Ajax continue their Conference League league phase campaign this week against FC Midtylland of Denmark in the third round of matches in Europe’s third-tier competition. A 2-0 win over Atalanta has given the Amsterdam side confidence, and they are competing near the top of the Vriendenloterij Eredivisie. What can they expect from the relatively little-known Superligaen leaders? Voetbalzone take a closer look at Thursday’s hosts.
In Europe, Midtjylland have made a disappointing start. They took just one point against Albania’s Egnatia (1-1), before Belgium’s Sint-Truiden left the MCH Arena with a 2-1 victory. They are still waiting for their first Conference League win. The Superligaen tells a different story: Mike Tullberg’s side top the table with 31 points from twelve matches, including nine wins. Major title favourites FC Copenhagen trail them by five points.
A great deal of quality lost
Last summer’s departures make Midtjylland’s domestic form all the more impressive. Striker Franculino and winger Aral Simsir were sold to Trabzonspor for €35 million, taking more than 30 goals and a string of assists with them. Centre-back Han-beom Lee joined Club Brugge for €9 million, while frequently scoring midfielder Valdemar Byskov went to AZ for €6 million. Right winger Dario Osorio also joined Crystal Palace on loan. The English club can make the Chilean winger’s move permanent next year for €32 million.
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Imago
To replace those key players, Midtjylland turned to the transfer market. They signed former Ajax defender Rasmus Kristensen from Eintracht Frankfurt for €6 million and spent more than €7 million on Venezuela international winger David Martínez from Los Angeles FC. Midfielder Kjell Wätjen left Borussia Dortmund for the Danish leaders, while Nordin Bakker swapped sc Heerenveen for Midtjylland. Friday Etim returned after a successful spell at Fredericia, and Mileta Rajkovic joined on loan from Legia Warsaw to bolster the forward line.
Passionate manager
Much of Midtjylland’s strong form stems from Tullberg’s ambition. The 40-year-old coach from Farum had a modest playing career, which ended at Germany’s Rot-Weiss Oberhausen in 2011. A former forward, he moved into coaching and joined Borussia Dortmund in 2019. He led the second team and the Under-19s, then briefly took charge of the first team in the Bundesliga and Champions League as interim manager at the start of 2025. At the end of the 2024/25 season, Tullberg stepped back into a lesser role at BVB, before the Midtjylland board appointed him a few months later.
With Tullberg in charge, Midtjylland challenged for the Danish league title for much of last season. Aarhus GF won the championship, but Midtjylland lifted the national cup. Han-beom Lee struck in the 82nd minute of the final on 14 May to beat favourites FC Copenhagen 1-0. Midtjylland also finished third in the Europa League league phase before Nottingham Forest knocked them out over two legs in the round of 16. The club could still take satisfaction from their European campaign.
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Tullberg’s touchline enthusiasm earned him no fewer than nine yellow cards for heated behaviour in the 2025/26 season. He constantly coaches and encourages his players, demanding aggression, energy and forward pressing. Midtjylland pose a threat on the counter-attack, but Tullberg also wants them to control matches and seize the initiative. That approach carries a risk: when they lose possession, opponents often find space behind the defence. He demands complete dedication and effort from his squad every day.
Links between the two clubs
Midtjylland may not be one of European football’s biggest names, but they signed Rafael van der Vaart in 2016 as his career wound down. The much-discussed move failed to meet expectations. Then-manager Jess Thorup regularly complained about the experienced Dutchman’s fitness, and Van der Vaart played only 20 matches in total. In his second season, he rarely made the matchday squad and played just six minutes across two substitute appearances in 2017/18. Midtjylland won the title, but the midfielder watched from the stands.
Despite the disappointment on the pitch, sporting director Claus Steinlein told Ekstra Bladet that Van der Vaart’s brief spell at the MCH Arena had brought other benefits. "We are still happy with him. Firstly, for commercial reasons. Shirt sales have risen, and there has also been more media interest. In addition, Van der Vaart is a real mentor to our young players. They can all see that he brings something extra onto the pitch as a player," the Danish official said in August 2017.
Ajax and Midtjylland have other connections. Viktor Fischer spent time in the Danish club’s academy before Ajax brought him to the Netherlands in 2011. Kristensen, now Midtjylland’s captain, once made the same move. He failed to establish himself at Ajax and joined Red Bull Salzburg in 2019, but he has never regretted going to Amsterdam. "I gave everything for Ajax and still follow the club. The decision to go from FC Midtjylland to Ajax was the best of my life," the defender recently told Ajax Life.
For several weeks, Midtjylland have had a Dutch goalkeeper between the posts. First-choice keeper Elías Ólafsson was injured, and Nordin Bakker seized his chance. The former Almere City FC and sc Heerenveen goalkeeper has played eight matches, including the 2-1 win over FC Copenhagen in their top-of-the-table clash. Bakker looks certain to start against Ajax on Thursday. "I’m really looking forward to it. I was back in the Netherlands last week, and my family and friends are talking about nothing else but that match," the North Hollander told Bold in early October.
Young club
Founded on 1 July 1999 through a merger between Ikast FS and Herning Fremad, Midtjylland are young by European football standards. The club’s ambitious leadership wanted to build a footballing powerhouse in central Jutland. Midtjylland initially played home matches in Ikast before moving to Herning in 2004. After several second-place finishes in the Superligaen, they won their first championship in 2015, a huge milestone for a club only sixteen years old. They now compete regularly in Europe and attract players from outside Denmark. The current squad includes players from Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Colombia, Germany, the Netherlands, Japan and England, among other countries.
Previous meetings
Thursday will bring Ajax and Midtjylland together for only the third time. Both previous meetings came in the 2020/21 season. On 3 November 2020, Ajax won 2-1 in Denmark through goals from Antony in the opening minute and Dusan Tadic. A few weeks later, they won 3-1, although Ryan Gravenberch, Noussair Mazraoui and David Neres all had to wait until the second half to score. Awer Mabil pulled one back for the visitors in the 80th minute, before Erik Sviatchenko received a red card in stoppage time. Midtjylland finished with ten players. They have another chance on Thursday to beat Ajax for the first time in the club’s history.
Predicted FC Midtjylland line-up: Bakker; Maxsø, Diao, Bech; Kristensen, Bravo, Hyun-seok, Wätjen, Bak; Emefile, Rajović.