Full name | Fotballklubben Lyn | ||
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Founded | March 3, 1896 | ||
Ground | Bislett stadion Oslo Norway (Capacity: 15,400) |
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Chairman | Erik Riste | ||
Manager | Gunnar Halle | ||
League | Adeccoligaen | ||
2010 | Adeccoligaen, 16th (bankrupt) | ||
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Fotballklubben Lyn is a presently defunct Norwegian professional football club and a department of the sports club Ski- og Fotballklubben Lyn, whose members also participate in nordic skiing and orienteering. They are based in the city of Oslo and play their home games at Bislett Stadion.
Lyn currently plays in the Adeccoligaen, having been relegated from the Norwegian Premier League after finishing in last place in 2009. They are managed by Gunnar Halle, who took over in July 2009, following the resignation of Kent Bergersen. Bergersen had held the post since October 2008.
On June 30th, 2010, the club declared bankrupcy after several years of financial difficulty, forcing them to resign from the league.[1]
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Established in 1896, they were founding members of the Norwegian Football Association, and have won the League Championship twice and the Norwegian Cup eight times. The club's most recent period of success was during the 1960s, when they won four trophies and reached the quarter-finals of the European Cup Winners' Cup.
Lyn has traditionally been perceived as representing the upper and middle classes, whereas the eastside club Vålerenga was seen as belonging to the workers. Although Oslo still maintains an east-west divide in social demographics, the divide is now much weaker in the clubs' supporter bases. Lyn's support base however is very small, both relatively and compared to the other main clubs in the Oslo area, such as Vålerenga, Lillestrøm SK and Stabæk. The club enjoyed some success during the first half of the 20th century, securing many Cup titles, and despite failing to win the league title, had a certain stature in Norwegian football. The Norwegian national football team that won the bronze medal at the 1936 Summer 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.
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.
Norwegian investor Atle Brynestad bought the club in 1999, in effect 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).
2005 was an eventful year for the club, both on and off the pitch. The club’s youth program was 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 period of time. FIFA released an announcement stating that Lyn had done everything correct in the process. The transfer is said to have cost Chelsea £16 millions. £12 million of this to Manchester United and £4 million to Lyn.
On Friday 10 October 2008, Chelsea announced on their website that they were initiating legal proceedings against Lyn Oslo and their former director Morgan Andersen in an attempt to recover the entire £16 million fee paid. Chelsea maintain that this was due to the contract of the original transfer being based on a fradulant misrepresentation.[2]
The 2009 season was again very disappointing with the club relegated from Tippaligaen and saved from liquidation at the very last moment.
The 2010 season sees Lyn at Bislett Stadion (sharing with Skeid) in the second level of Norwegian football. In April 2010 Idar Vollvik's company, Ludo, was presented as the club's latest sponsor in an attempt to rescue the club from it's financial crisis, but to no avail, and on June 30th, 2010, the club declared bankrupcy, forcing them to the bottom ninth level of the Norwegian league system.[3]
Season | Pos. | Pl. | W | D | L | GS | GA | P | Cup | Notes | |
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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 | 9 | 26 | 10 | 4 | 12 | 43 | 46 | 34 | quarter-final | |
2008 | ES | 7 | 26 | 11 | 5 | 10 | 38 | 34 | 38 | quarter-final | |
2009 | ES | 16 | 30 | 2 | 10 | 18 | 29 | 59 | 16 | quarter-final | Relegated to Adeccoligaen |
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.
After the 2009 season FC Lyn made the decision to move from Ullevaal Stadion to Bislett Stadion[4].Bislett, which is also an international track and field stadium, has a capacity of 15,400.
As of 29 March 2010.[5]
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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