F. C. Lyn Oslo

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Lyn
FC Lyn Oslo logo
Full name FC Lyn Oslo
Nickname(s) Skiklubben
Founded March 3, 1896
Ground Ullevaal Stadion
Oslo
Capacity 25,572
Chairman Norway Sveinung Lunde
Manager Norway Henning Berg
League Tippeligaen
2006 Tippeligaen, 7th
Team colours Team colours Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
 
Home colours
Team colours Team colours Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
 
Away colours

F.C. Lyn Oslo is a Norwegian football club from Oslo established in 1896. It is one of the oldest clubs in Norway and was one of the founding members of the Norwegian Football Association, in 1902. Lyn is also a skiing club with a long and honorable history. Together they make up Ski- og Fotballklubben Lyn. In addition to the professional team there is a 2nd team, Lyn 2; a junior team, NTG/Lyn; as well as several age-specific teams. The word Lyn means lightning.

The 1st team relies on a mix of young, talented players and older, more experienced professionals. Lyn takes pride in the development of young players and claims the title of youngest team in the Tippeliga. Together with the sports academy NTG (Norges Toppidrettsgymnas) the club has developed an extensive youth program and emerging talents are continuously allowed to train with and play for the 1st team, providing a valuable experience for these future regulars.

Contents

[edit] History

The club enjoyed a great deal of success during the first half of the 20th century, securing many Cup titles, and despite failing to win the league title, was considered a giant in Norwegian football. The Norwegian national football team that won the bronze medal at the 1936 Olympics included six players from Lyn. The captain of this team was Lyn-player Jørgen Juve, who is still the player with the most goals scored for the Norwegian national team.

The 'Bastionen' fans at the 2004 final
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The 'Bastionen' fans at the 2004 final

Lyn won the Norwegian Premier League for the first time in 1964. In 1968 they won The Double, clinching both the League title and the Norwegian Cup, and became the first Norwegian team to reach the quarter final of the European Cup.

The Double was followed by a dismal period in the club's history. The club was relegated and lingered about in the lower divisions for 20 years, with only the occasional spell in the Premier League. The fan base eroded and Lyn is said to have lost a generation of supporters.

During the 90s the club went back and forth between the Premier League and the 1st Division. In 1994, Lyn reached the Norwegian Cup final but narrowly lost to Molde.

Atle Brynestad bought the club in 1999, effectively saving it from bankruptcy. In 2000, the team was promoted to the Premier League, after winning the 1st division with an unprecedented number of points, and they retained their spot in the top flight the following year. In the 2002-season a strengthened Lyn took the lead early on and had gained a large advantage halfway through the season, but had to settle for a 3rd place finish after a disastrous slump in form. The misery, in part due to the constant hiring and firing of coaches, continued into the next year. Lyn struggled at the bottom of the table for most of the season but avoided relegation thanks to the efforts of team captain Tommy Berntsen, who took on the role as coach after Teitur Thordarson, the 5th coach in two years, had resigned. 2004 was a recovery year for Lyn, ending the season in 6th place and reaching the Norwegian Cup final (lost to Brann).

“Bastionen”, the fans of FC Lyn Oslo
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“Bastionen”, the fans of FC Lyn Oslo

2005 was an eventful year for the club, both on and off the pitch. The club’s youth program is beginning to bear fruits and with former international Henning Berg as the new head coach the club claimed 3rd spot in the league. Lyn defeated Rosenborg at Ullevaal for the first time since 1968 and repeated the feat in the away game. Lyn remain unbeaten by their archrivals Vålerenga for the 8th consecutive game, the matches between the two teams being the only true derbies in Norway in recent years. In April, the club's talented Nigerian midfielder John Obi Mikel signed a contract with Manchester United, and according to a statement by Lyn's managing director Morgan Andersen, it was the most expensive transfer in Norwegian football to date. The transfer has since been the source of a heated dispute, and Mikel did not join United in January this year, as was initially intended. Mikel stated that he was pressurised to sign the contract and, however, wanted to join Chelsea instead.

Manchester United have now agreed "to terminate their option agreement" with the player whose registration goes to Chelsea. A statement was released from Chelsea, which said: "As a result of this settlement all claims in this matter, which Chelsea were never an official party to, are now withdrawn. The payments do not in any way imply the acceptance of any such claims and have been made solely so that Mikel can resume his career." Man Utd will support Chelsea in any work permit application if necessary. All parties have agreed that there will be no further comment on the settlement or any of the allegations or claims.

On the 2nd June 2006 Chelsea purchased John Obi Mikel off F.C. Lyn Oslo for 16 million making it the most expensive transfer in Norwegian football.

[edit] Colours and badge

Lyn's home colours are red and white shirts and blue shorts. The shirts have red sleeves and a red front with a broad, vertical white bar in the middle, which is traditionally twice as wide as the sides (a 25-50-25 red-white-red pattern). The back has the same pattern, with inverted colours.

During the first years the club had two kits, one with blue and white horizontally striped jerseys and white shorts, and a red kit in the same fashion. These were used interchangeably up until at least 1906. It is unclear exactly when the current kit was adopted, but it was in use by the time Lyn had claimed their first Norwegian Cup in 1908. The socks have traditionally been red. White socks have also been used, most recently from the beginning of the 1990s until 2004, when the red socks were brought back.

The club uses an all-blue away kit, though several different colours have been used in the past.

The current club badge is a modified version of a design originally introduced in 1900. It was made by one of the first members of the club, Leif Eriksen, and replaced a silver badge from 1898. The crest features a football in the upper left corner and a pair of skis in the lower right corner, representing the two major sports of the club. While the badge is based on the heraldic shield form of the old coat of arms of Norway, Eriksen was probably not himself familiar with the rules of heraldic design. The name of the club and the date and year of its founding were written in gold on a white background, violating the so-called rule of tincture. Also, the date and year were written in different styles. The badge has therefore been altered twice, in 1996 and finally in 2001. On the current badge the date has been removed and replaced by "18 LYN 96" in red writing on a white background.

[edit] Stadium

Ullevaal Stadion, the home ground of FC Lyn Oslo.
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Ullevaal Stadion, the home ground of FC Lyn Oslo.

Lyn's home ground, Ullevaal Stadium, is also the national stadium. It was inaugurated in 1926 by HRH Crown Prince Olav. Arguably Lyn's most famous supporter, the future King Olav V was a lifelong honorary member of the club. The Norwegian Football Association acquired a majority in the stadium in 1960 and Lyn's ownership has since dwindled to the 13.07% share the club owns today.

Originally the stadium had a running track and could hold more than 35,000 spectators. The running track was eventually removed and there have been several redevelopments over the years, the last of which was completed in 1999 when the main stand was rebuilt. The current all-seater capacity of 25,572 spectators is far greater than Lyn's average attendance (which has been steadily rising over the past few seasons, ending at 6459 for the 2005 season), but the club has recently chosen to remain at Ullevaal until at least 2010.

[edit] Current squad

The numbers are established according to the official website: www.lyn.no

As of December 11, 2006

No. Position Player
1 Sweden GK Eddie Gustafsson
2 Denmark DF Rasmus Daugaard
4 Iceland DF Indriði Sigurðsson
5 Denmark DF Steven Lustü
6 Norway DF Christian Brink
7 Norway MF Tomasz Sokolowski
8 Iceland MF Stefán Gíslason
9 Argentina MF Enrique Ortiz
10 Sweden FW Magnus Powell
11 Nigeria MF Ezekiel Bala
13 Norway MF Kevin Larsen
14 Norway FW Stian Rasch (On loan to Asker)
15 Norway MF Jonathan Parr
No. Position Player
16 Norway MF Espen Hoff
17 Norway DF Kim André Madsen
17 Canada MF Christian Nunez
18 Norway MF Bjarne K. Ingebretsen
19 Australia FW Dylan Macallister
20 Nigeria FW Chinedu Obasi Ogbuke
21 Norway FW Jo Tessem
22 Norway DF Tommy Berntsen
23 Norway DF Lars Kristian Eriksen
24 Sweden GK Johann Dahlin
25 Sweden DF Daniel Theorin
27 Norway MF Magne Simonsen
?? Norway FW Kim Holmen

[edit] Recent transfers

In:

Out:

[edit] Statistics 2006

Tippeligaen Position Pts P W D L F A
FC Lyn Oslo 7 35 26 10 5 11 33 36
  • Top Scorers
    • Chinedu Obasi Ogbuke - 8 goals in 13 matches
    • Espen Hoff - 6 goals in 21 matches
  • Goalkeepers
    • Eddie Gustafsson - 19 goals conceded in 15 matches
    • Johann Dahlin - 17 goals conceded in 12 matches

[edit] Noted players

Listed according to when they debuted for F.C. Lyn Oslo (year in parentheses):

[edit] Achievements

  • Norwegian Football Cup:
    • Winners (8): 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1945, 1946, 1967, 1968
    • Runners-up (6): 1923, 1928, 1966, 1970, 1994, 2004
  • Oslo Championships:
    • Winners (8): 1915, 1917, 1922, 1926, 1930, 1935, 1936, 1937
    • Runners-up (2): 1909, 1919

[edit] Records

[edit] References

  • Grønnevold-Olsen, Egil (1996). Lyn i 100. Ski- og Fotballklubben Lyn 1896-1996. SFK Lyn.

[edit] External links

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Norwegian Premier League, 2007

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