Bitter rivals Malmö and Copenhagen set for Champions League showdown

The Guardian

2 days ago

Every day, tens of thousands of people are thought to commute across the 8km bridge between Malmö and Copenhagen. The name of the bridge – Öresund if you're Swedish or Øresund if you're Danish – is one of only a few things that divide the people of the two cities. Another one is football.
After Malmö beat Latvia's RFS in a Champions League qualifier last week their winger Jens Stryger Larsen, who has more than 50 Denmark caps, led the club's supporters in a vociferous chorus of 'We hate Copenhagen' – the identity of their third-round opponents no secret, the draw already made.
Stryger Larsen came through the ranks at Brøndby – FC Copenhagen's fierce rivals – and is one of a couple of Danish players in the Malmö squad. His chanting was criticised by Danish police, who said it was 'helping to stir up a hostile atmosphere' before the two-leg tie gets under way in Sweden on Tuesday.
It will be an easy trip to the Eleda Stadion for Copenhagen's travelling support: less than an hour by road or rail. Revellers are known to make the short hop to enjoy a cheaper night out in the industrial Swedish city than they can get in Denmark's more regal capital. 'Malmö is always going to be the little brother, city-wise,' says Agnes Gertten, who has commuted to Copenhagen for work in the past, of the Malmö fan association Supporterhuset.
Despite the friendly relationship shared by Malmö and Copenhagen as cities, there is rivalry between MFF and FCK, felt more strongly from the Malmö side. Although the clubs play each other only occasionally – there have been two competitive meetings in the past two decades – that animosity stems from a Royal League encounter in 2005, when Danish police were accused of attacking away supporters in the stands after little provocation.
The blame game was played and a three-year court case followed, with no individuals prosecuted. The teams' first competitive meeting at Parken since then was in the Europa League in 2019, which the visitors won 1-0 to top their group. 'For me, it was very emotional,' says Gertten, who will attend both legs over the next week. 'We had just lost a friend earlier that year … he really hated Copenhagen. I cried like a baby. I think it was a feeling of being the greatest.'
Scandinavian pride is at stake here. Bodø/Glimt's recent rise has brought a new element, but MFF and FCK have spent much of this century as the region's top dogs and vehicles for the Sweden-Denmark pan-sporting grudge. 'We are the most successful club over here,' says William Galambos of MFF Support, 'and they are the most successful club in Denmark. Both clubs are used to winning and want to be the best in Scandinavia.'
Malmö and Copenhagen, winners of six of the past 10 titles in their respective domestic leagues, can attract the best of the rest in the region and an intermingling of nations is common. 'Since we are the two big clubs, both in the stands and on the pitch, the best players in Scandinavia have their eyes on us and Copenhagen,' says Galambos. Anders Christiansen, the captain, is another Danish voice in the MFF dressing room, which includes the Malmö-born goalkeeper Robin Olsen, who won two Danish titles with FCK.
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Copenhagen's captain is Viktor Claesson, a Swede, and they also have the forward Jordan Larsson, the son of Henrik. 'The Swedish players, they are looking forward to it,' says David Bastian-Møller of the Copenhagen Sundays website. 'Jordan Larsson agreed that it would be a nice game to play as a Swede.'
From Malmö, there is talk of 'hatred', so how would Copenhagen describe the feeling towards their neighbours? 'Insignificance,' smiles Bastian-Møller. 'From a Copenhagen perspective, there is not really a rivalry. We have a huge rivalry with Brøndby, we meet them usually four times a season. Malmö, we don't really pay attention to them.' But of course, he would say that. 'A lot of Copenhagen supporters try to say that they don't really care about us,' says Gertten.
Both teams are two rounds from the Champions League proper, which neither took part in last season. 'Barcelona in Parken, or Real Madrid, or one of the big English teams …' imagines Bastian-Møller when he thinks of potential match-ups. Malmö have already landed their dream opponents. 'Each year when we are in Europe, we want to meet Copenhagen,' says Galambos. 'That's the only team we always want to meet.'