IF won promotion to the Danish Superliga in 2021, many experts expected the club to continue its status as a yo-yo club and be in a relegation battle, but head coach Kent Nielsen managed to impress this time in the top division. His attacking style of play with focus on possession and short passing game meant that the club qualified for the championship play-offs for the first time in the club's recent history. Especially the attacking trio, Nicolai Vallys, Sebastian Jørgensen and Nicklas Helenius – often referred to as "VHS" – impressed with many goals and assists. One of the reasons for Silkeborg's success was seen as their ability to hold on to key players during the 2021–22 winter break, despite interest for Tobias Salquist and Rasmus Carstensen. In the play-offs, Silkeborg managed to beat both FC Copenhagen and Brøndby in historic fashion during the same week. Brøndby were defeated 3–0 and Copenhagen, who had not lost the previous eight games, were beaten 3–1. Ultimately, the season finished in third place and their first bronze medals since 2000–01, as Silkeborg were considered the most "entertaining" and "well-playing" team in the Superliga. Due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, all Russian teams were excluded from European tournaments by UEFA. This meant that the Danish Cup winners entered the final qualifying round for the UEFA Europa League. When FC Midtjylland won the 2021–22 Danish Cup, and at the same time finished in second place in the Superliga, which now gave access to UEFA Champions League qualification, Silkeborg secured Europa League qualification by virtue of their third-place Superliga finish. Honours League Superliga Champions: 1993–94 Runners-up: 1997–98 Third: 1994–95, 2000–01, 2021–22 1st Division Champions: 2003–04, 2013–14, 2018–19 Cups Danish Cup Winners: 2000–01 Runners-up: 2017–18 International Intertoto Cup Winners: 1996 Players Current squad Out on loan Staff Current technical staff Managerial history Viggo Jensen (1987–92) Bo Johansson (1992–94) Bo Nielsson (1994) Frank Petersen (1995) Preben Elkjær (1995–96) Sepp Piontek (1997–99) Benny Johansen (1999–01) Morten Bruun (2001–02) Viggo Jensen (July 2002–Oct 2006) Peder Knudsen (Oct 2006–Dec 2008) Preben Lundbye (2007) Troels Bech (Jan 2009–June 2012) Keld Bordinggaard (July 2012–Nov 2012) Viggo Jensen (Nov 2012–June 2013) Jesper Sørensen (July 2013–December 2014) Kim Poulsen (December 2014–September 2015) Peter Sørensen (September 2015–August 2018) Michael Hansen (August 2018–May 2019) Kent Nielsen (June 2019–present) European cups record Former notable players Top goalscorers Competitive matches only. To matches played 22 March