F. C. Lyn Oslo

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lyn
FC Lyn Oslo logo
Full name FC Lyn Oslo
Nickname(s) -
Founded March 3, 1896
Ground Ullevaal Stadion
Oslo
Capacity 25,572
Chairman Flag of Norway Sveinung Lunde
Manager Flag of 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.

Henning Berg, the former Blackburn, Manchester United and Glasgow Rangers defender, was hired as manager in 2005. Berg has massive support from the clubs fans, and is tributed with the song 'Henning går på vannet' (Henning walks on water).

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
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 2-3 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
“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.

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 instead joined Chelsea after a long periode of time. FIFA released an announcement stating that Lyn had done everything correct in the process. The transfer is said to have costed Chelsea £16 millions. £12 of these to Manchester United and £4 to Lyn.

Lyn remain unbeaten by their archrivals Vålerenga since 1981, a quite sensational fact. The matches between the two teams considered to be the only true derbies in Norway in recent years. The run of games without defeat has made way for a legend, the legend about the Derby Ghost, which always saves Lyn.

[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.
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, 7059 for the 2006, and is predicted to keep rising), 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 March 31, 2007

No. Position Player
1 Flag of Sweden GK Eddie Gustafsson
2 Flag of Denmark DF Rasmus Daugaard
3 Flag of Norway MF Øyvind Gram (on loan from Molde)
4 Flag of Iceland DF Indriði Sigurðsson
5 Flag of Norway DF Ståle Stensaas
6 Flag of Norway DF Christian Brink
7 Flag of Norway MF Tomasz Sokolowski
8 Flag of Iceland MF Stefán Gíslason
9 Flag of Argentina MF Enrique Ortiz
10 Flag of Sweden FW Magnus Powell
11 Flag of Nigeria MF Ezekiel Bala
13 Flag of Norway MF Kevin Larsen
14 Flag of Norway FW Kim Holmen
15 Flag of Norway MF Erling Knudtzon
No. Position Player
16 Flag of Norway MF Espen Hoff
17 Flag of Norway DF Kim André Madsen
18 Flag of Norway MF Bjarne Kortgaard Ingebretsen
19 Flag of Australia FW Dylan Macallister
20 Flag of Nigeria FW Chinedu Obasi Ogbuke
21 Flag of Norway MF Jo Tessem
22 Flag of Norway DF Tommy Berntsen
23 Flag of Norway DF Lars Kristian Eriksen
24 Flag of Sweden GK Johann Dahlin
25 Flag of Argentina MF Matías Almeyda
27 Flag of Norway MF Magne Simonsen
29 Flag of Norway DF Mads Dahm
35 Flag of Argentina FW José Óscar Flores

[edit] Recent transfers

In:

Out:

[edit] Statistics 2006

  • Top Scorers
    • Chinedu Obasi Ogbuke - 8 goals in 13 matches
    • Espen Hoff - 6 goals in 21 matches
  • Goalkeepers
    • Eddie Gustafsson - 19 goals conceded in 14 matches
    • Johann Dahlin - 17 goals conceded in 12 matches

[edit] Recent history

Season Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Cup Notes
2001 ES 11 26 6 8 12 40 49 26 2nd round
2002 ES 3 26 14 5 7 36 29 47 quarter-final
2003 ES 10 26 8 6 12 34 45 30 last 16
2004 ES 6 26 9 10 7 30 31 37 final
2005 ES 3 26 12 8 6 37 21 44 3rd round
2006 ES 7 26 10 5 11 33 36 35 last 16
2007 ES ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ongoing

[edit] Notable former 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

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Norwegian Premier League, 2007

Brann | Fredrikstad | Lillestrøm | Lyn | Odd Grenland | Rosenborg | Sandefjord | Stabæk | Start | Strømsgodset | Tromsø | Viking | Vålerenga | Aalesund

Football in Norway

Norwegian national team for men, women | Football Association of Norway | Norwegian football cup | Tippeligaen | Adeccoligaen | Toppserien (for women)

Northern Norwegian Cup | Norway Cup