SHAMROCK ROVERS RECOMMENCE their European adventure later on this evening when they travel to Denmark to take on FC Copenhagen in the Champions League third qualifying round.
Michael O’Neill and his backroom staff have hopefully done their homework on tonight’s opposition but for those of you who haven’t bothered to open a book yet, here’s the lowdown on the Danish champions.
How did they get this far?
Well, if you’re a Copenhagen fan, the question isn’t how they got this far, but how come they aren’t worthy of an automatic place in the group stages?
Copenhagen have won Denmark’s Superliga eight times since 2001 and come in to this season on the back of an impressive three-peat of league titles.
But due to Denmark’s UEFA coefficient or some such nonsense, Copenhagen have found themselves dumped into the Champions League preliminary rounds again and again and again.
From next season onwards, the Danish champions will get a bye into the group stages, but for now, Copenhagen kick off their European campaign against Rovers.
Do they have much Champions League experience?
Well, apart from their seemingly permanent presence in the early rounds of the qualifiers, Copenhagen have made it through to the group stages twice in recent years — in 2006/2007 and again last season.
Five years ago, they were drawn in the same group as Manchester United, Celtic and Benfica. Though they were unbeaten at home, beating both United and Celtic, they lost all three of their games on the road and finished bottom of the group.
Last season, they were drawn in a slightly more appealing pool alongside Barcelona, Rubin Kazan and Panathinaikos, progressing to the last sixteen after finishing second behind Barca. There, they met Chelsea who won 2-0 on aggregate thanks to a Nicolas Anelka brace in Denmark.
What’s their current form like?
The Danish domestic season is only two weeks old at this stage, so it’s difficult to draw any firm conclusions.
On opening day, Copenhagen won 2-0 away to SønderjyskE (who finished seventh last season). Last weekend, they drew 2-2 at home to last year’s runners-up Odense.
Where do they play?
FC Copenhagen play in Parken, a 38,000-seater in the centre of Copenhagen which is also home to the Danish national team.
Arsenal fans may have heard of the stadium before — it was the scene of their 1994 Cup Winners’ Cup triumph over Parma.
Who’s the boss?
Roland Nilsson is FC Copenhagen’s main man. Nilsson is Sweden’s second most-capped international, but you’ll probably remember him from his spells in the Premiership with Sheffield Wednesday and Coventry City.
Nilsson’s first stint as a manager was actually with Coventry from 2001 to 2002, before he returned to Gothenburg to manage Swedish side GAIS.
This is his first season as Copenhagen boss, taking over from Stale Solbakken who quit at the end of last season to take over at FC Koln in the Bundesliga.
Star man?
That would probably be Senegalese striker Dame N’doye.
The 26-year-old joined Copenhagen in 2009 and since then has been their main source of goals, scoring 28 in all competitions last season and 24 the season beforehand.
N’doye made his international debut in February of this year, scoring in a 3-0 friendly win over Guinea.
Who’s this Thomas Delaney fella?
Ah yes, Thomas Delaney — the most Irish-sounding Danish footballer of all time.
Delaney is a 19-year-old midfielder who came up through the club’s youth system before he was promoted to the first team in the summer of 2009. The name comes from his Irish-American parents, though he has represented Denmark at every underage level from U18s up to U21s.
Although he’s been used quite sparingly to date, Nilsson handed him a start for the first game of the season against SønderjyskE, so don’t be surprised to see him feature against Rovers at some point.
