Silkeborg IF

Silkeborg

Full name	Silkeborg Idrætsforening
Short name	SIF
Founded	1917; 105 years ago (1917)
Ground	JYSK Park
Capacity	10,000 (6,000 seated)
Chairman	Kent Madsen
Head coach	Kent Nielsen
League	1st Division
2020–21	1st Division, 2nd
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours

Silkeborg Idrætsforening, (pronounced [ˈse̝lkəˌpɒˀ ˈitʁætsfɒˌe̝ˀne̝ŋ]; commonly known as Silkeborg IF or SIF in short) is a professional football club based in Silkeborg, Denmark. The club was founded in 1917, reached the highest level of Danish football in 1987, and afterwards became one of the most successful football clubs in Denmark. They won the 1993–94 Danish Superliga, finished 3rd in 1994–95 and 2000–01, 2nd in 1997–98, and won the Danish Cup in 2001. Silkeborg has participated in Europe several times, winning the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 1996.

History[]

Founded in 1917, the football section of Silkeborg IF played in the top ranks of Jutland until a short visit in the third division in 1962. In 1966, however the team was promoted to the 2nd division of Danish football. In 1982, the club took the decisive step towards the Danish top football, as the company SIF Football Support A / S was founded, a professional company that would be responsible for professional football in Silkeborg. This resulted in a rise in 1987 to the country's top row, the 1st division. This came as a large surprise to most football enthusiasts and a reporter from the Danish newspaper Politiken wrote, "It will be a surprise if Silkeborg will win a corner kick." The team, however, played well and already in the third game of the season Silkeborg IF defeated Denmark's dominant team, Brøndby with a 1–0 win at home.

1994 championship[]

There were many vital matches in the 1993–94 season, but perhaps the most important game for Silkeborg was the tournament's third round match at home against Brøndby. Just before the game, the team's big name Jakob Kjeldberg had been sold to Chelsea,^[1] and when Brøndby put themselves ahead 2–0 early in the game, it looked difficult for the home team. But Silkeborg totally turned the match upside down and won 4–2 in front of an enthusiastic audience.^[2] During the rest of autumn, SIF delivered one attractive game after another. The team lost only 2 of 18 matches and finished the autumn in 1st place.

The playoffs were a thrilling affair. The superior play in the autumn was followed by a more calculating style. Away from home, SIF ran into a few serious defeats, but, in turn, Silkeborg Stadion was a fortress. Here, SIF won six out of seven games and conceded only one goal. In the second-to-last round, SIF could secure the championship with an away win against the only remaining competitor, Copenhagen. Silkeborg fans flocked to the national arena, Parken Stadium, where the match was witnessed by the largest crowd in history of the Danish Superliga, namely 26,679.^[3] The many visiting SIF fans, however, witnessed SIF scoring the first goal of the match but eventually losing 1–4.

The situation before the final round was that SIF should provide a better result than Copenhagen to become champions. At home, SIF played Aalborg BK and won 2–0 on two goals by leading scorer Heine Fernandez. In Odense, OB obtained a lead over Copenhagen in the 2nd half and won 3–2 on a goal in injury time, securing SIF the championship.

2001 cup winners and relegation[]

In 2001, Silkeborg won the Danish Cup with a 4–1 victory against league rivals AB. Behind 0–1 at half-time, the team scored 4 times in the second half of the match by Brian Pedersen, Thomas Poulsen and 2 from Henrik Pedersen. Steven Lustü, who later would become a prominent player for Silkeborg, played the entire game for AB. The following years' results were not very impressive. After the cup victory, the club sold Henrik Pedersen to Bolton Wanderers, Peter Kjær to Beşiktaş and Thomas Røll to Copenhagen. At the same time, Morten Bruun, the player with most caps to his name in the club history, retired. In 2003, the team was relegated to the 1st Division, but returned to the Superliga the following year. For two seasons in a row, the team finished eighth in the league with 12 teams, but in 2007 the team was again relegated. When former player Troels Bech returned to the club as head coach in 2009, however, he transformed the team and helped the club to promotion. Silkeborg finished fifth in the league in 2011, the best result in 15 years.

2018-19 1st Division Title[]

In the 2018–19 Danish 1st Division Silkeborg IF were crowned champions of the First Division for a third time, ensuring a return to the Danish Superliga for the 2019–20 season following a one-year absence.

Danish Striker Ronnie Schwartz was the league's top scorer for Silkeborg with 17 league goals registered; sharing the golden boot with Roskilde's Emil Nielsen.

They secured the league title with 61 points, only 1 point clear of nearest rivals Viborg FF ensuring an automatic return to the Superliga.

Honours[]

League[]

• Superliga
  • Champions: 1993–94
  • Runners-up: 1997–98
  • Third: 1994–95, 2000–01
• 1st Division
  • Champions: 2003–04, 2013–14, 2018–19

Cups[]

• Danish Cup
  • Winners: 2000–01

International[]

• Intertoto Cup
  • Winners: 1996

Players[]

Current squad[]

As of 31 January 2022^[4]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 2 MF  DEN Rasmus Carstensen 3 DF  NED Milan Massop 4 DF  DEN Joel Felix 5 DF  DEN Oliver Sonne 6 MF  DEN Pelle Mattsson 7 MF  DEN Nicolai Vallys 8 MF  ISL Stefán Teitur Þórðarson 9 FW  DEN Alexander Lind 10 FW  DEN Søren Tengstedt 11 FW  DEN Nicklas Helenius 13 DF  DEN Oscar Fuglsang 14 MF  DEN Mark Brink 15 MF  DEN Gustav Dahl 16 GK  NED Stan van Bladeren 17 MF  DEN Mads Kaalund

No. Pos. Nation Player 18 MF  DEN Anders Dahl 20 DF  DEN Tobias Salquist 21 MF  DEN Anders Klynge 22 MF  SWE Robert Gojani 23 MF  DEN Nicklas Røjkjær 24 MF  DEN Andreas Oggesen 26 MF  DEN Niclas Holm Pedersen 27 MF  DEN Sebastian Jørgensen 28 DF  ARM André Calisir 29 MF  DEN Lukas Engel (on loan from Vejle) 30 GK  DEN Nicolai Larsen 40 DF  DEN Alexander Busch 41 MF  DEN Jeppe Kilden Grøn 42 FW  DEN Frederik Carstensen

Youth players in use 2021/22[]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  DEN Aske Andrésen

Out on loan[]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  DEN Oscar Hedvall (at FC Fredericia until 30 June 2022)

Staff[]

Current technical staff[]

Position	Staff
Manager	Kent Nielsen
Assistant manager	Peder Knudsen
Goalkeeping coach	Thomas Nørgaard
Fitness coach	Rasmus Hansen
Fitness assistant	Mikkel Cramer
Physiotherapist	Michael Larsen
Sporting director	Jesper Stücker

Managerial history[]

• Viggo Jensen (1987–92)
• Bo Johansson (1992–94)
• Bo Nielsson (1994)
• Frank Petersen (1995)
• Preben Elkjær (1995–96)
• Sepp Piontek (1997–99)
• Benny Johansen (1999–01)
• Morten Bruun (2001–02)
• Viggo Jensen (July 2002 – Oct 2006)
• Peder Knudsen (Oct 2006 – Dec 2008)
• Preben Lundbye (2007)
• Troels Bech (Jan 2009 – June 2012)
• Keld Bordinggaard (July 2012 – Nov 2012)
• Viggo Jensen (Nov 2012 – June 2013)
• Jesper Sørensen (July 2013 – December 2014)
• Kim Poulsen (December 2014 – September 2015)
• Peter Sørensen (September 2015 – August 2018)
• Michael Hansen (August 2018 – May 2019)
• Kent Nielsen (June 2019–

European cup history[]

Season	Cup	Round	Opponent	Home	Away	Aggregate
	UEFA Intertoto Cup	Group	Hammarby IF	4–1	1–3
		Group	Energie Cottbus	4–1	0–1
		Group	Dukla Banksá Bystrica	1–3	2–0
	UEFA Intertoto Cup	Group	Zürich		2–0
		Group	VfL Bochum	2–2
		Group	Tirol	1–1
		Group	Slovan Bratislava		2–1
	UEFA Intertoto Cup	Group	Halmstads BK		2–0
		Group	Maccabi Netanya	0–0
		Group	Sparta Prague		4–1
		Group	Lokomotiv Sofia	7–2
1994–95	Champions League	1Q	Dynamo Kyiv	0–0	3–1	1–3
1995–96	UEFA Cup	1Q	Crusaders	4–0	1–2	6–1
		2Q	Sparta Prague	1–2	0–1	2–2
1996	UEFA Intertoto Cup	Group	Sporting Charleroi		2–4
		Group	Zagłębie Lubin	0–0
		Group	SV Ried		0–3
		Group	Conwy United	4–0
		Semi Final	Uralmash	0–1	1–2	2–2 (a)
		Final	Segesta Sisak	0–1	1–2	2–2 (a)
1996–97	UEFA Cup	Q	Spartak Moscow	1–2	3–2	3–5
1997	UEFA Intertoto Cup	Group	Grazer AK		0–2
		Group	Hrvatski Dragovoljac	5–0
		Group	Bastia		0–1
		Group	Ebbw Vale	6–1
1998–99	UEFA Cup	1Q	Mura	2–0	0–0	2–0
		2Q	Roma	0–2	1–0	0–3
2000	UEFA Intertoto Cup	1R	Dnepr Mogilev	1–2	2–1	2–4
2001–02	UEFA Cup	1Q	Real Zaragoza	1–2	3–0	1–5

Former notable players[]

Top goalscorers[]

Competitive matches only. To matches played 22 March 2017.^[5]

#	Name	Career	Goals
1	Henrik Pedersen	1995–2001 and 2008–2012	96
2	Heine Fernandez	1990–1998	96
3	Rajko Lekić	2003–2004 and 2008–2011	76
4	Christian Holst	2008–2014	47
5	Jesper Thygesen	1994–1998 and 2000–2003	45
6	Iddi Alkhag	2001–2007	41
7	Michael Hansen	1991–1996 and 2006–2007	39
8	Morten Bruun	1988–2001	35
9		1988–1992	35
10	Nocko Joković	1996–1999	33
11	Peter Lassen	1999–2000	33
12	Allan Reese	1991–1997	32
13	Hans Erfurt	1987–1994	31
14	Marvin Pourie	2011–2013	29
15	Jesper Bech	2004–2014	28

Top appearances[]

Competitive matches only. To matches played 22 March 2017.^[6]

#	Name	Career	Appearances
1	Morten Bruun	1988–2001	424
2	Bjarne Jensen		348
3	Dennis Flinta	2005–2007 and 2009–present	329
4		1979–1993	325
5			308
6	Kurt Nielsen		307
7	Peter Kjær	1993–2001	291
8	Christian Duus	1991–2005	283
9	Henrik Pedersen	1995–2001 and 2008–2012	270
10		1992–2003	269
11	Thomas Poulsen	1997–2006	255
12		−1991	254
13	Heine Fernandez	1990–1998	246
14	Jørgen Hansen		245
15	Jesper Thygesen	1994–1998 and 2000–2003	245

References[]

External links[]

• Official Site
• SIF4ever.dk – unofficial forum for the fans
• SIFosis – the official supporter group