“It took something completely extraordinary to tempt me to a new challenge right now, but the opportunity to become head coach of FCK will probably only come about once in my career.”
This is what Jess Thorup said when he was announced as the new head coach at FC København in November 2020.
Thorup was tasked with replacing Ståle Solbakken, who left to become the head coach of the Norwegian national team after serving in the same role at FC Copenhagen since 2013.
The Dane was brought to the club from Belgian side KRC Genk, this after also managing KAA Gent in Belgium, whom he led to second place behind Club Brugge before the 2019/20 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He has also won a Danish Superliga title with FC Midtjylland in the 2017/18 campaign.
This season, he is on track to guide FCK to their first league title since the 2018/19 campaign, with the club sitting six points ahead of Midtjylland going into the Championship playoff rounds.
This tactical analysis piece will look at a few of the tactics that Thorup has implemented into the side this season, and hope to get a better understanding of his philosophy.
Jess Thorup Formations
When it comes to the formations that Thorup has utilised this season with København, they have been relatively steady.
He has used both the 4-4-2 and 4-2-3-1 formations, with the latter being the more common throughout the second half of the season.
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