By popular demand (by which I mean one single request from one single user), here's the thread about the 2010 season in Norway. We are now one week away from the first week of this year's Tippeligaen, with Rosenborg as usually being firm favourites to take the title.

I will try to use the days up until next weekend to write a little about each club, and I will naturally start things off with a presentation of the most beautiful football club in the world, the famous Lillestrøm Sportsklubb.

Lillestrøm is a city of less than 15 000 inhabitants last time I checked, but its football team is the one club who's been in the top flight the longest. We've also had an average attendance of about 8-9000 the last five seasons, meaning that about two thirds of "lillestrømlings" are regulars at the stadium. Not bad!

Lillestrøm have won five league titles and five Norwegian cups over the years, but are today starving for success. The cup victory in 2007 was a welcome one, as we had not won anything since the league in 1989 at the time. The 2007 cup win was supposed to be the start of something beautiful, but instead it became a nightmare. In both 2008 and (to a lesser extent) 2009 we were set for glory, but barely avoided relegation. The last two seasons have also seen a decline in attendance as well as the economy, and huge changes have been made.

And this is where it gets brighter. The changes in particular are that Mr. Lillestrøm, Torgeir Bjarmann, is now the club's sporting director, with Premier League legend Henning Berg coaching/managing the team. These two have revolutionised the squad, which consisted of old, slow, overpaid and untechnical players and is now flourishing with speedy technicians with low salaries and a huge future. In Nigerian 19 year old Nosa Igiebor, we may already have the best midfielder in the league, and he was dubbed "the new Mikel" already two years ago. Another Nigerian is Anthony Ujah (19 as well), a well-built, pacey striker with a good vision. I won't bore you with a presentation of the entire squad, but watch out for these two especially.

After two annus horribilises in a row, I'm reluctant to becoming too optimistic, but with everything going on in the club at the moment, it's hard to hold back the feelgoodery before we kick off. We can land anywhere between medals and 10th place, but I am convinced we will at least win back a lot of fans and even bring back the other teams' fear of facing us. It WILL hurt!

Thanks MM. I know precisely bugger all about Norwegian football, and while I may never actually add anything to the thread, its always nice to read about things I dont know. (See also Antepli's Turkish thread.) Keep up the good work.

Brann rules as far as I'm concerned...

Forget Brann - I spent serious formative years in Stavanger (1971-1976) and Viking rules! They won the league about every year we lived there.

Also got to see them play Rangers and Leeds in summer friendlies.

Brann I can somehow understand, but Viking? Granted, Stavanger is a nice city, but the team is rubbish and there's absolutely NO excitement around the team. The crowd at Viking Stadion is known as the most demanding in all of Norway, refusing to even stand up and applaud their team when they enter the field.

More teams to be covered tonight. I'm open for requests!

My Norwegian family's team (Sarpsborg 08) failed to win the play-off's so are in the league below the Top league. Their local rivals got relegated last year though so there will be some Sarpsborg - Fredrikstad derbies this year.

I'm not sure how I feel about Sarpsborg 08. It's nice for all my wife's family to have team to support in the higher reaches of the league but there seems to be something wrong about how its happened. 16 local teams merged in 2000 to create one team. I guess it's not franchising or anything but the lack of history is worrying.

That's true. They've been through a number of name changes, and as late as the 2008 season they were Sparta Sarpsborg or Sarpsborg Sparta, I forget the order. After the 2008 season, they changed their name to Sarpsborg 08 (silly name, I mean, they're not Germans). I just read about it now on Wikipedia, and their short history is even more ridiculous than I thought!

That being said, the Østfold derby (Fredrikstad - Sarpsborg) looks promising. Fredrikstad has a big fan base and although Sarpsborg 08 don't have much soul, the cities are historical archrivals.

Here's some mentioning of the three newly promoted sides: Kongsvinger, Haugesund, and Hønefoss.

Kongsvinger was always in the top flight during the 90s, usually at the bottom half, avoiding relegation against all odds more than a few times. Sort of like Southampton at the time. It is now more than ten years since their last season up in here, though. The city is based in a rural area and is just marginally bigger than Lillestrøm. The team's following, however, is almost nonexistant. Their stadium Gjemselund's capacity is actually of less than 3000 (!), but they have put up some provisional stands for this season, increasing the capacity to about 5000.

Their squad, their lack of following and money, and their inexperienced coach indicate that Kongsvinger will probably not stand much chance this season. I predict last place.

Haugesund first achieved promotion to Tippeligaen in 1997. After a couple of decent seasons there, they've spent most of the 2000s one level beneath. When Lillestrøm won the cup in 2007, it was actually Haugesund who were beaten in the final.

Just like Kongsvinger, their squad looks weak, but unlike the farmers from the woods Haugesund actually hail from a decent city who supports them. They also have a couple of players who's either done well at this level or look likely to become good Tippeliga players. They will have to battle bravely to avoid relegation, though, but unlike Kongsvinger, these guys can pull it off.

The third new club this season is Hønefoss, another club from a small place no one cares about. Their name is notable for being an alternative term for the female menstruation process. Other than that, this club has no history and has never played "premier" football until now. They have a rich uncle who's revamped their stadium and made sure they've signed a few decent players during the winter. However, their transfer policy seems a bit bizarre as they've almost exclusively signed central midfielders - and the central midfield was already their strongest force last season.

Look out for Ivorian (?) Davy Claude Angan, who showed remarkable promise for Lyn last season. Hønefoss' squad consists of a lot of experienced Tippeliga players, and there's a chance they can surprise us and snatch a spot in the mid-table area. Antepli Ejderha will appreciate that one of their new signings is former Ankaraspor striker, Madiou Konate.

I'm quite certain that Hønefoss is by far the strongest of the new sides, and that they will stay up for at least another year.

MachoMorten wrote:
Brann I can somehow understand, but Viking? Granted, Stavanger is a nice city, but the team is rubbish and there's absolutely NO excitement around the team. The crowd at Viking Stadion is known as the most demanding in all of Norway, refusing to even stand up and applaud their team when they enter the field.


Well, haven't seen a match in 20 years, and that one was a summer friendly v. Spurs - Gazza, Thorstvedt, & Co. Before that, I caught Viking/Brann from 1985 and that had some decent action.

The matches I remember from the 70's were great and raucous for a 10-12 year old.

Sorry to hear the fans are laming out.

I'll always have a soft spot for the far north teams (Rosenborg/Tromso) as that can possibly play havoc if they qualify for Europe.

I went to a Brann-Valerenga game, a thoroughly enjoyable day started at the football pub in Bergen, meeting with lots of friendly locals, a good game, good atmosphere in both home and away stands followed by a good post-game session at the football pub with an added frisson with a natter with the local firm before the buggered off sharpish to say hello to the Valerenga firm...

Add to that the fact that Bergen is a cracking city, the girls are beautiful, that they are very friendly (and the chaps equally so) and I'll happily recommend the whole experience. Just make sure you save up before though, beer prices by UK standards are silly...

Bergen is indeed a beautiful, friendly city.

MachoMorten wrote:
Their name is notable for being an alternative term for the female menstruation process.
I'm trying to think of an English-language equivalent to this.

Actually, I'm not.

I forgot to mention how much I liked the play off system to get to the Tippeligaen.

Three teams in play off places from the Adeccoligaen and one team from the Tippeligaen just above the automatic relegation places.

It was definitely an interesting play off, but sadly it was decided a couple of days ago that this will be the last season with play offs at all. As of the 2011 season, only two teams will get promoted/relegated.

Nice to see you have started up the thread, for all those who get bored of the Norwegian league and his comments blame me for asking him to start it up.

Konate looked okay here and was a victim of the Ankaraspor Ankaragücü merger/takeover/shenanigans, I expect him to do well if the league is below Turkey's standards.

So who else will people know in the league?

When does it all kick-off?

Good luck with the thread and expect to see you back here soon.

Antepli Ejderha wrote:
Konate looked okay here and was a victim of the Ankaraspor Ankaragücü merger/takeover/shenanigans, I expect him to do well if the league is below Turkey's standards.

So who else will people know in the league?

When does it all kick-off?
Cheers AE, I was wondering when I'd see you here...

Konate had a spell here at Molde before going to Turkey. He was pretty average, but scored some important goals with Molde. I distinctly recall him destroying us in the 2005 cup final and then single-handedly saving them from relegation two weeks later.

Famous players are spread around the league, most of them are past their prime though. Steffen Iversen, Alejandro Lago, Anthony Annan and Rade Prica in Rosenborg. Brann have two ex-Leeds players in Gylfi Einarsson and Eirik Bakke. Lillestrøm captain Frode Kippe played (barely) for Liverpool and Stoke, Molde just signed United's Ben Amos on loan in addition to Björn Runström (ex-Fulham) and Baye Djibi Fall (Lok. Moscow). Former Monaco player Pontus Farnerud now plays for Stabæk, and Arni Gautur Arason, who used to play for Man. City and Rosenborg, now is at Odd. And I just heard today that Viking are in the process of signing Erik Nevland and Fredrik Stoor...

It kicks off this upcoming weekend. On Sunday I will embark on the 550 kilometer trip to Ålesund for Lillestrøm's away match against Aalesund FK. More on the different teams to come. I'm thinking, oh, I don't know... Brann and Viking next?

A quick lesson on the fascinating phenomenon known as SK Brann:

Bergen is the second biggest city in Norway, situated near the western coast. The people have a nasty Oslo complex and can't quite understand why their city is not the capital of Norway. Silly persons... There's a famous slogan there: "I'm not from Norway, I'm from Bergen."

This local patriotism combined with Brann being the only top flight side they've had in more than 15 years, has made Brann (the Norwegian word for fire, by the way) by far the biggest religion there, and they're attracting about 17 000 on average at Brann Stadion, second only to Rosenborg.

Brann is one of only four clubs with a fan base big and dedicated enough to create a real atmosphere at home, and what separates them from the others is their ability to involve the entire stadium in their chants. This is highly unusual in Norway as we are a shy people, and it only happens when the team is doing exceptionally well.

So, the team. Their coach is Steinar Nilsen, who once played for Milan and Napoli. Their most famous players are Eirik Bakke and Gylfi Einarsson, former Leeds players both. Their best players, however, are good-winger-turned-fantastic-striker Erik Huseklepp and left winger Petter Vaagan Moen - dubbed "The Beckham of Mjøsa" during his Ham-Kam days. Huseklepp looks bizarre with a strange body composure and a female head, but has the speed, flair and finishing touch of divine character. Vaagan Moen has a fantastic left foot and is generally a skilled player.

So how do I fancy Brann's chances this year? I don't think they're in for a fun season. Their defence is awful and Huseklepp will surely be gone in the summer. They don't have other goal scorers and they will leak like crazy defensively. I reckon they'll end up in the middle of nowhere, which is far below the local expectations. Because in a Brann supporter's eyes, they're already champions in January...

I'll go on to Viking from Norway's fourth biggest city, Stavanger.

As mentioned earlier, the southwesterners at Viking Stadion is the moodiest crowd in all of Norway. If the team performs, they'll fill up the stadium and... Actually, they'll show up either way, but they'll boo the team if they don't live up to their unrealistic expectations, and their "active" supporters (the ones who stand up and chant) are a living joke.

However, expectations are HUGE in Stavanger this year. They've signed a lot of big names, oddly, as pretty much all the clubs in Norway are struggling with the economy these days. Cutbacks everywhere, while Viking sign players like they're Manchester City. Among the newcomers are Erik Nevland and Patrik Ingelsten (ex-top scorer in the Swedish league and a flop in the Dutch league), with perhaps the biggest one being their new coach, Åge Hareide.

Viking are going for medals this year, perhaps they even think about the gold. They can only dream about the latter, but I think they can break into top three. Their number of quality attacking players is impressive, and their defence look improved as well. And their coach has delivered results everywhere in the past.

My bet is that Viking are in for a fine season, but maybe not fine enough for the fans...

So the league kicks off with Brann v Haugesund tomorrow, and "sadly" I won't have time to go through all the clubs like I thought. So here's a quick preview on the first week of Tippeligaen 2010:

Brann - Haugesund
Should be a safe home win for the medal contenders against a newly promoted team.

Sunday's matches:
Tromsø - Hønefoss
Newly promoted Hønefoss will travel far north (far north of the polar circle) to face Tromsø in what can't be anything than horrid conditions. I just can't see how the home side will drop points here. They're a much better team, for starters, and are used to playing in snow, wind and whatnot.

Aalesund - Lillestrøm
Obviously the pick of the week for me. Reigning cup champions Aalesund lost the Norwegian version of Community Shield at home to Rosenborg last weekend, 3-1. We are not nearly as good as Rosenborg and have gotten our arses kicked properly at this ground two years in a row, but I'm fairly optimistic. Unlike the last couple of seasons, we now have attacking firepower. At least a draw for LSK, hopefully an away win.

Molde - Rosenborg
The pick of the week for the neutrals: Last year's runners up against the reigning champions. Could go either way. Should be worth a look if you can find a decent stream, there was more to Molde last year than Diouf.

Strømsgodset - Kongsvinger
Strømsgodset (SIF) have always been a grey team from an ugly town, playing muscle-football. Now, however, the city's being renovated and is starting to look sort of appealing, and they play fast, attacking football, spearheaded by a bunch of talented youngsters like Keita, Marcus Pedersen and Fredrik Nordkvelle. Kongsvinger, on their hand, has NOTHING except a nearly 40 year old Vidar Riseth past his prime. Should be easy for SIF.

Start - Sandefjord
An open match between two clubs nobody cares about. Start is the most southern club in the league, based in Norway's fifth biggest city, Kristiansand. Sandefjord is most notable for being the closest city to Torp Airport, the airport Ryanair call "Oslo".

Odd - Stabæk
Odd surprised an entire country last year by challenging for medals with a team full of other clubs' rejects. I think they'll do well again, but Stabæk will too. Probably a draw. Two clubs incapable of creating any sort of emotions among others than their own die hard fans, of which there aren't many. Bah...

Finally, on monday, there's Vålerengen - Viking
I will come back with more on Vålerengen later, as they are our archrivals and the most sorry sacks of shite in Norway. I'm delighted to see that their squad looks weakened from last year's already disappointing season, and Viking look better than they've done in years. I hope for an away win.

For Bergen read Marseilles or Liverpool. It's a port city, it was part of the Hanseatic League therefore open to the world for centuries and they have their own city anthem that they much prefer to the Norwegian one. They have their own brewery as well, Hansa...

I have probably a false impression of Norway and Norwegians because I've only been there but I found the place friendly and open, most local are dead keen to have a natter with you and the girls are delightfully pretty and independent.