Sandefjord Fotball
Sandefjord
|
| Full name |
Sandefjord Fotball |
| Nickname(s) |
Guttane (The Boys), The Whalers |
| Founded |
September 10, 1998 |
| Ground |
Komplett.no Arena
(Capacity: 9,000) |
| Chairman |
Roger Gulliksen |
| Manager |
Arne Sandstø |
| League |
Adeccoligaen |
| 2011 |
Adeccoligaen, 3rd |
|
|
|
Sandefjord Fotball is a Norwegian professional football club, founded on September 10, 1998. The club plays in the Adeccoligaen. Their home ground is the Komplett.no Arena, located in Sandefjord, Vestfold.
The club reached the First Division (Adeccoligaen) in 1999, where they made quick progress and soon settled as strong competitors for promotion to the Premier League. Finishing third in the First Division both in 2002 and 2003 they qualified for play-off matches, but lost both times. In 2004 they finished fourth, but the 2005 season finally proved a success, when they placed second and earned automatic promotion to the highest division.
The club performed surprisingly well in their first Premier League season, finishing ninth in the table and reaching the cup final. However, the 2007 season was a disaster and they finished last and were relegated to the Adeccoligaen.
After a poor start to the 2008 season in the Adeccoligaen, Sandefjord recovered strongly to finish second and qualify for automatic promotion to Tippeligaen. In the 2009 season Sandefjord Fotball finished at eight place, their strongest performance in Tippeligaen to date. In 2010 Sandefjord Fotball were relegated to the Adeccoligaen.
History
Sandefjord Fotball were formed by parent clubs IL Runar and Sandefjord Ballklubb in 1998. They replaced Sandefjord Ballklubb in the 2nd division in 1999, and secured immediate promotion to the 1st division. There the club made quick progress and soon settled as a strong competitor for promotion to the Tippeligaen. Finishing third in the 1st division both in 2002 and 2003 they qualified for play-off matches, but lost both times, against Brann and Vålerenga. The 2003 play-off was lost after some controversial decisions by referee Jonny Ditlefsen that were all in Sandefjords disfavor. When manager Tom Nordlie left after the play-off games, Sandefjord Fotball hired Arne Dokken as their new coach. He was fired after just one season, 2004, when they finished fourth. But the 2005 season finally proved a success, with Tor Thodesen as their new coach. Placing second, Sandefjord earned automatic promotion to the highest division, where they finished 9th in their first season.
The 2007 season ended badly and they finished last and were relegated to the Adeccoligaen. The players went to the board of directors together and requested the hiring of a new coach. Instead of firing Thodesen, the board kept him. After a bad start to the 2008 season, they fired Thodesen and hired Patrick Walker. The team played better after this, and he moved the team from a relegation place to a promotion place in the table in eight games.
Colours and badge
Sandefjord Fotball's colours are blue. They play in blue shirts, blue shorts and white socks. The club changed their badge before the start of season 2006. This was mainly for press purposes. The old badge had a yellow field as well as the blue and red. The new badge only has the colours red and blue. Further on, the white whale tail on the badge links to Sandefjord citys whaling history.
Stadium
Sandefjord Fotball play their home games at Komplett.no Arena. Komplett.no Arena was opened on July 21, 2007, and cost about NOK 100 million. This is an all modern stadium, with a capacity of about 9,000. Record attendance was set during the opening game versus Lyn on July 21, 2007. 8 103 people attended this game. In the future it is planned to expand the stadium to a capacity of 12 500. Field measurements are 105 x 68 meters.
Before Sandefjord Fotball started to use their new home arena, Komplett.no Arena, they used to play their home encounters at Storstadion. Sandefjord Fotball played their home games at Storstadion from 1999 to 2007. As the stadium itself did not live up to the standards one could expect from a modern football stadium, it was finally decided to build the new and modern Komplett.no Arena and start a new and exciting chapter in the young clubs history.
Current squad
As of 23 December 2011. [1] Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
For season transfers, see transfers winter 2011–12.
Management
Key people
| Position |
Name |
| Managing Director |
Gunnar Bjønness |
| Executive Director (Operations) |
Frank Lidahl |
| Sports Director |
Arne Dokken |
Coaching staff
| Position |
Nat |
Name |
| Manager |
|
Arne Sandstø |
| Assistant manager |
|
Mikael Källström |
| Goalkeeping Coach |
|
Hans Petter Olsen |
| Development Coach |
|
Mikael Källström |
| Youth Development Coach |
|
Ronny Holmedal |
| Physio |
|
Espen Strøm-Normann |
| Arbitrator |
|
Tor Vidar Hem |
| Coach SF2 |
|
Patrik Stormare Kathiravelu |
| Coach SF Junior Elite |
|
Jørn Halfdan Larsen |
Manager history
Supporters
Sandefjord Fotball supporters are called "Blåhvalene" (The Blue Whales). They were established in 1999.
Records and statistics
Honours
Recent history
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References
External links