[5] This success has been largely attributed to Austrian coach Rudi Strittich, as well as strikers Jens Peter Hansen and Carl Emil Christiansen.

In 1977, Strittich returned as coach, and with goalkeeper Ole Kjær and midfielder Jens Jørn Bertelsen as the driving forces in the following years, Esbjerg were back at the top.

[9] Later that year, they achieved a second-place finish in the top tier, while the team reached the third round of the UEFA Cup, where they beat Hertha BSC 2–1 in the first leg, but lost in the return match in Berlin by 4–0.

This time, their tenure in the top division was more permanent, achieving a third-place finish in the 2003–04 season as their best performance, after being in first place with four rounds left.

[16] In the first season under Frederiksen, Esbjerg reached to the round of 32 in the Europa League, where they lost 4–2 over two legs to Italian side Fiorentina, despite winning 1–0 away at Stadio Artemio Franchi.

[19][20][18] When the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) published their list of best clubs in the world, Esbjerg were in 79th place.

[25] In the domestic league, Esbjerg had sold key players such as Jakob Ankersen, Eddi Gomes and Martin Pušić during the winter transfer window,[26][27][28] and partly due to this the club struggled against relegation.

[32] In 2017, Esbjerg moved out of the Superligaen after losing the decisive relegation final over two matches against AC Horsens by an aggregate score of 4–3.

Earlier that season, in March 2021, Chien Lee, Partners Path Capital, Pacific Media Group and Krishen Sud invested in Esbjerg fB and became the majority shareholder.

[40][41] One day later, Hyballa demoted four key players to the U19 team: Yuriy Yakovenko, Jakob Ankersen, Kevin Conboy and Zean Dalügge.

[48][49] Responding to the letter, investor and spokesperson for the Esbjerg board, Paul Conway, stated to JydskeVestkysten that "[i]t's so unprofessional, I've never experienced anything like it.

"[50] On 11 August after weeks of stories in the press and a bad start to the season, Hyballa resigned as manager of Esbjerg and was replaced by Roland Vrabec.

[53] On 18 March, in a 3–0 home loss to Lyngby, Esbjerg hooligans threw firecrackers onto the pitch and rioted after the game which resulted in multiple arrests, as the team were in a relegation battle.

[56] In March 2024 Esbjerg was deducted three points in the 2nd Division by the Danish Football Union after a reorganisation of the club, which resulted in new local ownership.

The Esbjerg Bankruptcy Court confirmed a reconstruction plan proposed by a local steering group, which was approved by all attending creditors.

[58] The steering group emphasised their primary goal was to preserve the club and prevent bankruptcy, rather than focusing solely on removing the previous American owners.

[59][60] Despite the three-point deduction the club secured promotion back to the 1st Division with three matchdays left after a 2–0 away victory over Middelfart Boldklub on 24 May 2024.