On Wednesday, July 29, the fate of Zhytomyr's Polissya will be at stake in the second leg against Danish Copenhagen in the Conference League. After a 3-3 draw in the first game, the Ukrainians must prove they are capable of continuing their journey in European competitions. But this match is just a new chapter in the long history of confrontations between Ukrainian and Danish clubs, which now spans three decades.
Champions League: the golden fund of Ukrainian football
The most successful tournament for Ukrainian teams in duels with the Danes has been the Champions League (including the Cup of Champions). Over the years of rivalry, Ukrainians have won four matches, drawn twice, and lost twice. The history of these encounters began back in the 1991/92 season, when Kyiv's Dynamo first faced Danish Brondby.
At that time, the capital giant drew 1-1 in Kyiv (Oleg Salenko scored the goal) and lost 0-1 in Denmark. Later, in the 1997/98 season, the "white-and-blues" successfully passed Brondby in the third qualifying round. The teams exchanged away wins (2-4 and 0-1), but Dynamo proved stronger. Goals for the Kyivians were scored by Husin, Shevchenko, Rebrov, and Holovko.
Another opponent for the Kyivians from Denmark was Aalborg. The matches of the third qualifying round of the 1999/00 season ended in favor of Dynamo (1-2 and 2-2). Goals for the Kyivians were scored by Rebrov, Husin, and Shatskikh twice.
Resounding victories and the only defeat in the CL
The brightest page in the history of confrontations between Ukraine and Denmark in European competitions was written by Shakhtar and Norshella in the 2012/13 season. In the group stage of the Champions League, the Donbas team won twice. The home victory 2-0 with a brace by Henrikh Mkhitaryan was nothing unusual, but the away thrashing 2-5 was remembered for a long time. In addition to Willian's brace, Luis Adriano scored a hat-trick, scoring one of the goals with a violation of Fair Play — the forward intercepted the ball that was being returned to the opponent after a stoppage of play.
The only failure in the Champions League for Ukrainian teams was Dnipro's elimination by Copenhagen in the 2014/15 season. The Dnipro players did not score any goals, while the Danes scored twice at home (0-0 and 2-0) and knocked Dnipro into the Europa League.
Europa League and Intertoto Cup: tough opponents
In the Europa League, Danish clubs turned out to be significantly tougher opponents — Ukrainians have only one win to their name against five draws and two defeats. Here, Dynamo exchanged wins with Aalborg and drew with Copenhagen, while Poltava's Vorskla earned one point in a group with the same Copenhagen.
Vorskla has a more successful experience in the Intertoto Cup. In 1998, the Poltava team defeated Copenhagen thanks to the away goals rule (2-2, 1-1). Goals were scored by Melashchenko, Bohatyry, and Musolytin.
Polissya and Copenhagen: a new chapter in history
Polissya has opened a new page in confrontations with Danish clubs. The first match against Copenhagen in the second qualifying round of the Conference League ended with a score of 3-3. And already on Wednesday, July 29, it will be decided whether the balance of the Zhytomyr players in games with the Danes will be positive, or if Copenhagen will prevail.
Five Ukrainian teams have participated in confrontations with Danish clubs. The most popular opponent was Copenhagen — four out of five Ukrainian clubs played against them. The balance in these confrontations is on the side of the Danes: two wins, six draws, and zero defeats (nine goals scored and six conceded).
The second leg between Polissya and Copenhagen will be an important test for Ukrainian football. History shows that Danish teams are serious opponents, but Ukrainians have already proven more than once that they are capable of winning even in the most difficult conditions.
