Brondby IF – talent-spotters as well as two-time FeCWC winners
Danish club adept at spotting talent in real and virtual football
Brondby IF eFootball team aiming high
Interview with two-time FeCWC winners Brondby IF
Danish football club Brondby IF, founded in 1964, decided to move into the eSports sphere in autumn 2016. "We considered how we best could fit into this increasing popular scene, and it transpired that we and EA Sports FIFA have a lot of fans in common," explained Jesper Larsen, eSports coordinator at Brondby.
"We haven’t had that many successes in the last ten years, as we could have hoped for, which might have cost us some of the younger fans down the road. Entering eFootball, we wanted to make sure that the younger target market had plenty to shout about when it came to supporting our team."
Their first ever player, Marcus Jorgensen, led the Danes to glory at the inaugural FIFA Interactive Club World Cup (or FIFA eClub World Cup as it is now known). "He played to a very high level with us in his first season and his win meant that he got to showcase his skills with all eyes on him," Larsen continued. 'Marcuzo', as he is known, then moved to Manchester City and was the fourth-best player at the FIFA eWorld Cup 2018.
"After he moved on, we decided to look for a player of a similar standard and we ended up signing one of the best in Denmark in Fredberg, who also has a lot of fans via YouTube. At an event organised by a club sponsor, we then also got to discover Fatih Ustun, who was at his first competitive meet and yet still went on to win the tournament. Later on we signed him up after that and he had a very good 2018," Larsen reflected, running through the players they acquired after the initial success of the first season.
These two players enabled the club to take home another FIFA eClub World Cup. "Both of them played to an incredible level and we were absolutely delighted to win the title for the second time".
Ustun then moved to the newly-founded FIFA eSports team that is under the aegis of Mesut Ozil.
"I think that our success stems from the fact that we in the club work as a unit, always stick up for each other, and that the club is like a family – both in real and virtual football," the eSports coordinator explained. "We have unity as a core value in the club, and that is something we are trying to transform over to the eSport as well. Even though FIFA is a single player game, we always say that we win together, and we lose together."
The team currently comprises the following people: Manager: Jesper Larsen Trainer: Daniel Barnewitz Players: Daniel 'Dingo' Kristensen (aged 19) and Frederik 'Fredberg' Fredberg (21)
"Both are currently studying, which can present a real challenge in terms of the time they have available for the large number of tournaments that our players are involved in. We try to support them in this. We’re currently very happy with the set-up that we have here," Larsen added. "We’d like to carry on developing step by step and nurturing talent – both in eSports and in real football… And off course we’d like to win the FIFA eClub World Cup again this year," he signed off confidently.