From Flying Kiwis.
The November World Cup means that all high level club leagues have to take a break around that time which in turn means that the Danish Superliga has to start a little earlier than usual. Like, next week to be specific. That’s caused less preseason action than would normally take place - FCK only got three exhibition matches done. 2-0 vs Silkeborg with a second string side. 7-0 vs Feyenoord with a mostly top team but against a second string side. Now 4-2 against Belgian champs Club Brugge in a 120 minute fixture that allowed everyone a decent run.
Marko Stamenic was on the bench to begin with, no surprises there. But he was amongst the first wave of subs brought on after an hour as the gaffer made a quintuple substitution. Copenhagen were 2-0 down at that stage yet they’d go on to rally back beautifully to win 4-2 on the back of some impressive depth.
Stammers had a good chance to pull one back with an open header from a corner that he put over the top after 67 mins. Two mins later Pep Biel scored a direct free kick and five after that they won a penalty which was converted by the same man. The third goal didn’t come until the 109th minute, well into the bonus zone, but when it did it was sparked by a slick through ball by Stamenic from midfield. William Bøving was the man who eventually polished it off. Then Roony Bardghji banged in another on 113’. Here’s that pass from Marko...
FCK coach Jess Thorup:
“We started making the first substitutions in the middle of the second half, and the rest of the match showed that we have - and need - a really deep squad. So for both the players who started and who came on today, it doesn't determine the selection for next Sunday. There are a lot of choices for the coaches, and it is a good place to be right now. We're ready for the Superliga and the Champions League playoff.”
Stamenic got himself into some pretty advanced areas during this match, particularly while he was out there with more of the starters. As more subs entered the contest he moved deeper into a more usual role for him but it does show they see him as possessing a bit of versatility. He was a CB in the first friendly, played defensive mid in the second, then operated often as an attacking mid and then later a box to box eight in this last one.
Fingers crossed he’s done enough to earn a senior squad spot because the proper stuff begins very soon. First with a couple of Superliga games and then before you know it there are Champions League qualifiers swinging around – FCK enter in the final playoff round where the winners will advance to the UCL group stage and the losers will drop into the Europa League group stage. The draw for that round doesn’t take place until 1 August as there are still two and a half earlier rounds to conclude first.
The July start to the season could sneakily come in handy for Stamenic as the transfer window in Denmark doesn’t close until the end of August. Meaning that they could have up to six weeks before they decide to send him out on a developmental loan, keeping him around the first team picture for longer. Or he could simply be a fully fledged first teamer now, who knows? We’ll get an answer to that question soon enough.
Up Next: Copenhagen vs Horsens on Monday at 2am in their season opener (NZT)
