Fylkir
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| Fylkir | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Knattspyrnufélagið Fylkir | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | Fylkismenn | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Founded | May 28, 1967 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | Fylkisvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Capacity | 1,600 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chairman | Sigrún Jónsdóttir | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manager | Leifur Garðarsson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| League | Landsbankadeildin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006 | Landsbankadeildin, 8th | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Fylkir is an athletic club in the eastern part of Reykjavík, the capital of Iceland.
Former players include Gylfi Einarsson, who now plays for Leeds United, and Ólafur Ingi Skúlason, formerly of Arsenal and now playing for Brentford.
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[edit] History
Fylkir FC was founded in 1967 on May 28th in a newly established suburb of Reykjavik, Árbær, by young and enthusiastic footballers who wanted to train and play football in their own neighbourhood. From the start, the club has emphasized the importance of youth development and for the first years Fylkir FC did not a field a senior team.
The senior team took first part in a national competition in 1972 and became that year second in their heat in the Icelandic 3. division. That was not enough to for Fylkir to gain promotion and for five successive years the team played in Division Three. All these years Fylkir was on the edge of promotion but it was not until 1977 that the dream came true. Fylkir earned a promotion to the 2. division after a historical Third Division Final in which Fylkir had to field its B-team because the majority of the normally starting eleven had gone to Spain on a long before pre-paid holiday!
The next six years, Fylkir played in Division Two, only once being close to gaining promotion. From 1984 to 1988, Fylkir roller-coasted between the Second and the Third Division and it was not until 1989 that Fylkir played its first season in Division One – the top league in Iceland at that time. The season was no success, Fylkir became ninth and was relegated, but the season is nevertheless an interesting one as two players - Þórhallur Dan Jóhannsson and Finnur Kolbeinsson - who are still playing for Fylkir, played their first season at a top level.
The next time Fylkir earned a promotion to Division One was in 1993, but just as in 1989 the team became ninth and was relegated. In 1996, history reapeted itself for the third successive time, Fylkir occupied the club’s seemingly beloved ninth place and was once again relegated to Division Two.
In the year 2000, Fylkir was promoted to the top league – now called the Premier League - for the fourth time. This time Fylkir was only two points from winning the league, the second place earning the club its first games in a European competition. In 2001, Fylkir won the Icelandic Cup for the first time, but finished fifth in the Premier League after leading the competition for the first two thirds of it. In the UEFA-cup, Fylkir won Pogon Szczecin from Poland 2:1 in the club’s first European game. In Poland, Fylkir equalized in the last minute of the game to the euphoria of its 200 dedicated supporters who had travelled to Poland to support their team. 3:2 in aggression and Fylkir were through to the second Qualifying Round. The opponents, Roda Kerkrade from Holland, proved to be stronger than the Poles. Roda won the first game in Holland, 3:0, a game in which football almost played a side role as it took place September 11. In Iceland, Fylkir scored the first goal, but the Dutch side the next three, ending the European adventure for Fylkir FC.
The Cup victory in 2001 earned Fylkir a spot in the UEFA-cup for the second successive year, the opponents this time being Royal Excelsior Mouscron from Belgium. The teams drew 1:1 in Iceland and Mouscron won the game in Belgium 3:1. In the Icelandic Premier League 2002, Fylkir became second after a last minute battle with KR, Reykjavik. Fylkir repeated the Cup success and won the competition for the second year in a row.
Thirty six years after its establishment, Fylkir is still a club with strong roots in its neighbourhood and the majority of its players and staff are born and bread in Arbaer. The club is now one of the bigger clubs in Iceland and the senior side has established itself as a prominent Premier League team after years of constant travelling between divisions.
In the season of 2006, Fylkir was not a big success. They finished 8th, staying in the Premier League on a goal difference. In stead, Grindavík got relegated after getting a 1-1 draw against the Icelandic Champions, Fimleikafélag Hafnarfjarðar, when they needed to win.
[edit] Achievements
- VISA-bikar: 2
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- 2001, 2002
[edit] Current First Team Squad
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[edit] External link
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 Breiðablik •  FH Hafnarfjörður •  Fram •  Fylkir •  Keflavík •  HK ÍA Akranes •  KR Reykjavík •  Valur •  Víkingur Reykjavík |
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