FC Midtjylland is a Danish professional football club based in Herning and Ikast in the midwestern part of Jutland. The club is the result of a merger between Ikast FS and Herning Fremad. Midtjylland competes in the Danish Superliga, which they have won thrice, most recently in 2020.
Club history
FC Midtjylland was founded by Johnny Rune, a carpenter and owner of a private business in the wood-supply industry, and Steen Hessel, an authorized Mercedes-Benz dealer. The two men wanted to unite the football clubsIkast FS and Herning Fremad – clubs that for decades had been strong rivals, but had never played any significant role in Danish football. Ikast FS had some success in the late 1970s and '80s and made three Danish Cup final appearances, but had never been a top team in the Danish league. At least ten years had passed with the two clubs being unable to agree on a merger, but on 6 April 1999, a deal was finalised and announced at a press conference the next day. In 2000, Midtjylland were promoted to the top-flight Danish Superliga after a season in which the team had gathered more points than any other team in the history of the first division. In July 2014, Matthew Benham became the majority shareholder of Midtjylland's parent company FCM Holding. In the 2014–15 season, they won the Danish football championshipfor the first time.
Scouting and developing
Midtjylland have built a reputation of finding and developing promising talents, and have a highly regarded youth academy. In July 2004, Midtjylland was the first Danish club to establish their own football academy, similar to that of French side Nantes. The academy attracts players from throughout Denmark, as well as players from FC Ebedei, a partnering club in Nigeria. The club has developed a network of over 100 clubs located in the western part of Jutland. In 2008, Danish centre-back Simon Kjær, a talent of the academy, was sold to Palermo for a transfer fee of approximately DKK30 million. In 2010, Sune Kiilerich, another talent of the academy, was sold to Sampdoria, while Winston Reid, an academy product and New Zealand international, was sold to West Ham United for DKK32 million. In 2016, vice-captain Erik Sviatchenko was sold for £1.5 million to Celtic. Other notable sales of academy products include Pione Sisto to Celta Vigo, Rasmus Nissen to Ajax, Andreas Poulsen to Borussia Mönchengladbach and Mikkel Duelund to Dynamo Kiev.
Stadium
In 2004, the team moved to a new stadium in Herning with a capacity of approximately 12,000 spectators. Midtjylland was the first Danish club to sell the stadium naming rights to a sponsor, resulting in the name "SAS Arena" which has since been changed to MCH Arena. The stadium's opening match was on 27 March; it proved to be a success, with Midtjylland beating AB 6–0. Five of the goals were scored by Egyptian striker Mohamed Zidan.
Supporters
Black Wolves is the official fanclub of FC Midtjylland. It was founded in the beginning of August 1999, as the official fanclub of Ikast FS 1993 "Yellow Flames" changed their name at an extraordinary general meeting. Ultra Boys Midtjylland is the first ultra firm in Midtjylland, established in 2007 and later renamed Ultras Midtjylland. In 2014, Midtjyland got its second ultra firm, a youth department called Midtjylland Ungdom. The club's main rival is Viborg FF, the derby is claimed to be the second biggest in Denmark after FC København and Brøndby IF.
FC Midtjylland's first competitive European match was on August 9, 2001 in the 2001-02 UEFA Cup, playing Northern Ireland's Glentoran to a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the Qualifying Round before ultimately advancing to the First Round where they were eliminated by Sporting CP. In 2016 Midtjylland reached the Round of 32 of the 2015-16 UEFA Europa League where they achieved a 2-1 home victory over Manchester United but would up losing 6-3 on aggregate.
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