Vålerenga I.F. Fotball
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| Vålerenga I.F. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Vålerengens Idrettsforening | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | Enga, the Bohemians, the Pride of Oslo |
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| Founded | July 29, 1913 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | Ullevaal Stadion Oslo |
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| Capacity | 25,572 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chairman |  Odd Skarheim |
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| Manager | Petter Myhre |
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| League | Tippeligaen | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006 | Tippeligaen, 3rd | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Vålerenga I.F. Fotball is a Norwegian football club from Oslo, founded in 1913. They are named after the neighbourhood of Vålerenga. They finished 3rd in the 2006 Norwegian Premier League.
Vålerenga's home ground, as of October 2005, is Ullevaal Stadium, the national stadium for Norway. The previous stadium was Bislett stadion which hosted speed skating and track and field events in addition to football. Bislett stadion was also host to the 1952 Winter Olympics.
Their current coach is Petter Myhre.
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[edit] History
The history of Vålerenga goes back to Fotballklubben Spark which was founded in 1898. This was the forerunner of Idrettslaget Spring which was founded July 29, 1913. Later the club changed its name to Vaalerengens Idrættsforening.
Vålerengen (the club's former name) won the Oslo Championships four times before a national league (Norgesserien) was established in 1937. In the 1948/49 season Vålerengen finished second.
In 1965 Vålerengen won the 1st division (now Tippeligaen) for the first time, but the first years of glory came during the 80s with 3 league championships and 1 cup championship. During this decade they also were twice cup runner-up and placed 3rd in the league in 1985.
In 1990 Vålerenga were relegated after 14 seasons in the top division. Vålerenga was close to relegation to the 2nd division in the 1992 season, but managed to remain in the second highest division thanks to a last round 3-0 win against Eik-Tønsberg away from home. In 1994 Vålerenga returned to the top division, but were relegated again in 1996. In 1997 Vålerenga won the cup and the 1st division and were again promoted to Tippeligaen. As before during the 90s, the stay in the top division lasted only a few years. In the 2000 season Vålerenga lost the play-off matches against Sogndal and was relegated to the 1st division. Vålerenga returned to Tippeligaen in 2002.
The 2003 season was poor for Vålerenga and they wound up third last in the league sending them into playoffs against Sandefjord to avoid relegation. The result was a 0-0 draw in Sandefjord and a 5-3 victory in Oslo and so Vålerenga retained the position in the top league and avoided relegation.
Vålerenga rebounded nicely in the 2004 season and proved a serious challenge to the dominant Rosenborg team in the bid for the league's gold medal. After a franctic final round where Vålerenga beat Stabæk 3-0, they missed out on the league title since Rosenborg beat Lyn, Vålerenga's city rivals 4-1. Vålerenga won the silver medal, finishing 2nd to Rosenborg equal on points and goal difference, but Vålerenga had scored twelve fewer goals than Rosenborg during the entire league campaign, leaving Rosenborg as league champions.
At the start of the 2005 season it was apparent that Rosenborg was in bad shape and it seemed like Vålerenga's season to go all the way. After a strong season opening, the club sensation Start - newly promoted to the Premier League - looked to give Vålerenga a fight to the finish, and the two clubs basically alternated on leading the series to the very last round. On October 29 it looked to be a thrilling last round reminiscent of the previous year, as both Start and Vålerenga had the exact same amount of points, but Start with a slightly better goal difference. Start met Fredrikstad at home, while Vålerenga met Odd Grenland away. As the opening whistle blew the scene was set for some nail-biting football minutes around Norway. Eventually Fredrikstad, who faced relegation if they lost, beat Start 3-1 while at the same time Vålerenga managed a 2-2 draw against Odd Grenland. Vålerenga stepped one up from the previous year, and won the title with a one point margin. History was made on several levels that night as it marked the first time in 21 years that Vålerenga won the league, and most notably it put an end to the 13 year long reign of Rosenborg.
The follow-up season of 2006 didn't start out as well for the reigning champions, and a poor start left them at the very end of the table after seven rounds, having gained only 5 points. A steady rise in form though still brought the team to 6th place by the time the season was half-through. Late July brought a string of bad results, including embarrassing losses to main rival Lyn, and the exit from the UEFA Champions League qualifier after losing 5-3 on aggregate to Czech club Mladá Boleslav in the 2nd qualifying round. Vålerenga had aimed to qualify for the tournament after missing out the previous year by being defeated by Belgian side Club Brugge on a penalty shoot-out. After losing five out of seven games between July 22 and August 19 head-coach Kjetil Rekdal decided enough is enough, and announced his resignation. Assisting coach Petter Myhre took over, and as a consequence the club regained their form and scored 25 out of the last 31 possible points, bringing the club to yet another medal in the league, the third consecutive, as well as a qualification spot for the 2007-2008 UEFA Cup. Vålerenga has also qualified for play in the 2006-2007 Scandinavian Royal League after finishing among the top four teams in Norway.
[edit] League history
| Season | League | P | W | D | L | F | A | Points | Pos | Note |
| 2006 | Tippeligaen | 26 | 13 | 5 | 8 | 43 | 28 | 44 | 3/14 | Third place |
| 2005 | Tippeligaen | 26 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 40 | 27 | 46 | 1/14 | Champions |
| 2004 | Tippeligaen | 26 | 13 | 9 | 4 | 40 | 22 | 48 | 2/14 | Second place |
| 2003 | Tippeligaen | 26 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 30 | 33 | 28 | 12/14 | Won play-off against Sandefjord |
| 2002 | Tippeligaen | 26 | 7 | 12 | 7 | 38 | 31 | 33 | 8/14 | |
| 2001 | First Division | 30 | 19 | 8 | 3 | 71 | 29 | 62 | 1/16 | Promoted to Tippeligaen |
| 2000 | Tippeligaen | 26 | 5 | 9 | 12 | 32 | 44 | 24 | 12/14 | Lost play-off against Sogndal and relegated to First Division |
[edit] Colours
In 1913 the kit of Vålerenga was moss green. In 1914 Vålerengen changed their kit colours by a coincidence. The Norwegian State Railways had a set of blue and red kits left over which Vålerengen bought cheap. Since then blue and red have been the official colours of Vålerenga.
In the 2006 season the white away kit will have a touch of moss green.
[edit] Stadium
Ullevaal stadion is the current home ground, and is owned jointly by the Norwegian Football Association and Vålerenga's main rival Lyn.
From the 60s till the 80s and a short period in the end of the 90s Bislett stadion was Vålerenga's home ground. Poor conditions and maintenance of Bislett forced Vålerenga to move to Ullevaal and a groundshare with Lyn.
After Vålerenga moved from Bislett stadion plans for building their own ground were conceived, but poor results on the field combined with financial problems kept those plans at bay for a few years. After the 2nd place in 2004 and the league title in 2005 as well as business man John Fredriksen's deletion of the club's debt in 2003, the talks of building a ground for Vålerenga have resurfaced. The original plans were to build a ground in Bjørvika, right next to the future opera house in the centre of Oslo. Vålerenga has won little political support in Oslo city council for this proposal. There have been several proposals for other sites where a ground can be built, but there are two sites that recurr as the most likely: Ensjø east in Oslo close to Vålerenga's training facilities on Valle-Hovin and to build the ground over the railway tracks at Oslo Central Station.
[edit] Supporters
Vålerenga's main supporter club Klanen (the Clan) was founded May 5, 1991 and is with its about 14,000 members the biggest supporter club in Norway. Klanen is considered to be among the best supporters in Norway and is by some called "the best male choir in Norway" because of their joy of singing and cooperation. The songs and slogans are usually directed against the city rivals Lyn and farmers (everyone not supporting Vålerenga, is by the supporters considered farmers). The kit number 12 is reserved Klanen.
Of the two big Oslo clubs Vålerenga and Lyn, Vålerenga usually gather a crowd more than three times as large as their city rivals. In the 2006 season Vålerenga gathered an average attendance of 13,871 at their home matches, ranking them fourth in Norway with regard to attendance.
[edit] Playing Squad
As of March 25th 2007
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[edit] Coaching staff
| Coach | Petter Myhre |
| Assistant coach | Harald Aabrekk |
| Goalkeeper coach | Gjermund Østby |
| Scout | Lasse Holm |
| Doctor | Haakon Schwabe |
[edit] Recent transfers
In:
- Arnar Førsund - Returned From Sandefjord on loan
Sebastian Mila - Transferred From Austria Wien- Jørgen Jalland - Transferred From Rubin Kazan
Out:
- Tom Henning Hovi - Retired
- Tore André Flo - Transferred To Leeds United
[edit] Noted players
Notable former players for the club:
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[edit] Achievements
- Norwegian Premier League:
- Winners (5): 1965, 1981, 1983, 1984, 2005
- Runners-up (2): 1949, 2004
- Norwegian Football Cup:
- Winners (3): 1980, 1997, 2002
- Runners-up (2): 1983, 1985
- Oslo Championships:
- Winners (4): 1927, 1932, 1933, 1934
- Runners-up (2): 1935, 1936
[edit] Recent history
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Season Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Cup Europe Notes 1998 ES 7 26 10 3 13 44 48 33 3rd round 1999 ES 11 26 8 4 14 40 53 28 last 16 2000 ES 12 26 5 9 12 32 44 24 quarter-final relegated after play-off 1 season at lower levels 2002 ES 8 26 7 12 7 38 31 33 winner 2003 ES 12 26 6 10 10 30 33 28 quarter-final 2004 ES 2 26 13 9 4 40 22 48 3rd round 2005 ES 1 26 13 7 6 40 27 46 semi-final 2006 ES 3 26 13 5 8 43 28 44 quarter-final UC 1st round elim. 3rd round ECL 2007 ES ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ECL 2nd qualifying round ongoing
[edit] Records
- Largest victory in the premier league: 8-0 against Lisleby F.K. 1951
- Longest consecutive seasons in premier league: 14 seasons (1977-1990)
- Most premier league matches since 1963: Tom Henning Hovi, 178 matches (1997-)
- Most goals in mandatory matches: Einar Bruno Larsen, 99 goals (1957-1968)
- Most goals in a single season: Jørn Andersen 23 goals in 22 matches (1985)
- Record attendance: Ullevaal stadion, October 23rd 2005. The 2005 season's last home game, against Rosenborg, 24894 spectators
(numbers as of 5th November 2006)
[edit] See also
[edit] References
Nome, Petter. Vi er Vål'enga. Oslo: Cappelen, 1997. ISBN 82-02-17623-9.
[edit] External links
- Official pages
- Vålerenga Fotball På Nett - the biggest site for unofficial news and views
- Klanen, official Vålerenga supporters club
- Latest news about Vålerenga from fotballservice.no
- Vål'enga Magasin - magazine
- Enga Mobile
| Norwegian Premier League, 2007 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Brann | Fredrikstad | Lillestrøm | Lyn | Odd Grenland | Rosenborg | Sandefjord | Stabæk | Start | Strømsgodset | Tromsø | Viking | Vålerenga | Aalesund |
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| Football in Norway | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Norwegian national team for men, women | Football Association of Norway | Norwegian football cup | Tippeligaen | Adeccoligaen | Toppserien (for women) |
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| Northern Norwegian Cup | Norway Cup | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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