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Episode 22: The business end of the Superliga season w/ Gisle Thorsen
441 Plays1 year ago
I'm joined by Gisle Thorsen of Mediano to talk over another dramatic weekend of Superliga action that saw some high quality battles on the pitch and some more unsavoury ones off it. The Copenhagen derby, AGF-FC Nordsjælland and a clinical Viborg at Randers, plus all of the relegation group games.
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Transcript
Introduction to Episode 22
00:00:08
Speaker
This is Danish Dynamite, the Super Leaguer podcast, brought to you by footballingdenmark.com.
00:00:16
Speaker
Welcome to episode 22 of Danish Dynamike. Thank you, as ever, to everyone who is a regular and makes the time to listen whenever an episode drops. I know just how many quality podcasts are out there and how choosy we have to be to fit them all into our lives. So to be in your consideration is greatly appreciated.
Gisler Thorson Joins the Discussion
00:00:33
Speaker
On today's show, I'm welcoming back a guy who knows more about Danish football than I could ever hope to. It's Gisler Thorson of Mediano. Welcome back, Gisler. How are you on this fine Sunday day?
00:00:45
Speaker
Well, I'm great. And it's not so sunny, actually, if we had spoken yesterday. Now it's more like Copenhagen or typical Danish weather. It's windy. But yeah, we got a little bit of sun. This is me being in London, where it is nice and sunny. So we get your weather a day later.
00:01:01
Speaker
Yeah, I would say so, and well, you cannot look forward to what's coming.
Summer Break and Transfer Rumors
00:01:07
Speaker
Giesler, we've got three weeks, maybe a little bit more given the Euro playoff, but three, four weeks left of the season. When the summer comes around, do you switch off from football completely, or do you sort of dig into all the transfer rumours and watch the other Nordic leagues? Well, this summer we don't have a big international tournament, so obviously it will be more quiet.
00:01:29
Speaker
It's also a busy time for the Super League with all the transfer rumors, the stories about what's going on in different clubs, who's going out, who's coming in.
00:01:40
Speaker
So it's not like a complete switch off for me, but it's a more relaxed time. Maybe there's also a little time towards Tour de France and television and yeah, just enjoy the summer. Hopefully it will be better than it was last year regarding the weather at least. Yeah, you can enjoy those mountain stages without having to keep an eye on OB Horsons.
00:02:05
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. Well, you know, a lot of people use this Tour de France to sleep, you know, during those early stages, at least they put on the television, they just hear the sound, you can hear the helicopter filming and it's like quite relaxing and you fall asleep and then you wake up and maybe it could be the case if you watch the Hawthorne's games as well.
Exciting Current Season Overview
00:02:32
Speaker
I can't recommend it.
00:02:34
Speaker
Out of 10, how would you rate your enjoyment of the Super League this season? Where do you think this season stands relative to what we've seen recently? Well, I just thought about that question doing my manners for the show I'm doing tomorrow and I think I used the word the most exciting Super League in history maybe even regarding we have
00:02:57
Speaker
Three maybe even four teams competing for gold at this stage in the season. We have as well a very exciting struggle in the bottom with now three teams competing.
00:03:13
Speaker
So we don't have a lot of these games where you say, well, there's nothing really at stake. If I just look forward to this coming round, round 30, I will not say that there are any games where you can say, well, there's nothing, nothing at stake here. Either it's both teams who has lost to play for or it's one of the teams. So it's it's an exciting season. I think it's a good season. You chose to launch your podcast.
00:03:43
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I've only been following the Super League of four or five seasons. So to me, it feels certainly like the most exciting one, but it's good to know that that goes back longer than I've been watching it as well. We had the season 2017-18 with FC Michelin and Bronbe competing for the gold, you know, this very dramatic season, I don't know.
00:04:03
Speaker
That was just prior to you following the SuperLiga, the Skoll, Finn Bogos on score in Holton in the stoppage time against Bronbe, you know, in the second last round. It was heartbreaking for all Runbie fans. That was quite an exciting season as well.
00:04:24
Speaker
Is that the one where Bo Henriksen then went crazy afterwards? Yeah, he went absolutely crazy on the touchline afterwards, yeah. Yeah, he's become a Brumby figure of hate ever since, I think. Yeah, then, you know, last year when I think Horsen conceded a very late goal in one of the last games,
00:04:45
Speaker
and Bo Henriksen was really down. And I think that was the revenge, at least I saw on social media, a lot of brand new fans posting pictures of this Bo Henriksen looking very, very sad. So I mean, what comes around goes around.
Impact of World Cup Break
00:05:01
Speaker
And is it just me, or does this season feel like it's gone on forever because of the World Cup break? I think back to, you know, I went to the first Copenhagen derby of the season, and it was like, PEPBL hat-trick, and I think PEPBL was playing for Copenhagen this season, it feels like. Yeah, yeah, exactly. And I think FC Michelin have had five different managers this season. I mean, it's like, oh, really? I don't know, in this strange times we're living in,
00:05:28
Speaker
that some things just seem to be so fast, you know, from week to week. We can't even remember what happened next week because they come a new week and new great stories. But then we look back and say, well, this season's been going on for so long with all these twists and turns and plots. So, yeah, I used to call, normally I call the Super League of this kind of soap opera, you know.
00:05:54
Speaker
No, it's actually in a positive way because you can switch off maybe for a couple of weeks and then you can be back on the Super League and fit in straight away with all the stars. Oh, they're still struggling. There's still something with the fans. FC Copenhagen, how are they doing? It's like my favorite series. And mine too, I should point out.
Violence in Football: Recent Clashes
00:06:22
Speaker
Let's talk about some of the action from this weekend and I guess nowhere else to start than the Copenhagen Derby. There were some videos doing the rounds on social media of some violent clashes in a train station beforehand. What was the reaction to that in Denmark? Well, it's been quite strong. I don't know if I was surprised that it happened because normally, unfortunately, there are some incidents usually before a Derby, sometimes also during a Derby.
00:06:49
Speaker
But, you know, most fans, what I would call proper fans, they have obviously, so this is...
00:06:58
Speaker
in no way acceptable. I think also there has been the Minister of the Justice Department has also said something about we need to look at this and he has said that we need to punish those people harder than we do now because it's unacceptable, you know. Also, as you said, these pictures where we've seen this lady, old lady getting knocked out, run over more or less by those
00:07:28
Speaker
Yeah, we can call them thots or hooligans, whatever we like to call them. It's not okay. I mean, I can live with, I don't understand it, if they meet in a forest somewhere and have the fight there. But come on, on a public train station with other people around, it's not okay.
00:07:49
Speaker
Yeah, agreed. And is there a feeling that there's actually something that can be done to stop this? Because so far, there's been the blanket bands of away fans in two of the four Derby's this season. And yet, you know, this was something happening the day before a game, nowhere near the stadium. What can they do to stop this? Yeah, what can we do?
00:08:12
Speaker
I think you have to look at it in a broader way that there has always in history, football and violence, there has always been a connection.
Football and Violence: Historical Context
00:08:23
Speaker
And obviously, you know that coming from England, where you had your fair share of the problems now, you don't experience a lot of trouble.
00:08:38
Speaker
in the Premier League. But I think if you go a level or two or three down in England, still you have these troubles with the football, when there's a football match going on. So I don't think you can eliminate it completely. But you can do things that makes it harder for the thugs.
00:09:01
Speaker
I don't know if a harder punishment will stop them doing those kind of things, then I think you have to be a little bit more clever than me and know a little bit more about crime and punishment than I do. But from what I've known is that I don't think it's the length of the punishment that decides whether you go out and do something stupid, but banned from the stadium.
00:09:29
Speaker
I think will affect them even more. And then there's the question is if you can upheld upheld these bads because
00:09:39
Speaker
They are very good to get into the stadium even though they have a band but this about face recognition could be a way so you can at least make sure they don't come into the stadium because they have done something beforehand that might just for some of them say
Role of Experts in Football Violence
00:09:59
Speaker
okay well I better not do this because then I'll get a band from the stadium. I think one big mistake is to say they are not
00:10:07
Speaker
football fans. They are football fans, most of them, from what I know. They are very active football fans, some of them. It's not like something, oh, they just like the violence. Yeah, they like the violence, but I think they like the football too and this about supporting a team and all this.
00:10:29
Speaker
So I think we have to recognize this but it's just not football fans who act the way that in my way you should act in my opinion. Yeah, I said the exact same thing on Twitter yesterday that it's natural to say these people aren't supporters because they're not supporters in the same way as
00:10:50
Speaker
most people but ultimately lots of the people involved in this will have been ordinary supporters and been drawn to this level of violence for whatever reason. I think understanding how people go from standing on the terrace to going into organized fights, I think understanding that journey is going to be key to solving this rather than just saying now that they're not part of us.
00:11:10
Speaker
Yeah, exactly, exactly. I don't have the answer, but as you point out, I think you have to have experts who know about football culture, supporter culture, this ultra movement.
00:11:28
Speaker
Use what they say and don't think just because you are an elected politician that you have all the answers and can just say publicistic things that will get you votes instead. Look at the problems and ask the people who know what we can do about it.
00:11:47
Speaker
Absolutely. And I think solving the problem in England has been such a complex thing because there's no one factor that has impacted it on its own.
Territoriality in Football Culture
00:11:58
Speaker
But what I would say is that one of the reasons why football and violence is intrinsically linked wherever you look is
00:12:05
Speaker
to do with that idea of being territorial and that your club represents your area and I think that in England the clubs have morphed to the size of you know there's probably more Manchester United supporters in the south than there are in the north and so it becomes less about geographical location as you go down the pyramid things change and that's why you see it you see it lower down so it's just one piece of the puzzle and I know that FC Copenhagen and Bronby are the two best supported clubs in the country but it's
00:12:31
Speaker
It is, as you say, it's very interesting and it is about this culture and about belonging. And if you belong to one group, then you mirror yourself in other groups. And one thing about strengthening your own bond is about hating and other groups. So I think that's the dynamism that's on. And it is complex. But yeah, I think we could
00:12:58
Speaker
Get a little help from England maybe to help understand what's on stake. Absolutely.
Match Recap and Key Moments
00:13:07
Speaker
On the pitch, FC Copenhagen were obviously coming back from or trying to seek revenge for that 1-0 defeat at Parken in the previous derby a couple of weeks ago. Victor Gleason scored a beautiful diving header to open things up. The score then was leveled. Oh, he scored a penalty.
00:13:27
Speaker
Once again, Ankerson, I honestly don't have a vendetta against this guy, but he was caught sleeping last week for a key goal. He gives away a really clumsy penalty. Is he becoming a liability for FC Copenhagen? I think, actually, it's not as if he has had a bad season whenever called upon. But it's quite clear for me that he's not on the level that he used to be on. And I don't know if you can say the funny thing about this incident is that he says afterwards,
00:13:57
Speaker
that he doesn't think it was a policy because he did hit the ball first. And he also thinks that Mar should have intervened. But that's the funny thing about football, that you can participate even on a very, very high level without really knowing the rules and details or the laws of the game. Yeah, I have to say it looked pretty clear for me when you slide in. But after drawing level, Bromby disappeared really.
00:14:25
Speaker
Jordan Larson scored, it was a tap-in goal, but an important one. Then a moment of madness from Vass, red card, and I think, is that the most obvious red card of the season? Well, one of them at least. I think we just have to mention this safe by Cabar on Christgon when it was still 1-1. I think that was quite crucial, had Brandeis' goal there. I think it would have been hard for FC Code making to come back.
00:14:55
Speaker
great victory for combing, obviously. And I think this tactical announce of Jakob Nijscrup showed in this game where he diverted from the normal tactics and went into this. Yeah, I don't know if it's 5-3-2 or 3-5-2, but with three central defenders, even though he only had one fit central defender available. So that was quite interesting.
00:15:25
Speaker
And I've criticized one of those three in Peter Anguson. I should balance it by saying that I thought that Marco Staminic, playing out of his favored position, he looked fantastic. And also Elias Jeler, what did you make of the performances of those two? Staminic, he hasn't played much this season. He already agreed a contract with a red star, Brelkrad, starting from next season. But he has always, he has trained very well. Jakob Niskop has praised the guy.
00:15:53
Speaker
He has never been a regular in Copenhagen, but whenever called upon, he has delivered and he did that and on a position that he normally doesn't play. So you cannot praise the guy enough. And Jela, I think, is just a class act, you know. Very, very exciting player and great future for him.
00:16:17
Speaker
Do you see his future primarily on the right or the left? I know he can play both. On the right. Okay. For sure, his better on the right. I mean, as you say, he can play on the left whenever called upon, if it's necessary. But he's, I don't know, 10, 15, maybe even 20% better when on the right.
00:16:41
Speaker
Got it. Another FC Copenhagen full back of the conveyor belt then to follow Victor Christensen. Yeah, I don't know if Premier League would suit him that well, but I think he is maybe not the next one on the block, but
00:16:59
Speaker
Copenhagen maybe only will have him for the next season and then he will be off to somewhere. And let's face it, the way things are going for Leicester, I don't think Victor Christensen is going to be playing in the Premier League next season.
00:17:13
Speaker
No, no, it's a blow. And I actually think if CCO may have a clause in the contract, if Leicester survive, then they will get an additional payment from this transfer.
FC Copenhagen's Season Review
00:17:27
Speaker
But as you say, as it looks now, it will be tough for Leicester to come back. Definitely.
00:17:35
Speaker
That result put FC Copenhagen top and really piled the pressure on Nordsland playing later. Before we move on to Nordsland, what has been your opinion on Knee Strip's impact since replacing Thorup? It obviously can't be easy coming in mid-season. No, it cannot. And not even mid-season, I think, was after 10 games in the Super League and they had lost six of those 10 games. It was really what's going on there.
00:18:00
Speaker
I mean, six losses after 10 rounds, then it should be more or less impossible to be champions. A good FC Copenhagen side won't even lose six games during the whole season. So it has been a very tough start for him, but he got the team going from the beginning and he
00:18:22
Speaker
He really had a great impact. They had the spell with all the victories when they were chasing FC Northland. Then they had a bad spell in the championship round with some losses and they have been struggling, creating chances. They have not had all the clean sheets that they had before in the season. But now I think they might be on the way back and in the running topic again. I don't know. It will be exciting.
00:18:52
Speaker
Even if you see Copenhagen don't become champions, you cannot say it's Jakob Neissger full, because I think he has worked wonders with this Copenhagen site.
00:19:04
Speaker
Yeah, it sounds strange to say that about a team who is just coming off a championship win, but I think in the context of how the season had started and with the departures that occurred both at the start of the season and in January, I think, yeah, absolutely. And I think that there'll be a force next season to be reckoned with as well. Yeah, let's see what will happen in the transfer window both going in and out.
00:19:27
Speaker
They have some problems, so they have to address and they have to also find a solution with these players. They have that are not playing Karamoko, Babakai. Babakai, yeah, almost forgot him because he's so far away from team. You also have this situation with Amo. I don't think we'll see him playing in NFC code making sure it again. So they have to make space for some players that who can
00:19:57
Speaker
Yeah, give some back on the pitch, you know, because they have had too many of these bad signings. So after that result, the attention turned to Aarhus, where it was a packed stadium.
AGF vs FC Nordsjælland Analysis
00:20:10
Speaker
Even an athletics track couldn't get in the way of a fantastic atmosphere there. And yeah, with AGF FC Norjland, there was a really early chance for Nagalo to put FC Norjland ahead, which he missed. Düland went down the other end, hit the post, but
00:20:24
Speaker
The opening goal came from Kula Bali, a nice cross by Svensson, and the equalizer was a dagger in the 92nd minute, a free kick. And I wondered, should Andreas Hansen have done better there? I think so. I'm not a goalkeeper and I think it's a topic that is very difficult. We always talk about this goalkeeper's union.
00:20:47
Speaker
and where they protect each other, the goalkeeper's spot. If you ask Andreas Hansen about this situation, I think he would tell you that he should have done better because it's his side, you know, the ball is going in. And I think the thing is he makes a little step to the right to try to cover the ball if it's coming over the wall and the wall
00:21:14
Speaker
Yes, just standing there and you can't really see that the ball is coming the other way and he doesn't get back in time. You cannot characterize it as a big, big, huge mistake, but I think you'll be disappointed. Manager of the year is going to be very hard this year, but where does Uwe Rosler fit into your list? Quite high, because one year ago, you know,
00:21:43
Speaker
I guess they were struggling. They didn't I think what they won one game in
00:21:54
Speaker
After the winter break last year, it was something like that. And had the season been two or four games longer, I think even they could have struggled to keep Weiler behind them. They really had problems. So what he has done in such a short time is very impressive. He steadied the ship, as we say. And I think we've seen this spring that they also have
00:22:21
Speaker
stuff to offer going the other way, you know, offensively. And they are very, very hard to beat. And they have a lot of character. They are a team that plays in the Ubers spirit, I would say.
00:22:39
Speaker
Definitely. And on the other side of the pitch, have you been surprised that FC Nordsland have been able to maintain their title run without top scorer Andreas Schellerup? No, because they had, I think, eight points lying ahead of FC Copenhagen. So they have maintained their title run, but they have not had a great 2023. It has been disappointing for FC Nordsland. They haven't had a clean sheet this year.
00:23:07
Speaker
I think that's quite significant. They have to score two goals in order to win football matches. They have these players that can score the goals. Obviously, Scheldorov is a big, big miss, because he's such a good player. They hope that Emiliano Macondis could take over, and he hasn't been able to, mainly due to
00:23:27
Speaker
this injury that will also that will keep him out for the rest of the season. So I think that has been very unfortunate and Bahid Fakir big talent, but he hasn't really stepped in even though he has scored some goals.
00:23:42
Speaker
Yeah, it's been tough for him. And I think losing Marconnez is definitely going to be a blow. I thought it was telling that they were, you know, minutes away from a clean sheet in Aarhus. And it was Key and Hanson who gave away the free kick. And I think it was needless, you know, I would have fancied him to win that header without the elbow. And of course, we can say in retrospect, you shouldn't have given it away. And nine times out of 10, that free kick sails into the hands of the goalkeeper. But looking back on it, you do wonder, like, what could have been there?
00:24:11
Speaker
Yeah, I think they can look back at a season where they can find these moments. I mean, most teams can normally, but I can pick out two or three moments where you can say,
00:24:21
Speaker
if it had just been a little bit different than if the Northland would have been champions. I'm thinking about this bar decision against the FC Michelin in the last minute where Nageler was hit from one or two yards and they gave a penalty. I don't know why. I'm not a bar referee. I don't understand football if that's a penalty. Then there was the game against the AGF.
00:24:49
Speaker
At home, the first one where they had a penalty, they were 1-0 up. And Andreas Jelrope handed this penalty to Ms. Christian Hansen, who missed the penalty. And then what happened, I guess, went up and got a late equalizer. So they dropped two points there as well. You can find these situations, and I think they will look back at these situations if they should not win the championship.
00:25:16
Speaker
I should have given a disclaimer there that any FC Nordsland fans, cover your ears for that bit because it's traumatic going back in time and listening to that. As you mentioned, there are four teams in the running for the title. And I guess the third significant game from the weekend was happened on Monday, actually. Ranners nil, Veyborg 2. It was the 20 year anniversary of Ranners, which I guess to me, that feels incredibly young for a football team. But in Denmark, that's the case, isn't it? Lots of teams are the result of mergers or whatever and have been founded more recently.
00:25:46
Speaker
I thought that Calgrin was really responsible for keeping the score 0-0 at half time. He made a number of really smart saves. But it turned to Ashuri who looked as dangerous as ever and it felt like if people could maintain this it would only be a matter of time.
00:26:02
Speaker
Sure enough, in the second half, Saeed scored the opener. Superb low-curd effort from outside the box. I don't know if I saw this right, but it looked like he forgot where the V-Borg fans were, and Yepik Ronning was saying, they're over there, they're over there. Yeah, yeah, yeah. To find out through all the V-Borg fans who've made the way of things over more than 1,000. Yeah. And V-Borg is just such an exciting team to watch, and it's such a
00:26:28
Speaker
great story you know with this low low budget they have but they just seem to to find those gems in Europe and regionally it has been Ilyas Echuri what a player and what a performance he had and now they can look back on Echuri and say well why didn't he just come on time to this tactical meeting some weeks ago because you know he had this
00:26:58
Speaker
He was put on the bench for the game against Egev in round, must be in 28. Yeah. They could have used him there when they lost three now.
00:27:09
Speaker
But yeah, what a great play he is at Shuri. Definitely. And yeah, it was him who put the ball on a plate for Saeed for the second goal. And, you know, this is a terrible analogy, but Wieberg feel a bit like one of those lizards where even if they lose an arm or a leg, it regrows and they're stronger than ever. Because since the season began, they've lost Sorensen, lost Grot, lost Londweig, and then that's on top of Backies, Kramer,
00:27:35
Speaker
several others in the summer and yet all that's done is given the likes of Said and Ashuri the chance to shine even brighter. I mean how exciting are those two as a pair and are you as excited as me to be watching this v-book team grow every week? I am for sure and what I'm fearing is that Ashuri with his recent performances will attract so much interest that he will be in the next one out of the window and it will
00:28:00
Speaker
Yeah, be it this summer that V-Bog will lose him. I think the question with V-Bog is, and the question everybody is putting in Denmark, is can they keep on replacing those players that you just mentioned? We could also talk about Sebastian Groning, the top scorer they lost last winter, yeah, almost one and a half year ago. We were speaking about, well, it will be a major blow for them,
00:28:26
Speaker
then you had this court just coming through and scoring all the goals instead. So that's the question, can people maintain this tremendous ability to replace great players with even greater players on a very low budget? That's very impressive.
00:28:47
Speaker
Yeah, and it was also announced a couple of weeks ago that Clint Leemans was going to be leaving in the summer, his contracts up, and I think he's going to be looking for another club. So that's another big loss. I know he's important, particularly in an attacking sense, but he's a key part of that midfield.
00:29:04
Speaker
He has done well, but I think Echuri would hurt them more if they should lose him this summer. Definitely.
Viborg's Championship Prospects
00:29:12
Speaker
The only major chance Rana's had all game was a penalty on the 75th minute, which Marvin Ego smashed against the post, and I think 2-0 was probably a fair scoreline in the end.
00:29:22
Speaker
The result meant that V-Borg leapfrogged AGF back into third, or as my guest last week, Liam Barker, likes to refer to it bronze position. I'm going to keep asking the question every week until it's mathematically impossible, but V-Borg are only three points away from first place. They've got three games to go. One of those is against the bottom side in the championship group, which is Bronby, and the other two are against the two teams above them.
00:29:46
Speaker
So will they improve on third? And could there still be the possibility of a fairytale championship in Wieburg? I think so. Why not? I mean, three points and the gold references also. Yeah, it's not the greatest. So if she could have a point on them there, so in reality they have to
00:30:09
Speaker
to gain four points in Copenhagen, but they have Copenhagen at their home soil, and then you have the last game away against Devs in Oshawa. They have to win the three games, but if they do, why not? I mean, you cannot count b-ball out of this championship race at all. And if they were to win it, would that be...?
00:30:28
Speaker
Do you think that would be the biggest fairytale league title that you can remember? Or have there been? No, we had Hefuja in 2000 when everybody chipped Hefuja for relegation and Hefuja that's
00:30:45
Speaker
this little, little tiny, tiny town around 40 or 50 kilometers south of Copenhagen. And now the club has merged with a courier, so it's called the HB courier, but have for you with John Jensen as a playing manager, they won the championship. And if this, I think there lives around maybe eight, 10,000 people in have for you. It's like,
00:31:14
Speaker
Yeah, you can talk about a fairy tale and then they went down the year after. That was also pretty amazing. Wow. Yeah, that is crazy. So John Jensen's position as a Danish football legend is just further enshrined domestically and internationally. Yeah, that was great. But I think they won with the lowest point tally ever in Danish football. I think they had like 1.7
00:31:44
Speaker
point a game or something like that. And the goal difference was more or less neutral. So it was one of those seasons. Whatever it takes. The other games all focused around the relegation battle. FC Michelin beat Horsons 3-1. OB drew 1-0 with OB. That makes sense. And so called Dens against Alborg. Yeah, exactly.
00:32:10
Speaker
I don't think anyone was massively surprised that Horsons lost to FC Michelin. You know, they're a team who shouldn't really be in the relegation group based on talent. And I think the third goal by FCM really showed that talent. You know, great tackle by Christopher Olsen. Trademark finish for Gustav Isaksson. I was going to ask.
00:32:29
Speaker
Horsons have now lost four of their last five. It's looking pretty bleak for them. They are, however, only a point from safety. What can they do to address this slump? Or is it a case of the engine has just run empty at this point?
00:32:41
Speaker
I think in the first part of the season they gained more points than they should and should as men does when you look at those underlying stats as expected goals. They were performing very very well in the beginning of the season, especially at home. That should really have been enough to save them because it has not been
00:33:06
Speaker
I mean, a lot of people are talking about Albo and how well they're doing and they are doing well. But if you look at the points, it's not like Albo, they have been flying this spring at all. It has more been the case that horses more or less have stopped gaining points. I think they're only once against Silbo away and they have
00:33:31
Speaker
had a lot of terrible games. So, yeah, they lack quality, they do. And if they go down, you cannot say it's like a disaster. It's because they have a bad manager at all, because the thing that Jens Bertlaskow has done a tremendous job in Hortons.
00:33:53
Speaker
His problem was that he got a lot of points before New Year and only a few after New Year, so that point tally
00:34:02
Speaker
I mean, you cannot say they have 27 points and that's not bad for Horsenside. The problem is they gained most of those points in the first part of the season. So now it will be, of course, disappointing for them to go down because they had this big, big caution to the relegation zone.
00:34:28
Speaker
It's like that saying, if you're being chased by a cheetah and you want to avoid being eaten, you don't have to be faster than the cheetah, you've just got to find someone who's slower. Yeah, that's right. That's a good comparison. I think that's what's happening in the bottom of the Super League this season.
00:34:45
Speaker
Yeah, I have to say the Silkeborg-Lungby result did surprise me. I think Lungby have been playing with such confidence and belief in the past few weeks, while Silkeborg have looked absolutely abject. So I expected this to go a little differently, whether it was pressure or fatigue or whatever, I don't know. But Lungby's defense looked well off the pace, really sloppy passing, lack of marking. And the goal was a complete mess defensively. They only had one shot all game.
00:35:11
Speaker
How did you see this one? Could it be a reality check that, you know, even a team like Silkerball with nothing to play for can be a challenge? Yeah, but they had something to play for in that game, because it was, had they lost to Loombu, then you would say they are part of the relegation struggle. So it was like a big game for Silkerball, and I think it was
00:35:34
Speaker
For Lüngbü, it was one of the first times this year where they looked as a Division I team and not a super-leaguered team. But I think I would not be surprised if Lüngbü, they bounced back and beat Odinsel this weekend.
00:35:51
Speaker
They could well do. Yeah. And actually the only team in the bottom three to pick up any points was Alborg who managed a draw at OB, a draw that by virtue of their vastly superior goal difference.
Alborg's Relegation Battle Significance
00:36:01
Speaker
And I say vastly superior, it's still minus seven, but Horsons is a lot worse, but it takes them clear of the relegation zone.
00:36:09
Speaker
It looked like this could be another rough night for them. You know, OB came out of the gates fast, scored inside the first 15 minutes through Sabi. But the second half I thought, Albo came back and, you know, they were rewarded with a goal through the unlikeliest of sources, Pedro Ferreira in the six-yard box. How many times do you see that? And I wanted to ask you, how significant is that point? Does it change anything for you in the relegation race? Well, it's the first time this season that the Hortons are under.
00:36:39
Speaker
in the relegation zone. And I think it's the first time since September the 10th or something like that, that the Orbi, they are over this relegation zone. So I mean, yeah, it changed a bit. And I think at this point of the season, every point is very, very useful. And psychologically also, I think it changes that now. They can see, OK, now.
00:37:09
Speaker
We actually, if this season ended now, we would not go down. And for Horsens, they will say, well, for 29 matches we have been over in safety and now we are going down. So yeah, it changes.
00:37:24
Speaker
to Alborg maybe take their foot off the gas a little now that they're mentally that fight to stay safe is quite motivating. Yeah. I hear what you're saying, but I don't think they will because if they do, they will be in trouble because yes, I said every point counts. And the question about Alborg is this year we have the cup final on Thursday and they play early on Sunday. So, um,
00:37:51
Speaker
They might be a little bit of a fatigue when they're playing on Sunday. And how do they manage those two games in a very short space of time? The team they're playing in the Cup Final is obviously FC Copenhagen. And looking ahead to next weekend, the standout game for me is FC Co versus AGF. Such a hard one to call. And as you say, they're going to have 90 minutes, maybe 120 minutes of a Cup Final in their legs at that point.
00:38:19
Speaker
How do you see that game going?
00:38:32
Speaker
a lot of power for that game. And they are without Victor Klassen, they are without Harrelsson, they are without Staminich, I don't know if he would have played, but they are suspended. So again, in his job, he has to find solution and find a team that can match AGF on this power and then see if it's enough.
Viola and Vior's Future Prospects
00:38:55
Speaker
And AGF supporter Patrick, who I know is a listener of the show,
00:38:58
Speaker
You mentioned that there were seven players for AGF who were at risk of missing out on this fixture if they got booked on the weekend. And amazingly, all seven of them avoided the dreaded yellow cards. So AGF go into it without those suspensions, which could have been so costly for them. Yeah. And I think that's also one key point for AGF and the success that I've had that they have more or less been able to play with the same team. I know Miguel Doolan, he has had an injury.
00:39:28
Speaker
the key players, they have been fit. So that's also the story of Egev's season, that they have been able to play with most of that, if we can say stars, for long periods of the season. Just before we wrap up, I've got two more quick questions. Firstly,
00:39:47
Speaker
Do you know much about Viola and Vior and what could we expect from them in the Super League next season? Viola, they are, yeah, what can we expect from them? They have a budget that is on Super League status. They have been the Danish Yoyo team. They come up, then they go down. They come up, they go down. Then some years ago, they actually managed to avoid relegation, but then the season after,
00:40:17
Speaker
last season actually they went down now with their bag up it's a great club great stadium great supporters i think i love people they have this is kind of a secret love for violet because they they were the team of ellen simonson and
00:40:35
Speaker
And they had this brand of playing pretty football, like, I don't know, West Ham, maybe had this brand years ago with this Academy of English Football. Wylie had a little bit the same, you know? So a lot of people have an affection for Wylie. And I think they, they will, obviously they will struggle, but they will, I would not be surprised if they managed to survive.
00:41:02
Speaker
It's quite an amazing story. If they go up, we assume they do. They have not been in the Super League since 1997, I think. They have been all the way down to the Denmark Syrian, which at that point was the fourth best league in Denmark. And then they have been climbing up again and been in the Division 1 for a handful of seasons, maybe a little bit more.
00:41:28
Speaker
and progressed a little bit with the season to season to season with Pierre Franten, the former Bolton player as a manager. He has done a great job, but it's a club with tradition, they have won the championship a couple of times, but they have not played a part in Danish top football for 25 years.
00:41:53
Speaker
30 maybe even 40 years you could say since the last one the championship I think was in 80. So it's a great story but you know they play at this old stadium that looks like
00:42:08
Speaker
it looked when they won the championship the last time and the players are not even full-time professionals. So it will also be, we can call it a fairy tale, but I would be surprised if we don't manage to survive in the civilian. So what you're saying is they're going to finish in the top three and make it into Europe next season?
00:42:29
Speaker
Yeah, if you want to be a rich man, then play on the bookies, but that will not happen at all. I mean, they will pick up points here and there and they will get some wins, but I think
00:42:45
Speaker
everybody in Denmark will say they are the first team to go now. And you go to loads of games a season, maybe hundreds. What's been the most memorable game you've seen on Danish soil this season?
Memorable Games of the Season
00:42:58
Speaker
Well, as you said earlier in the show, this season has been so long, you know. I can't hardly remember what happened in August. And you mentioned this PIPPL game or PIPPL playing Fafecome Hing, making a hat-trick.
00:43:12
Speaker
against Brann Bien Pang. That was a good football game, but what I would say stands out for me are those three games recently about FC Copenhagen against FC Norschland in the COP and then in the Super League.
00:43:29
Speaker
parts of those games, the level has been very high. Also when they met in Parken in the beginning of the spring season, 2.5C Kobe, that was a great game as well. So those battles between number one and two, they have been the standout for me.
00:43:47
Speaker
But let's see if Vivo overtakes both of them and get a surprise victory in this willing. The best could yet be to come. I think so. I think so, actually. We have more twists and turns coming up. Absolutely. Geisler, thank you so much for giving up your time. It was really fascinating chatting to you. For everyone listening who wants to find your podcast and wants to find your writing online,
00:44:13
Speaker
Where can they head to? To Mediano, that's M-E-D-I-A-N-O, point, and then N-U. That's our website and obviously look up Mediano on your favourite podcast player. Fantastic. Thanks so much, Gizli. Enjoy the rest of the season and enjoy a well-earned Tour de France break this summer. Thank you very much.