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South Australian Brant Lang is currently playing football for the North Copenhagen Baracudas in Denmark.
Lang, who played in Loxton North’s historic 1999 one-point senior colts premiership, was at Panther Park in the days of the late David Crutchfield, South Adelaide best and fairest Mac Grummet, and explosive full forward Jason Keays.
A defender, he also played for Adelaide-based club Unley.
In Denmark for his wife’s employment for another two years, Lang tells of his Danish football experiences and also puts the feelers out for an Australian based footballer who might be willing to travel and enjoy the experience of coaching Aussie Rules in Europe.
Q: How did you find out about Aussie rules in Denmark?
A: Through rumour that Aussie rules was played here and then meeting the president of the footy club at a netball match in Copenhagen.
Q: What was your first experience of the game there?
A: Training inside a basketball stadium in the middle of winter, which definitely works on your short game. Then playing my first game of footy outside and being pleasantly surprised how good the standard of football is considering the location it is played.
Q: How different are the facilities and ovals?
A: Each team has its own specific Aussie rules football field and a shared sports clubroom. The ovals are well maintained and generally a little smaller than Australian fields due to the comp being 16-a-side.
Q: What is the club like?
A: North Copenhagen Barracudas is a founding club of the DAFL. We are a successful club, having won the premiership in 1991, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2008 and 2010. The club is made up of keen Danes and a stable group of Australians. Throughout our history, we have had players from all corners of the globe, including Belgium, Great Britain, Iceland, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa and the USA.
Q: What is the standard of the competition like?
A: Games are played 16-a-side (no wings) and played on a smaller field. Each team plays 10 league games each season plus finals. Games are played on Saturdays. The season starts in mid-April, it ends in September, and includes several free weekends (for travelling around Europe).
A summer 9-a-side competition is also played on a more social level and generally runs from September to October.
Q: What’s it like having a bit of home in Europe?
A: It is a great way to meet new like minded people and helps get over home sickness a lot quicker.
Q: The Baracudas pride themselves on the social side of the football club, why?
A: Socialising is a big part of the footy club and the league. No matter where you play, you always end up with a beer and burger in hand after the match.
There are generally three to five social events throughout the season held by the Barracudas, which are always well participated by players (past and present) and are great events.
The football trip is also a big event, where you pay $400, provide your passport number and leave the rest up to the social committee to organise. Past trips have included visits to Prague, Barcelona, London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris and many other European countries.
Q: What are you looking for from a coach?
A: North Copenhagen Barracudas is offering a young footballer the opportunity to experience life in one of Europe’s most cultural cities while playing and coaching footy in the Danish Australian Football League (DAFL). Be part of our football club as our player-coach for a season, live life in Copenhagen, and use the city as a base to discover Europe.
Q: Who have previous coaches been?
A: Tim Feldtmann (2007/8), Steven Wood (2009), Nick Ingall (2010) – St.Marys (NTFL) and Swans District (WAFL) player.
Q: What recompense will the coach receive?
A: Honorary payment – North Copenhagen can provide 5000 DDK (approx. $AUD 1000) to cover some of the costs of your stay, and two-months free accommodation.
Employment. We will assist you getting work. Unskilled labour is readily available and pays well. A 12-month ‘working-holiday visa’ is available to Australians between the ages of 18 and 30.
Accommodation. We will also assist you in obtaining good accommodation after the first two months of your stay.
Travel opportunities. It will be possible to travel to other European destinations.
Q: What are the experiences on offer from the club?
A: To play one of the best games in the world in one of the best places in the world, whilst meeting some great people along the way.
Q: How serious do you take premiership success?
A: Although the competition is social, it is still taken seriously and we play to win premierships!
Q: What are some other interesting facts?
A: Copenhagen has an established netball association that sports two to four teams that play all year round. They compete in the European Cup, which has been played in Stockholm and Brussels over the past two years. In the past, both the Barracudas and the netball club have held joint social events and plan to do so in 2012.
Denmark has sent a national team to compete in the International Cup held in Sydney/Melbourne this year. They are currently ranked 10th in the world and going from their most recent performances should finish in the top five. They were also runners up in the European cup in 2010 and have a few scores to settle with a couple of the teams Down Under. The team is made up solely of Danish guys that all play in the local league over here and there are some amazing athletes.
At the time of writing, the Danish Vikings had convincingly beaten China in the seeding round, while defeating neighbours Sweden by 39 points in their opening match.
So, if you’re heading off to Europe next year and are keen for a Continental Aussie Rules experience, email Brant at: brant@danishsilver.com, he’d love to hear from you.
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