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Brøndbyernes Idrætsforening (, usually abbreviated to Brøndby IF (), is a professional
association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
club based in Brøndbyvester, Capital Region of Denmark. The club was founded in 1964 as a merger between two local clubs and was promoted to the Danish top-flight football league in 1981. Brøndby IF has won 11 Danish championships and 7
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. Brøndby's most successful period was from 1985 to 2005 when, in twenty years, they won ten league titles. In
1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...
, Brøndby reached the semi-finals of 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 ...
and became the first and only Danish club to ever reach a European semi-final. Since the founding of F.C. Copenhagen in 1992, they have had a fierce rivalry. Matches between the two clubs are referred to as 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 ...
.


History


Formation (1964–1977)

Brøndbyernes Idrætsforening was formed on 3 December 1964 following a merger between two local rivals – Brøndbyøster IF and Brøndbyvester IF. The merger was to be completed as a prerequisite for the construction of a new stadium by Brøndby Municipality. Brøndby IF spent its inaugural season as an amateur club in the 6th tier of the 11 Danish leagues, the Serie 1, where they finished their two first seasons in fourth place. Among the players of the early years was team captain Per Bjerregaard, a doctor who had moved to Copenhagen from
Randers Randers () is a city in Randers Municipality, Central Denmark Region on the Jutland peninsula. It is Denmark's sixth-largest city, with a population of 62,802 (as of 1 January 2022).Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...
, and Hans Gregersen, who was the mascot of the team until his death by syphilis in 1967. In 1967, the club hired coach
Leif Andersen Leif Andersen (born 19 April 1971) is a Norwegian retired professional footballer who played as a defender. He spent most of his career in Norwegian domestic football, but also spent one-and-a-half seasons with English Football League club Cry ...
who instantly secured promotion to ''Sjællandsserien'' (the
Zealand Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020. It is the 1 ...
series). After a few mediocre years, a new coach, John Sinding, was brought in, and the club won promotion to ''Danmarksserien'' (the Denmark series). In 1973, Per Bjerregaard stopped his active career at 27 years of age and became chairman of Brøndby; his first action was to sack head coach Sinding. In his place, Brøndby hired former professional and Denmark national team player
Finn Laudrup Finn Laudrup (born 31 July 1945) is a Danish former association football player who played as a forward. He represented a number of Danish clubs and played professionally with Wiener Sport-Club in Austria. He played 19 matches and scored six goa ...
, who took over as head coach while he still took actively part in the matches as a player. Laudrup joined his brother-in-law Ebbe Skovdahl in the Brøndby team, and he brought his two young sons
Brian Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word me ...
and
Michael Laudrup Michael Laudrup (, born 15 June 1964) is a Danish professional football coach and former player. He is considered to be one of the greatest players of all time. He is the older brother of fellow retired footballer Brian Laudrup. During his p ...
with him to the club. Under Finn Laudrup's influence, the club's playing style was changed to a more attacking strategy, even though Laudrup decided to fully concentrate his efforts as a player after only a year. After winning promotion in 1974, Laudrup left Brøndby in the 3rd Division in 1976 to play for KB in the Danish top-flight league (then named the 1st Division) and a year later Michael Laudrup, the brightest talent in Danish football, followed.


Professional football (1977–1987)

In 1977, Brøndby moved up into the 2nd Division, and were one of the clubs who quickly adapted to the new times of paid football in the best Danish leagues in 1978. Per Bjerregaard persuaded Finn Laudrup into returning to Brøndby in 1981 on a professional contract, and following a season of 85 goals in 30 matches, Brøndby won promotion to the top-flight 1st Division under coach Tom Køhlert. Finn Laudrup subsequently ended his career at age 36, but in his place Michael Laudrup returned for the 1982 season, being one of ten players leaving KB that year. Brøndby won their 1st Division debut match 7–1 over fellow promoted team
B 1909 Boldklubben 1909, known as B1909, is a Danish association football club currently playing in the Denmark Series. They play at Gillested Park in Odense on Funen, which has a capacity of 6,000. Founded in 1909, the club spent a total 38 seasons ...
in a match which featured two goals from Michael Laudrup. He was subsequently called up for the Denmark national team, and on 15 June 1982 he became the first Brøndby player to win a
cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...
for the national team. Brøndby finished their first 1st Division season in fourth place with Laudrup the league's third top goal scorer with 15 goals, earning him the
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. In 1983, Laudrup was sold to Juventus in the then-biggest transfer deal in Denmark, giving Brøndby the economic foundation to expand further. After four years in the top division, Brøndby won their first Danish championship in
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
and played its first European match when the club beat Hungarian champions
Budapest Honvéd Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population of ...
4–1 in the 1986 European Cup. In 1986, Brøndby became the first Danish club of fully professionals when ten players were signed full-time, and the club was introduced at 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 1987.


European success (1987–1992)

Throughout the second half of the 1980s, the team dominated the league and did not finish lower than second place until 1992. The team was built around talented Danish players, and from 1987 to 1991 players from Brøndby won the Danish Player of the Year award every year. The recipients formed the backbone of the Denmark national team which later won
UEFA Euro 1992 The 1992 UEFA European Football Championship was hosted by Sweden between 10 and 26 June 1992. It was the ninth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and supported by UEFA. Denmark won the 1992 championship, having qualifi ...
, and was the first goalscorer in the 2–0 Euro 1992 final win John "Faxe" Jensen (1987), national team captain
Lars Olsen Lars Christian Olsen (born 2 February 1961) is a Danish former footballer and current manager, who was most recently the manager of Esbjerg fB in the Danish Superliga. He started his coaching career with Randers in 2003, guiding them to promoti ...
(1988), the World's Best
Goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
1992 and 1993 award winner
Peter Schmeichel Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...
(1989), four-time Danish Player of the Year award winner Brian Laudrup (1990) and the second goalscorer of the Euro 1992 final Kim Vilfort (1991). The club became used to winning the national title and turned its attention towards European success. In 1990, Brøndby hired former national team captain
Morten Olsen Morten Per Olsen (born 14 August 1949) is a Danish football manager and former player. He was the head coach of the Denmark national team for 15 years from 2000 until 2015, guiding Denmark to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, 2004 European Championshi ...
as coach, and under his reign, the
1990–91 UEFA Cup The 1990–91 UEFA Cup was won by Internazionale on aggregate over Roma. This tournament also marked the return of English clubs after a five-year ban resulting from the Heysel Stadium disaster in 1985. However, for this season, only one English ...
became the high point in the short history of the club. Especially the meriting wins over German sides
Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The team is currently playing in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the Germa ...
and
Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH, also known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen (), Bayer Leverkusen, or simply Leverkusen, is a professional football club based in Leverkusen in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The club competes in the Bundesliga, t ...
, and Russian club
Torpedo Moscow Football Club Torpedo Moscow (russian: link=no, ФК "Торпедо" Москва, ''FK Torpedo Moskva''), known as Torpedo Moscow, is a Russian professional football club based in Moscow that was founded in 1924 and returned to the Russian Pre ...
saw the many Danish profiles shine, and the club was minutes from qualifying for the final match of the tournament. In the 88th minute of the semi-final, however, a
Rudi Völler Rudolf "Rudi" Völler (; born 13 April 1960), nicknamed "''Tante Käthe''" ("Aunt Käthe"), is a German former professional football player and manager who serves as the sporting director for Bayer Leverkusen. A forward, Völler won the FIFA W ...
goal denied Brøndby a trip to the UEFA Cup final in favour of Roma. Following the impressive European display by the comparatively small club, important members of the team, including Lars Olsen, top scoring striker Bent "Turbo" Christensen and star goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel, left the club. The following year, 1992, was the worst year in the club's history as the intended takeover of the Danish bank Interbank went awry. It was expected that European Cup success would boost the Brøndby stock value in order to finance the buy, but as the club was beaten by
Dynamo Kyiv Football Club Dynamo Kyiv (, ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Dynamo Sports Society, the club as a separate business entity was officia ...
in the
1991–92 European Cup The 1991–92 European Cup was the 37th season of the European Cup football club tournament. It was the first European Cup to have a group stage, from which the winning clubs progressed to the final. 1991–92 was the tournament's last edition b ...
qualification, the stocks never reached the value necessary to finalize the deal. It had been arranged for financial backers Hafnia Insurance Company to step in and take over the buy in case Brøndby could not finance it, but as Hafnia went
bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...
, Brøndby were forced to buy Interbank and financial collapse was imminent as club debts amassed to 400 million DKK. A long-term rescue plan was initiated to save the club, but these events influenced the performance of the team and the championship, now called the Danish Superliga, was not won again until 1996.


Rebuilding (1992–2002)

The rebuilding of the team was led by head coach Ebbe Skovdahl, who deployed the team in a
4-4-2 formation In association football, the formation of a team refers to the position players take in relation to each other on a pitch. As association football is a fluid and fast-moving game, a player's position (with the exception of the goalkeeper) in a ...
. The return to the club of Euro 1992 veterans John Jensen and captain Lars Olsen combined with the emergence of 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 ...
and striker
Ebbe Sand Ebbe Sand (; born 19 July 1972) is a former professional footballer from Denmark who played as a forward for Brøndby IF in Denmark and FC Schalke 04 in Germany. He was the Bundesliga top scorer in 2001, and won the DFB-Pokal in 2001 and 2002 w ...
got the club back on its feet. The rebuilding culminated in the
1995–96 UEFA Cup The 1995–96 UEFA Cup was the 25th season of Europe's then-tertiary club football tournament organised by UEFA. It was won by German club Bayern Munich on aggregate over Bordeaux of France. Girondins de Bordeaux went to the finals all the way f ...
elimination of
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
, though Roma once again knocked Brøndby out. Including that year, Brøndby won three Danish championships in a row, and the next year's UEFA Cup saw one of the biggest upsets in Brøndby history, as a 3–1 home defeat to
Karlsruher SC Karlsruher SC is a German association football club, based in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg that currently plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football. Domestically, the club was crowned German champion in 1909, and won the DF ...
was changed to an aggregate win when Brøndby beat the team of
Euro 1996 The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 ...
winner
Thomas Häßler Thomas Jürgen "Icke" Häßler (; born 30 May 1966) is a German former professional footballer. He played as a midfielder throughout his career. At club level, he made a century of appearances for four teams: 1. FC Köln, Karlsruher SC and 1860 ...
5–0 away in Germany. Most importantly for the club's economy, Brøndby qualified for the new format of the European Cup, rebranded as the UEFA Champions League. The Champions League qualification meant six guaranteed matches in a
group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...
with three of the biggest teams of Europe, and when they were paired with
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
and later finalists Manchester United and Bayern Munich, Brøndby faced very economically attractive matches. Despite winning 2–1 over Bayern in the first match of the group stage, Brøndby conceded 18 goals in 6 matches and were eliminated with a single win to their name. Skovdahl decided to take a stab at coaching at Scottish club
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 ...
and Brøndby took a more
Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...
n approach, in search of stable success in the European competitions with Norwegian club Rosenborg the role model. The club hired Norwegian manager
Åge Hareide Åge Fridtjof Hareide (born 23 September 1953) is a Norwegian football manager and player, currently managing Malmö FF as the interim manager. In his playing career, he played for Hødd and Molde in Norway as well as Manchester City and Norwich ...
in 2000, who proclaimed a shift in line-up to a more attacking 4–3–3 system. With Hareide came a handful of Scandinavian players of whom especially Sweden national team player
Mattias Jonson Olof Mattias Jonsson (; born 16 January 1974) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a winger. Starting off his career with Örebro SK in the early 1990s, he went on to represent Helsingborgs IF, Brøndby IF, and Norwich Ci ...
became a fan favourite. The year 2000 was also the year the club finalized a planned expansion of Brøndby Stadion from a 20,000 to a 29,000 capacity, making it the second largest stadium in Denmark, only trailing 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 ...
of F.C. Copenhagen. At the cost of 250 million DKK, the vast expenditure was seen as a sign that the club was out of its former financial crisis. The building project was finalized in Autumn 2000, and on 22 October, 28,416 spectators saw Brøndby beat
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 ...
4–2 in the opening match of the rebuilt stadium. Hareide's visions of a 4–3–3 system never worked out, and the team soon returned to the well-known 4–4–2 setup. As he slowly lost hold of a ten-point lead to rivals F.C. Copenhagen, gained in a great first half of the 2001–02 Superliga season, Hareide took his leave in spring 2002 before the last matches of the season. He was replaced by youth team coach Tom Køhlert, who, though reluctant to take the job, gave first team debuts to the top youth team players, most notably
Thomas Kahlenberg Thomas Zeuthen Kahlenberg (; born 20 March 1983) is a Danish former footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He started his career with Brøndby IF, winning two Danish Superliga championship, and played four seasons at French club A ...
, who helped the club narrowly secure the championship win on goal difference.


The Laudrup years (2002–2006)

In the 2002–03 pre-season, Brøndby announced that Danish icon
Michael Laudrup Michael Laudrup (, born 15 June 1964) is a Danish professional football coach and former player. He is considered to be one of the greatest players of all time. He is the older brother of fellow retired footballer Brian Laudrup. During his p ...
was taking the manager seat in his old club with
John Jensen John Jensen (born 3 May 1965), nicknamed Faxe (), is a Danish football manager and former player. A former midfielder, his playing career lasted almost two entire decades, including a stint with Arsenal in England and three stints with Brøndb ...
, also a club legend, as his assistant. In their first season, there were massive cuts from the very large squad; ten players were put in the reserves squad or sold and a talent squad was established. The club was to rely even more home grown players as Brøndby was already famous for developing very talented players. In the process, Laudrup told several players to find new clubs as he thought they would not fit in the playing style he wanted to implement. During the Laudrup era, Brøndby won the
Double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * ...
in 2005. The club was relatively successful in the European competitions as
Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04 (), Schalke 04 (), or abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional German football and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine ...
was beaten 2–1 in the
2003–04 UEFA Cup The 2003–04 UEFA Cup was won by Valencia in the final against Marseille. It wrapped up a league and UEFA Cup double for Valencia. Porto could not defend their title as they automatically qualified for the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League and a ...
but was later beaten by Laudrup's former club Barcelona, 0–1. In May 2006, it was announced that Laudrup and Jensen could not agree with the board of Brøndby regarding an extension of their contracts, and the duo left the club.


Years of crisis (2006–2013)

The two were replaced by Dutch coach René Meulensteen, who had a rough start in charge of the first team. Together with newly appointed Anders Bjerregaard – son of director Per Bjerregaard – Meulensteen bought a number of questionable players in the final days of the summer transfer window. In the first matches, the new coach struggled with injuries among the key players and the team had problems living up to the expectations. Meulensteen resigned after six months, leaving Brøndby in seventh position halfway through the 2006–07 Superliga. The official explanation for his departure was that his family could not settle in Denmark, but soon after, the former coach revealed major infrastructural problems in the club's organization, calling the club "a very sick patient requiring immediate attention", as well as cliques inside the first team. In order to solve the clique problems, he had gone to director Per Bjerregaard to fire three key players –
Marcus Lantz Marcus Lantz (born 23 October 1975) is a Swedish football manager and former professional footballer who played as a holding midfielder. A full international between 1998 and 2010, he played six matches for the Sweden national team. Career ...
, Thomas Rytter and one club man
Per Nielsen Per Lundgren Nielsen (; born 15 October 1973) is a Danish former professional footballer who played in the central defense of Brøndby IF in the Danish Superliga for his entire club career. With Brøndby, Nielsen won five Danish championships ...
– in order to reestablish the balance in the first team squad, a demand Danish football experts later described as the quickest way of getting sacked. Tom Køhlert took the managerial reins once more, this time as a permanent solution on a two-and-a-half-year contract. After losing 2–4 to
Horsens Horsens () is a city on the east coast of Jutland region of Denmark. It is the seat of the Horsens municipality. The city's population is 61,074 (1 January 2022) and the municipality's population is 94,443 (), making it the 8th largest city in De ...
on 26 August, their 23rd consecutive away match without a victory, the team was met by approximately 200 furious fans and cries like "die mercenaries" and "we are Brøndby, who are you?" on their return to Brøndby. On 31 August 2007, Per Bjerregaard announced that he resigned from the position as director of Brøndby IF, and instead took over as chairman of the board. Shortly after his resignation, Peter Schmeichel announced that he was ready to purchase Brøndby and become a director. The announcement divided the fans. Some praised the former player for trying to save the club, while others criticized him for bringing investor Aldo Petersen along, a keen supporter and former stockholder of rivals F.C. Copenhagen. Schmeichel's offer, however, was rejected. On 1 April 2008, Hermann Haraldsson was appointed to the vacant position. Following a disappointing beginning of the 2007–08 Superliga season with only five points gained from seven matches, manager Tom Køhlert made it clear in August 2007 that the
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 ...
now had a higher priority for the club. The change of priorities was successful, and Brøndby won their first domestic title in almost three years on 1 May 2008 when
Esbjerg Esbjerg (, ) is a seaport town and seat of Esbjerg Municipality on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in southwest Denmark. By road, it is west of Kolding and southwest of Aarhus. With an urban population of 71,698 (1 January 2022)
were defeated 3–2 in the final of the
2007–08 Danish Cup The 2007–08 Danish Cup was the 54th version of the Danish Cup. The first round were played about August 7 and the final was played on May 1. The winner qualified for the UEFA Cup. Fixtures and results The team listed to the left, is the home t ...
. Soon after, manager Køhlert declared his job complete, prompting club chairman Bjerregaard to search for his replacement. On 16 June 2008, the club announced the appointment of former player and head coach of Horsens, Kent Nielsen. Nielsen took charge of the first team on 1 January 2009. Former legendary coach Køhlert in the meantime led Brøndby to the first place, where they stayed until Nielsen arrived. On 1 July 2008, KasiGroup replaced Codan as the main sponsor of the club. The partnership involved a cooperation with
UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to ...
, making Brøndby the third club in Europe next to Barcelona and Swedish side Hammarby to wear the UNICEF logo on their shirts. Furthermore, KasiGroup entered a sponsorship for the stadium and promised substantial funds for strengthening the first-team squad. During the 2008 summer transfer window, this contributed to Brøndby signing five new players with national team experience in order to strengthen the team. On 30 December 2009, KasiGroup owner Jesper Nielsen got in trouble with Brøndby and refused to pay the remainder of the pledged money. On 31 August 2012, Brøndby told the Danish media B.T. that KasiGroup owed the club more than DKK 45 million (€6,000,000 / £5,000,000). Nielsen told B.T. that he could recognize the amount but that his lawyer thought they could make a settlement at a much lower figure than the 45 million. Nielsen was the owner of AG København, which went bankrupt on 31 July 2012. He was thus chased both by Brøndby and the Danish tax authorities, and a lawsuit followed. The case came to a close years later, in 2018, when Brøndby IF and Nielsen reached a multi-million Danish kroner settlement depending on Nielsen's active arbitration case against jewellery manufacturer Pandora.


The Jan Bech era


Thomas Frank and "Oscar-gate" (2013–2016)

In May 2013, the club was again close to bankruptcy, but was taken over and saved by a small group of investors led by Ole Abildgaard and Aldo Pedersen. On 10 April 2014, the new main investor, Jan Bech Andersen, took over as chairman and replaced the board with his own team. On 14 July 2014, the club announced they had signed a one-year contract with Danish betting company Bet25 as their main sponsor, with the option to extend the contract for an additional two years. The deal was said to be worth "a significant amount in the million Danish kroner range". The deal includes a strategic partnership between Brøndby and Bet25. As part of the contract, Danish telecommunications company
TDC A/S TDC Holding A/S or TDC Group (formerly Tele Danmark Communications) is a Danish telecommunications company dating back to 1879. TDC Group is the largest telecommunications company in Denmark. The company's headquarters are located in Copenhagen ...
(which owns 51% of Bet25), installed
Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wav ...
in Brøndby Stadion in December 2014. On 15 January 2015, it was announced Brøndby and Bet25 extended their contract until summer 2017. In 2016,
Thomas Frank Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the ...
announced his resignation as Brøndby IF manager after chairman Jan Bech Andersen had discredited him on an online chat-forum under the name of "Oscar", the case being referred to as "Oscar-gate" by the media. Bech Andersen stepped down as chairman after the incident but continued as board member.


Zorniger and the German years (2016–2019)

In April 2016, the board of directors presented ''Strategi 6.4'' (Strategy 6.4), a plan for the future course of the club. The main value presented was "community" ( da, "fællesskab"), and a vision for Brøndby IF was also laid out. Between 2016 and 2019, the club was to make the Superliga championship playoff every year, become more transparent and reach economic viability by the end of the period. Finally, between 2020 and 2023, Brøndby was to reach
European football UEFA competitions (french: competitions de l'UEFA), referred improperly by the mass media as European football, are the set of tournaments organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), generally in professional and amateur asso ...
every season and continue to improve in areas of community, transparency and economy. In addition, the team should strive for a tactic with strong pressing and return to having one of the best youth academies in Denmark again. On 17 May 2016, Brøndby named German coach
Alexander Zorniger Alexander Zorniger (born 8 October 1967) is a German football manager of Greuther Fürth and retired player who played as a midfielder. Coaching career Early career Zorniger started his coaching career with stints as head coach of Normannia Gm ...
as their new head coach. His first two seasons as head coach resulted in two second-place league finishes and a
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 ...
win. The focal point of Brøndby under Zorniger was an extreme form of the German '' Gegenpressing'' tactic, popularly translated to ''overfaldsfodbold'' (assault football) in Denmark; a style which proved to be a success. During the 2017–18 season, Brøndby mounted an eventful title charge to eventually finish second behind
FC Midtjylland FC Midtjylland (, "Central Jutland") is a Danish professional football club based in Herning and Ikast in the western part of Jutland. The club is the result of a merger between Ikast FS and Herning Fremad. Midtjylland competes in the Danish Supe ...
after being top of the table in the penultimate round. Zorniger was sacked in February 2019, following a poor start to the new campaign. His position had earlier been called into question after a match against
Hobro IK Hobro Idræts Klub () is a professional association football club based in the town of Hobro, Denmark, that competes in the 1st Division, the second tier of the Danish football league system. Founded in 1913, it is known by the short names 'Hob ...
in December 2018, where Brøndby's starting lineup featured no Danes. After the match, Zorniger criticised the Brøndby youth department for lacking quality and the Danish mentality for being poor. Martin Retov and Matthias Jaissle, former assistants under Zorniger, were appointed as caretaker managers the next day.


Frederiksen, "CV" and Superliga Champions (2019–2022)

In June 2019, former Denmark national U21 coach, Niels Frederiksen, was presented as the new head coach of Brøndby IF. A month later, Carsten "CV" Jensen was appointed as
Director of Football A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The sport ...
in Brøndby, and became the person responsible for meeting the requirements of implementing ''Strategi 6.4''. In Frederiksen's first season, Brøndby ended in fourth place of the league table, as the team failed to reach qualification to the
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. It ...
. However, the team was largely seen to be in a rebuilding phase, with the departures of important first-team player such as Kamil Wilczek,
Dominik Kaiser Dominik Kaiser (born 16 September 1988) is a German former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Career Early career Born in Mutlangen, West Germany, Kaiser was raised in Waldstetten and played for various clubs, such as TGSV Wal ...
and Hany Mukhtar in the January transfer window, and the emergence of younger players such as Morten Frendrup, Jesper Lindstrøm and Anis Ben Slimane in the starting lineup. On 24 May 2021, Brøndby won its first Danish league title in 16 years with a 2–0 win over
Nordsjælland North Zealand, also North Sealand ( da, Nordsjælland), refers to the northern part of the Danish island of Zealand which is not clearly defined but generally covers the area north of Copenhagen. The Danish tourist authorities have recently in ...
. Brøndby finished the season ahead of
Midtjylland The Central Denmark Region ( da, Region Midtjylland), or more directly translated as the Central Jutland Region and sometimes simply Mid Jutland, is an administrative region of Denmark established on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish muni ...
and arch-rival
FC Copenhagen 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, Denmark. FCK was founded in 1992 as a superstructure on ...
.


2022–present: Global Football Holdings takeover

On 28 August 2022, Jan Bech Andersen, chairman and main shareholder of the club, sold the majority of his shares to American company Global Football Holdings (GFH), spearheaded by Scott McLachlan. This meant that GFH would become the new majority shareholder of Brøndby with an ownership of just over 50% of the shares. Andersen continued as chairman of the board. GFH together with Andersen announced their intent of adding up to €30 million aimed at investments in support of Strategy 6.4. On 14 November, Frederiksen was dismissed from his position after Brøndby ended 2022 in 10th place in the league table after a poor run of form.


Stadium

Brøndby have always played their matches at Brøndby Stadion. A part of the merging of Brøndbyvester IF and Brøndbyøster IF was a promise by the Brøndby municipality mayor to build a ground, and in 1965 it was ready for the club to play in. Through the first years in the secondary Danish leagues, the stadium was little more than a grass field with an
athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...
track circling the field of play. It was not until 1978 that the main stand was built, sporting a capacity of 1,200 seated spectators. As newly promoted to the top Danish league in 1982, concrete terraces opposite the main stand were constructed, allowing for a crowd of 5,000 additional people. Following the first years of success in the top-flight, the athletic track was discarded and a further 2,000 seats were installed on top of the concrete stands from 1989 to 1990. When Brøndby played matches against other successful European teams in the 1990–91 UEFA Cup, the then capacity of up to 10,000 spectators was quickly dwarfed by the ticket interest. As the Denmark national stadium Idrætsparken in Copenhagen was being rebuilt, the club found no other way to host the matches but to get a dispensation to use
scaffolding Scaffolding, also called scaffold or staging, is a temporary structure used to support a work crew and materials to aid in the construction, maintenance and repair of buildings, bridges and all other man-made structures. Scaffolds are widely use ...
stands, which boosted the stadium capacity to 18,000 in the semi-final leg of the tournament, a 0–0 draw with Roma. Following the European adventure, the club inaugurated its end stands in 1992, allowing for a total of 22,000 spectators. In May 1998, the club bought Brøndby Stadion from the Brøndby municipality for 23.5 million DKK and immediately spent double that amount to modernize the stadium. When the club qualified for the 1998–99 UEFA Champions League, the stadium was still under construction and the matches were moved to archrival F.C. Copenhagen's
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 ...
. In 2000, all stands were standardized and built to the same height, allowing for crowds of 29,000 at domestic matches and 22,000 in the European matches, which allow only all-seated crowds. Since then, the stadium has seen a number of lesser or larger infrastructural and technical enhancements, and the February 2004 European match against Barcelona was played in front of a 26,031-spectator crowd.


Support

Brøndby are the most widely popular football club in Denmark, with a 2015 study having showed that Brøndby matches have by far the most viewers, both in terms of attendance and TV ratings, with Brøndby's rivals
FC Copenhagen 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, Denmark. FCK was founded in 1992 as a superstructure on ...
coming in second. Copenhagen have in recent years surpassed Brøndby in terms of attendance by several thousands. Brøndby Support is the official fanclub of Brøndby IF. It was founded in 1993 and has approximately 12,000 members. Brøndby is also renowned for its
ultra adopted by British military intelligence in June 1941 for wartime signals intelligence obtained by breaking high-level encrypted enemy radio and teleprinter communications at the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park. ' ...
fanscene. The most prominent group is '' Alpha''. Founded in 2006, the group is placed in the centre of the Southside Stand and are the main organizers of songs, flags, banners and
tifo Tifo () is the phenomenon whereby tifosi of a sports team makes a visual display of any choreographed flag, sign or banner in the stands of a stadium, mostly as part of an association football match. Tifos are most commonly seen in important m ...
. Other prominent groups are ''Svinget'', ''Deling 43'' and ''Fri Sport''. Compared to the rest of the ultra scene in Denmark, Brøndby are by far superior.


Honours

*
Danish Football Championship The Danish football champions are the winners of the highest league of football in Denmark. The title has been contested since 1913, in a varying form of competitions. Since 1991, the winners have been found through the Danish Superliga champions ...
** Winners (11):
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
,
1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...
,
1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...
,
1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...
,
1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...
, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2004–05, 2020–21 ** Runner-up (11):
1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...
,
1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...
, 1994–95, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2016–17, 2017–18 *
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 (7): 1988–89, 1993–94, 1997–98, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2007–08, 2017–18 ** Runner-up (4): 1987–88, 1995–96, 2016–17, 2018–19 *
Danish League Cup The Danish League Cup, was a football competition, arranged by ''Divisionsforeningen'', for all the top level Danish football teams. The competition has existed in various formats, with the exact name of the league depending on the sponsor. For ins ...
** Winners (3): 1984, 2005, 2006 * Danish Super Cup ** Winners (4): 1994, 1996, 1997, 2002 *
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 ...
(3 participations) ** Winners: 2006–07 * Denmark Series (fourth tier) ** Group winners: 1974 (g1) *
Zealand Series Zealand Series ( da, Sjællandsserien, SS, Herre Sjællandsserien) is the highest division for men organized by the regional association DBU Sjælland and one of the sixth-highest divisions overall in the Danish football league system. The Zeala ...
(fifth tier) ** Winners: 1971


Players

:''See also Brøndby IF players'' More than 300 players have represented Brøndby in the Danish leagues, cups and the European competitions since 1964.


Current squad


Youth players in use


Out on loan


Player of the year

Starting from 1980, the club has annually named its player of the year. Players still playing for the club are marked in bold: * 1980: Brian Chrøis * 1981: Ole Østergaard * 1982:
Michael Laudrup Michael Laudrup (, born 15 June 1964) is a Danish professional football coach and former player. He is considered to be one of the greatest players of all time. He is the older brother of fellow retired footballer Brian Laudrup. During his p ...
* 1983: John Widell * 1984: Bjarne Jensen * 1985:
Claus Nielsen Claus Illemann Nielsen (born 13 January 1964), known as Claus Nielsen, is a Danish former football player in the forward position. He spent the bulk of his career with Brøndby IF, but also played for the Greek club Panathinaikos and the Dut ...
* 1986: Ole Madsen * 1987:
Lars Olsen Lars Christian Olsen (born 2 February 1961) is a Danish former footballer and current manager, who was most recently the manager of Esbjerg fB in the Danish Superliga. He started his coaching career with Randers in 2003, guiding them to promoti ...
* 1988: Bjarne Jensen (2) * 1989: Henrik Jensen * 1990:
Peter Schmeichel Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...
* 1991: Kim Vilfort * 1992: Uche Okechukwu * 1993: Jes Høgh * 1994: Ole Bjur * 1995: Allan Nielsen * 1996: Søren Colding * 1997:
Ebbe Sand Ebbe Sand (; born 19 July 1972) is a former professional footballer from Denmark who played as a forward for Brøndby IF in Denmark and FC Schalke 04 in Germany. He was the Bundesliga top scorer in 2001, and won the DFB-Pokal in 2001 and 2002 w ...
* 1998:
Kim Daugaard Kim Daugaard Hansen (; born 29 March 1974) is a Danish football coach and former professional player, who currently works as assistant coach HB Køge. He played as a midfielder for Brøndby IF for his entire career.
* 1999:
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 ...
* 2000: Dan Anton Johansen * 2001: Krister Nordin * 2002: Aurelijus Skarbalius * 2003:
Per Nielsen Per Lundgren Nielsen (; born 15 October 1973) is a Danish former professional footballer who played in the central defense of Brøndby IF in the Danish Superliga for his entire club career. With Brøndby, Nielsen won five Danish championships ...
* 2004: Martin Retov * 2005:
Johan Elmander Johan Erik Calvin Elmander (; born 27 May 1981) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a striker. Beginning his career with Holmalunds IF in the late 1990s, he went on to play professionally in the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmar ...
* 2006:
Per Nielsen Per Lundgren Nielsen (; born 15 October 1973) is a Danish former professional footballer who played in the central defense of Brøndby IF in the Danish Superliga for his entire club career. With Brøndby, Nielsen won five Danish championships ...
(2) * 2007: Mark Howard * 2008: Thomas Rasmussen * 2009: Stephan Andersen * 2010:
Michael Krohn-Dehli Michael Krohn-Dehli (; born 6 June 1983) is a Danish former professional footballer. He played mostly as an attacking midfielder, but was also deployed as a winger. A technically gifted player, Krohn-Dehli started his professional career in the ...
* 2011:
Michael Krohn-Dehli Michael Krohn-Dehli (; born 6 June 1983) is a Danish former professional footballer. He played mostly as an attacking midfielder, but was also deployed as a winger. A technically gifted player, Krohn-Dehli started his professional career in the ...
(2) * 2012: Mike Jensen * 2013: Simon Makienok * 2014: Lukáš Hrádecký * 2015: Riza Durmisi * 2016: Frederik Rønnow * 2017: Christian Nørgaard * 2018: Kamil Wilczek * 2019: Kamil Wilczek (2) * 2020:
Andreas Maxsø Andreas Beyer Maxsø (; born 18 March 1994) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Major League Soccer club Colorado Rapids and the Denmark national team. He is known for his strength, leadership and aerial ability. ...
* 2021: Mikael Uhre * 2022: Mads Hermansen


Wall of Honour

Since Michael Laudrup became the first player to represent Brøndby on the Denmark national team in June 1982, more than 80 players have donned the national team jersey of their respective countries. Apart from Denmark, players from
Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
,
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
, Lithuania,
Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to ...
, Sweden,
Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...
,
Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...
,
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
,
Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...
, Australia, Gambia,
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
,
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
,
North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...
,
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
, Costa Rica,
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
,
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
,
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
,
Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
,
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
,
Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...
and
Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...
have represented their countries. The players are displayed on the "Wall of Honour", according to their year of national team debut. Players still playing for the club are marked in bold: ;1980s *
Michael Laudrup Michael Laudrup (, born 15 June 1964) is a Danish professional football coach and former player. He is considered to be one of the greatest players of all time. He is the older brother of fellow retired footballer Brian Laudrup. During his p ...
(1982) * Ole Madsen (1983) * Brian Chrøis (1983) * Ole Østergaard (1983) *
Lars Lunde Lars Lunde (born 21 March 1964) is a Danish former professional football player, who played in the striker position. Lunde got his breakthrough with Brøndby IF in 1983, and he made his debut for the Denmark national football team in October 1 ...
(1983) * Kim Christofte (1984) * John Helt (1985) *
Lars Olsen Lars Christian Olsen (born 2 February 1961) is a Danish former footballer and current manager, who was most recently the manager of Esbjerg fB in the Danish Superliga. He started his coaching career with Randers in 2003, guiding them to promoti ...
(1986) * John "Faxe" Jensen (1986) *
Claus Nielsen Claus Illemann Nielsen (born 13 January 1964), known as Claus Nielsen, is a Danish former football player in the forward position. He spent the bulk of his career with Brøndby IF, but also played for the Greek club Panathinaikos and the Dut ...
(1986) * Kim Vilfort (1987) * Per Steffensen (1987) *
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 ...
(1987) * Kent Nielsen (1987) *
Peter Schmeichel Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...
(1987) * Bjarne Jensen (1988) *
Jan Bartram Jan Lewis Bartram (born 6 March 1962 as Jan Louis Bartram), known simply as Jan Bartram, is a Danish former professional association football player in the midfielder position. He played for Scottish team Rangers and Bayer 05 Uerdingen in Ger ...
(1988) * Bent "Turbo" Christensen (1989) * Per Frimann (1989) ;1990s: * Erik Rasmussen (1990) * Uche Okechukwu (1990) * Friday Elahor (1990) * Brian Jensen (1991) * Frank Pingel (1991) *
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 ...
(1992) * Marc Rieper (1992) * Mark Strudal (1993) * Jes Høgh (1993) *
Dan Eggen Dan Eggen (born 13 January 1970) is a Norwegian football manager and former player. He has previously coached KFUM Oslo and Kolbotn in the Norwegian Premier League for women. He was capped 25 times for Norway, scoring two goals. Career Dan ...
(1993) * Jesper Kristensen (1994) * Jens Risager (1994) * Bo Hansen (1995) * Allan Nielsen (1995) * Peter Møller (1996) * Ole Bjur (1996) * Søren Colding (1996) * Aurelijus Skarbalius (1996) *
Ebbe Sand Ebbe Sand (; born 19 July 1972) is a former professional footballer from Denmark who played as a forward for Brøndby IF in Denmark and FC Schalke 04 in Germany. He was the Bundesliga top scorer in 2001, and won the DFB-Pokal in 2001 and 2002 w ...
(1998) * Oumar Barro (1999) ;2000s: * Magnus Svensson (2000) *
Mattias Jonson Olof Mattias Jonsson (; born 16 January 1974) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a winger. Starting off his career with Örebro SK in the early 1990s, he went on to represent Helsingborgs IF, Brøndby IF, and Norwich Ci ...
(2000) *
Peter Madsen Peter Langkjær Madsen (; born 12 January 1971) is a Danish convicted murderer and former entrepreneur. In April 2018, he was convicted of the 2017 murder of Swedish journalist Kim Wall on board his submarine, ''UC3 Nautilus'', and sentenced ...
(2001) * Mads Jørgensen (2001) * Morten Wieghorst (2002) *
Per Nielsen Per Lundgren Nielsen (; born 15 October 1973) is a Danish former professional footballer who played in the central defense of Brøndby IF in the Danish Superliga for his entire club career. With Brøndby, Nielsen won five Danish championships ...
(2002) * Jón Rói Jacobsen (2003) *
Thomas Kahlenberg Thomas Zeuthen Kahlenberg (; born 20 March 1983) is a Danish former footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He started his career with Brøndby IF, winning two Danish Superliga championship, and played four seasons at French club A ...
(2003) *
Andreas Jakobsson Bo Janne Andreas Jakobsson (born 6 October 1972) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a defender and defensive midfielder. Starting off his professional career with Landskrona BoIS in 1990, he went on to also represent He ...
(2003) * Karim Zaza (2004) * Asbjørn Sennels (2004) * Martin Retov (2004) * Morten Skoubo (2004) *
Johan Elmander Johan Erik Calvin Elmander (; born 27 May 1981) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a striker. Beginning his career with Holmalunds IF in the late 1990s, he went on to play professionally in the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmar ...
(2004) * Daniel Agger (2005) *
Hannes Sigurðsson Hannes Þorsteinn Sigurðsson (born 10 April 1983) is an Icelandic football manager and former player who played as a forward. He is the manager of German club SV Wacker Burghausen. Playing career Hannes started his professional career with ...
(2006) * Martin Ericsson (2006) * Chris Katongo (2007) * Stefán Gíslason (2007) * Samuel Holmén (2008) * Thomas Rasmussen (2008) * Anders Randrup (2008) * David Williams (2008) * Max von Schlebrügge (2008) * Stephan Andersen (2008) *
Ousman Jallow Ousman Jallow (born 21 October 1988 in Banjul) is a Gambian footballer who plays as a striker, most recently for Cypriot club Yenicami Ağdelen. He is featured on the Gambian national team in the official 2010 FIFA World Cup video game. Club ...
(2008) *
Michael Krohn-Dehli Michael Krohn-Dehli (; born 6 June 1983) is a Danish former professional footballer. He played mostly as an attacking midfielder, but was also deployed as a winger. A technically gifted player, Krohn-Dehli started his professional career in the ...
(2008) * Morten "Duncan" Rasmussen (2008) * Mikael Nilsson (2009) *
Martin Bernburg Martin Løfqvist Bernburg (; born 26 December 1985) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a striker. He previously notably played for FC Nordsjælland and Brøndby IF and also gained caps for the Danish national team. Club ...
(2009) ;2010s: * Mike Jensen (2010) *
Daniel Wass Daniel Wass (born 31 May 1989) is a Danish professional association football, footballer who plays for Danish Superliga club Brøndby IF, Brøndby and the Denmark national football team, Denmark national team. He is capable of playing as a midfie ...
(2011) * Brent McGrath (2011) * Clarence Goodson (2011) * Dennis Rommedahl (2011) * René Joensen (2012) * Simon Makienok (2013) * Lukáš Hrádecký (2013) * Ferhan Hasani (2014) * José Ariel Núñez (2014) * Teemu Pukki (2014) * Hólmbert Friðjónsson (2015) * Lebogang Phiri (2015) * Riza Durmisi (2015) * Frederik Rønnow (2016) *
Marco Ureña Marcos Danilo Ureña Porras, known as Marco Ureña (born 5 March 1990), is a Costa Rican professional footballer who plays as a striker for C.S. Cartaginés. He has also played for the Costa Rica national team. Club career Born in San Jos ...
(2016) * Kamil Wilczek (2016) * Yun Suk-young (2017) * Paulus Arajuuri (2017) * Zsolt Kalmár (2017) *
Jan Kliment Jan Kliment (born 1 September 1993) is a Czech professional footballer who plays as a forward for Viktoria Plzeň. Club career Kliment played his youth football for Vysočina Jihlava before joining their senior team. Following his rise to pro ...
(2017) * Besar Halimi (2017) *
Hjörtur Hermannsson Hjörtur Hermannsson (; born 8 February 1995) is an Icelandic professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Serie B club Pisa and the Iceland national team. Club career Fylkir Born in Reykjavík, Iceland, Hermannsson began his caree ...
(2017) * Johan Larsson (2018) * Simon Tibbling (2019) ;2020s: * Simon Hedlund (2020) * Anis Ben Slimane (2020) * Blás Riveros (2020) * Jesper Lindstrøm (2020) *
Andreas Maxsø Andreas Beyer Maxsø (; born 18 March 1994) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Major League Soccer club Colorado Rapids and the Denmark national team. He is known for his strength, leadership and aerial ability. ...
(2020) * Mikael Uhre (2021) * Joe Bell (2022) * Ohikhuaeme Omoijuanfo (2022)


Coaching staff


First team


Senior management

:''Updated 23 September 2019''


Managerial history

The person responsible for direction of the first senior team has traditionally been given the title of head coach/trainer.


Records

* Home victory, Danish Superliga: 7–0 vs.
Herfølge Herfølge is a suburb of the town of Køge, Denmark, located about 5 kilometers south of Køge, and is a part of Køge Municipality. The suburb is connected to Køge and Næstved by the Lille Syd railway line. Residential areas Holmebækhus ...
, 11 July 2005 * Away victory, Danish Superliga: 7–0 vs.
Esbjerg Esbjerg (, ) is a seaport town and seat of Esbjerg Municipality on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in southwest Denmark. By road, it is west of Kolding and southwest of Aarhus. With an urban population of 71,698 (1 January 2022)
, 26 August 2001; 7–0 vs. AGF, 21 August 2016 * Home loss, Danish Superliga: 1–6 vs.
Esbjerg Esbjerg (, ) is a seaport town and seat of Esbjerg Municipality on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in southwest Denmark. By road, it is west of Kolding and southwest of Aarhus. With an urban population of 71,698 (1 January 2022)
, 14 March 2004 * Away Loss, Danish Superliga: 0–5 vs.
Midtjylland The Central Denmark Region ( da, Region Midtjylland), or more directly translated as the Central Jutland Region and sometimes simply Mid Jutland, is an administrative region of Denmark established on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish muni ...
, 29 July 2007 * Biggest win, European match 9–0 vs. Juvenes/Dogana, 2 July 2015 * Biggest Loss, European match 0–5 vs. PAOK, 20 August 2015; 0–5 vs. Manchester United, 4 November 1998 * Highest attendance, Brøndby Stadion: 31,508 vs.
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 ...
, 18 June 2003 * Highest average home attendance, season: 18,204, 2004–05 * Most appearances, European matches: 70,
Per Nielsen Per Lundgren Nielsen (; born 15 October 1973) is a Danish former professional footballer who played in the central defense of Brøndby IF in the Danish Superliga for his entire club career. With Brøndby, Nielsen won five Danish championships ...
* Most appearances, total: 556, Bjarne Jensen * Most goals scored, season, Danish Superliga: 28,
Ebbe Sand Ebbe Sand (; born 19 July 1972) is a former professional footballer from Denmark who played as a forward for Brøndby IF in Denmark and FC Schalke 04 in Germany. He was the Bundesliga top scorer in 2001, and won the DFB-Pokal in 2001 and 2002 w ...
1997–98 * Most goals scored, Danish Superliga: 71, Kamil Wilczek * Most goals scored, European matches: 12,
Ruben Bagger Ruben Bagger (born 16 January 1972) is a former Danish football player, who spent his entire professional career for Brøndby IF in the Danish Superliga, and played more than 300 matches for the club. He won five Danish Superliga championships a ...
* Most goals scored, total: 121, Kim Vilfort


Recent history

:


Brøndby in European competitions

Brøndby's first competitive European match was on 17 September 1986 in the
1986–87 European Cup The 1986–87 season was the 32nd season of the European Cup, Europe's premier club football competition. The tournament was won by Porto, who came from behind in the final against Bayern Munich to give a Portuguese club its first title since 1962 ...
, defeating
Budapest Honvéd Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population of ...
4–1 and later on Dynamo Berlin ''en route'' to a spot in the quarter-finals, where they lost to
Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...
. Since then, the club has been a regular fixture in European competitions, and reached the group stages 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
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. ...
several times. They also achieved one European semi-final in
1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...
, as well as another European quarter-final in
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 ...
.


UEFA club coefficient ranking


Footnotes

:A.  Danish club
Aalborg BK Aalborg Boldspilklub is a Danish sports club based in the city of Aalborg. The club is also known as AaB for short (cf. logo) or Aalborg BK. Through time the club has had branches in cricket, tennis, ice hockey, handball, and basketball, but cur ...
played in the 1995–96 Champions League tournament as a result of the bribing scandal of Dynamo Kyiv, thus they did not qualify through the qualification rounds.


References


Bibliography

* * * *


External links


Official website

Brøndby IF
at Superliga
Brøndby IF
at
UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brondby If Football clubs in Denmark Association football clubs established in 1964 Brøndby Municipality 1964 establishments in Denmark Football clubs in Copenhagen