Odense Boldklub

Odense Boldklub (Danish pronunciation: [ˈoˀðn̩sə ˈpʌlˀtkʰlup]; also known as Odense BK or the more commonly used OB) is a Danish professional football club based in the city Odense. The club has won three Danish championships and five Danish Cup trophies. OB play in the Danish Superliga and their home field is Nature Energy Park. OB's clubhouse is located in Ådalen near Odense River.

OB
Full nameOdense Boldklub
Nickname(s)De Stribede
(The Striped)
Short nameOB
FoundedJuly 12, 1887 (1887-07-12)
GroundNature Energy Park, Odense
Capacity15,790[1]
OwnerOdense Sport & Event A/S
ChairmanNiels Thorborg
ManagerJakob Michelsen
LeagueDanish Superliga
2019–20Danish Superliga, 7th of 14
WebsiteClub website

History

Early history

OB were founded on 12 July 1887 as Odense Cricketklub, with cricket the only sport. In 1889, football and tennis departments were included in the club, and it changed name to the present Odense Boldklub. The club were then located in Munke Mose (The Monks bog) in Odense. OB moved to Ådalen in 1968, where the club still trains today.

In 1916, OB won the province championship for the first time and qualified to the semi-final of the Danish championship. They lost this match 3–9 to later champions B.93 from Copenhagen.

1945–1975: Mixed results

When the Danish championship was reorganized after the Occupation of Denmark during World War II, OB were placed in the third best league, then named the Danish 3rd Division. After good help from the top goalscorers Svend Jørgen Hansen and Jørgen Leschly Sørensen, the club were quickly promoted to the best league. Svend Jørgen Hansen became OB's first Danish national team player in 1942, while Jørgen Leschly Sørensen was sold to the professional Italian team Atalanta in 1949.

In 1951, OB won their first medals, when the club won silver after runaway champions Akademisk Boldklub. Following the early success, it went down hill for the club. OB were relegated to the second-tier Danish 2nd Division in 1955, and the team had a hard time regaining its position in the top of Danish football. Despite promotions to the Danish 1st Division in 1957 and 1966, the club did not succeed to permanently stay in the top-flight until the promotion in 1975.

It did not help that the local rivals from B 1909 and B 1913 stayed in the top of the 1st Division in this period, where B 1909 won the 1959 and 1964 Danish championships. The intense local rivalry culminated in 1973, when 28,000 spectators watched the 2nd Division match between De Stribede and De røde (B 1909) on Odense Stadion. The match is still the spectator record for an OB home game.

In 1974, the club were in their first Danish Cup final, where the team lost 5–2 to Vanløse IF. Per Bartram from OB were awarded the title as Cup Fighter.

1975–1990: The golden years

In 1975, OB was once more promoted to the 1st Division. This time the club had the players to be a top team in the best league under the reign of coach Richard Møller Nielsen. Just two years later, OB won their first Danish championship in the 1977 season. OB's midfielder Allan Hansen was the top goalscorer in the 1st Division and he was awarded as 1977 Danish Player of the Year' award, a double triumph he repeated in 1981.

The championship win meant that OB played their first European matches in 1978. They competed in the 1978 European Cup, where they lost in the first round to Bulgarian side Lokomotiv Sofia.

In 1980, OB won bronze and the Danish championship was won for the second time in 1982. As Ricard Møller Nielsen's OB team were one of the dominating teams in Danish football in this period, B 1909 finished last in the 1982 1st Division, and were relegated to the 2nd Division. This made OB the best team of the Funen region. In 1983 OB took the cup to win their – so far – only The Double (with the 82' championship).

The team's success was built on many talented Danish players, counting 1982 Danish 1st Division Talent of the Year Keld Bordinggaard. The most prolific OB player of the era was goalkeeper Lars Høgh, who was a constant part of the team from 1977 to 1999 as he played a club record of 817 total matches for the first team.

In 1989, the club won the Danish championship again ahead of defending champions Brøndby IF under new manager Roald Poulsen. The profiles of Roald Poulsen's team included, apart from Lars Høgh, the midfielder Ulrik Moseby, the big defender Johnny Hansen, and the young forward Per Pedersen, who became the most expensive OB player sold, when he was bought by English team Blackburn Rovers for £2.3 million in 1997.

1991–: OB in the Superliga

Odense Stadium during a Superliga game between OB and Brøndby in 2008.

1991 was a special year for OB. They won the Danish Cup final against AaB after two goalless matches, extra time and penalty shootout. As the national arena Idrætsparken were under reconstruction in 1991, the final was played home at Odense Stadion. The cup success was not matched in the league, now known as the Danish Superliga. After the main tournament of the 1991–92 season, OB was relegated to the Qualifying League.

They finished in second place of the 1992 Qualifying League, and OB were back in the Superliga for the 1992–93 season. In that season, the club won silver medals after F.C. Copenhagen and they won their third Danish Cup trophy in 1993.

As the Danish Football Association (DBU) restructured the Superliga before the 1995–96 season, and introduced a league format of 33 games spanning a full year; OB won bronze once more. Even though the team had many profiles and good players, the team lacked stability and in the 1997–98 season, and OB ended last with six season victories to suffer relegation to the second-tier league, the Danish 1st Division.

The club were runaway winners of the 1999 1st Division and subsequently returned to the Superliga for the 1999–2000 season. OB won the 2002 Danish Cup with a 2–1 victory against Copenhagen at Parken Stadium. Since their promotion 1999, OB's best league performance has been second place, occurring in the 2008–09 season. In 2006, OB ended third, its first top-three finish in ten years. Furthermore, the club had fourth-place finishes in 2003, 2004 and 2007.

In the 2006–07 season, OB finished fourth in the league after a close race in the last rounds. Nonetheless, OB won the Danish Cup after defeating Copenhagen 2–1, which gave OB the opportunity to qualify for the UEFA Cup for the second-straight year.

In the 2007–08 season, OB once again ended in fourth, which gave a chance to qualify to the UEFA Cup through the Intertoto Cup. On 19 and 26 July 2008, they played English side Aston Villa in the third round of the Intertoto Cup for the right to play in the second round of the UEFA Cup. OB managed a 2–2 home draw on 19 July, but a 1–0 away defeat on the 26 July resulted in a 2–3 aggregate loss to Villa.

OB finished second in the 2008–09 season, which led to a two-game playoff with Genoa for participation in the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League. The first leg away at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris resulted in a 3–1 defeat, and the home game a 1–1 draw. In 2009–10, OB once again finished second in the league. After a fantastic start of the season the club disappointingly did not take the first place, due to a string of lost and drawn games in the spring of 2010. OB were drawn to face Scottish club Motherwell in the fourth qualifying round of the 2010–11 Europa League.

1994–95 "The Miracle in Madrid"

In the 1994–95 UEFA Cup, OB reached beyond the first round in a European tournament for the first time in club history. The team beat several opponents and most famously defeated Real Madrid to reach the quarter-final of the tournament.

In the first round, OB won both the home and away game 3–0 against Estonian Flora Tallinn. In the second round, they drew 1–1 in the away game against Northern Irish club Linfield and won 5–0 at home, including two long-range goals by defender Steen Nedergaard. In the third round, the played German team 1. FC Kaiserslautern, where OB managed a 1–1 draw in Germany and a 0–0 draw at home; OB advanced on the away goals rule.

In the fourth round, the opponent was Real Madrid, which at that time had Danish national team captain Michael Laudrup on the team. The first match was played at a sold-out Odense Stadion, and OB surprisingly scored on a corner kick in the first half. In the second half, Real Madrid quickly scored two goals, but OB managed to come back into the game, when they equalized to 2–2. Shortly before full-time, Real Madrid scored to 2–3, which was the final result of the game.

Due to the away goals rule, OB needed to win with a margin of two goals to advance to the quarter-finals. Ulrik Pedersen scored for a 1–0 lead to OB, and with a good goalkeeping by Lars Høgh, OB kept Real Madrid from scoring. With a goal by Morten Bisgaard shortly before stoppage time, OB achieved the needed 2–0 victory, and advanced to the quarter-final. OB's victory attracted attention in great parts of Europe and in Denmark the event was named "The Miracle in Madrid."

In the quarter-final, OB met Parma. In the first game away in Parma, OB and Lars Høgh almost prevented the Italians from scoring, but Steen Nedergaard committed a penalty which Parma converted and thus won the game 1–0. The second leg in Odense ended a 0–0 draw, which meant the end of OB's European adventure.

Players

Current squad

As of 22 January 2021[2]

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 DF  DEN Oliver Lund
3 DF  DEN Alexander Juel Andersen
4 DF  DEN Ryan Laursen
5 DF  DEN Kasper Larsen (3rd captain)
6 DF  DEN Jeppe Tverskov (vice-captain)
7 FW  TUN Issam Jebali
8 MF  DEN Janus Drachmann (captain)
9 FW  NED Mart Lieder
10 FW  NOR Sander Svendsen
11 FW  USA Emmanuel Sabbi
13 GK  DEN Hans Christian Bernat
14 MF  DEN Jens Jakob Thomasen
15 FW  DEN Max Fenger
16 DF  NOR Jørgen Skjelvik
No. Pos. Nation Player
17 MF  ISL Sveinn Aron Guðjohnsen (on loan from Spezia)
18 FW  DEN Rasmus Nissen
19 MF  ISL Aron Elís Þrándarson
20 MF  DEN Ayo Simon Okosun
21 MF  DEN Tarik Ibrahimagic
23 MF  DEN Troels Kløve
24 DF  DEN Marco Lund
25 MF  UGA Moses Opondo
26 FW  DEN Mikkel Hyllegaard
27 GK  DEN Oliver Christensen
28 DF  DEN Christian Vestergaard
29 MF  DEN Mads Frøkjær-Jensen
30 GK  CIV Sayouba Mandé

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
22 DF  DEN Daniel Obbekjær (at SPAL until 30 June 2021)

Leaving players

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
24 DF  DEN Marco Lund (to Norrköping on 1 July 2021)

Player records

Club captains

Name Period
Michael Hemmingsen2000–2004
Steen Nedergaard2004–2005
Ulrik Laursen2005–2008
Chris Sørensen2008–2012
Name Period
Anders Møller Christensen2012–2016
Kenneth Emil Petersen2016–2018
Janus Drachmann2018–

Awards

Player of the Year
Year Name Nationality Position
2009 Eric Djemba-Djemba Cameroon Midfielder
2010 Hans Henrik Andreasen Denmark Midfielder
2011 Espen Ruud Norway Defender
2012 Rasmus Falk Denmark Forward
2013 Emil Larsen Denmark Midfielder
2014 Rasmus Falk (2) Denmark Forward
2015 Rasmus Falk (3) Denmark Forward
2016 Sten Grytebust Norway Goalkeeper
2017 Sten Grytebust (2) Norway Goalkeeper
2018 Jeppe Tverskov Denmark Defender
2019 Jeppe Tverskov (2) Denmark Defender
Talent of the Year
Year Name Nationality Position
2009 Rúrik Gíslason Iceland Midfielder
2010 Bashkim Kadrii Denmark Forward
2011 Rasmus Falk Denmark Forward
2012 Kasper Larsen Denmark Defender
2013 Mohammed Diarra Guinea Defender
2014 Mikkel Desler Denmark Midfielder
2015 Mathias Greve Denmark Midfielder
2016 Jens Jakob Thomasen Denmark Midfielder
2017 Julius Eskesen Denmark Midfielder
2018 Mathias Jørgensen Denmark Forward
2019 Oliver Christensen Denmark Goalkeeper

Club officials

  • Owner: Odense Sport & Event

Odense Boldklub Board[3]

  • Board chairman: Niels Thorborg
  • Chief executive: Enrico Augustinus
  • Commercial chief: Jack Jørgensen
  • Communication chief: Peter Hørlüch
  • Head of Information: Morten Wamsler
  • Chief Scout: Ole Nielsen
  • Kit manager: Steffen Nielsen
  • Material manager: Thomas Johansson

Coaching and medical staff

  • Manager: Jakob Michelsen
  • Assistant managers: Henrik Hansen
  • Sports director: Jepser Hansen
  • Talent manager: Uffe Pedersen
  • Goalkeeping coach: Lars Bjerring
  • Chief scout: Ole Nielsen
  • Physioterapist: Daniel Borgen
  • Doctor: Christen Vilberg
  • Assistant doctor: Thomas Haller
  • Masseur: Mustapha Lamnaouar
  • Team manager: Steffen Nielsen
  • Material: Thomas Johansson

Honours

: Honour achieved by reserve team

Achievements

All-Star Team

"De Største Striber"

At the club's 125 year anniversary the fans elected the best OB players of all time. It was called De Største Striber (The Greatest Stripes) and consists of 11 players and a coach. Each month in 2012 the fans voted for their favourite player, and in the end of the year the team was complete. The nominees was selected by Leif Rasmussen (Fyens Stiftstidende), Uffe Pedersen (OB), Anders Rørtoft Madsen (OB), Peter Borberg (author), Jacob Lind (previous chairman of the fanclub).

Managerial history

Name Period
Denis Neville1948–1950
Géza Toldi1950–1954
Jørgen Leschly Sørensen1955–1958
Svend Hugger1961
Dragica Milić1962–1963
Jørgen Leschly Sørensen (2)1963
Børge Jacobsen1964–1968
Jack Johnson1969–1972
Kaj Hansen1972–1974
Richard Møller Nielsen1975–1985
Name Period
Walther Richter1986–1987
Roald Poulsen1988–1991
Kim Brink1991–1995
Viggo Jensen1995–1997
Roald Poulsen (2)1997–1998
Jens Plambech1998
Torben Storm1999–2000
Troels Bech2000–2002
Uffe Pedersen2002–2004
Klavs Rasmussen
Troels Bech (2)
2004–2005
Name Period
Bruce Rioch2005–2007
Lars Olsen2007–2010
Uffe Pedersen* (2)2010
Henrik Clausen2010–2012
Poul Hansen*2012
Troels Bech (3)2012–2014
Ove Pedersen2014–2015
Kent Nielsen2015–2018
Jakob Michelsen2018–

Note: * Temporary manager

Sponsorship

Period Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
1972–1977 none Texaco
1977–1978 Puma
1978–1980 unknown
1980–1985 Paaskebrød
1985–1986 Nykredit
1986–1987 Bendix Bank
1987–1991 Albani
1991–1997 Damixa
1997–2001 Adidas
2001–2008 Nike Carlsberg
2008–2015 Puma
2016–2018 hummel
2018– Albani

Carlsberg was OB's main sponsor from 2001–2017, while hummel has been its kit sponsor since January 2016.[4] Before that, Puma was the kit sponsor from the end of the 1970s to the end of the 1990s, and has been kit sponsor for every three league titles OB has won. When OB signed with Puma in 2008, the board was hoping that the history with Puma could achieve their ambition with two league titles before 2015.[5]

After 16 years with Carlsberg on the front of the shirt, OB changed main sponsor to Royal Unibrew. They signed a contract until 31 May 2023, and the new sponsor on the front of the shirt would become Albani Brewery, that is owned by Royal Unibrew. This came into force from the summer 2017.[6]

OB in Europe

UEFA club coefficient ranking

(As of 4 Oct 2014), Source: Bert Kassies website

TeamYear20102011201220132014
OB OdenseTeam Rank
Points
113 
 14.970 
104 
 18.610 
112 
 15.005 
136 
 12.640 
145 
 11.760 

References

  1. "Stadion - OB.DK". Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  2. "Førsteholdet". www.ob.dk. Odense Boldklub. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  3. "Odense Boldklub staff". Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
  4. "hummel ny tøjsponsor i OB".
  5. "Puma ny tøjsponsor".
  6. Albani bliver hovedsponsor i OB‚ bold.dk, 4 October 2017
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