the Champions League last year. Gladbach and Arsenal both met his reserve price, and the incredible central midfielder departs after six years at the club. He was signed from Lyngby for €1.5M in the winter of 2021, and proved to be a fantastic player, and yet another in a string of quality central midfielders to come through the club. 129 apps, 7 goals.

Ronny Sunde (Racing, €1.4M) - The 23-year old will be special one day, but his development might have been hurt by being part of a squad with a lot of depth at right-back. He joined back in 2020, but failed to break into the first team despite a breakout 2023-24 season on loan at then Superliga side AGF. 25 apps, 0 goals.

Matti Vuorinen (Málaga, €1.3M) - At one point, Vuorinen looked like the next big thing in Finnish football after proving to be somewhat of a super sub at Copenhagen. At 24, he still has his career ahead of him, and he completes a big move to La Liga side Malaga. I wanted to keep him, but he's too good to play second fiddle to Niels Pedersen, and can't play anywhere else. 104 apps, 21 goals.

Jonas Warholm (Viking, €650K) - The once highly rated young Norwegian spend seven years at the club, but never managed to crack the first team regularly despite loan stints at Vålerenga, Düsseldorf and Racing. He'll be a good pickup for Norwegian top flight side Viking. 12 apps, 2 goals.

Marc Budtz (Esbjerg fB, €550K) - A man who is likely to craft himself a decent career at Esbjerg, the long-time midfielder was part of a string of very good sides where he only made sporadic appearances, but always seemed to score. Not a bad habit to have. The removal of an AMC in favour of a DMC spelled the end of his Copenhagen career as he fell further back behind the pecking order in central midfield, and he managed a full season at Midtjylland on loan last year. The 29-year old youth product has been a fantastic servant (and Danish international! …once), but will look to rejuvenate his career elsewhere. He was the king of the Danish Cup with 12 goals in 19 cup appearances with FCK. 80 apps, 32 goals.

Lars Bo Christensen (VB Kolding, €550K) - Was signed as a depth player from Aarhus Fremad, and performed admirably without ever really replacing Hietala. The arrival of Nikolaj Gerber meant that he fell further back, and he spent the second half of last year on loan at Kolding before making the move there for good. 31 apps, 0 goals.

Arne Overgaard (Hønefoss, €230K) - I probably jumped the gun a bit in letting him go, but he was way back in the pecking order and was complaining about it. He could be one to watch for a future return to the club, considering he played here for just two seasons. 24 apps, 5 goals.

Hannu Hietala (Cardiff, Free) - I didn't want him to leave, but he rejected all advances and wanted a new challenge. Winning the Champions League apparently wasn't good enough for him, so he's off playing with bottom half Premiership side Cardiff City in Wales. Yup. 243 apps, 6 goals.

---

So, we're clearly a worse team than last season, with our first choice left-back and central midfielder both departing for vastly different sums. I'm not sure Torfason or Gerber are adequate replacements, but time will tell. This could finally be the season for Kolding who, for some reason, directly qualified for the Champions League group stages. They spent around €11M on players this window, including a €5.5M packet on versatile Brazilian winger Chris. Things could get interesting!

[Mongrel]

Great read this, found it really inspiring too. I tried it with much the same ideals in my Gundo's challege attempt last year, so I know how difficult it can be for quality of newgens.

Thanks, man. Decided to stick on for at least another season to see how far we can go in Europe with a less talented team, but some of the younger guys getting better after a huge season last year. With the right draw, I'd be hoping to go deep into the Champions League again, but I can't be expecting miracles.

VB Kolding's inclusion in Champions League football makes the Superliga very interesting, too, though they have little chance in a group including Tottenham, PSV Eindhoven and Borussia Dortmund!