Viborg FF
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| Full name | Viborg Fodsports Forening | |||
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| Short name | VFF | |||
| Founded | 1 April 1896 | |||
| Ground | Energi Viborg Arena, Viborg | |||
| Capacity | 10,000 | |||
| Managing Director | Morten Jensen | |||
| Head Coach | Jakob Poulsen | |||
| League | Danish Superliga | |||
| 2024–25 | Danish Superliga, 8th of 12 | |||
| Website | www.vff.dk | |||
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Viborg Fodsports Forening (lit. 'Viborg Footsport Association'), also known as Viborg FF or VFF for short, is a Danish professional football club based in the Central Jutland city of Viborg. They compete in the Danish Superliga, the top tier of Danish football. Nicknamed De Grønne[1] (The Greens), the club was originally founded on 1 April 1896.[2] After more than 100 years of existence, the club won their first and only major trophy in 2000, lifting the Danish Cup.
History
[edit]
Viborg Fodsports Forening was established on 1 April 1896.[2] The club originally encompassed several sports, including cricket, gymnastics, boxing, and others. Football was not initially a sport included within the club; however, the club won Mesterrækken in 1924, which was highest football league on the Jutland peninsula in Denmark at the time. By 1929, as other sports had separated into other independent organizations, football remained as the club's only sport. For the next several decades, the club maintained an amateur status and competed in regional leagues, until joining the Danish 4th division in 1959 following promotion after several attempts. Erik Bundgaard was one player involved in the club's achievement, and his 421 matches played for the club were a record until 2008, when Jakob Glerup surpassed his mark.
During the 1970s, Viborg FF was again relegated to the lower divisions of Danish football before returning to the 4th division. Since this time, the club has stayed within the upper tiers of the Danish football pyramid. Following several promotions, the club found itself in the Danish 1st Division, which was the highest level of professional football within Denmark at the time. After only one season, the club were relegated to the 2nd Division once more and would not return until 1989. Following an investment into youth football, the club once more returned to the top league in the country, the Danish Superliga, which had been created in 1991. Once more, however, the club were relegated after only one season once more. In 1995, the club again returned to the Superliga where they would remain for more than a decade.
Viborg FF's highest achievement came during the 1999–2000 Danish Cup. With a 1–0 victory over AaB in the final, the club won the biggest football tournament in the country. The club was given the opportunity to play in the Danish Super Cup in the season following their cup win, defeating Herfølge BK on penalties. The club received an invitation to the UEFA Cup for the 2000–01 tournament, marking their participation in continental football for the first time in the club's history. Their participation would be short-lived however, as they were eliminated in the second round by Spanish club Rayo Vallecano.[3] By 2002, Viborg FF had fully established a youth academy of their own in FK Viborg.[4]
While Viborg FF continued to enjoy varying degrees of success in the years after, including a 4th place finish in 2005–06, the club was once again relegated in the spring of 2008. After several more years in the 1st Division, the club became a yo-yo club for the next several years with two promotions and two more relegations between the 2012–13 and the 2016–17 seasons. The club captured their fourth 1st Division title during the 2020–21 season and once more returned to the Superliga. Their first season back in the Superliga proved to be successful as the club reached the UEFA Conference League, after defeating AaB in a European play-off match. The club advanced to the play-off round following victories over Lithuan club FK Sūduva[3] and Faroese-side B36 Tórshavn,[5] before losing 6–1 on aggregate to eventual-tournament winner West Ham United.[6] As of the 2024–25 season, the club remains in the top-flight.
Colours and badge
[edit]Viborg F.F.'s colours are green and white.
Stadium
[edit]Viborg plays its home matches at Viborg Stadium, known as Energi Viborg Arena since 2011 due to sponsorship.[7] Originally built in 1931, the stadium was demolished and rebuilt in 2001[8] at a cost of 62.1 million Danish kroner (93.8 million DKK in 2023).[9] The stadium has a capacity of 10,000, of which 9,566 is seated. The seats are divided in multiple sections with the eastern stand having the highest capacity at 2,792 seats, and the southern stand with the lowest capacity at 2,040 seats. The pitch size is the same dimensions as the national stadium at 105 metres (115 yd) long and 68 metres (74 yd) wide.[10] UEFA, the governing body of football in Europe, has approved the stadium for international use, and the stadium is also home to the Danish women's national football team. The men's national team has also played select matches at the ground.[11]
Viborg Stadium itself is part of the Viborg Stadion Center and is owned by the Viborg Municipality.[8]
Supporters
[edit]
Viborg FF has no official Fanclub. A former official Fanclub is The Green Pride. It was one of the largest in Denmark with over 500 members. There is a small continuation of The Green Pride active in Viborg to this day.
The first ultra group was established in 2002, when a group of young adults established Fanatikos. In 2004 a new group, Shamrock Ultras, was born.
Their main rival is FC Midtjylland and the game is called "Hadets Opgør" (The Battle of Hatred) or "det midtjyske derby" (Central Jutland Derby). Viborg fans, see themselves as being the true Central Jutlanders and most Viborg fans are annoyed by the fact that FC Midtjylland call themselves FC Midtjylland (FC Central Jutland). The derby can also be seen as a battle between traditional football and modern football.
Players
[edit]First-team squad
[edit]- As of 3 February 2025[12]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Youth players in use 2024–25
[edit]Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. 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; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Retired numbers
[edit]- 22
Søren Frederiksen, Forward, (1989–94, 1995–96, 1998, 2001–05)
Academy
[edit]Forenede Klubber i Viborg (English: United Clubs in Viborg), more commonly known as FK Viborg is the youth academy of Viborg FF. FK Viborg consists of youth teams on under-18, under-16, under-14 and under-12 basis.
FK Viborg was founded in 2002 as a superstructure on Viborg FF, Overlund GF, Viborg B67, Viborg Søndermarken IK, Viborg Nørremarken and Houlkær IF's best youth teams.
Managerial history
[edit]
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Honours
[edit]League
[edit]Cup
[edit]- Danish Cup
- Winners: 1999–2000
- Danish Super Cup
- Winners: 2000
European record
[edit]| Season | Competition | Round | Opponent | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–01 | UEFA Cup | First Round |  CSKA Moscow
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0–0 | 1–0 (a.e.t.) | 1–0 (a.e.t.) |
| Second Round |  Rayo Vallecano
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0–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 (a) | ||
| 2022–23 | UEFA Europa Conference League | Second qualifying round |  Sūduva
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1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 |
| Third qualifying round |  B36 Tórshavn
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3–0 | 2–1 | 5–1 | ||
| Play-off round |  West Ham United
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0–3 | 1–3 | 1–6 |
Seasons
[edit]
Some matches is regular seasons were played as knockout matches, as a result these are shown in the regular league columns instead of the cup column and with position replaced with win/loss.
Season Competition Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Cup 1909–10 Jutland A-Series North Circut Finals L 1 N/A 0 3 N/A N/A 1914–15 Jutland A-Series North Circuit 2 1 3 unk. unk. unk. unk. unk. unk. DNQ Jutland A-Series North Circuit Finals L 1 N/A 1 5 N/A 1915–16 Jutland A-Series North Circuit 3 3 6 2 1 3 unk. unk. 5 DNQ 1916–17 Jutland A-Series North Circuit 1 4 6 1 1 4 4 25 3 DNQ 1917–18 Jutland A-Series South Circuit 1 1 6 4 1 1 unk. unk. 9 DNQ Jutland A-Series South Circuit Semi-finals W 1 N/A 8 0 N/A Jutland A-Series South Circuit Finals L 1 N/A 3 5 N/A 1918–19 Jutland A-Series North Circuit 6 2 6 4 0 2 9 7 8 DNQ 1919–20 Jutland A-Series North Circuit 7 1 6 5 0 1 10 7 10 DNQ Jutland A-Series Circuit Semi-finals W 1 N/A 3 2 N/A Jutland A-Series Circuit Finals L 1 N/A 1 5 N/A 1920–21 Jutland A-Series North Circuit 7 2 6 4 1 1 14 13 9 DNQ Jutland A-Series North Circuit 7 1st place rematch L 1 N/A 2 4 N/A 1921–22 Jutland A-Series North Circuit 7 2 4 1 0 3 9 4 2 DNQ 1922–23 Jutland A-Series 3rd Circuit 1 8 unk. 14 DNQ Jutland A-Series North Circuit Semi-finals W 1 N/A 3 2 N/A Jutland A-Series North Circuit Finals W 1 N/A 4 3 N/A Jutland A-Series Final W 1 N/A 2 0 N/A Jutland Qualification to Championship Series W 1 N/A 2 1 N/A 1923–24 Jutland Championship Series 1 10 6 2 2 20 12 14 2nd Round 1924–25 Jutland Championship Series 4 10 3 4 3 17 16 10 DNQ 1925–26 Jutland Championship Series 3 10 4 3 3 20 25 11 DNQ 1926–27 Jutland Championship North Circuit 1 10 6 1 3 28 19 13 DNQ Jutland Championship Finals L 2 0 0 2 2 14 0 1927–28 Danish Championship Tournament 1st Circuit 4 3 1 0 2 3 7 2 N/A Jutland Championship North Circuit 4 10 3 2 5 20 30 8 1928–29 Jutland Championship North Circuit 5 10 3 2 5 28 32 8 N/A 1929–30 Jutland Championship North Circuit 6 10 1 0 9 11 37 2 N/A Relegation Playoff L 1 N/A 3 7 N/A 1930–31 Jutland Intermediate-Series North Circuit 4 3 10 5 1 4 17 20 11 N/A 1931–32 Jutland Intermediate-Series North Circuit 4 1 10 8 2 0 39 10 18 N/A Jutland Intermediate-Series North Circuit W 1 N/A 3 2 N/A Jutland Intermediate-Series Finals W 1 N/A 4 1 N/A Jutland Qualification to Championship Series W 1 N/A 1 0 N/A 1932–33 Jutland Championship North Circuit 6 14 4 2 8 26 43 10 N/A 1933–34 Jutland Championship North Circuit 6 14 5 2 7 32 43 12 N/A 1934–35 Jutland Championship North Circuit 6 14 4 3 7 27 28 11 N/A 1935–36 Jutland Championship North Circuit 5 14 6 3 5 39 34 15 N/A 1936–37 Jutland Championship North Circuit 3 14 8 1 5 36 32 17 N/A 1937–38 Jutland Championship North Circuit 4 14 7 2 5 47 36 16 N/A 1938–39 Jutland Championship North Circuit 4 14 5 4 5 34 40 14 N/A 1939–40 Jutland Championship North Circuit 8 14 4 0 10 44 56 8 N/A 1940–41 Jutland Championship 3rd Circuit 4 8 4 1 3 22 19 9 N/A 1941–42 Jutland Championship 2nd Circuit 1 10 7 1 2 25 14 15 N/A Jutland Championship Series Finals L 1 N/A 0 3 N/A Qualification to Danish Tournament L 1 N/A 5 6 N/A 1942–43 Jutland Championship 2nd Circuit 2 16 8 3 5 43 27 19 N/A 1943–44 Jutland Championship 2nd Circuit 5 10 3 2 5 23 29 8 N/A 1944–45 Jutland Championship Middle Circuit 6 7 2 0 5 15 20 4 N/A 1945–46 Jutland Championship North Circuit 7 14 5 0 9 31 44 10 N/A 1946–47 Jutland Championship North Circuit 8 18 5 4 9 36 42 14 N/A 1947–48 Jutland Championship North Circuit 3 18 11 1 6 55 31 23 N/A 1948–49 Jutland Championship North Circuit 2 18 10 3 5 55 29 23 N/A 1949–50 Jutland Championship North Circuit 3 18 10 3 5 58 38 23 N/A 1950–51 Jutland Series North 2 18 13 2 3 68 33 28 N/A 1951–52 Jutland Series North 1 18 12 5 1 71 22 29 N/A Jutland Series Finals W 2 1 1 0 3 1 N/A Qualification to Danish 3rd Division 3 6 3 2 1 14 13 8 1952–53 Jutland Series North 1 18 14 1 3 55 33 29 N/A Jutland Series Finals W 2 1 1 0 5 2 N/A Qualification to Danish 3rd Division 6 6 1 2 3 9 14 4 1953–54 Jutland Series North 1 18 14 2 2 52 13 30 N/A Jutland Series Finals L 1 N/A 1 3 N/A Qualification to Danish 3rd Division 4 6 2 3 1 16 15 7 1954–55 Jutland Series North 1 18 12 2 4 63 33 26 quarter-final Jutland Series Finals L 1 N/A 2 5 N/A Qualification to Danish 3rd Division 6 6 2 0 4 11 21 4 1955–56 Jutland Series North 3 22 12 5 5 57 35 29 3rd round 1956–57 Jutland Series North 3 33 20 3 10 112 46 43 4th round 1958 Jutland Series North 1 22 17 3 2 63 19 37 4th round Jutland Series Finals L 1 N/A 3 5 N/A Qualification to Danish 3rd Division 4 6 3 1 2 16 10 7 1959 Danish Qualification Tournament 1 22 15 4 3 77 33 34 1st round 1960 Danish 3rd Division 7 22 9 2 11 55 47 20 2nd round 1961 Danish 3rd Division 1 22 15 3 4 58 27 33 quarter-final 1962 Danish 2nd Division 4 22 9 5 8 46 40 23 1st round 1963 Danish 2nd Division 6 22 9 4 9 49 31 22 3rd round 1964 Danish 2nd Division 4 22 9 7 6 53 50 25 3rd round 1965 Danish 2nd Division 7 22 9 2 11 43 45 20 4th round 1966 Danish 2nd Division 11 22 6 2 14 35 76 14 2nd round 1967 Danish 3rd Division West 3 22 12 2 8 48 41 26 4th round 1968 Danish 3rd Division West 6 22 10 2 10 46 52 22 3rd round 1969 Danish 3rd Division West 2 22 12 4 6 47 39 28 3rd round 1970 Danish 3rd Division West 7 22 9 3 10 45 44 21 3rd round 1971 Danish 3rd Division West 12 22 6 5 11 26 41 17 2nd round 1972 Denmark Series Circuit 4 4 22 8 6 8 28 27 22 DNQ 1973 Denmark Series Circuit 4 1 22 14 4 4 58 17 32 2nd round 1974 Danish 3rd Division West 6 22 9 8 5 38 29 26 1st round 1975 Danish 3rd Division 9 30 12 5 13 43 42 29 DNQ 1976 Danish 3rd Division 11 30 11 6 13 45 58 28 1st round 1977 Danish 3rd Division 10 30 10 7 13 34 49 27 DNQ 1978 Danish 3rd Division 3 30 17 7 6 58 33 41 3rd round 1979 Danish 2nd Division 7 30 11 9 10 45 53 31 1st round 1980 Danish 2nd Division 1 30 16 8 6 53 35 40 4th round 1981 Danish 1st Division 16 30 5 5 20 33 62 15 2nd round 1982 Danish 2nd Division 9 30 9 9 12 41 45 27 quarter-final 1983 Danish 2nd Division 9 30 11 9 10 44 50 31 semi-final 1984 Danish 2nd Division 9 30 10 9 11 45 45 29 2nd round 1985 Danish 2nd Division 7 30 13 8 9 48 35 34 semi-final 1986 Danish 2nd Division 7 30 11 7 12 39 42 29 quarter-final 1987 Danish 2nd Division 5 26 11 5 10 40 31 27 1st round 1988 Danish 2nd Division 6 26 7 13 6 35 34 27 3rd round 1989 Danish 2nd Division 2 26 15 5 6 40 28 35 1st round 1990 Danish 1st Division 14 26 5 4 17 19 52 14 3rd round 1991 Danish 1st Division 5 18 6 6 6 28 26 18 4th round 1991–92 Danish 1st Division 1 18 12 2 4 40 21 26 4th round Danish Qualification League 3 14 8 1 5 29 21 17 1992–93 Danish 1st Division 2 18 11 5 2 37 22 27 5th round Danish Qualification League 4 14 8 2 4 37 22 18+7 1993–94 Danish Superliga 10 18 3 4 11 25 50 10 4th round Danish Qualification League 4 14 6 3 5 23 16 15+7 1994–95 Danish 1st Division 1 18 10 6 2 48 24 26 5th round Danish Qualification League 3 14 6 4 4 22 16 16+8 1995–96 Danish Superliga 8 33 9 11 13 48 67 38 quarter-final 1996–97 Danish Superliga 11 33 6 11 16 31 58 29 4th round 1997–98 Danish 1st Division 1 30 20 7 3 72 29 67 5th round 1998–99 Danish Superliga 8 33 13 5 15 61 59 44 5th round 1999–00 Danish Superliga 4 33 15 7 11 56 50 52 Winner 2000–01 Danish Superliga 6 33 13 7 13 52 42 46 semi-final 2001–02 Danish Superliga 8 33 10 11 12 46 45 41 5th round 2002–03 Danish Superliga 8 33 11 10 12 58 55 43 semi-final 2003–04 Danish Superliga 7 33 11 9 13 47 44 42 quarter-final 2004–05 Danish Superliga 7 33 13 9 11 43 45 48 4th round 2005–06 Danish Superliga 4 33 15 9 9 62 43 54 5th round 2006–07 Danish Superliga 9 33 8 5 20 34 64 29 semi-final 2007–08 Danish Superliga 11 33 5 5 23 29 68 20 2nd round 2008–09 Danish 1st Division 4 30 17 3 10 59 40 54 3rd round 2009–10 Danish 1st Division 7 30 10 14 6 30 26 44 4th round 2010–11 Danish 1st Division 11 30 9 6 15 37 43 33 4th round 2011–12 Danish 1st Division 4 26 10 10 6 45 34 40 4th round 2012–13 Danish 1st Division 1 33 17 11 5 60 30 62 2nd round 2013–14 Danish Superliga 12 33 6 10 17 38 63 28 3rd round 2014–15 Danish 1st Division 1 33 17 14 2 47 20 65 1st round 2015–16 Danish Superliga 8 33 11 7 15 34 42 40 4th round 2016–17 Danish Superliga 11 32 8 9 15 35 47 33 3rd round 2017–18 Danish 1st Division 4 33 15 9 9 58 42 54 2nd round 2018–19 Danish 1st Division 2 35 17 9 9 61 40 60 2nd round 2019–20 Danish 1st Division 2 33 17 8 8 66 44 59 3rd round 2020–21 Danish 1st Division 1 32 23 7 2 71 24 76 2nd round 2021–22 Danish Superliga 7 32 10 14 8 45 43 44 2nd round 2022–23 Danish Superliga 4 32 14 9 9 44 35 51 quarter-final 2023–24 Danish Superliga 8 32 11 7 14 38 48 40 4th round
References
[edit]- ^ "Klub: Viborg F.F." Retrieved 15 September 2024.
- ^ a b "Viborg FF's historie" (in Danish). Viborg FF. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
- ^ a b "Viborg FF v West Ham United - All You Need To Know". West Ham United. 24 August 2022. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
- ^ "Ben Davies: How Viborg stint made Wales defender an unlikely cult figure in Denmark ahead of Euro 2020 clash". iNews. 26 June 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
- ^ "VFF spillede sig videre i Tórshavn" (in Danish). VFF. 9 August 2022. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
- ^ "Viborg 0-3 West Ham (agg: 1-6): Hammers reach Europa Conference League group stage". BBC. 25 August 2022. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
- ^ "Viborg Stadion bliver til Energi Viborg Arena" (in Danish). Viborg Stifts Folkeblad. 14 October 2011. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
- ^ a b Møller, Dan Ersted (5 July 2005). "Viborgs historie - Historier - Sportens by". www.viborghistorie.dk (in Danish). Lokalhistorisk Arkiv for Viborg Kommune, Viborg Centralbibliotek, Viborg Stiftsmuseum. Archived from the original on 9 January 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
- ^ "Inflation calculator". Statistics Denmark. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
- ^ "Stadionoversigt". Viborg FF. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
- ^ "9180 tilskuere så Danmark vinde i Viborg" (in Danish). Viborg Stifts Folkeblad. 8 June 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
- ^ "Truppen". Viborg F.F. Prof. Fodbold A/S (in Danish). Retrieved 15 September 2024.
External links
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