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Manchester United manager, Louis van Gaal certainly has many things to ponder upon. Apart from the disastrous loss to Wolfsburg that sent the Red Devils crashing out of the Champions League, an injury list of 9 first team players and the suspension of star midfielder Schweinsteiger, van Gaal might be forgiven for feeling a bit sorry for himself.The calls for him to be sacked are growing, and perhaps it’s high time he imposes his highly acclaimed “ philosophy “ into the United’s young blood and offers renewed hope for the huge, disgruntled fan base of Manchester United. An Europa League trophy will go a long way in endearing him to United fans, but van Gaal has to get past FC Midtjylland first.We bring you the five things to know about FC Midtjylland of Denmark - the next opponent of Manchester United in the Europa League.
#1 History
FC Midtjylland’s name literally translates to ‘Central Jutland’, a region of Denmark. Their humble origins have not deterred the 16 year old club from making it to the upper echelons of Europe.
The club came into being on 6th April, 1999 after 10 years of a merger discussion between 2 clubs, Ikast FS and Herning Fremad. The two local rivals decided that to properly challenge Denmark’s top clubs, they would have to merge.
Interestingly enough, four days later Sir Alex Ferguson’s boys won 8-1 at Nottingham Forest and went on to claim the treble that season.
#2 A stellar 2014 - 15 season
In the 2014–2015 season of the Danish Superliga, FC Midtjylland were able to win their first major trophy as they took home the Danish Championship.
During the season FC Midtjylland achieved an impressive 15 straight home ground victories at the MCH Arena. Prior to the 2014–2015 season, the club had two 2nd place finishes and four 3rd place finishes in the Superliga and had been runner-up four times in the Danish Cup final, a painful record.
The club's best international result was in the 2002–03 season when the team reached the 2nd round of the UEFA cup, losing to RSC Anderlecht of Belgium.
#3 Route to Old Trafford
The Danish side qualified for the knockout stages after finishing in second place in Group D behind Napoli but ahead of Club Brugge, United's previous opponents in the Champions League play-offs.
In an earlier Europa League match this year, Midtjylland knocked Southampton out over two legs by drawing 1-1 at St Mary's and then winning 1-0 in Denmark. The experience of defeating a Premier League club will surely stand them in good stead when they travel to the Theatre of Dreams
#4 Scouting success
FC Midtjylland have an academy system that is modelled after that of Ligue 1 club FC Nantes, which is quite adept at producing professional players. The academy opens its doors to many youngsters throughout Denmark, as well as players from a partnering club in Nigeria – FC Ebedei. The club has developed a network of over 100 partner clubs located in the western part of Jutland.
West Ham United's New Zealand-born defender Winston Reid, who was arguably Man of the Match in the last fixture at Old Trafford, came through Midtjylland's academy after moving to Denmark with his family at the age of 10. Danish international, Simon Kjaer, now at Fenerbahce, is another notable graduate.
#5 The \" Indian \" Connection
In 2011, the President of Goan I-League outfit Dempo S.C., Mr Shrinivas Dempo invested in the FC Midtjylland, buying a 34% stake in the club. Dempo are one of the four affiliated clubs of FC Midtyalland. The other clubs are Maamobi United from Ghana, FC Ebedei from Nigeria and Brentford FC of England.
FC Midtjylland have invested 50% in Dempo’s academy operations in Goa, which have yet to bear fruit. Academies are long term projects however, and it is only a matter of time before Dempo’s youth academy achieves similar success.
