 | |||
| Full name | Esbjerg forenede Boldklubber | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Short name | EfB | ||
| Founded | 23 July 1924; 101 years ago (1924-07-23)[1] | ||
| Ground | Blue Water Arena,Esbjerg | ||
| Capacity | 18,000 | ||
| Chairman | Flemming Enevoldsen | ||
| Head coach | Sancheev Manoharan | ||
| League | 1st Division | ||
| 2024–25 | 1st Division, 6th of 12 | ||
| Website | www | ||
Esbjerg forenede Boldklubber (Danish pronunciation:[ˈesˌpjɛɐ̯ˀfʌˈe̝ˀnð̩ˈpʌltkʰlupɐ]; commonly known asEsbjerg fB orEfB in short) is a Danish professionalfootball club based inEsbjerg, WestJylland, that plays in the1st division, the second tier of theDanish 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 atBlue 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 defeatedKolding IF with 7–0.[2]
The club's golden years were in the first half of the 1960s with the Austrian coachRudi Strittich throughout most of the decade.[3][4] The club won the Danish Championship in 1961, 1962, 1963 and 1965 and won theDBU Cup in 1964.[5] This success has been largely attributed to Austrian coachRudi Strittich, as well as strikersJens Peter Hansen andCarl Emil Christiansen.[6] In the championship season of 1961, Esbjerg set a stadium record with 20,000 spectators, as Esbjerg won the clash againstKB 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 goalkeeperOle Kjær and midfielderJens 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 toFrem 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 theUEFA Cup, where they beatHertha BSC 2–1 in the first leg, but lost in the return match inBerlin by 4–0.[10]
In 1979, Esbjerg fB won the club's fifth and most recent Danish championship. The following year, the team eliminatedHalmstads BK in theEuropean Champion Clubs' Cup. In the subsequent round, Esbjerg lost on the road with 3–0 toSpartak Moscow, but was in the return match, close to a sensation, Esbjerg won 2–0.[11]
In 1985, Esbjerg was close to winning the cup tournament, but lost in the final 3–2 toLyngby on a goal shortly before the final whistle. Esbjerg relegated from the top tier in 1986 and in the early 1990s were down in thethird division. In 1999, Esbjerg returned to theDanish Superliga. This time, their tenure in the top division was more permanent, achieving a third-place finish in the2003–04 season as their best performance, after being in first place with four rounds left.[12] During that season, they broke records, causingBrøndby IF's largest home defeat ever, beating them 6–1 atBrøndby Stadium.[13] In 2006 and 2008, the club reached the cup final. In the 2010–11Danish Superliga season EfB finished 12th and were relegated to theDanish 1st Division for the first time since the1999–2000 season.[14]
Esbjerg returned to the Superliga in the 2012–13 season with success under head coachJess Thorup, a former player for the club, as the team managed to win theDanish Cup for the third time in the club's history with a 1–0 victory againstRanders FC, thus qualifying for European football. At the same time, they achieved a fourth place in the Superliga.[15]
On 2 May 2013, the club announced thatNiels Frederiksen would succeed Thorup as the club's head coach from the start of the2013–14 Danish Superliga season.[16] In the first season under Frederiksen, Esbjerg reached to the round of 32 in theEuropa League, where they lost 4–2 over two legs to Italian sideFiorentina, despite winning 1–0 away atStadio Artemio Franchi.[17] This came after advancing from the group stage in second place by beatingStandard Liège (2–1; 2–1) andElfsborg (2–1; 1–0), and losing two matches to group winners,Red Bull Salzburg (2–1; 3–0).[18] Esbjerg had qualified to the group stage after winning 5–3 on aggregate over French clubSaint-Étienne.[19][20][18] When theInternational Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) published their list of best clubs in the world, Esbjerg were in 79th place.[21]Hans Henrik Andreasen was part of the autumn team in the Europa League among the best players in the tournament.[22] In the domestic league, they also had a successful season, ending in fifth place which qualified the club for contention in the2014–15 Europa League second round.[23]
In the following season, Esbjerg knocked out Kazakh sideKairat Almaty 2–1 on aggregate in the second qualifying round, before facing Polish clubRuch Chorzów in the third round. In the first leg, Esbjerg drew 0–0 away.[24] However, in the second leg, a last-minute goal byŁukasz 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 asJakob Ankersen,Eddi Gomes andMartin 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 the2015–16 season, with chairman Søren Poulsen citing "lacking" domestic results as the reason behind the dismissal.[30][31] Frederiksen was succeeded byJonas Dal.[32]
In 2017, Esbjerg moved out of the Superligaen after losing the decisive relegation final over two matches againstAC Horsens by an aggregate score of 4–3. However, the club returned to the Superliga after just one season in the second tier. In the2019–20 season, the club suffered another relegation after a tumultuous season.[33]
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 asBarnsley,Oostende andNancy.[35] The club failed promotion to the Superliga in the2020–21 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 newspaperB.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 informedJydskeVestkysten 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 andZean 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-oldMads Larsen as the newteam captain.[46] Three days later, on 27 July, new accusations arose against Hyballa – this time fromKasper 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 toJydskeVestkysten 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 byRoland 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 toLyngby, Esbjerghooligans threwfirecrackers 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 toFremad Amager, relinquishing a 2–0 lead. This loss marked the first time in 28 years that Esbjerg was relegated to theDanish 2nd Division, the country's third tier.[56]
In March 2024 Esbjerg was deducted three points in the 2nd Division by theDanish Football Union after a reorganisation of the club, which resulted in new local ownership.[57]
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 the1st Division with three matchdays left after a 2–0 away victory overMiddelfart Boldklub on 24 May 2024.[61][62] On 31 May, Esbjerg secured the league title after a decisive 6–0 home victory overAkademisk Boldklub.[63]
Esbjerg fB plays atBlue Water Arena, which is the name of Esbjerg Stadion at Gl. Vardevej and part of Esbjerg Sports Park.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
Rudi Strittich (1961–62)
Arne Sørensen (1963–64)Rudi Strittich (1965–67)Richard Møller Nielsen (1968–69) Ernst Netuka (1969–70)
Ludwig Weg (1970–71) Peter Stubbe (1972)JJ Hansen andCE Christiansen (1972) Egon Jensen (1973–76)Rudi Strittich (1976–79)Carl Emil Christiansen (1979–80)Jürgen Wähling (1981–83) Henrik Brandenborg (1984–86)Allan Michaelsen (1987–88) Allan Hebo Larsen (1989–90)
Jan Hansen (1990–93)
Ian Salter (1993) Jørn Bach (1993–97)Viggo Jensen (1997–02)Ove Pedersen (1 July 2002 – 31 December 2005)Troels Bech (1 July 2005 – 16 November 2008)Jess Thorup (17 November 2008 – 31 December 2008)Ove Pedersen (1 January 2009 – 14 March 2011)Jess Thorup (14 March 2011 – 30 May 2013)Niels Frederiksen (1 July 2013 – 10 August 2015) Michael Mex Pedersen (11 August 2015 – 20 October 2015)Jonas Dal (20 October 2015 – 30 June 2016)Colin Todd (8 July 2016 – 5 December 2016) Lars Lungi Sørensen (5 December 2016 – 19 June 2017)
John Lammers (23 June 2017 – 16 September 2019)Claus Nørgaard (17 September 2019 – 27 October 2019)Lars Olsen (28 October 2019 – 9 June 2020)Troels Bech (10 June 2020 – 15 July 2020)
Ólafur Kristjánsson (1 August 2020 – 10 May 2021) Lars Vind (10 May 2021 – 30 May 2021)Peter Hyballa (1 June 2021 – 11 August 2021)Roland Vrabec (11 August 2021 – 9 March 2022)Rafael van der Vaart (10 March 2022 – 30 March 2022) Michael Kryger (30 March 2022 – 20 April 2022)Steffen Ernemann (20 April 2022 – 30 June 2022) Lars Vind (1 July 2022 – 22 March 2023) Lars Lungi Sørensen (22 March 2023 –15 June 2025)Sancheev Manoharan (16 June 2025 – Present)The following 32 Esbjerg football players has been picked and had their debut on theDenmark national football team (debut/matches/goals):
Esbjerg has a list of former notable foreign players of which some have represented their national team. Some of the most memorable are listed here:
Player of the year Esbjerg fB
Player of the Year Denmark
| Season | Pos. | Pl. | W | D | L | GS | GA | P | Cup | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | SL | 12 | 33 | 8 | 4 | 21 | 40 | 70 | 28 | Quarter-final | relegated |
| 2000–01 | 1D | 1 | 30 | 19 | 8 | 3 | 79 | 29 | 65 | 5th round | promoted |
| 2001–02 | SL | 7 | 33 | 13 | 6 | 14 | 42 | 44 | 45 | Semi-final | |
| 2002–03 | SL | 5 | 33 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 65 | 57 | 47 | Quarter-final | |
| 2003–04 | SL | 3 | 33 | 18 | 8 | 7 | 71 | 44 | 62 | 5th round | |
| 2004–05 | SL | 5 | 33 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 61 | 47 | 49 | 5th round | |
| 2005–06 | SL | 6 | 33 | 12 | 6 | 15 | 43 | 45 | 42 | Runner-up | |
| 2006–07 | SL | 7 | 33 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 46 | 51 | 40 | 4th round | |
| 2007–08 | SL | 7 | 33 | 13 | 6 | 14 | 59 | 54 | 45 | Runner-up | |
| 2008–09 | SL | 9 | 33 | 7 | 11 | 15 | 32 | 41 | 32 | 3rd round | |
| 2009–10 | SL | 4 | 33 | 13 | 11 | 9 | 48 | 43 | 50 | 4th round | |
| 2010–11 | SL | 12 | 33 | 7 | 12 | 14 | 36 | 49 | 33 | Semi-final | relegated |
| 2011–12 | 1D | 1 | 26 | 21 | 3 | 2 | 60 | 19 | 66 | 3rd round | promoted |
| 2012–13 | SL | 4 | 33 | 13 | 8 | 12 | 38 | 32 | 47 | Winner | |
| 2013–14 | SL | 5 | 33 | 13 | 9 | 11 | 47 | 38 | 48 | 4th round | |
| 2014–15 | SL | 8 | 33 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 47 | 45 | 40 | Semi-final | |
| 2015–16 | SL | 11 | 33 | 7 | 9 | 17 | 38 | 64 | 30 | 3rd round | |
| 2016–17 | SL | 14 | 32 | 6 | 12 | 14 | 32 | 54 | 30 | 3rd round | relegated |
| 2017–18 | 1D | 2 | 33 | 18 | 6 | 9 | 61 | 36 | 60 | 1st round | promoted |
| 2018–19 | SL | 3 | 36 | 16 | 8 | 12 | 45 | 47 | 56 | Quarter-final | |
| 2019–20 | SL | 14 | 32 | 5 | 7 | 20 | 32 | 58 | 22 | Quarter-final | relegated |
| 2020–21 | 1D | 3 | 32 | 18 | 5 | 9 | 43 | 38 | 59 | 3rd round | |
| 2021–22 | 1D | 11 | 32 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 36 | 54 | 28 | 2nd round | relegated |
| 2022–23 | 2D | 4 | 32 | 19 | 5 | 8 | 59 | 36 | 62 | 1st round | [72] |
| 2023-24 | 2D | 1 | 32 | 24 | 3 | 5 | 92 | 37 | 72 | 3rd round | promoted[73] |
| 2024-25 | 1D | 6 | 32 | 13 | 2 | 17 | 52 | 56 | 41 | 4th round | [74] |
| 2025-26 | 1D |
| Neighborhoods and suburbs | |
|---|---|
| Landmarks | |
| Churches | |
| Culture | |
| Museums | |
| Education | |
| Sports | |
| Transport | |
