AaB glitter in stars' absence

Aalborg BK's progress to the UEFA Cup group stage has taken everyone in Denmark by surprise and the club have proved unusually competitive at home too.

Grim predictions
When AaB were made offers they could not refuse for midfielders Rasmus Würtz and Fredrik Winsnes following goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen's departure for Leicester City FC, many fans saw lean times ahead. Even their usually optimistic sporting director Lynge Jakobsen said: "I am worried that we do not have a squad which can perform consistently over a longer period of time."

On the up
However, for the moment, AaB are making a mockery of such predictions. Third in the Superliga, just two points adrift of league leaders FC København, they have battled their way through from the UEFA Intertoto Cup to the UEFA Cup group stage and became the first Danish side to knock out Italian opposition in ousting UC Sampdoria from the competition in the first round.

Local excitement
Success has brought plenty of excitement back in Denmark's third largest city, with a population of 194,000, with tickets for their group stage games against RSC Anderlecht on 8 November and Michael Laudrup's Getafe CF on 6 December already almost sold out. Extra planes are already being laid on to take fans to London for the meeting with Tottenham Hotspur FC on 29 November.

In-house heroes
Clearly Würtz and Winsnes's departures, for København and Norwegian side Strømsgodset IL respectively, have not made too much of an impact, thanks largely to the form of their homegrown replacements, 24-year-old Kasper Risgård and 20-year-old Thomas Enevoldsen, who have both played like experienced veterans in most of the matches this autumn.

Transfer window
The only threat to a glorious situation for AaB remains the looming January transfer window, with the likes of South African midfielder Siyabonga Nomvethe and Swedish forward Rade Prica sure to attract admiring glances. Jacobsen said: "We do not wish to sell anyone in the transfer window but some players want to make more money than they can with us, so we may not be able to keep them all."