When the million dollar Champions League opened its doors to a small Danish town

Many times football – even if less and less – allows us to still believe in those episodes full of sporting epicity. That day when the losers become winners. That moment when the world finally looks to the invisible. Farum is a town of 18,000 inhabitants, located in the north-east of the island of Zealand, Denmark. There, a decade ago, a football miracle happened. It was called (and it’s called) Nordsjaelland.

It is a question of imagining: in the million-dollar Champions League, that of Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, that of the giants of Manchester, that of the immense German stadiums that are always full, a country with a fifth of the pergaminosi faced the big players, already in the group stageas champion of the Danish championship, for the first time in its history born in 2003 (previously, since 1991 it was called Farum Boldklub, merger between Farum IK and Atavnoshtl BK).

He obviously didn’t have big stars on his team. His best known name had to do with the father of one of them: Andrea LaudrupMichael’s son and Brian’s grandson, those Danes who enchanted world football in the 80s and 90s. A detail tells the size of this institution: if the Farum Park stadium – which still has a capacity of 10,000 people as, for example, the Juan Pasquale de Defensores de Belgrano – were full, the whole city would appear uninhabited. The stadium is also known by another name: Right to the Dream Park. The right to dream, of course.

For his participation in the top continental tournament, however, he had to move to the Parken Stadion in Copenhagen, where national team matches and great recitals are usually seen. But beyond all this, there was Football Club Nordsjaelland (also called FCN), the capital of wonder sports at the time. He was growing: in 2010 and 2011 he was champion of the Danish Cup and in 2012 he obtained his first championship. Reaching the group stage of the Champions League was something of a paradise. It was a real one Cinderella among the giants: when he became champion he had the third lowest budget of the super league.

At FC Nordsjælland they had and have a phrase that defines their philosophy: “Altid suitcase mod” (“Always looking for the target”). With her balance in balance, she had to face a nominally impossible group. Likewise, indelible. With what was earned then by a player of Juventus, Chelsea or Shakhtar Donetsk, rivals of the first phase, the red team of the Danish town could cover the expenses of the entire squad.

Kasper Hjumand was also a mirror of that team which was among the best. At 40, his face resembled that of a football player more than that of a coach. As an assistant, he participated in the first two titles in the short history of this club: the two Danish Cups, obtained in 2010 and 2011. With his arrival as head coach, Farum’s club took a big leap.

The team reached the last date of the 11/12 season with chances. And he didn’t waste them: he comfortably won his match (3-0 against Horsens) and almost always left behind his favorite: FC København (Copenhagen, the credit of the country’s capital). Then the great doors of the Champions League opened. However, the team had already raised its head on the continent: since its debut in 2003, it has played 14 games, but failed to make a great success in that series of appearances in the Europa League. In the Champions League they took their revenge.

The small town of Champions

The first took place on 19 September 2012, at Donbass Arena, against Shakhtar Donetsk. In that territory that could not play today due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the team with the difficult name fell 2-0. There were no tears or scoldings on the way back from Eastern Europe. It didn’t seem easy to save a point in that chimera for Group E.

The presentation at home was very complex: Chelsea, the defender of the title, the one who had then been able to eliminate Barcelona and become champion after beating a German team (in this case Bayern Munich) on penalties for the first time in history. On that occasion another curiosity happened: at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen the 38,065 seats were all sold out. Namely: Nordsjaelland was observed on site more than double the number of people in the country where you were born.

Roberto Di Matteo, the Italian who led Chelsea said this in front of the cameras: “We will have to be careful. The Danes can be the surprise once again.” “We will have to be vigilant,” said Gianluigi Buffon, Juventus goalkeeper and captain. They weren’t exaggerating. They were referring to a close antecedent: in the 2010/11 Champions League, Copenhagen had been the big revelation when they reached the round of 16, after surviving the Barcelona group, in which they eliminated Rubin Kazan from Russia and Panathinaikos from Greece. In that second phase, already in direct elimination, he faced Chelsea, then led by Carlo Ancelotti. A defeat in Denmark and a goalless draw in London sealed a 2-0 aggregate victory that ended the feat.

Farum’s team only scored one point in that Champions League edition: it happened on 23 October, 1-1 against Juventus. Mikkel Beckmann’s goal, however, was saved forever among Farum’s legends, like a Danish fairytale. That date lacked a happy ending. With nine minutes left, Vucinic equalized the game. But not the memory of that feeling of being up there with the best. At least for a while.

The Danes, specialists of wonder

Denmark knows how to build sporting wonders. Three decades ago, at the European Championships in Sweden, the national team became the best host of all time. the details are amazing: Denmark have been excluded from their qualifying group. But when UEFA decided that Yugoslavia – in days of pain and mourning over the Balkan war – was not participating, it called the Danes to an emergency.

They were all on vacation. Michael Laudrup – then a great national figure – had just won the European Cup with Barcelona. When they summoned him, he said no. He explained that he didn’t believe in improvisation. Brian, the youngest of the Laudrups, was told by his wife: “They called from the Union. You have to show up in Copenhagen tomorrow. They are going to Sweden, to the European Championship.” I couldn’t believe it. And I accept. The team’s base was scattered on the beaches of the Mediterranean: Peter Schmeichel, Flemming Poulsen, Henrik Larsen, Lars Olsen, John Jensen.

The task was not easy: a puzzle had to be put together in record time. Möller Nielsen summoned them all to the Danish Union training camp outside the Danish capital. In the center of the playing field, with the 20 players around, the coach put a more serious face and said: “We will go to Sweden to win the European Championship”. His solemnity could not prevent the laughter of almost everyone. So shows the film “Summer of ’92”, based on the adventure of the chosen one.

Most footballers had to pay attention to newspapers that were Group A rivals. England (semifinalist at the 1990 World Cup), local Sweden and France (European champion in 1984) appeared on the immediate street. It seemed impossible. But they succeeded: they raised the European Championship after beating Germany in the final, after an unforgettable month.

Then, in the summer of Mar del Plata 1993, that Denmark faced Argentina for the Intercontinental Cup of the National Teams (then Artemio Franchi; today Final). With Diego Maradona as captain and figure, the team led by Alfio Basile prevailed on penalties, after drawing 1-1.

One way or another, the Nordsjaelland kids paid tribute to those exploits. The following season, as runners-up in the league, they entered the third qualifying round of the Champions League. That time, the group stage was seen on television. Since then, they have only returned to the Superligaen podium once. The Champions League is still a perfect desire …