Tipped for relegation to title winners - AGF's 'King Arthur' moment

David Nielsen could not have picked a better metaphor for Aarhus GF's quest to win another championship.

In 2017, he became the latest manager tasked with bringing glory back to Danish football's sleeping giant, who had not won the league title since 1986.

"Once upon a time, there was a sword in a stone," he said. "Everyone wants to pull that sword, but only one person is going to."

Last week Jakob Poulsen, the club's 22nd manager since 1986, became AGF's King Arthur.

Despite being tipped for relegation and playing in a makeshift ground, AGF clinched a surprise title win to end their 40-year wait.

"It's difficult to understand how wild it is that it's finally happened," said Poulsen.

Based in Denmark's second-largest city, AGF were the country's top team between 1955 and 1965. They won their fifth league title in 1986 and their ninth Danish Cup in 1996, but then became a yo-yo club.

They were relegated in 2006, 2010 and 2014 - each time winning promotion straight back to the Danish Superliga - and lost two cup finals.

After finishing no higher than fifth between 1997 and 2020, AGF have come third twice in recent seasons, but expectations were low heading into 2025-26.

Similar to the Scottish Premiership, the 12-team Superliga splits into championship and relegation rounds for the final 10 games.

AGF had a new manager and an ageing team. Most fans would have been happy just to avoid the bottom half. One journalist for national broadcaster DR even tipped them for relegation.

But AGF topped the table at the split in March, four points clear of FC Midtjylland, who are also based on Denmark's Jutland peninsula.

"We weren't thinking about winning the league," season-ticket holder Jakob Emil Beikes, 26, told BBC Sport.

"We were like 'well, we'll probably just be top for a short while', but then we stayed there and stayed there."

As AGF fans began to dream, the team's form dipped and - with three games left - Midtjylland were level.

Then as AGF looked set for another draw against Sonderjyske on 3 May, a shot by substitute James Bogere, an 18-year-old Ugandan forward they signed in December, deflected in for a stoppage-time winner.

Successive draws for Midtjylland meant AGF could clinch the title with a game to spare last Sunday, and about 2,000 fans made the 112-mile trip to Brondby on the outskirts of Danish capital Copenhagen.

An early goal by ex-Brentford right-back Henrik Dalsgaard settled the nerves before AGF sealed a 2-0 win - and emotional celebrations began.

"We hadn't won anything for 30 years but we're still one of the biggest clubs in Denmark," said Beikes. "It is huge because we've been through so much."

Aarhus has a population of 300,000, with 40,000 students. About 10,000 fans watched last Sunday's game on a big screen at an amusement park and it sparked what local newspaper Aarhus Stiftstidende called the "party of the millennium".

Their reporter Mathias Maznikar-Hansen returned from Brondby at 01:00 and the city was "still buzzing".

"Everybody here is a fan of AGF, especially the younger ones," he said. "Aarhus is one of the youngest cities in Denmark, mainly because of the university, which gives such life and energy to the city.

"I'm from the west coast, I came here to study, and Aarhus is not a regular city when it comes to football.

"There's no other city in Denmark where football and one specific club means so much for the people. There's only one big team here so AGF means a lot. It is just something special."

For more than a century AGF have been based in the Royal Grove, known as the green heart of Aarhus.

Their stadium is currently being rebuilt, removing the athletics track, increasing the capacity from 20,000 to 24,000 and giving them state-of-the-art facilities set to host international matches.

AGF had the Superliga's fifth highest budget this season and the club said the economic benefit from their new stadium - set to be completed in March 2027 - will help them close the gap on Brondby, Copenhagen and Midtjylland.

The irony is they have managed to end their title drought while playing at a temporary base on the other side of town, which Maznikar-Hansen describes as "spartanic".

The ground previously had 100 seats and was abandoned by a semi-professional team because the pitch was so poor. AGF had to install a hybrid pitch, floodlights and temporary seats that hold 12,000. Only one stand has a roof.

But with the fans so close to the pitch, it has created an atmosphere in which the team have flourished.

Poulsen has been a different kind of leader to his predecessor Uwe Rosler, bringing a calmer approach. He changed the formation from 3-5-2 to 3-4-3 and to a possession-based game.

He switched Kristian Arnstad from defensive midfield to a more attacking role, helping put the 22-year-old in contention for Norway's World Cup squad.

Former South Africa international Gift Links has been a consistent threat on the left wing, veteran striker Patrick Mortensen has led by example and Tobias Bech is their top scorer, but AGF have not relied on any stars.

"We don't have the best players in the league, but we've had the best team," says Beikes, who succeeded his mother Anja Lilli as chair of AGF's fan club.

Jakob used to watch AGF games with his mother and grandfather, while he and Anja now follow them home and away. They travelled to Brondby and will be at this Sunday's game at home to Viborg.

It will also be shown on a big screen at two sites across town, with all 43,000 tickets having been sold. One of the events is a 'big gold party' which will open three hours before the 18:00 kick-off and is due to finish at midnight.

Denmark's new champions are set to make an appearance on stage before the party continues on Monday with a town hall parade.

"That's what I'm looking forward to most, seeing the team get their medals and the trophy," says Anja.

"It's been a family thing for us, we've been together at the football through all the years, so it's unbelievable to be champions again, not just fearing relegation."