A fan’s guide – the club from early doors to today
For two decades, Brøndby IF finished top two almost every season. This all ended with their last great side, the double winners of 2005, coached by Michael Laudrup and fronted by Johan Elmander and academy players Thomas Kahlenberg and Daniel Agger. More precisely, it ended with Laudrup’s departure the following year.
This then began to change as Agger, Kahlenberg and Elmander all came back to Brøndby Stadion.
Brøndbyernes Idraetsforening were formed as late as 1964, but were the first to drag Danish league football kicking and screaming into an era of professionalism and European ambition. This was an era that began when Laudrup himself joined the club at 17 for their first ever top-flight season in 1982.
Between 1985 and 2005, the first full-time Danish pro side picked up ten league titles, and even made a European semi-final – which they damned near won. Rudi Völler’s goal two minutes from time at the Stadio Olimpico ended Danish hopes of an away-goals win over Roma in the UEFA Cup of 1991.
The 1998 Champions League was meant to be the point where Brøndby finally entered the rank of European greats, but it didn’t really work out. Resentful of playing European games at Parken, home of bitter rivals FC Copenhagen, they started expanding their stadium. And a very fine one it is, but it went way over budget, and didn’t bring in the revenue the club required.
After 2005 the team was more or less dismantled. Brøndby Stadion used to be a fearsome place to visit, but now it’s a place for home fans to protest their discontent. Heavy debts brought Brøndby within days of bankruptcy in the spring of 2013. Investors were found in the nick of time, led – the irony! – by a long-time board member at FC Copenhagen, new Brøndby chairman Aldo Petersen.
Soon afterwards Petersen was shunted out. Danish businessman Jan Bech Andersen came in and signed a sponsorship deal with a major betting company. League form improved and Brøndby claimed a European place in 2014-15 – only to be stomped by PAOK before the group stage of the Europa League.
Doubts still remain over the club’s long-term sustainability and the collective ideals the club held sacred have been jettisoned. Yet gates are rising – and optimism is back in the western suburbs.
Stadium Guide
The field of dreams – and the stands around it
In the 1980s, Brøndby Stadion was still a windswept municipal athletics venue. After a complete revamp in 2000, it’s a great football ground with terraces for the home fans, 25,000 seats with excellent views from the top tiers, and a cracking atmosphere when full – unfortunately all too rare these days.
Sydsiden, Southside, the home fans’ end, used to be packed – nowadays, you can get a decent place to stand right before kick-off at most games. Except for a small bit of the lower Nordea stand at the other end, reserved for away fans, the rest of the stadium is for neutrals, although not that neutral, particularly if FC Copenhagen or AGF are the opponents.
getting there
Going to the stadium – tips and timings
Take the S-train from any central hub to Brøndbyoster or Glostrup. Altenatively, take the B-train, direction Hoje Taastrup, and get off at Brøndbyoster. Once there, exit left through the tunnel and take the 130 or 135 bus from the back of the station. Or get the same train or the peak-hour, weekday-only Bx, get off at Glostrup – the more popular choice – and find the 166 or 500S bus outside the station, then hop off at Park Allé.
For major matches, there will be special stadium buses waiting outside Glostrup Station.
getting in
Buying tickets – when, where, how and how much
You can buy tickets in advance at Danish-only site for all parts of the ground and all matches. Tickets are sent as a PDF for home printing. At the stadium, the ticket booths are placed in barracks behind the Sydsiden end. There are booths for away fans at the away section – except for Copenhagen derbies, where away tickets are available from the FCK club shop at Parken.
Prices are set at 80-100kr behind the goals, and 130-150kr everywhere else.
what to buy
Shirts, kits, merchandise and gifts
The refurbished BrøndbyShoppen is in the main Apollo stand, facing the big car park. There’s a great assortment – get your Daniel Agger shirt here.
Where to Drink
Pre-match beers for fans and casual visitors
If you’re at Brøndbyoster Station and feeling ready for a pitstop, head right when leaving the platform. Below the high rises, between some shops, you’ll find the MacDonald Pub (Nygaards Plads 2G). It’s decorated all over with kilt-wearing Scots, but otherwise smoky suburban pubs don’t come any more Danish than this.
In the otherwise bleak area around Glostrup Station, across the street, the Café Brillat in the facing mall does decent burgers and meaty dishes. Outside the Loxam East Stand is the 1964, Brøndby’s official matchday café where you still can’t get a latte. While FCK fans are seen as latte-drinking urban hipsters, Brøndby’s are salt of the earth. So it’s regular bar food, pints and the day’s other matches on big screens – though ask for warm milk with your coffee and you’ll get it.
For a more authentic Brøndby experience, go to the Klubhusets Cafeteria inside the clubhouse, located at the back of the stadium by the main training pitch. They serve cheap and decent cafeteria food – the roast-pork sandwich is very popular – and cheap(ish) pints of Carlsberg.
