Randers FC (Danish pronunciation: [ˈʁɑnɐs]) is a professional football club based in Randers, East Jutland, Denmark, that plays in the Danish Superliga, the top flight of the Danish football league system. Founded on 1 January 2003, the club builds upon the license of Randers Freja, a former three-time Danish Cup winning team. As of 2022[update] the club had won the Danish Cup twice in its history. Randers plays its matches at the 10,300-capacity Cepheus Park Randers.
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| Full name | Randers FC | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Hestene (The Horses) | ||
| Short name | RFC | ||
| Founded | 1 January 2003 | ||
| Ground | Cepheus Park Randers Randers, Denmark | ||
| Capacity | 10,300 | ||
| Chairman | Per Hastrup | ||
| Sporting director | Søren Pedersen | ||
| Coach | Rasmus Bertelsen | ||
| League | Danish Superliga | ||
| 2022–23 | Danish Superliga, 6th of 12 | ||
| Website | Club website | ||
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History edit
The club was formed on 1 January 2003, as a collaboration between six local Randers-clubs; Dronningborg Boldklub (founded 1928), Hornbæk Sportsforening (founded 1945), Kristrup Boldklub (founded 1908), Randers Freja (founded 1898), Randers KFUM (founded 1920) and Vorup Frederiksberg Boldklub (founded 1930), continuing Randers Freja's (at the time) 1st division-team.[1]
First years and Cup success edit
In the first season as a newly created club, Randers ended in fourth place in the Viasat Sport Division with 51 points. The captain of the Denmark national team which won UEFA Euro 1992, Lars Olsen, was coach of the team. The following year, the team ended in second place with 66 points and was promoted to the country's best league, the SAS Liga.
With only 24 points in 2004–05 season in the SAS Liga, Randers finished in last place. In the 2005–06 season, however, Randers redeemed itself, securing promotion back to the SAS League with 61 points while also winning the Danish Cup with a 1–0 victory over Esbjerg in the final at Parken Stadium on 11 May 2006. Randers was the first team since 1974 who managed to win the Danish Cup although playing in the second-highest league in Denmark.
In mid-2005, the club brought in former Denmark national team midfielder Stig Tøfting on a free transfer, after AGF, his childhood-club, refused to let him play (even for free) due to his violent background with several sentences.[2] Tøfting was appointed Assistant Coach in November 2006.[3]
In the 2006–07 season, Randers finished in eighth place with 38 points, as well as participation in the UEFA Cup the season before, where the club met ÍA of Iceland, FBK Kaunas of Lithuania and major club Fenerbahçe from Turkey.
Before the start of the 2007–08 season, Randers signed former England national team player Colin Todd as its new manager. Randers started the season in great fashion, winning its first four matches (most notably a 5–0 win against Aalborg BK).
In the second half of the 2007–08 season, Randers continued to improve in the Danish league. With new signings Marc Nygaard and Søren Berg, expectations grew as the season progressed, and Randers ultimately finished in sixth place following a 2–1 win against Brøndby IF in the final matchday of the season.
The 2008–09 season started in promising fashion for the club, recording a 3–1 win against the local rivals AGF. Randers continued its solid start with a 1–1 a draw with Copenhagen. In the third round, Randers was to play Brøndby away; the club had never defeated Brøndby away before. Randers won 0–3 following goals from Carsten Fredgaard, Bedi Buval and Tidiane Sane. After the five first rounds, Randers was still undefeated, though at the winter break Randers was placed mid-table.
Up and down years edit
On 4 November 2008 Randers announced that former Danish international John "Faxe" Jensen would become its new manager from 1 July following the ending of Colin Todd's contract.[4] Todd, however, expressed his frustration about how Randers had dealt with the situation and openly criticised the club for putting him in a difficult situation.[5][6]
Jensen ended up taking the place as manager six months before schedule due to the club having reached an agreement with the then present manager Todd. Jensen was officially announced new manager on 5 January. He started his time in Randers in great fashion, winning the first league game of the season against local rivals AGF 2–1. However, the club failed to sustain the winning form when they went to draw against Vejle BK and thereafter lost the following three games to the top three sides OB, Copenhagen and BIF. The team's losing streak culminated in a 1–6 to Nordsjælland.
The club, however, responded well to the losing streak and won the next five games, ironically setting a new club winning streak. The season ended with a 3–3 draw away against Danish champions Copenhagen and a fifth-place finish, it highest league rank in club history. Marc Nygaard claimed the golden boot for 16 goals during the season. Morten Nordstrand was later credited for a goal on penalty in the final match, and also had a goal tally of 16, but Nygaard was awarded the title as he was the first to reach the 16 goals.[7]
Randers and Faxe decided that Tøfting was not the right choice as assistant manager, and, on 1 May 2009, the club announced that Tøfting's contract would not be extended. On 2 June, the club announced that two of Jensen's colleagues from the Euro 1992-winning Danish side – Henrik Larsen and Flemming Povlsen – as its new assistant managers; Larsen was named first assistant manager while Povlsen as assistant focused on the club's attack. However, after a catastrophic start to the 2009–10 season with only 2 points earned from 11 league games, Jensen and his assistants were released from their contracts.[8]
Ove Christensen was appointed new head coach for Randers for the remainder of the 2009–10 season.[9] He was given the objective to save Randers from relegation, although Randers was projected to be relegated at the winter break by the media and experts. However, a historic comeback with 16 games without defeat[10] meant that its topflight status was to be decided on the final day of the season. A loss to Brøndby would mean that if AGF won its game against OB, the best team of the spring season would be relegated. OB won 0–3 and Randers lost its first match in the second half of the season 1–3, ensuring Randers kept their top-flight status. Yura Movsisyan was arguably the key in Randers' survival, as he scored 7 goals in 13 games.
When Ove Christensen arrived, he gave the squad an overhaul and nine players were released or sold in the winter break of 2009–10 season. He also made several signings: Anders Egholm from SønderjyskE, Morten Karlsen from Nordsjælland and Søren Jensen on loan from Odd Grenland. Christensen signed a new one-year contract as head coach on 17 May 2010.
In the following season, however, Christensen could not follow up on the success and was fired after a loss to Brøndby. Peter Elstrup and Allan Kuhn were Brough in as caretakers but could not prevent Randers' relegation at the end of the season. Michael Hemmingsen was named new head coach with the first task to bring Randers back to the Superliga. With Hemmingsen as head coach, Randers ended the 2011–12 season in second place in the Danish 1st division, thereby earning promotion back to the Superliga.
League success and Europa League qualification edit
Despite having earned promotion to the Danish Superliga, Hemmingsen was replaced as head coach by former Randers coach Colin Todd, who returned to the club following his coaching spell from 2007 to 2009. Randers did well in its first season after being promoted, ending its 2012–13 league campaign in third place, the club's best ever league finish. The team also reached the final in the Danish Cup, but lost 1–0 to Esbjerg. Nonetheless, the league result meant that Randers was to participate in the UEFA Europa League. It entered the tournament in the third round of qualifying, where it met Rubin Kazan. Randers, however, lost the home match 2–0 and the away match 2–0, thus failing to qualify for the group stage.
During the 2020–21 season, Randers achieved a significant milestone in their history by securing a place in the championship playoffs of the Danish Superliga via a fifth-place finish in the regular season. Moreover, the club claimed victory in the Danish Cup after defeating SønderjyskE 4–0 in the final at Ceres Park in Aarhus, with goals from Erik Marxen, Simon Piesinger, and a brace by Mathias Greve.[11] This triumph earned them the opportunity to participate in European competition in the 2021–22 season. Although they narrowly missed out on a place in the UEFA Europa League after losing to Galatasaray in the playoffs, they qualified for the inaugural UEFA Europa Conference League group stage.[12] They finished second in their group after competing against AZ Alkmaar from the Netherlands, CFR Cluj from Romania, and Jablonec from the Czech Republic. This result secured their progression to the knockout stage, where they faced English powerhouse Leicester City, which included Denmark national team captain Kasper Schmeichel. Despite their best efforts, they were eliminated from the competition, thus concluding their European journey.[13]
European record edit
During the 2006–07 season, Randers managed to qualify for the UEFA Cup as Danish Cup winners. During the 2009–10 season, the club was invited to participate in the Europa League due to its second place in the Danish league Fair Play ranking – behind 2008–09 champions Copenhagen, which claimed Denmark's UEFA Champions League spot. During the 2010–11 season, the club participated in the Europa League due to its second-place finish in the Danish league Fair Play ranking – behind 2009–10 champions Copenhagen, which again claimed the Champions League spot.
| Season | Competition | Round | Opposition | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006–07[14] | UEFA Cup | First qualifying round |  ÍA
|
1–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 (a) |
| Second qualifying round |  FBK Kaunas
|
3–1 | 0–1 | 3–2 | ||
| First round |  Fenerbahçe
|
0–3 | 1–2 | 1–5 | ||
| 2009–10[15] | UEFA Europa League | First qualifying round |  Linfield
|
4–0 | 3–0 | 7–0 |
| Second qualifying round | Sūduva
|
1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | ||
| Third qualifying round |  Hamburger SV
|
0–4 | 1–0 | 1–4 | ||
| 2010–11[16] | UEFA Europa League | First qualifying round |  F91 Dudelange
|
6–1 | 1–2 | 7–3 |
| Second qualifying round |  Gorica
|
1–1 | 3–0 | 4–1 | ||
| Third qualifying round |  Lausanne-Sport
|
2–3 | 1–1 | 3–4 | ||
| 2013–14 | UEFA Europa League | Third qualifying round |  Rubin Kazan
|
1–2 | 0–2 | 1–4 |
| 2015–16 | UEFA Europa League | First qualifying round |  Sant Julià
|
3–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 |
| Second qualifying round |  Elfsborg
|
0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | ||
| 2021–22 | UEFA Europa League | Play-off round | Galatasaray
|
1–1 | 1–2 | 2–3 |
| UEFA Europa Conference League | Group D |  AZ
|
2–2 | 0–1 | 2nd place | |
 CFR Cluj
|
2–1 | 1–1 | ||||
 Jablonec
|
2–2 | 2–2 | ||||
| Knockout round play-offs |  Leicester City
|
1–3 | 1–4 | 2–7 |
Stadium edit
Randers Stadium edit
Randers Stadium was founded in 1961. It was built to hold 18,000 spectators and in 1969 a record of 16,500 people attended the UEFA Cup loss against 1. FC Köln.
2012 rebuild edit
The stadium was rebuilt in 2012 and renamed AutoC Park with a capacity of 10,300 spectators. It was built by C. F. Møller Architects and is established on the former Randers Stadium site. On 22 September 2015, it was announced that local company BioNutria had bought the name rights of the stadium until 31 October 2018. On 14 November 2018, it was announced that Cepheus group had bought the name rights of the stadium for 3 years.
The new stadium attendance record after the stadium was rebuilt, is 9,947, set against Aarhus GF on 6 October 2019
Supporters edit
The largest supporter group is Nordtribunen (i.e. The North Tribune), however there are more factions within the fandom of Randers.
Honours edit
- Danish Superliga
- Third place: 2012–13
- Danish Cup
- UEFA Fair Play League
- Winners: 2009, 2010
Records edit
Most games played: 223 
Mads Fenger
Most goals: 41 Ronnie Schwartz
Biggest league win: 5–0 Randers – AAB (in 2007)[17]
Biggest league loss: 1–6 Randers – Nordsjælland (in 2009), SønderjyskE – Randers FC (in 2012)[18]
Highest attendance(home): 11,824 Randers – Brøndby[19]
Longest run without defeat: 16 (29 November 2009 – 5 May 2010)
Longest winning streak: 5 (13 April 2010 – 3 May 2010)
Longest run without a win: 18 (31 May 2009 – 29 November 2009)
Players edit
Squad edit
As of 1 February 2024[update][20]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Youth players in use 2023/24 edit
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan edit
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Managers edit
Lars Olsen (1 Jan 2003 – 24 Jan 2007)
Colin Todd (1 July 2007 – 5 Jan 2009)- John "Faxe" Jensen (5 Jan 2009 – 6 Oct 2009)
- Ove Christensen (7 Oct 2009 – 26 Apr 2011)
- Peter Elstrup (interim) (27 Apr 2011 – 30 June 2011)
- Michael Hemmingsen (1 July 2011 – 5 July 2012)
- Colin Todd (5 July 2012 – 30 June 2016)
Ólafur Kristjánsson (1 July 2016 – 5 Oct 2017)
Ricardo Moniz (8 Oct 2017 – 26 Jan 2018)- Rasmus Bertelsen (26 Jan 2018 – 30 June 2018)
- Thomas Thomasberg (1 July 2018 – 23 March 2023)
- Rasmus Bertelsen (23 March 2023 – )
Staff edit
Management
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Chief Executive Officer | Henrik Jørgensen |
| Head of Sales | Morten Hørby Andersen |
| Club Secretary | Jesper Hansen |
| Head of Communications | Kristian Fredslund Andersen |
| Press Officer | Martin Albrechtsen |
| Sales Assistant | Sylvester Hansen |
| Sales Assistant | Anders Hedeager |
| IT & Ticket Coordinator | Michael Møller Højfeldt |
| VIP & Hospitality | Lone Nikolajsen |
Team
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Director of Football | Søren Pedersen |
| Head coach | Rasmus Bertelsen |
| Assistant coach | Ralf Pedersen |
| Youth-Development Coach | Peter Elstrup |
| Goalkeeper coach | Erik Boye |
| Performance manager | Tobias Elstrup |
| Chief team assistant | Peer Kam |
| Team assistant | Ferhat Alici |
| Team assistant | Emil Stanic |
| Team assistant | Lars Pedersen |
| Team assistant | Hans Kirkegaard |
| Medical | Dr. Martin Nielsen |
Shirt sponsors edit
2003 – 2005–06: Nike
2006–07 – 2009–10: Umbro
2010–11 – 2012–13: H2O[21]
2013–14 – 2014–15: Warrior[22]
2015–16 – : Puma
League statistics edit
| Season | Div. | Pos. | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts | Cup | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002–03 | 1D | 4 | 30 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 65 | 49 | 51 | Fourth round | |
| 2003–04 | 1D | 2 | 30 | 21 | 3 | 6 | 85 | 43 | 66 | Fourth round | Promoted |
| 2004–05 | SL | 12 | 33 | 5 | 9 | 19 | 30 | 64 | 24 | Fourth round | Relegated |
| 2005–06 | 1D | 2 | 30 | 19 | 4 | 7 | 64 | 30 | 61 | Winner | Promoted |
| 2006–07 | SL | 8 | 33 | 10 | 8 | 15 | 41 | 53 | 38 | Quarter-final | UEFA Cup – First round |
| 2007–08 | SL | 6 | 33 | 13 | 8 | 12 | 41 | 33 | 47 | Quarter-final | |
| 2008–09 | SL | 5 | 33 | 11 | 13 | 9 | 52 | 50 | 46 | Fourth round | |
| 2009–10 | SL | 10 | 33 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 37 | 43 | 40 | Fourth round | Europa League – Third qualifying round |
| 2010–11 | SL | 11 | 33 | 6 | 16 | 11 | 41 | 48 | 34 | Semi-finals | Relegated Europa League – Third qualifying round |
| 2011–12 | 1D | 2 | 26 | 15 | 4 | 7 | 38 | 22 | 49 | 3rd round | Promoted |
| 2012–13 | SL | 3 | 33 | 15 | 7 | 11 | 36 | 42 | 52 | Runners-up | |
| 2013–14 | SL | 7 | 33 | 9 | 14 | 10 | 41 | 45 | 41 | 3rd round | Europa League – Third qualifying round |
| 2014–15 | SL | 4 | 33 | 14 | 10 | 9 | 39 | 28 | 52 | Quarter-final | |
| 2015–16 | SL | 6 | 33 | 13 | 8 | 12 | 45 | 43 | 47 | Quarter-final | Europa League – Second qualifying round |
| 2016–17 | SL | 7 | 32 | 11 | 8 | 13 | 33 | 35 | 41 | Quarter-final | Lost in European play-off final |
| 2017–18 | SL | 12 | 32 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 32 | 52 | 30 | Quarter-final | Won relegation play-off second round |
| 2018–19 | SL | 7 | 32 | 12 | 9 | 11 | 35 | 39 | 45 | Third round | Lost in European play-off final |
| 2019–20 | SL | 7 | 26 | 10 | 5 | 11 | 39 | 35 | 35 | Quarter-final | Lost in European play-off quarter-final |
| 2020–21 | SL | 5 | 22 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 31 | 21 | 32 | Winner | |
| 2021–22 | SL | 5 | 22 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 26 | 25 | 33 | Quarter-final | Europa Conference League – Knockout round play-offs |
References edit
- ^ "(In Danish)". Randersfc.dk. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
- ^ Michael Olesen (27 October 2005). "Stig Tøfting til Randers | Sport | DR". Dr.dk. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
- ^ "Randers FC – Stig Tøfting bliver i Randers FC". Randersfc.dk. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
- ^ "Faxe præsenteret i Randers". Bold.dk. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
- ^ "Colin Todd vil fyres". Bold.dk. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
- ^ "Todd skuffet over håndteringen". Bold.dk. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
- ^ "Nordstrand fik sit mål – Fodbold". Sporten.dk. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
- ^ "Randers FC – John Faxe stopper i Randers FC". Randersfc.dk. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
- ^ "Randers FC – Ove Christensen er den nye cheftræner". Randersfc.dk. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
- ^ "FØR AAB-KAMPEN: VIDSTE DU AT". Randersfc.dk. Retrieved 22 November 2012."FØR AAB-KAMPEN: VIDSTE DU AT". Randersfc.dk. Retrieved 2012-11-22.
- ^ Kjær, Christian (13 May 2021). "Randers ydmyger SønderjyskE og er pokalmester". TV 2 Sport (in Danish). Archived from the original on 8 April 2023. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
- ^ "Randers taber til Galatasaray og misser Europa League". TV3 SPORT (in Danish). 26 August 2021. Archived from the original on 8 April 2023. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
- ^ "Historien". Randers FC (in Danish). Archived from the original on 6 December 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
- ^ "UEFA Europa League 2006/07 – History – Randers –". UEFA. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
- ^ "UEFA Europa League 2009/10 – History – Randers –". UEFA. 13 August 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
- ^ "UEFA Europa League 2010/11 – History – Randers –". UEFA. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
- ^ [1] Archived 3 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Randers FC". Ligafodbold.dk.
- ^ [2] Archived 26 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ [3], Randers FC website
- ^ "Danish sportswear". H2O Sportswear. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
- ^ "Randers FC". Warrior Football. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
External links edit
