The Esbjerg Courier
Squad20 Sep 2027
The knee: Lasse Vigen out for 30 days
30 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Esbjerg lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market20 Sep 2027
James Ampofo hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Esbjerg can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings20 Sep 2027
Winsley Boteli, 21, steals the show — 7.98
Marked 7.98 at 21, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
The dugout20 Sep 2027
Samuel Cuka: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Esbjerg have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Bertram Morgenstjærne out for 31 days
The medical room confirms 31 days on the sidelines for Bertram Morgenstjærne, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Tempers go at Esbjerg
Muamer Brajanac was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Jonathan Foss is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
The terraces20 Sep 2027
The crowd has taken to Winsley Boteli
At 21 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Match18 Sep 2027
Esbjerg refuse to lose to Aalborg
A point taken on 88 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
In brief
- The dugout Patrick Tjørnelund gets it from the manager
- Match Esbjerg and Aalborg take a point apiece
- The dugout Muamer Brajanac knocks on the manager's door