Danish Superliga
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The Danish Superliga (Template:Langx, Script error: No such module "IPA".) is a professional association football league in Denmark and the highest level of the Danish football league system. The league is currently contested by 12 teams each year, with 2 teams relegated. It is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Divisionsforeningen.
History
Founded in 1991, the Danish Superliga replaced the Danish 1st Division as the highest league of football in Denmark. From the start in 1991, 10 teams were participating. The opening Superliga season was played during the spring of 1991, with the ten teams playing each other twice for the championship title. From the summer of 1991, the tournament structure would stretch over two calendar years. The 10 teams would play each other twice in the first half of the tournament. In the following spring, the bottom two teams would be cut off, the points of the teams would be cut in half, and the remaining eight teams would once more play each other twice, for a total of 32 games in a season.
This practice was abandoned before the 1995–96 season, when the number of teams competing was increased to 12, playing each other thrice for 33 games per Superliga season. For the first season of this new structure, Coca-Cola became the name sponsor of the league, which was then named Coca-Cola Ligaen. After a single season under that name, Faxe Brewery became sponsors and the league changed its name to Faxe Kondi Ligaen. Before the 2001–02 season, Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) became the head sponsor, and the name of the tournament changed to SAS Ligaen. From January 2015 the Danish Superliga would be known as Alka Superliga, as the Danish insurance company Alka became name sponsor.[1]
Logos used for naming rights agreements for the league:
-
Superligaen
(2010–11 until 31 Dec 2014)
No league sponsor -
Superligaen
2018–19
No league sponsor
Structure
From 1996 through 2016, the league included 12 clubs which played each other three times. The two teams with the fewest points at the end of the season were relegated to the Danish 1st Division and replaced by the top two teams of that division. During this era, each team played every other team at least once at home and once away plus once more either at home or away. The top six teams of the previous season played 17 matches at home and 16 away while the teams in 7th to 10th place plus the two newly promoted teams played 16 matches at home and 17 away.
Following the 2015–16 season, the league was expanded to 14 teams, accomplished by relegating only the last-place finisher in that season and promoting the top three teams from the 1st division. The 2016–17 season was the first for the new league structure. It began with the teams playing a full home-and-away schedule, resulting in 26 matches for each team. At that time, the league split into a six-team championship playoff and an eight-team qualifying playoff. All teams' table points and goals carry over fully into the playoffs.
In the championship playoff, each team plays the others home and away again. The top team at the end of the playoff is Superliga champion and enters the Champions League in the second qualifying round. The second-place team enters the Europa League in the first qualifying round. The third-place team advances to a one-off playoff match for another Europa League place. If the winner of the Danish Cup finishes in the top three, the match will instead involve the fourth-place team.
The qualifying playoff is split into two groups, with the teams that finished the regular season in 7th, 10th, 11th and 14th in one group and those finishing 8th, 9th, 12th and 13th in the other. Each group plays home-and-away within its group. The top two teams from each group then enter a knockout tournament, with each match over two legs. If the Danish Cup winner is among the top two finishers in either playoff group, it is withdrawn from the knockout playoff and its opponent automatically advances to the tournament final. The winner of that tournament faces the third-place (or fourth-place) team from the championship playoff in a one-off match, with the winner entering the Europa League in the first qualifying round.
The bottom two teams from each group then contest a relegation playoff with several steps, centered on a separate four-team knockout playoff, also consisting totally of two-legged matches:
- The third-placed teams in each group play over two legs, with the winners remaining in the Superliga and the losers advancing to a playoff final against the third-place team from the 1st Division.
- The bottom teams in each group play over two legs, with the winners advancing to a play-off final against the second-place team from the 1st Division, and the losers dropping to next season's 1st Division.
- The winners of each play-off final play in the next season's Superliga.
In the 2019–20 season, the number of teams was reduced from 14 to 12 teams. It began with all 12 teams playing a full home-and-away schedule, resulting in 22 matches for each team. At that time, the league split into a six-team championship playoff and a six-team qualifying playoff. All teams' points and goals carried over fully from the regular season into the playoffs. In both playoff groups, six teams play a full home-and-away schedule, resulting in ten matches (32 for the full season). The two bottom teams in the qualifying playoff are relegated to 1st Division, while the team finishing 7th plays against the lowest placed team from the Championship playoff, who failed to qualify directly to European Football, in a single match, to decide the final European spot from Denmark.
Teams
Current teams (2024–25)
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| Club | Finishing position last season |
First season in top division |
First season of current spell in top division |
|---|---|---|---|
| AaB | Script error: No such module "sort". | 1928–28 | 2024–25 |
| AGF | 5th | 1918–19 | 2015–16 |
| Brøndby | 2nd | 1982 | 1982 |
| Copenhagen | 3rd | 1992–93 | 1992–93 |
| Lyngby | 10th | 1980 | 2022–23 |
| Midtjylland | 1st | 2000–01 | 2000–01 |
| Nordsjælland | 4th | 2002–03 | 2002–03 |
| Randers | 7th | 2004–05 | 2011–12 |
| Silkeborg | 6th | 1988 | 2021–22 |
| Sønderjyske | Script error: No such module "sort". | 2001–02 | 2024–25 |
| Vejle | 9th | 1956-57 | 2023–24 |
| Viborg | 8th | 1981 | 2021–22 |
Winners
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|
<timeline> Preset = TimeVertical_OneBar_UnitYear ImageSize = width:370 height:500 PlotArea = bottom:100 left:40 Period = from:1990 till:2025 ScaleMajor = start:1990 increment:2 ScaleMinor = start:1991 increment:1 Colors = id:canvas value:gray(0.9) id:FCK value:rgb(1,1,1) legend:F.C._Copenhagen_(16) id:Brondby value:rgb(1,1,0) legend:Brøndby_IF_(7) id:AaB value:rgb(1,0,0.5) legend:AaB_(4) id:Midtjylland value:gray(0.1) legend:FC_Midtjylland_(4) id:Lyngby value:rgb(0,0,1) legend:Lyngby_(1) id:Silkeborg value:rgb(1,0,0) legend:Silkeborg_IF_(1) id:Herfolge value:rgb(1,0.8,0) legend:Herfølge_BK_(1) id:Nordsjaelland value:rgb(0,0.5,0) legend:FC_Nordsjælland_(1) id:linemark value:gray(0.8) id:linemark2 value:gray(0.9) BackgroundColors = canvas:canvas Legend = orientation:vertical columns:1 top:70 left: 45 PlotData = shift:(20,2) mark:(line,linemark) anchor:from from:1990 till:1991 text:"1st Brøndby IF 1" color:Brondby from:1991 till:1992 text:"2nd Lyngby 1" color:Lyngby from:1992 till:1993 text:"3rd F.C. Copenhagen 1" color:FCK from:1993 till:1994 text:"4th Silkeborg IF 1" color:Silkeborg from:1994 till:1995 text:"5th AaB 1" color:AaB from:1995 till:1996 text:"6th Brøndby IF 2" color:Brondby from:1996 till:1997 text:"7th Brøndby IF 3" color:Brondby from:1997 till:1998 text:"8th Brøndby IF 4" color:Brondby from:1998 till:1999 text:"9th AaB 2" color:AaB from:1999 till:2000 text:"10th Herfølge BK 1" color:Herfolge from:2000 till:2001 text:"11th F.C. Copenhagen 2" color:FCK from:2001 till:2002 text:"12th Brøndby IF 5" color:Brondby from:2002 till:2003 text:"13th F.C. Copenhagen 3" color:FCK from:2003 till:2004 text:"14th F.C. Copenhagen 4" color:FCK from:2004 till:2005 text:"15th Brøndby IF 6" color:Brondby from:2005 till:2006 text:"16th F.C. Copenhagen 5" color:FCK from:2006 till:2007 text:"17th F.C. Copenhagen 6" color:FCK from:2007 till:2008 text:"18th AaB 3" color:AaB from:2008 till:2009 text:"19th F.C. Copenhagen 7" color:FCK from:2009 till:2010 text:"20th F.C. Copenhagen 8" color:FCK from:2010 till:2011 text:"21st F.C. Copenhagen 9" color:FCK from:2011 till:2012 text:"22nd FC Nordsjælland 1" color:Nordsjaelland from:2012 till:2013 text:"23rd F.C. Copenhagen 10" color:FCK from:2013 till:2014 text:"24th AaB 4" color:AaB from:2014 till:2015 text:"25th FC Midtjylland 1" color:Midtjylland from:2015 till:2016 text:"26th F.C. Copenhagen 11" color:FCK from:2016 till:2017 text:"27th F.C. Copenhagen 12" color:FCK from:2017 till:2018 text:"28th FC Midtjylland 2" color:Midtjylland from:2018 till:2019 text:"29th F.C. Copenhagen 13" color:FCK from:2019 till:2020 text:"30th FC Midtjylland 3" color:Midtjylland from:2020 till:2021 text:"31st Brøndby IF 7" color:Brondby from:2021 till:2022 text:"32nd F.C. Copenhagen 14" color:FCK from:2022 till:2023 text:"33rd F.C. Copenhagen 15" color:FCK from:2023 till:2024 text:"34th FC Midtjylland 4" color:Midtjylland from:2024 till:2025 text:"35th F.C. Copenhagen 16" color:FCK </timeline> |
Seasons
| Season | Champions | Performance | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | ||
| 1991 | Brøndby | 26 | 18 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 26 | 15 | +11 |
| 1991–92 | Lyngby | 32[2] | 14 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 22 | 7 | +15 |
| 1992–93 | Copenhagen | 32[2] | 14 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 31 | 23 | +8 |
| 1993–94 | Silkeborg | 31[2] | 14 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 23 | 15 | +8 |
| 1994–95 | AaB | 31[2] | 14 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 30 | 13 | +17 |
| 1995–96 | Brøndby | 67 | 33 | 20 | 7 | 6 | 71 | 32 | +39 |
| 1996–97 | Brøndby | 68 | 33 | 20 | 8 | 5 | 64 | 39 | +25 |
| 1997–98 | Brøndby | 76 | 33 | 24 | 4 | 5 | 81 | 33 | +48 |
| 1998–99 | AaB | 64 | 33 | 17 | 13 | 3 | 65 | 37 | +28 |
| 1999–2000 | Herfølge | 56 | 33 | 16 | 8 | 9 | 52 | 49 | +3 |
| 2000–01 | Copenhagen | 63 | 33 | 17 | 12 | 4 | 55 | 27 | +28 |
| 2001–02 | Brøndby | 69 | 33 | 20 | 9 | 4 | 74 | 28 | +46 |
| 2002–03 | Copenhagen | 61 | 33 | 17 | 10 | 6 | 51 | 32 | +19 |
| 2003–04 | Copenhagen | 68 | 33 | 20 | 8 | 5 | 56 | 27 | +29 |
| 2004–05 | Brøndby | 69 | 33 | 20 | 9 | 4 | 61 | 23 | +38 |
| 2005–06 | Copenhagen | 73 | 33 | 22 | 7 | 4 | 62 | 27 | +35 |
| 2006–07 | Copenhagen | 76 | 33 | 23 | 7 | 3 | 60 | 23 | +37 |
| 2007–08 | AaB | 71 | 33 | 22 | 5 | 6 | 60 | 38 | +22 |
| 2008–09 | Copenhagen | 74 | 33 | 23 | 5 | 5 | 67 | 26 | +41 |
| 2009–10 | Copenhagen | 68 | 33 | 21 | 5 | 7 | 61 | 22 | +39 |
| 2010–11 | Copenhagen | 81 | 33 | 25 | 6 | 2 | 77 | 29 | +48 |
| 2011–12 | Nordsjælland | 68 | 33 | 21 | 5 | 7 | 49 | 22 | +27 |
| 2012–13 | Copenhagen | 65 | 33 | 18 | 11 | 4 | 62 | 32 | +30 |
| 2013–14 | AaB | 62 | 33 | 18 | 8 | 7 | 60 | 38 | +22 |
| 2014–15 | Midtjylland | 71 | 33 | 22 | 5 | 6 | 64 | 34 | +30 |
| 2015–16 | Copenhagen | 71 | 33 | 21 | 8 | 4 | 62 | 28 | +34 |
| 2016–17 | Copenhagen | 84 | 36 | 25 | 9 | 2 | 74 | 20 | +54 |
| 2017–18 | Midtjylland | 85 | 36 | 27 | 4 | 5 | 80 | 39 | +41 |
| 2018–19 | Copenhagen | 82 | 36 | 26 | 4 | 6 | 86 | 37 | +49 |
| 2019–20 | Midtjylland | 82 | 36 | 26 | 4 | 6 | 61 | 29 | +32 |
| 2020–21 | Brøndby | 61 | 32 | 19 | 4 | 9 | 58 | 38 | +20 |
| 2021–22 | Copenhagen | 68 | 32 | 20 | 8 | 4 | 56 | 19 | +37 |
| 2022–23 | Copenhagen | 59 | 32 | 18 | 5 | 9 | 61 | 35 | +26 |
| 2023–24 | Midtjylland | 63 | 32 | 19 | 6 | 7 | 62 | 43 | +19 |
| 2024–25 | Copenhagen | 63 | 32 | 18 | 9 | 5 | 60 | 33 | +27 |
Relegations
Notable players
Top goalscorers
All-Time top scorer(s)
The top 10 goal scorers throughout the history of the Superliga. Latest update 30 December 2022.
Rank Topscorer(s) Goals Club(s) 1. Morten "Duncan" Rasmussen 145 AGF, Brøndby, AaB, Midtjylland 2. Søren Frederiksen 139 Silkeborg, Viborg, AaB 3. Peter Møller 135 AaB, Brøndby, Copenhagen 4. Heine Fernandez 126 AB, Copenhagen, Silkeborg, Viborg 5. Steffen Højer 124 OB, Viborg, AaB 6. Frank Kristensen 109 Midtjylland, Ikast, Randers 7. Peter Graulund 107 AGF, Brøndby, Vejle BK 8. Søren Andersen 101 AGF, OB, AaB 9. Nicklas Helenius 93 AaB, Silkeborg, OB, AGF 10. Dame N'Doye 90 Copenhagen
Most capped players
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| Rank | Player | Appearances | Club(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rasmus Würtz | 452 | AaB, Copenhagen, Vejle |
| 2 | Hans Henrik Andreasen | 397 | OB, Esbjerg fB, Hobro |
| 3 | Per Nielsen | 394 | Brøndby |
| 4 | Jakob Poulsen | 390 | Esbjerg, AGF, Midtjylland |
| 5 | Jimmy Nielsen | 375 | AaB, Vejle |
| 6 | Jesper Hansen | 374 | Nordsjælland, Lyngby, Midtjylland, AGF |
| 7 | Michael Hansen | 371 | Silkeborg, OB, Esbjerg, Midtjylland |
| Mogens Krogh | 371 | Ikast, Brøndby | |
| 9 | Nicolai Stokholm | 370 | AB, OB, Nordsjælland |
| 10 | Arek Onyszko | 363 | Viborg, OB, Midtjylland |
| 11 | Johan Absalonsen | 362 | Brøndby, OB, Copenhagen, Horsens, SønderjyskE |
| 12 | Michael Nonbo | 355 | Næstved, AGF, Viborg, SønderjyskE |
| Morten "Duncan" Rasmussen | 355 | AGF, Brøndby, AaB, Midtjylland | |
| Jonas Borring | 355 | OB, Midtjylland, Randers, Brøndby, Horsens | |
| 15 | Anders Møller Christensen | 351 | Næstved, OB, Esbjerg |
| 16 | Kasper Risgård | 344 | AaB, Silkeborg |
| 17 | Thomas Augustinussen | 342 | AaB |
| 18 | Jens Jessen | 341 | AaB, Midtjylland |
| Jakob Glerup | 341 | Viborg | |
| 20 | Rasmus Falk | 340 | OB, Copenhagen |
| As of 25 July 2023[3] | |||
Most capped foreign players
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| Rank | Player | Nationality | Appearances | Club(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arek Onyszko | Script error: No such module "flag". | 363 | Viborg, OB, Midtjylland |
| 2 | Jerry Lucena | Script error: No such module "flag". | 334 | Esbjerg, AGF |
| 3 | Karim Zaza | Script error: No such module "flag". | 322 | Copenhagen, OB, Brøndby, AaB |
| 4 | Rilwan Hassan | Script error: No such module "flag". | 296 | Midtjylland, SønderjyskE |
| 5 | Todi Jónsson | Script error: No such module "flag". | 243 | Lyngby, Copenhagen |
| 6 | Pierre Bengtsson | Script error: No such module "flag". | 242 | Nordsjælland, Copenhagen, Vejle |
| 7 | Andrew Tembo | Script error: No such module "flag". | 218 | OB |
| 8 | Kolja Afriyie | Script error: No such module "flag". | 212 | Esbjerg, Midtjylland |
| 9 | Björn Kopplin | Script error: No such module "flag". | 208 | Hobro, Brøndby, Randers |
| 10 | Izunna Uzochukwu | Script error: No such module "flag". | 201 | Midtjylland, OB |
| 11 | Patrik Carlgren | Script error: No such module "flag". | 198 | Nordsjælland, Randers |
| 12 | Espen Ruud | Script error: No such module "flag". | 197 | OB |
| 13 | Quincy Antipas | Script error: No such module "flag". | 191 | Køge, SønderjyskE, Brøndby, Hobro |
| 14 | Josip Radošević | Script error: No such module "flag". | 186 | Brøndby |
| 15 | Rúrik Gíslason | Script error: No such module "flag". | 181 | Viborg, OB, Copenhagen |
| 16 | Mwape Miti | Script error: No such module "flag". | 178 | OB |
| 17 | Hallgrímur Jónasson | Script error: No such module "flag". | 174 | SønderjyskE, OB, Lyngby |
| 18 | Bajram Fetai | Script error: No such module "flag". | 170 | Silkeborg, Nordsjælland, Lyngby |
| 19 | Mikael Anderson | Script error: No such module "flag". | 169 | Midtjylland, AGF |
| 20 | Rawez Lawan | Script error: No such module "flag". | 168 | Horsens, Nordsjælland |
| As at the end of the 2024–25 seasonScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".[4] | ||||
Attendances
| Season | Average | Total | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 3,937 | 354,348 | 13,935 | 712 |
| 1991–92 | 4,428 | 646,510 | 16,500 | 1,014 |
| 1992–93 | 5,023 | 733,299 | 22,862 | 484 |
| 1993–94 | 4,739 | 691,855 | 26,679 | 475 |
| 1994–95 | 5,930 | 865,755 | 36,623 | 487 |
| 1995–96 | 5,689 | 1,126,414 | 39,640 | 704 |
| 1996–97 | 5,318 | 1,052,922 | 28,491 | 585 |
| 1997–98 | 5,519 | 1,092,688 | 33,124 | 939 |
| 1998–99 | 4,974 | 984,874 | 37,940 | 180 |
| 1999–2000 | 5,838 | 1,155,917 | 28,818 | 1,493 |
| 2000–01 | 5,837 | 1,155,662 | 40,281 | 1,003 |
| 2001–02 | 5,727 | 1,133,920 | 40,186 | 314 |
| 2002–03 | 7,307 | 1,446,752 | 40,254 | 800 |
| 2003–04 | 7,980 | 1,580,011 | 41,005 | 1,011 |
| 2004–05 | 8,589 | 1,700,532 | 40,654 | 843 |
| 2005–06 | 7,957 | 1,575,399 | 41,201 | 1,307 |
| 2006–07 | 8,108 | 1,605,367 | 40,463 | 1,799 |
| 2007–08 | 8,499 | 1,682,791 | 32,153 | 1,035 |
| 2008–09 | 8,815 | 1,745,308 | 32,856 | 1,609 |
| 2009–10 | 8,315 | 1,646,405 | 30,191 | 707 |
| 2010–11 | 7,049 | 1,395,616 | 28,387 | 1,017 |
| 2011–12 | 7,103 | 1,406,462 | 25,651 | 1,059 |
| 2012–13 | 6,760 | 1,338,465 | 33,215 | 0Template:Efn |
| 2013–14 | 7,929 | 1,570,027 | 32,846 | 1,656 |
| 2014–15 | 6,932 | 1,372,511 | 32,526 | 1,201 |
| 2015–16 | 7,253 | 1,436,188 | 29,178 | 1,327 |
| 2016–17 | 6,002 | 1,500,380 | 26,686 | 1,044 |
| 2017–18 | 5,880 | 1,469,980 | 28,410 | 568 |
| 2018–19 | 6,581 | 1,618,965 | 33,134 | 1,012 |
| 2019–20 | 4,764 | 1,152,832 | 29,310 | 0Template:Efn |
| 2020–21 | 1,193 | 229,136 | 10,966 | 0Template:Efn |
| 2021–22 | 8,636 | 1,658,078 | 35,463 | 1,702 |
| 2022–23 | 10,289 | 1,975,454 | 35,820 | 2,507 |
| 2023–24 | 10,173 | 1,993,472 | 34,917 | 1,530 |
| 2024–25 | 10,000 | 1,929,979 | 35,972 | 3,075 |
See also
Notes
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External links
- Script error: No such module "Official website".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Template:In lang
- Guide to the Danish Superliga (in english)
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