B71 Sandoy

B71
Full name Sandoyar Ítróttarfelag, B71
Nickname(s) B71
Founded 1 January 1970
Ground Inni í Dal
Sandur, Faroes
Ground Capacity 2000 (300 seated)
Chairman Oddmar Selfoss
Head Coach Piotr Krakowski
League 1. deild
2014 2nd

B71 (Sandoy) (B71 being short for Bóltfelagið 1971 – literal translation: "Ball Club 1971") is a Faroese sports club, playing their home games Inni í Dal, Sandur. Teams are made up of players from all the towns on the island of Sandoy.

Current squad

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

No. Position Player
1 Faroe Islands GK Gerhard Páll Lognberg
2 Faroe Islands DF Rúni Høgnesen
3 Faroe Islands DF Frits Eið
4 Faroe Islands DF Johan Hendrik Lydersen
5 Faroe Islands MF Óli Johannesen
6 Faroe Islands DF Ragnar Rasmussen
7 Faroe Islands MF Eirikur Jacobsen
8 Faroe Islands MF Marcus Clementsen (captain)
9 Faroe Islands DF Gunnar Lydersen
10 Liberia MF Patrick G. Toh Jr.
11 Faroe Islands MF Eirikur Oskarsson
12 Faroe Islands GK Klæmint Olsen
No. Position Player
13 Faroe Islands DF Suni Højgaard
14 Faroe Islands MF Bjørgfinnur Winther
15 Faroe Islands DF Bergleif Sólsker
16 Faroe Islands DF Tummas Dam Clementsen
17 Faroe Islands FW Rani Nicolajsen
18 Faroe Islands MF Rúni Høgnesen
19 Faroe Islands FW Finn Erik Thomsen
20 Faroe Islands FW Tummas Pauli Olsen
21 Faroe Islands GK Jóhan Herálvur Hentze
22 Faroe Islands MF Karl Fríði Vestergaard
23 Faroe Islands DF Petur Óli Nicolajsen
24 Senegal FW Ibrahima Camara

The Club history

Origins (1970–1971)

Although B71 is one of the youngest football-teams in the Faroe Islands, there has always been a considerable amount of interest in sports on the particular island from which the team fares. Football had been played well before B71 was established in 1970, but since sand-surfaces were deemed unsuitable for football, a team had yet to be formed.[1]

In the late 1960s, two of the island's towns, Sandur and Skopun, started to compete. There were no goals, so instead they used two rocks each, representing goalposts. This rivalry between two of Sandoy's biggest towns went on for several summers, bringing in truckloads of people from Skopun, even though cars had yet to be accessible to the common man.[2]

At around the same time, a new school was being built on Sandoy, where there also would be built a field on which to play sports. As a result of this, people started talking about forming a new team and on New Year's Day 1970, a sports team was established. The preliminary year, the team was called Sand, since only players from the town of Sandur were fielded. But the following year the team's name was changed to B71. Since players from the entire island wanted to be a part of the team, it no longer seemed fitting to name the team after just one town.[2]

The first year only two teams were fielded. One senior team, playing in, what in those days was referred to as Meðaldeildin and one boys-team.[2]

The Early Years (1972–1985)

In the beginning, B71 took baby-steps towards their eventual greater years in the late 1980s, early-to-mid-1990s. Players like Eli Hentze, Torbjørn Jensen, brothers Róin and Jóan Petur Clementsen, and many more, were still playing in the youth divisions, and would not feature prominently until they came of age in the second half of the 1980s.

Faroese Champions (1986–1989)

Nothing really spectacular happened until B71 became 3. division champions in 1986. Two years later, in 1988, they won the 2. division and then, remarkably, they became 1. division champions in 1989, without losing a single game that year. When all was said and done, B71 ended up with a resounding 31-point tally, as opposed to a more modest 22 points by runners-up HB, who, coincidentally, were pummeled 6–2 in the final match of the season against none other than, B71.

B71's success has, in later years, been attributed largely to the successful blend of a Polish influence, consisting of coach Jan Kaczynski, robust midfielder, turned coach, Piotr Krakowski, goalkeeper Waldemar Nowicki, and uniquely solid local players, including, Eli Hentze, Ib Mohr Olsen, Páll á Reynatúgvu, Torbjørn Jensen, brothers Róin and Jóan Petur Clementsen, and many more.

B71 also reached the final of the Faroese Cup in 1989. The initial match resulted in a 1–1 draw, but they ended up losing 2–0 after the replay.

In the space of 3–4 years B71 had gone from being an obscure 3. division side, to Faroese 1. division champions.

Relegation shocker (1990)

For some reason or another, B71 were unable to defend their title the following year. Instead, everything ended in catastrophe. Rather than posing a title challenge, B71 were relegated, forced to spend at least a year in the second-best division. The shame would, however, be short-lived, since B71 immediately bounced back and were promoted the very next year.

The infamous Faroese Cup finals (1993–1994)

Although B71 continued to pose a threat in the Faroese top-division during the early 1990s, (never finishing lower than 4th) they never captured the league trophy a second time. Instead, focus turned to the Faroese Cup, where B71 had even greater success during their reign as one of the top sides in Faroese football.

B71 reached the finals in two consecutive years. The first time in 1993 against HB who they beat 2–0, winning the trophy for the first and only time so far, and again the year later, in 1994 where they lost 2–1 against KÍ.

Relegation/Promotion saga (1996–2006)

After nearly a decade of mostly good results, it was inevitable that B71 eventually would have some misfortune. But no one would suspect that misfortune to last another decade. B71 went from finishing 4th in 1995 to finishing 8th in 1996, and subsequently finishing bottom of the league a year later. This meant being relegated to the second division, only to gain promotion in 1998.

Instability tainted the play of B71, who, in spite of this, managed to escape relegation for a couple of years, until they finally went down in 2001, after having lost the relegation playoff against Skála.[3][4] B71 would have to wait until the 2006 season before finally gaining promotion again, to what had since been renamed Formuladeildin, for the fourth time since 1988.

Rise of the women's game

During this time, when the B71 men disappointed time and time again, it was the women's team that really shone. Getting the results and winning match after match was a daily occurrence for the women of B71 through much of the 1990s.

The youth squads of B71 also seemed to produce quality players, greatly due to the hiring of youth-coach Martin Kúrberg who stayed with B71 for many years.[5]

Several of the players from the youth-ranks would become regular B71 players, but the women's team, which got off to a stellar start, slowly declined until B71 were unable to enter a team to the women's competition altogether. Efforts have since been made in resurrecting the team, but so far they have been unable to match the success of B71's Golden Girls.

B71's Resurgency (2007)

B71 were touted as sure relegation candidates before the 2007 season, even before the first match, but halfway through the season, B71 had proven all of the pundits wrong, with sparkling results, such as a 0–3 away win at holders HB, a 1–0 home win against B36 and a 4–2 away thrashing against title-contenders EB/Streymur. At the end of the season B71 were well out of relegation danger and in the safe-zone.[6]

Pre-season row, relegation and manager-shifts (2008–2009)

B71 vs. FC Suðuroy in Vodafonedeildin on 2. May 2010. B71 won the match 3–1.
B71 vs. FC Suðuroy in Vodafonedeildin on 2. May 2010. B71 won the match 3–1. This is just after B71 scored one of their 3 goals.

The 2008 season was kicked off with B71 once again being named underdogs, but this time B71 didn’t provide many surprises. Instead they went on a losing streak, only to salvage the first half of the season on the finishing line, when they played convincingly and won three of their last matches.

B71 had been unsettled pre-season, with the departure and absence of many key-players. The most prominent of which was one Magnus Olsen. There was much controversy and tension between B71 and B36 regarding the player in question. Allegations of tapping up and player-poaching echoed from the B71 camp, while B36 kept refuting the claims, suggesting that the B71 board had been notified of the club's interest in Magnus.[7]

This resulted in many appeals and re-appeals to the highest footballing authority in The Faroe Islands, FSF. B71 were eventually deemed to have no case and Magnus Olsen's much coveted player license was transferred to B36.[8]

Apart from Magnus Olsen, players including Hanus Clementsen, Jóhannis Jensen and Clayton Soares were all ruled out, while successful defender Anders Rasmussen had left, during pre-season. Three games into the season, B71's talented young winger Rasmus Nielsen was injured in a bout with Fróði Benjaminsen and would be out for the entire first half of the season.

The second part of the season was considered somewhat better than the first, with the team playing better football and producing fair results, but in the end they came up short with a meager 22 points. Despite the low point tally, B71 did have slim chances of avoiding relegation right up until the second-last match of the season, when they lost 0–1 at home against Víkingur

Since the relegation became a reality, two key-players from the B71 squad signed with different clubs. Goalkeeper Símun Rógvi Hansen and talented midfielder Gudmund Nielsen, both 21, signed with HB and champions EB/Streymur, respectively.[9][10] In addition to this, winger Rasmus Nielsen left during the break, to play for, then, newly promoted Tórshavn side, AB,[11] while three of B71's four Brazilian players were released, leaving Clayton Soares as the only Brazilian to reprise his role in the team.

At around the same time, coach Eli Hentze announced he had made the decision to step down from coaching B71's first-team. He was later replaced by Frankie Jensen, who hales from Sandoy, but lives in Tórshavn.[12]

Subsequently it was announced that Frankie Jensen had been released from his contract, and Eli Hentze was appointed new head-coach, for the third time in his career[13] and at the end of the '09 season, Eli Hentze stepped down, and former 07 Vestur coach, Piotr Krakowski, succeeded him. Appointing Piotr Krakowski has been dubbed coming home, by the media, for the highly rated coach,[14] because of his affiliation with the team in the 1990s.

B71 had, before this, clinched promotion to top-flight football, on the second to last match-day of the season, after just the one year in 1. Deild[15]

Relegations (2010–2013)

B71 managed to keep themselves up in the 2010 season, finishing 8th, but had a torrid time during the following 2011 season. Efforts were made to sign foreign players Tijani Mohammed[16] and Joseph Bassene[17] as well as re-sign previous B71 players like goalkeeper Símun Rógvi Hansen[18] and Serbian defender Bojan Zivic.[19] This didn't seem to have the intended effect and the team was on a terrible losing streak going into the second half of the season. Ghambian-born Dane Bakari Bojang[20] and Andrezej Bednarz[21] from Poland were recruited to try and salvage an otherwise miserable season, but to no avail. Despite slightly improved results, B71 finished dead last with only 11 points from 27 matches. Being relegated to second tier football didn't help results either. Most of the players from the previous season left the club, leaving only young players to pick up the pieces. B71 finished just above relegation in 8th place in 2012 and could not improve a year later, finishing dead last for the second time in 3 years. This meant a return to third tier football for the first time since the initial promotion in 1986, 28 years ago.

2. division (2014)

2014 marked an unwelcome return to third tier football for the club. It was touch and go a couple of times and ultimately B71 needed a win in the second to last round in order to secure promotion, before meeting, already promoted and division winners, MB on the last day of the campaign.

Initially, promotion looked unsure, as B71 unexpectedly lost 2–0 away against ÍF and by all accounts had to win the very last match. However, ÍF had used an illegal player in this 2–0 victory and B71 won their appeal to the Faroese Football Association, thus clinching promotion on a technicality.[22]

The Kit & The Crest

The Kit

Although B71 is, and always has been, considered a small club, even by Faroese standards, it has, nonetheless, had its fair share of kits. Lately, there has almost been a new one every year, but there has also been a variety before this; some more loved than others, during B71 almost 40-year history. The primary B71 kit is yellow and blue. B71 has never had a kit yet which didn’t include either of these colours.

The first ever B71 kit was an all yellow jersey (except for the blue sleeves and neck-line), blue shorts and yellow socks. As B71 didn’t have any sponsors during its humble beginnings, the only decorative item on the shirt was the crest. The yellow colour of the initial jerseys was also a considerably lighter shade, than they would be in later years.

During the 2007 season, B71's away kit was white, mixed with blue, resembling the Faroese flag.

The Crest

The club's crest shows the Faroese flag (a red, white and blue Scandinavian Cross) centred on a shield. On top of the flag, sits a yellow football, representing the primary colour of the team and the sport they play, upon which the team's name is displayed.[23]

The crest has never been changed or altered in any way since 1970, except for the shade of yellow sometimes getting darker or lighter.

Former coaches

Dates Name
1986 Denmark Finn Melin
1987–89 Poland Jan Kazcynski
1990–96 Poland Piotr Krakowski
1997 Faroe Islands Eli Hentze
1998–99 Bulgaria Ivan Hristov
2000 Denmark Per Langvad
2001 Faroe Islands Kári Reynheim
2002–03 Belgium Tom Saintfiet
2003 Poland Waldemar Nowicki[24]
2004–05 Denmark Ole Andersen
2006 Serbia Dragan Kovačević
2007 Serbia Dušan Mokan[25]
2007–08 Faroe Islands Eli Hentze
2009 Faroe Islands Frankie Jensen[26]
2009 Faroe Islands Eli Hentze
2010 Poland Piotr Krakowski
2011–2013 Faroe Islands Allan Mørkøre
2014– Poland Piotr Krakowski

UEFA club competition record

Competition Matches W D L GF GA
UEFA Cup 2 0 0 2 3 9
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 2 0 0 2 0 7
TOTAL 4 0 0 4 3 16
Season Competition Round Opponent Results
1994–95 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Q Finland HJK 0–5, 0–2
1996–97 UEFA Cup Preliminary Cyprus APOEL 1–5, 2–4

Home results in bold.

Honours

Domestic

League

Cups

Other sports

B71 has always been mentioned as being a football club, however this is technically not true. The "B" in the club's name stands for "Ball Club", while "Sandoyar Ítróttarfelag" translates to "Sandoy Sports Club". While it's true that the main focus has always been the football side of the club, a variety of sports have recently been undertaken by the club, mainly for youths and children, largely due to the construction of the indoor sports hall in 2012.[29]

Futsal

Football had been played indoors in the school gym since its construction in 1971, but the indoor sports hall made the concept of Futsal possible on Sandoy. It's mainly played during the winter, when the freezing temperatures and short daylight hours make playing football outside too difficult.[30]

Kidsvolley

The last couple of years children have been participating in a simplified version of volleyball, aptly named: Kidsvolley.[31]

Handball

As soon as the indoor sports hall was constructed, handball practice for children was instigated. Recently, it was announced that B71 will be entering youth teams into handball competitions for the first time in the club's history.[32]

Vípan

While, now defunct women's handball team, Vípan never had any direct affiliation with B71, it is oftentimes spoken of in the same breath and even mentioned in B71's official club history.[1] Founded in 1942 by doctor Leif Dahl and later coached by teacher Kjartan Hentze, Vípan was very successful during its short lifespan, winning the Faroese handball championship in 1944 and again in 1949, before the team quietly faded into the history books.[1]

References and notes

  1. 1 2 3 "B71 Official Club History, b.1971" (in Faroese). b71-sandoy.com. 2014. Retrieved 2014-10-10.
  2. 1 2 3 "Ibid" (in Faroese). b71-sandoy.com. 2014. Retrieved 2014-10-10.
  3. ↑ "Faroe Islands 2001 season-review". uefa.com. 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
  4. ↑ Despite finishing second in 2002, 2004 and 2005, B71 weren't automatically promoted, because of the way the system of promotion and relegation worked. Runners-up and the second-last teams had to play two playoff matches against each other, for promotion and relegation, respectively.
  5. ↑ HB.fo, Martin Kúrberg nýggjur kvinnuvenjari (Faroese)
  6. ↑ "2007 Formula Division Aftermath". soccerandequipment.com. 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-09.
  7. ↑ "B71 accuse B36 of player poaching, B36 say B71 gave the OK". soccerandequipment.com. 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-09.
  8. ↑ "Aganevndin's decision regarding Magnus Olsen" (PDF) (in Faroese). football.fo. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2011. Retrieved 2008-07-09.
  9. ↑ "B71 lose goalkeeper". sportal.fo. 2008. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 2008-11-15.(in Faroese)
  10. ↑ "Gudmund Nielsen leaves B71". b71-sandoy.com. 2008. Archived from the original on 29 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-15.(in Faroese)
  11. ↑ "Rasmus Nielsen leaves B71 for AB". portal.fo. 2008. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 2008-02-09.(in Faroese)
  12. ↑ "Frankie Jensen new B71 coach" (in Faroese). b71-sandoy.com. October 2010. Retrieved 2008-11-15. Check date values in: |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
  13. ↑ "B71 appoint Hentze as new head-coach" (in Faroese). sportal.fo. 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
  14. ↑ "Piotr new B71 coach" (in Faroese). sportal.fo. 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-14.
  15. ↑ "VB/Sumba and B71 gain promotion" (in Faroese). sportal.fo. 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
  16. ↑ FaroeSoccer – Leikari, Tijani Mohammed (Á)
  17. ↑ FaroeSoccer – Leikari, Joseph Youssoupa Bassene (M-Á)
  18. ↑ FaroeSoccer – Leikari, Símun Rógvi Hansen (MV)
  19. ↑ FaroeSoccer – Leikari, Bojan Zivic (V)
  20. ↑ FaroeSoccer – Leikari, Bakari Bojang (Á)
  21. ↑ FaroeSoccer – Leikari, Andrezej Kazimierz Bednarz (M)
  22. ↑ http://www.faroesoccer.com/news/read.php?page=480(in+Faroese)
  23. ↑ "The B71 Crest". VFLnet.com. 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-12.
  24. ↑ Tom Saintfiet was sacked halfway through the 2003 season, and goalkeeper Waldemar Nowicki had to finish the remainder of the season's coaching
  25. ↑ Terminated his contract with mutual consent from the B71 board. Eli Hentze took over.
  26. ↑ Sacked, due to differences with the playing staff. Eli Hentze took over.
  27. ↑ From 2004, the second best division (2. deild) became known as 1. deild
  28. ↑ From 2004, the third best division (3. deild) became known as 2. deild
  29. ↑ Ítróttarhøllin í Sandoy letur upp leygardagin | Kringvarp Føroya
  30. ↑ "Faroese Football Association Official Futsal Page" (in Faroese). football.com. 2014. Retrieved 2014-11-01.
  31. ↑ "Kidsvolley in the indoor sports hall" (in Faroese). sandportal.fo. 2014. Retrieved 2014-11-01.
  32. ↑ "Everyone cheers the sports hall on" (in Faroese). sandportal.fo. 2014. Retrieved 2014-11-01.

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