England

‘You need courage’: Inside FC Copenhagen’s Champions League rise

12-Feb-2024 08:00:35 | Guardian

Key figures at the Danish club, who face Manchester City in the Champions League last 16, explain the secret to their success

“When we played Manchester United I told my teammates that we will get chances – we just have to be ruthless when we get them,” Mohamed Elyounoussi says on a cold January afternoon in Copenhagen. “That was the moment they realised: ‘OK, the level of football is high, but not as high as we thought it would be.’”

The former Southampton winger is one of the leading players at FC Copenhagen, the Danish side who last autumn progressed from a Champions League group containing Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Galatasaray and will take on Manchester City in the first leg of the last 16 on Tuesday. Led by the 35-year-old head coach, Jacob Neestrup, Copenhagen beat United 4-3 at home and earned a draw at Bayern, the only points dropped by the German side in the group stage.