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Rangers will in the group stage of this year’s Europa League clash with Danish champions and former powerhouse Brøndby I.F. Asbjørn Møller, expert on Danish football and specifically Brøndby I.F. from Brøndby Site VilfortPark.dk guides you through everything you need to know about the yellow-blue army from Denmark. The Danish champions entered the Champions League qualifiers in the playoff round where they faced off against Austrian champions, RB Salzburg. The Danes were however never really close to qualifying for the Champions League as they lost 4-2 on aggregate. This year’s Europa League marks the first time since 2005 that Brøndby has qualified for a European tournament. History of Brøndby I.F. While Brøndby hasn’t experienced many trophies and successes over the past 15 years the history of the club still holds some significant moments for both Danish and international football. The club saw its greatest period of time in the 80s, 90s and early 00s as they won ten Danish Championships between their first in 1985 and 2005. In this period many of the biggest stars in Danish Football were brought up through Brøndby’s academy. Players such as Rangers legend Brian Laudrup experienced his breakthrough at the club following in the shoes of his older brother Michael who also played in Brøndby. Other Danish giants like Peter Schmeichel and later Daniel Agger also represented Brøndby I.F. in the early stages of their careers. The then Danish powerhouse also managed some huge international results in especially the 80s and 90s. The yellow-blue army were only a few minutes away from the UEFA Cup final in 1991, but a late goal from Rudi Völler ended the dream. Perhaps the biggest single victory in the history of the club came in 1995 where Liverpool was defeated 1-0 at Anfield, a victory which is still often celebrated in Brøndby. The success of the 80s and 90s was however difficult to duplicate in the 00s and 10s. Brøndby did achieve success under legendary manager Michael Laudrup in the early 00s which culminated with the league championship in 2005. Michael Laudrup however left the club which turned Brøndby I.F. into chaos. Ever changing managers and poor results almost led to the club being relegated in 2013 but Brøndby managed to keep their spot in the Danish Superliga due to a last-minute win in the last game of the season. It has thus been a long road for Brøndby to become champions of Denmark. German manager Alexander Zorniger almost secured the title in 2018, but it wasn’t until current manager Niels Frederiksen took over that the dreams of the many Brøndby fans were finally brought to life by winning the league in 2020/2021. Champions of Denmark but Difficulties this Season While everything seemed to succeed for Brøndby I.F. last season this year has been a completely different story. While last season was started without ambitions of a championship, winning the title has led to an increased demand for results and success among the supporters. Perhaps the most important offensive player from last season, Jesper Lindstrøm is now in Eintracht Frankfurt and while top scorer Mikael Uhre is still in the club, he misses the support of assist-maker Lindstrøm. The start of this season has however failed to live up to expectations. Five important players (four starters) from the championship team left Brøndby before the start of this season and the replacements have so far failed to live up to their predecessors. Especially the defence was hit by outgoing transfers as two out of three center backs departed Brøndby as well as goalkeeper Marvin Schwäbe. The outgoing players have mostly been replaced by academy players or players without much experience. The many outgoing transfers and lack of quality replacements has led to a terrible start to the season. Brøndby didn’t win before their seventh game of the season and has so far conceded 11 goals in seven matches while only scoring ten. The defence has been in trouble on multiple occasions and is for sure the Achilles heel of the team. One player who however has continued his play from last season is top scorer Mikael Uhre who besides four goals in the domestic league also managed to score against RB Salzburg in the Champions League playoffs. Brøndby has had many difficulties so far this season but a couple of late signings towards the end of the transfer period could change that story but their defensive troubles should continue in the Europa League when playing against bigger, stronger, and faster opponents. Tactics and Lineup Current manager Niels Frederiksen has used a 5-3-2 formation with wingbacks in the majority of his time with Brøndby I.F. The biggest issue for Brøndby in this formation is the lack of offensive quality in the wingbacks. Neither Kevin Mensah or Andreas Bruus are good dribblers and rarely win 1-on-1 duels between opposing defenders. Their crosses are also not impressive so even though the formation is built around the wingbacks creating chances they rarely do. The offensive play is instead mostly left to the two strikers, Mikael Uhre and Simon Hedlund. Both strikers are relatively fast. Brøndby centre backs and midfielders are always looking for the deep ball behind opposing defenders for Uhre and Hedlund to run into. The passes however often lack the quality to create big chances. The most powerful offensive weapon for Brøndby is for sure their counter attacks. The wingbacks are quick to run forward and the speed of Uhre and Hedlund makes Brøndby a dangerous team to play against as they can be extremely efficient on the counter. They prefer to let the opponent have the majority of the possession and patiently wait for an opportunity for a counter attack. Having fast defensive players will be very helpful when playing against Uhre and Hedlund as they are always looking for the deep ball. The main issue for Brøndby in this season has been their defensive play. As said earlier, neither of the wingbacks have impressed. Their defensive positioning is a major flaw in both Mensah and Bruus’ style of play as they are often out of position. Playing the ball into their area can expose the defensive problems for Brøndby as this leads to the centre backs needing to cover the outside areas. This in turn means the creation of space in front of the goal which opposing strikers can take advantage of. Key Player While leading scorer Mikael Uhre takes most of the headlines the unsung hero of Brøndby I.F. is for sure Croatian defensive midfielder Josip Radosevic. Radosevic plays as the most defensive player on the three man midfield of Brøndby. He is extremely important in the defensive part of the game as he is great in duels and thus stops many attacks. His deep passes are also quite impressive as he often hits his target on long passes both to either a wingback or a striker. Radosevic is along with captain Andreas Maxsø the most important piece of Brøndby’s defence while he can also create chances with his passing. Expected lineup (5-3-2) Hermansen, Mensah, Tshiembe, Maxsø, Skipper, Bruus, - Frendrup, Radosevic, Greve, - Uhre, Hedlund

It’s all such a pity. I always thought The Famine Song was a splendid poke in the eye for the sanctimonious McOirish clan.

McGivern has been reported to the police for some of his tweets.

Can we keep the purely political discussion to the lounge and not derail the thread please?

That's why they've been banned on this site for the last few years. However I'd also take this opportunity to remind all our users of their behaviour and responsibilities on this site even if I'd take no lessons in morality from hypocrites in the media.

We could get rangers_syntax to ask them some obtuse, confusing questions while buster prepares a lengthy dossier on their misbehaviour. Failing that, we could get Rousseau to bore them to death with stats. After that, if they're still standing, I'm sure no one would be mad enough to take on Bill in a debate.

Thank Gawd for that. I thought that it was another war starting.

Not convinced.

I’ve just been looking at a Facebook article which features an Indy march with a TORY SCUM OUT banner Whats the difference between that and the famine song? Both wrong in my opinion but one will end in prosecution and one won’t

Evidence is an irrelevance to the legal system in Scotland under the SNP. Decisions are pre-decided.

Point 3 is rather alarming, despite not being too surprising. The UBs should set up a Go Fund Me page for legal costs for those charged. I'm sure many are sympathetic. It is quite apparent that the yahoos and their friends in authority have piggybacked last year's race panic and the same terminology used by Critical Race Theory/BLM is being turned on Rangers supporters, regardless of detail/nuance peculiar to our rivalry with Celtc. The word sectarianism has barely been mentioned in relation to Sunday but anti-Catholic, anti-Irish and racist have all been used a lot.

GO GET THE BASTARDS

I would caution you against this rush to judgement. Besides that is a decision for Him alone.

Quite. There's a difference between being a decent, sensible person and bending over for that lot. Bears who want to bend over are as much use as a knackered lift, in my opinion.

I think that's the same as everyone else on this thread.

Suprise Suprise, I'd say......Chelsea lol Bought exactly what was needed in Lukaku and Saul. Quality upfront and in midfield and the cost was netted off by outgoing players. Closely followed by Utd with Ronaldo, Sancho and Varane.

You seem to have bought into this big time. Pretty soon we’ll be afraid to open our mouths for fear of offending someone. But you’ll still be happy in your conformity, right.

The EK bus one wasn't a fake. There's been suggestions that one of the city centre videos was a fake as the sounds and claps don't seem to match what was going on. I've seen another video that sounds like they're singing "the party's over, why don't you go home."

It was (still is) satire. Remember that?

Who gets to decide what is offensive ? Are you going to hand your free speech to a Nationalist government to decide what you can and cannot say ? Is that not what we accuse China and Russia of doing and claim it's abusing human rights and the freedom of speech ?

How feeble minded would one need to be to care about what the Daily Record publishes? The Daily Record are in competition with fan media now. Any comment, by the Record, on the topic of fan media can be disregarded on that basis.

We all need to get behind the likes of Edgar. the club is under attack more than ever.. Likes of Gersnet etc will be next

It’s a shame they felt they had to resign. Good to hear the record are in a panic though, shameless hypocrites.

I’m not convinced by this at all. They can’t see past the fact that a large amount of the political decisions affecting us will continue to be made by Conservatives if we remain in the UK.

That's Derry's Walls and various other Ulster related songs out then. The likes of Dornan, Haggerty and co will not stop. A line has to be drawn at some point.

A town in Yorkshire.

This 100%. Sing about The Rangers.

then yes i can. perhaps i should have added song came back but that wasn't my point. we manage to sectarian up everything more or less.

It first emerged in 2008. I think it was last sung around 2011 or 2012.

The government decides and it has already happened.

Hopefully their obvious attack on H&H will wake up any Bears who still read or click on Daily Record links. The Record and The Sun are no friends of ours and should be dealt with accordingly.

Depends what you mean. Do i remember it being sung absolutely. Can i give you a decade yes. naughties. can i give you a year or date no. is what i said initially true. absolutely. To help you more i would need you to abandon your cryptic style and say something substantive.

Aye, thanks to GS I eventually got there, lol

Agree completely. It is a piss take. This anti Irish nonsense needs addressed. They are either Irish or Scottish, not both. We are not talking here about people who are first or second generation immigrants. All of that aside, I wish they would just stop singing stuff to the offended. I am sick of them feeding Dornan, Yousef, Haggerty et alia. It just adds to the myth that we are full of hate while they remain the good guys.

There is a difference between something that offends and something that is designed to cause hatred, the latter covered by law, the former quite rightly not.

I'd also say that the "famine chant" isn't sectarian, and was aimed at Scottish people pretending to be Irish. Those who want to be offended ignore the irony and claim to be offended and perhaps some genuinely are. I personally don't think it's offensive as it's taking the piss out of "plastic paddys" but certainly agree that it shouldn't be sung.

Yeah it's a personal choice but it's one that the club know the vast majority will pay, it's playing on our loyality. Just look at MyGers as an example, the way it's marketed, portraying it as some thing "real fans" would join. However, I'm old enough to remember Rangers playing CL group stage games in front of 30-35,000 fans as the club overpriced the tickets, which was at the time a major embarrassment. There are many fans who have been on furlough, lost the jobs, struggling to make ends meet, but our club just keep bleeding us dry. I'm just awaiting yet another email from Rangers saying I can purchase the EL "Stay at home and watch on the sofa" range of lounge-wear, for just the £100.....

Sorry, I should have said, 'No grown man is actually offended by songs.".