Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur

Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur, (Icelandic for "Reykjavík Football Club"), for short KR or KR Reykjavík, is an Icelandic athletic club based in the capital, Reykjavík. KR is the oldest and most successful club in Icelandic football.

History

KR was established on 16 February 1899, making it the oldest of its kind in Iceland. KR was first given the name Fótboltafélag Reykjavíkur or Reykjavik Football Club, before changing it to Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur, also meaning Reykjavík Football Club, the change because "knattspyrna" is considered a more elogant word ("Fótbolti" is literally translated as "football" while "knattspyrna", while translating as "football", is literally "ballkicking"). KR was the only football club in Reykjavík for a decade but as soon as other clubs were established there were plans for competitions. KR won the inaugural championship in 1912 after a play-off with Fram.

After winning the title the club chose to wear the colours of the English champions of that year, whoever they might be, and have since then worn the black and white stripes of Newcastle United. They won the first title after the Icelandic league was divided into two division in 1955, and in 1959 when the 1st Division was played on a home-and-away basis for the first time. KR also won the first Icelandic Cup competition in 1960. KR was the first Icelandic club to play in European competition, facing Liverpool in 1964 (The game was also Liverpool's first European game). KR’s women's team was also the first Icelandic contender in Europe, entering the inaugural European Competition in 2001.

Recent success has made decades of waiting for major trophies look like the distant past. When KR won their twentieth title in 1968, it was regarded as yet another title. No one could have foreseen that the club would have to wait for 31 years until its next success. Relegation to the Second Division in 1977 and heart-breaking near misses in 1990, 1996 and 1998, when KR lost out in the title race on the final day, only seemed to strengthen the solidarity within the club.

In KR’s centenary year in 1999 the men's team ended its long quest for glory in the most spectacular manner. The team had not won the league title for 31 years but nothing could stop them that year. They clinched the title with a 4–0 win over Víkingur in the penultimate round and then beat ÍA 3–1 in the cup final in front of a capacity crowd at the national stadium. The women's team was equally successful, winning the league and the cup, and KR celebrated its centenary year with an unprecedented double-double.

In total, the men's team has won the league title 25 times and the cup 12 times and during the last decade the women's team has won six league titles and twice won the cup. The men's team has four times won the double, in 1961, 1963, 1999 and in 2011.

After the season of 2006, KR introduced their new jerseys for the year of 2007. They will be playing in Nike jerseys. KR's best European success was in UEFA Europa League 2009-2010 when they defeated AE Larissa (2–0,1–1) in the second qualifying round, but were eliminated in next round by FC Basel (2–2,1–3). In UEFA Europa League 2011-12 KR eliminated IF in the first qualifying round and achieved a big win against MSK Zilina in the next round (3–0) in Reykjavik.

Jersey

KR play, as previously stated, in the black and white stripes of Newcastle United. The current sponsor of KR is the Icelandic transportation giant Eimskip. The company is well known in Iceland. Above the club badge on the shirt, although not featured in sold shirts, there are five stars. Each star represents 5 league titles. KR currently have 25 titles. On 20 October 2006, KR introduced a new deal with sport equipment manufacturer Nike and the team will wear products from Nike for the 2007 season.

The KR shorts are black and white and only carry the logo of Eimskip, Nike the KR badge and the squad number of the player.

The KR socks are black and white and are without a club badge

Sports played

Besides football (soccer), which is the original sport for which the club was founded, KR today also practices basketball, badminton, table tennis, bowling, darts, team handball, skiing, Icelandic wrestling and swimming.

Grounds

KR has been playing at their own ground, KR-völlur in the west-end of Reykjavík, since 1984, having previously played at the national stadium (Laugardalsvöllur) and the old municipal stadium (Melavöllur). KR has had the highest attendances for the last nine years. Only 376 attended the first match at KR-völlur in 1984 but in the centenary year an average crowd of 2,501 saw KR’s home matches, which roughly 1% of the icelandic nation.

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Selected former players

European cups history

As of 4 August 2011

Mens Fixtures 2010

Fyrstu 4. umferðirnar sem eru skráðar hér eru umferðir 1–4 í Pepsi deild karla sumarið 2011

A blue square equals a KR win while a red square equals a KR loss

Club honours

• Icelandic Championships: 25
  • 1912, 1919, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1931, 1932, 1934, 1941, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1955, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1965, 1968, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2011
• Icelandic Cups: 12
  • 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1967, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2008, 2011
• Icelandic League Cups: 4
  • 1998, 2001, 2005, 2010

References

External links

• Official Website
• Official Website (Soccer Section)
• Adobe Illustrator (.ai) version of the logo
• Icelandic Supporter Website
• Icelandic Supporter Website