Danish Soccer Stadiums

Denmark suffers from soccer fever. No doubt about that! Like many other European countries we love this sport and over 300.000 men, women and children are playing in clubs. That is quite many considering that the fact that we are a population of only 5, 5 mill. people and in addition are all the people playing it for fun or supporting clubs and teams.
My favourite team is Academic Football Club (AB), which is situated in Gladsaxe. Here, you will not be met by fanatic fans, but it’s a really cosy place with great atmosphere and dedicated fans. You will find the manager in his business suit, the old lady with her thermos bottle of coffee not knowing what a ball is, but supporting her grandson. You will find the little children exited about picking up the balls, dreaming that they will play on the green field one day, and of course you will find the pretty, cheering brunette always dedicated to her favourite team through 15 years (that would be me in case you didn’t get it, haha). AB is currently in the 1. league, but actually 1. & 2. division football can be as fun and exiting as watching the Super league. The fans are often faithful and dedicated and follow their team for good and for worse (for these clubs sadly it’s often worse). AB is one of the oldest clubs in Denmark (established in 1889) and is known for its high technical level and positive and offensive way of playing. Watching soccer is really a good way to spend a Sunday afternoon and during spring time you might even get a good tan on the new grandstand. AB plays every Sunday at 3. PM from August-November and again from March-June. Tickets cost approximately 15$ and can be bought at the stadium entrances (check out www.ab-fodbold.dk for more details- in Danish, sorry).
If you want a louder and bigger atmosphere, Parken is definitely the place to go. If you are so lucky to be in Copenhagen during a national soccer game, you simply must spend the time and money to go watch a game. It is an incredible experience, and even though Parken is not the biggest stadium (capacity is 40.000 people), it is well known for its great atmosphere and very enthusiastic crowd. The Danish national team rarely loses a game at home and that is also because of the atmosphere the fans are creating. Tickets are rather expensive- 80 $ for a good seat- but it is so worth the money. Afterwards Copenhagen will be filled with happy, painted people (especially if we win) and you can enjoy a really fun night in the pubs or club in the city. Remember, if you want to enjoy a night of drunkenness, drink before or after the game, as international rules of FIFA only allows 1% alcoholic beers- but they still make you pay 10 $ for the “experience”.
Another fun thing to do in Parken is a Superleagua match between Brøndby and FC Copenhagen. These games are always sold out and the atmosphere is so incredible that even non-fans or football fanatics can’t help getting carried away. The fan groups usually make a lot of gimmicks before the match and hearing 10.000 people singing or screaming the same songs or words is just incredible- even if you don’t understand the words (even Danes are not always able to understand what they are singing…if it’s due to drunkenness or Neanderthal behaviour on their part, I’m not sure…but anyway…) Tickets to these matches usually cost about 20$ and if you’re lucky you can buy them at the ticket entrance. To buy in advance go to www.parken.dk or www.fck.dk.