Esbjerg forenede Boldklubber (Danish pronunciation:[ˈesˌpjɛɐ̯ˀfʌˈe̝ˀnð̩ˈpʌltkʰlupɐ]; commonly known as EsbjergfB or EfB in short) is a Danish professional football club based in Esbjerg, West Jylland, that plays in the 1st division, the second tier of the Danish football league system. Founded in 1924 as a merger between Esbjerg Boldklub af 1898 and Esbjerg Amatørklub af 1911, the first team play their home games at Blue Water Arena which has been the club's home ground since its opening in 1955.
Esbjerg forenede Boldklubber was officially established in 1924 as a merger between Esbjerg Boldklub af 1898 (E.B. 98) and Esbjerg Amatørklub af 1911 (EAK) after 12 years of competition between the two clubs.[1] The new club was driven by ambition for something bigger, which already produced results the day after when the club's best start-up team defeated Kolding IF with 7–0.[2]
Golden years (1960–1980)
The club's golden years were in the first half of the 1960s with the Austrian coach Rudi Strittich throughout most of the decade.[3][4] The club won the Danish Championship in 1961, 1962, 1963 and 1965 and won the DBU Cup in 1964.[5] This success has been largely attributed to Austrian coach Rudi Strittich, as well as strikers Jens Peter Hansen and Carl Emil Christiansen.[6] In the championship season of 1961, Esbjerg set a stadium record with 20,000 spectators, as Esbjerg won the clash against KB 3–1 at home.[7] In 1968, Esbjerg almost won another championship, when the team had the same amount of points as two other clubs before the last round, but despite winning the last match, KB won the title on goal difference. The following year, however, Esbjerg suffered relegation from the top tier, where they had played twenty consecutive seasons.
In 1974, Esbjerg fB won promotion to the top division again, marking the beginning of the club's second golden era. Esbjerg won the DBU Cup again in 1976. In 1977, Strittich returned as coach, and with goalkeeper Ole Kjær and midfielder Jens Jørn Bertelsen as the driving forces in the following years, Esbjerg were back at the top.[8] The club won bronze medals in 1977, and in 1978 Esbjerg fB lost the cup final to Frem after a penalty shootout and a total of three finals, all of which ended 1–1.[9] Later that year, they achieved a second-place finish in the top tier, while the team reached the third round of the UEFA Cup, where they beat Hertha BSC 2–1 in the first leg, but lost in the return match in Berlin by 4–0.[10]
In 1979, Esbjerg fB won the club's fifth and most recent Danish championship. The following year, the team eliminated Halmstads BK in the European Champion Clubs' Cup. In the subsequent round, Esbjerg lost on the road with 3–0 to Spartak Moscow, but was in the return match, close to a sensation, Esbjerg won 2–0.[11]
Ups and downs (1985–2012)
In 1985, Esbjerg was close to winning the cup tournament, but lost in the final 3–2 to Lyngby on a goal shortly before the final whistle. Esbjerg relegated from the top tier in 1986 and in the early 1990s were down in the third division. In 1999, Esbjerg returned to the Danish Superliga. This time, their tenure in the top division was more permanent, achieving a third-place finish in the 2003–04 season as their best performance, after being in first place with four rounds left.[12] During that season, they broke records, causing Brøndby IF's largest home defeat ever, beating them 6–1 at Brøndby Stadium.[13] In 2006 and 2008, the club reached the cup final. In the 2010–11 Danish Superliga season EfB finished 12th and were relegated to the Danish 1st Division for the first time since the 1999–2000 season.[14]
Esbjerg returned to the Superliga in the 2012–13 season with success under head coach Jess Thorup, a former player for the club, as the team managed to win the Danish Cup for the third time in the club's history with a 1–0 victory against Randers FC, thus qualifying for European football. At the same time, they achieved a fourth place in the Superliga.[15]
In the following season, Esbjerg knocked out Kazakh side Kairat Almaty 2–1 on aggregate in the second qualifying round, before facing Polish club Ruch Chorzów in the third round. In the first leg, Esbjerg drew 0–0 away.[24] However, in the second leg, a last-minute goal by Łukasz Surma for Ruch Chorzów to make it 2–2 to win on away goals, ended Esbjerg's hopes of advancing in the tournament.[25] In the domestic league, Esbjerg had sold key players such as Jakob Ankersen, Eddi Gomes and Martin Pušić during the winter transfer window,[26][27][28] and partly due to this the club struggled against relegation. In the last fixture of the season, Esbjerg avoided relegation after a 2–1 win over relegation rivals, FC Vestsjælland.[29]
On 10 August 2015, Frederiksen was dismissed by Esbjerg with the side placed last in the Danish Superliga table after four matches into the 2015–16 season, with chairman Søren Poulsen citing "lacking" domestic results as the reason behind the dismissal.[30][31] Frederiksen was succeeded by Jonas Dal.[32]
In 2017, Esbjerg moved out of the Superligaen after losing the decisive relegation final over two matches against AC Horsens by an aggregate score of 4–3. However, the club returned to the Superliga after just one season in the second tier. In the 2019–20 season, the club suffered another relegation after a tumultuous season.[33]
American ownership, relegations, and controversies (2020–24)
From July 2020 to May 2021, Ólafur Kristjánsson was the head coach of the club. Earlier that season, in March 2021, Chien Lee of NewCity Capital, Randy Frankel of Partners Path Capital, Paul Conway of Pacific Media Group and Krishen Sud invested in Esbjerg fB and became the majority shareholder.[34] Thereby, the club became part of the same ownership group as Barnsley, Oostende and Nancy.[35] The club failed promotion to the Superliga in the 2020–21 season, finishing in third place, 14 points from promotion spots.[36]
In May 2021, Peter Hyballa was hired as head coach of the club.[37] Less than two months into his tenure, Danish newspaper B.T. reported that multiple Esbjerg players demanded his dismissal after "mental and physical punishments".[38][39] The following day, Spillerforeningen, the Danish Player's Association, reprimanded the Esbjerg board after the American chairman Michael Kalt had toned down the conflict and informed JydskeVestkysten that only a few players were involved in the demand.[40][41] One day later, Hyballa demoted four key players to the U19 team: Yuriy Yakovenko, Jakob Ankersen, Kevin Conboy and Zean Dalügge.[42] On 15 July, Esbjerg fB were reported to the Danish Labour Inspection Authority ("Arbejdstilsynet") by Spillerforeningen after reports came out that Hyballa had allegedly hit and "mentally terrorised" players.[43][44] The following week, Hyballa stated that he had never hit anyone, and that he had only tried to motivate his players.[45]
On 24 July, Hyballa appointed the 19-year-old Mads Larsen as the new team captain.[46] Three days later, on 27 July, new accusations arose against Hyballa – this time from Kasper Pedersen – who had terminated his contract by mutual consent the day before. He stated that Hyballa had created a "horrible mood" and that he had left the club due to the manager.[47]
On 28 July 2021 of Esbjerg's first-team players sent an open letter to club management, expressing "strong distrust" to Hyballa. The letter, which was also published in several media outlets, mentions several episodes where Hyballa had physically or mentally abused players.[48][49] Responding to the letter, investor and spokesperson for the Esbjerg board, Paul Conway, stated to JydskeVestkysten that "[i]t's so unprofessional, I've never experienced anything like it. It can never be the players who get to decide who get to play and who is the coach."[50]
On 11 August after weeks of stories in the press and a bad start to the season, Hyballa resigned as manager of Esbjerg and was replaced by Roland Vrabec.[51] He was dismissed in March 2022 after seven months, as the club were mathematically out of reach of promotion.[52]Rafael van der Vaart was appointed caretaker coach.[53] On 18 March, in a 3–0 home loss to Lyngby, Esbjerg hooligans threw firecrackers onto the pitch and rioted after the game which resulted in multiple arrests, as the team were in a relegation battle.[54][55] On 18 May 2022, Esbjerg suffered a devastating 3–2 defeat to Fremad Amager, relinquishing a 2–0 lead. This loss marked the first time in 28 years that Esbjerg was relegated to the Danish 2nd Division, the country's third tier.[56]
In March 2024 Esbjerg was deducted three points in the 2nd Division by the Danish Football Union after a reorganisation of the club, which resulted in new local ownership.[57]
Promotion and back in local hands (2024–present)
In May 2024, Esbjerg fB underwent a significant ownership and management transition. The Esbjerg Bankruptcy Court confirmed a reconstruction plan proposed by a local steering group, which was approved by all attending creditors. This decision ended the club's association with its former American owners, Esbjerg Investment Limited (EIL), spearheaded by Paul Conway, and returned Esbjerg fB to local control. Following the court's ruling, the club implemented immediate changes, including appointing a new board and a potential three-point deduction from the standings. The new board, led by local businessman Flemming Enevoldsen as chairman, also includes Søren Andersen, Kenneth Hagelskjær, and Søren Copsø.[58] The steering group emphasised their primary goal was to preserve the club and prevent bankruptcy, rather than focusing solely on removing the previous American owners.[59][60]
Despite the three-point deduction the club secured promotion back to the 1st Division with three matchdays left after a 2–0 away victory over Middelfart Boldklub on 24 May 2024.[61][62] On 31 May, Esbjerg secured the league title after a decisive 6–0 home victory over Akademisk Boldklub.[63]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
No.
Pos.
Nation
Player
Out on loan
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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