 | |||
| Full name | Randers FC | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | Hestene (The Horses) | ||
| Short name | RFC | ||
| Founded | 1 January 2003; 23 years ago (2003-01-01) | ||
| Ground | Cepheus Park Randers | ||
| Capacity | 10,300 | ||
| Chairman | Per Hastrup | ||
| Manager | Rasmus Bertelsen | ||
| League | Superliga | ||
| 2024–25 | Superliga, 4th of 12 | ||
| Website | www | ||
 Current season | |||
Randers FC (Danish pronunciation:[ˈʁɑnɐs]) is a professionalfootball club based inRanders,East Jutland, that plays in theDanish Superliga, the top flight of theDanish football league system. Founded on 1 January 2003, the club builds upon the license ofRanders Freja, a former three-timeDanish Cup winning team. As of 2022[update] the club had won theDanish Cup twice in its history. Randers plays its matches at the 10,300-capacityCepheus Park Randers.
The club was formed on 1 January 2003, as a collaboration between six local Randers-clubs; Dronningborg Boldklub (founded 1928),Hornbæk Sportsforening (founded 1945), Kristrup Boldklub (founded1908),Randers Freja (founded1898),Randers KFUM (founded1920) andVorup Frederiksberg Boldklub (founded 1930), continuing Randers Freja's (at the time) 1st division-team.[1]
In the first season as a newly created club, Randers ended in fourth place in theViasat Sport Division with 51 points. The captain of theDenmark national team which wonUEFA Euro 1992,Lars Olsen, was coach of the team. The following year, the team ended in second place with 66 points and was promoted to the country's best league, theSAS Liga.
With only 24 points in 2004–05 season in theSAS Liga, Randers finished in last place. In the 2005–06 season, however, Randers redeemed itself, securing promotion back to the SAS League with 61 points while also winning theDanish Cup with a 1–0 victory overEsbjerg in the final atParken Stadium on 11 May 2006. Randers was the first team since 1974 who managed to win the Danish Cup although playing in the second-highest league in Denmark.
In mid-2005, the club brought in former Denmark national team midfielderStig Tøfting on afree transfer, afterAGF, his childhood-club, refused to let him play (even for free) due to his violent background with severalsentences.[2]Tøfting was appointed Assistant Coach in November 2006.[3]
In the2006–07 season, Randers finished in eighth place with 38 points, as well as participation in theUEFA Cupthe season before, where the club metÍA of Iceland,FBK Kaunas of Lithuania and major clubFenerbahçe from Turkey.
Before the start of the2007–08 season, Randers signed formerEngland national team playerColin Todd as its new manager. Randers started the season in great fashion, winning its first four matches (most notably a 5–0 win againstAalborg BK).
In the second half of the 2007–08 season, Randers continued to improve in the Danish league. With new signingsMarc Nygaard andSøren Berg, expectations grew as the season progressed, and Randers ultimately finished in sixth place following a 2–1 win againstBrøndby IF in the final matchday of the season.
The2008–09 season started in promising fashion for the club, recording a 3–1 win against the local rivals AGF. Randers continued its solid start with a 1–1 a draw withCopenhagen. In the third round, Randers was to play Brøndby away; the club had never defeated Brøndby away before. Randers won 0–3 following goals fromCarsten Fredgaard,Bédi Buval and Tidiane Sane. After the five first rounds, Randers was still undefeated, though at the winter break Randers was placed mid-table.
On 4 November 2008 Randers announced that former Danish internationalJohn "Faxe" Jensen would become its new manager from 1 July following the ending of Colin Todd's contract.[4] Todd, however, expressed his frustration about how Randers had dealt with the situation and openly criticised the club for putting him in a difficult situation.[5][6]
Jensen ended up taking the place as manager six months before schedule due to the club having reached an agreement with the then present manager Todd. Jensen was officially announced new manager on 5 January. He started his time in Randers in great fashion, winning the first league game of the season against local rivals AGF 2–1. However, the club failed to sustain the winning form when they went to draw againstVejle BK and thereafter lost the following three games to the top three sidesOB, Copenhagen and BIF. The team's losing streak culminated in a 1–6 toNordsjælland.
The club, however, responded well to the losing streak and won the next five games, ironically setting a new club winning streak. The season ended with a 3–3 draw away against Danish champions Copenhagen and a fifth-place finish, it highest league rank in club history.Marc Nygaard claimed the golden boot for 16 goals during the season.Morten Nordstrand was later credited for a goal on penalty in the final match, and also had a goal tally of 16, but Nygaard was awarded the title as he was the first to reach the 16 goals.[7]
Randers and Faxe decided that Tøfting was not the right choice as assistant manager, and, on 1 May 2009, the club announced that Tøfting's contract would not be extended. On 2 June, the club announced that two of Jensen's colleagues from the Euro 1992-winning Danish side –Henrik Larsen andFlemming Povlsen – as its new assistant managers; Larsen was named first assistant manager while Povlsen as assistant focused on the club's attack. However, after a catastrophic start to the2009–10 season with only 2 points earned from 11 league games, Jensen and his assistants were released from their contracts.[8]
Ove Christensen was appointed new head coach for Randers for the remainder of the 2009–10 season.[9] He was given the objective to save Randers from relegation, although Randers was projected to be relegated at the winter break by the media and experts. However, a historic comeback with 16 games without defeat[10] meant that its topflight status was to be decided on the final day of the season. A loss to Brøndby would mean that if AGF won its game against OB, the best team of the spring season would be relegated. OB won 0–3 and Randers lost its first match in the second half of the season 1–3, ensuring Randers kept their top-flight status.Yura Movsisyan was arguably the key in Randers' survival, as he scored 7 goals in 13 games.
When Ove Christensen arrived, he gave the squad an overhaul and nine players were released or sold in the winter break of 2009–10 season. He also made several signings:Anders Egholm fromSønderjyskE,Morten Karlsen from Nordsjælland andSøren Jensen on loan fromOdd Grenland. Christensen signed a new one-year contract as head coach on 17 May 2010.
In the following season, however, Christensen could not follow up on the success and was fired after a loss to Brøndby. Peter Elstrup and Allan Kuhn were Brough in as caretakers but could not prevent Randers' relegation at the end of the season. Michael Hemmingsen was named new head coach with the first task to bring Randers back to the Superliga. With Hemmingsen as head coach, Randers ended the 2011–12 season in second place in the Danish 1st division, thereby earning promotion back to the Superliga.
Despite having earned promotion to theDanish Superliga, Hemmingsen was replaced as head coach by former Randers coachColin Todd, who returned to the club following his coaching spell from 2007 to 2009. Randers did well in its first season after being promoted, ending its 2012–13 league campaign in third place, the club's best ever league finish. The team also reached the final in the Danish Cup, but lost 1–0 to Esbjerg. Nonetheless, the league result meant that Randers was to participate in the UEFA Europa League. It entered the tournament in the third round of qualifying, where it metRubin Kazan. Randers, however, lost the home match 2–0 and the away match 2–0, thus failing to qualify for the group stage.
During the2020–21 season, Randers achieved a significant milestone in their history by securing a place in the championship playoffs of the Danish Superliga via a fifth-place finish in the regular season. Moreover, the club claimed victory in theDanish Cup after defeatingSønderjyskE 4–0 in the final atCeres Park inAarhus, with goals fromErik Marxen,Simon Piesinger, and a brace byMathias Greve.[11] This triumph earned them the opportunity to participate in European competition in the 2021–22 season. Although they narrowly missed out on a place in theUEFA Europa League after losing toGalatasaray in the playoffs, they qualified for the inauguralUEFA Europa Conference League group stage.[12] They finished second in their group after competing againstAZ Alkmaar from the Netherlands,CFR Cluj from Romania, andJablonec from the Czech Republic. This result secured their progression to the knockout stage, where they faced English powerhouseLeicester City, which includedDenmark national team captainKasper Schmeichel. Despite their best efforts, they were eliminated from the competition, thus concluding their European journey.[13]
Randers' biggest rivals are East Jutland neighboursAarhus Gymnastikforening.[14]
During the 2006–07 season, Randers managed to qualify for theUEFA Cup as Danish Cup winners. During the 2009–10 season, the club was invited to participate in theEuropa League due to its second place in the Danish league Fair Play ranking – behind 2008–09 champions Copenhagen, which claimed Denmark'sUEFA Champions League spot. During the 2010–11 season, the club participated in theEuropa League due to its second-place finish in the Danish league Fair Play ranking – behind 2009–10 champions Copenhagen, which again claimed theChampions League spot.
| Season | Competition | Round | Opposition | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006–07[15] | UEFA Cup | First qualifying round |  ÍA | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 (a) |
| Second qualifying round |  FBK Kaunas | 3–1 | 0–1 | 3–2 | ||
| First round |  Fenerbahçe | 0–3 | 1–2 | 1–5 | ||
| 2009–10[16] | UEFA Europa League | First qualifying round |  Linfield | 4–0 | 3–0 | 7–0 |
| Second qualifying round | Sūduva | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | ||
| Third qualifying round |  Hamburger SV | 0–4 | 1–0 | 1–4 | ||
| 2010–11[17] | UEFA Europa League | First qualifying round |  F91 Dudelange | 6–1 | 1–2 | 7–3 |
| Second qualifying round |  Gorica | 1–1 | 3–0 | 4–1 | ||
| Third qualifying round |  Lausanne-Sport | 2–3 | 1–1 | 3–4 | ||
| 2013–14 | UEFA Europa League | Third qualifying round |  Rubin Kazan | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–4 |
| 2015–16 | UEFA Europa League | First qualifying round |  Sant Julià | 3–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 |
| Second qualifying round |  Elfsborg | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | ||
| 2021–22 | UEFA Europa League | Play-off round | Galatasaray | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–3 |
| UEFA Europa Conference League | Group D |  AZ | 2–2 | 0–1 | 2nd place | |
 CFR Cluj | 2–1 | 1–1 | ||||
 Jablonec | 2–2 | 2–2 | ||||
| Knockout round play-offs |  Leicester City | 1–3 | 1–4 | 2–7 |
Randers Stadium was founded in 1961. It was built to hold 18,000 spectators and in 1969 a record of 16,500 people attended theUEFA Cup loss against1. FC Köln.
The stadium was rebuilt in 2012 and renamed AutoC Park with a capacity of 10,300 spectators. It was built byC. F. Møller Architects and is established on the former Randers Stadium site. On 22 September 2015, it was announced that local company BioNutria had bought the name rights of the stadium until 31 October 2018. On 14 November 2018, it was announced that Cepheus group had bought the name rights of the stadium for 3 years.
The new stadium attendance record after the stadium was rebuilt, is 9,947, set againstAarhus GF on 6 October 2019
The largest supporter group is Nordtribunen (i.e.The North Tribune), however there are more factions within the fandom of Randers.
Most games played: 223
Mads Fenger
Most goals: 41Ronnie Schwartz
Biggest league win: 5–0 Randers – AAB (in 2007)[18]
Biggest league loss: 1–6 Randers –Nordsjælland (in 2009),SønderjyskE – Randers FC (in 2012)[19]
Highest attendance(home): 11,824 Randers –Brøndby[20]
Longest run without defeat: 16 (29 November 2009 – 5 May 2010)
Longest winning streak: 5 (13 April 2010 – 3 May 2010)
Longest run without a win: 18 (31 May 2009 – 29 November 2009)
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Lars Olsen (1 Jan 2003 – 24 January 2007)Colin Todd (1 July 2007 – 5 January 2009)John "Faxe" Jensen (5 Jan 2009 – 6 October 2009)Ove Christensen (7 Oct 2009 – 26 April 2011) Peter Elstrup(interim) (27 Apr 2011 – 30 June 2011)Michael Hemmingsen (1 July 2011 – 5 July 2012)Colin Todd (5 July 2012 – 30 June 2016)Ólafur Kristjánsson (1 July 2016 – 5 October 2017)Ricardo Moniz (8 Oct 2017 – 26 January 2018)Rasmus Bertelsen (26 Jan 2018 – 30 June 2018)Thomas Thomasberg (1 July 2018 – 23 March 2023)Rasmus Bertelsen (23 March 2023 – )Management
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Chief Executive Officer | Henrik Jørgensen |
| Head of Sales | Morten Hørby Andersen |
| Club Secretary | Jesper Hansen |
| Head of Communications | Kristian Fredslund Andersen |
| Press Officer | Martin Albrechtsen |
| Sales Assistant | Sylvester Hansen |
| Sales Assistant | Anders Hedeager |
| IT & Ticket Coordinator | Michael Møller Højfeldt |
| VIP & Hospitality | Lone Nikolajsen |
Team
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Director of Football | Søren Pedersen |
| Head coach | Rasmus Bertelsen |
| Assistant coach | Ralf Pedersen |
| Youth-Development Coach | Peter Elstrup |
| Goalkeeper coach | Erik Boye |
| Performance manager | Tobias Elstrup |
| Chief team assistant | Peer Kam |
| Team assistant | Ferhat Alici |
| Team assistant | Emil Stanic |
| Team assistant | Lars Pedersen |
| Team assistant | Hans Kirkegaard |
| Medical | Dr. Martin Nielsen |
2003 – 2005–06:Nike
2006–07 – 2009–10:Umbro
2010–11 – 2012–13: H2O[22]
2015–16 –Puma
| Season | Div. | Pos. | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts | Cup | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002–03 | 1D | 4 | 30 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 65 | 49 | 51 | Fourth round | |
| 2003–04 | 1D | 2 | 30 | 21 | 3 | 6 | 85 | 43 | 66 | Fourth round | Promoted |
| 2004–05 | SL | 12 | 33 | 5 | 9 | 19 | 30 | 64 | 24 | Fourth round | Relegated |
| 2005–06 | 1D | 2 | 30 | 19 | 4 | 7 | 64 | 30 | 61 | Winner | Promoted |
| 2006–07 | SL | 8 | 33 | 10 | 8 | 15 | 41 | 53 | 38 | Quarter-final | UEFA Cup – First round |
| 2007–08 | SL | 6 | 33 | 13 | 8 | 12 | 41 | 33 | 47 | Quarter-final | |
| 2008–09 | SL | 5 | 33 | 11 | 13 | 9 | 52 | 50 | 46 | Fourth round | |
| 2009–10 | SL | 10 | 33 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 37 | 43 | 40 | Fourth round | Europa League – Third qualifying round |
| 2010–11 | SL | 11 | 33 | 6 | 16 | 11 | 41 | 48 | 34 | Semi-finals | Relegated Europa League – Third qualifying round |
| 2011–12 | 1D | 2 | 26 | 15 | 4 | 7 | 38 | 22 | 49 | 3rd round | Promoted |
| 2012–13 | SL | 3 | 33 | 15 | 7 | 11 | 36 | 42 | 52 | Runners-up | |
| 2013–14 | SL | 7 | 33 | 9 | 14 | 10 | 41 | 45 | 41 | 3rd round | Europa League – Third qualifying round |
| 2014–15 | SL | 4 | 33 | 14 | 10 | 9 | 39 | 28 | 52 | Quarter-final | |
| 2015–16 | SL | 6 | 33 | 13 | 8 | 12 | 45 | 43 | 47 | Quarter-final | Europa League – Second qualifying round |
| 2016–17 | SL | 7 | 32 | 11 | 8 | 13 | 33 | 35 | 41 | Quarter-final | Lost in European play-off final |
| 2017–18 | SL | 12 | 32 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 32 | 52 | 30 | Quarter-final | Won relegation play-off second round |
| 2018–19 | SL | 7 | 32 | 12 | 9 | 11 | 35 | 39 | 45 | Third round | Lost in European play-off final |
| 2019–20 | SL | 7 | 26 | 10 | 5 | 11 | 39 | 35 | 35 | Quarter-final | Lost in European play-off quarter-final |
| 2020–21 | SL | 5 | 22 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 31 | 21 | 32 | Winner | |
| 2021–22 | SL | 5 | 22 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 26 | 25 | 33 | Quarter-final | Europa Conference League – Knockout round play-offs |
