Lillestrøm SK

Lillestrøm
Full name Lillestrøm Sportsklubb
Nickname(s) Kanarifuglene, Fugla
(The Canaries, The Birds)
Short name LSK
Founded 2 April 1917 (1917-04-02)
Ground Åråsen Stadion
Lillestrøm
Ground Capacity 12,250[1]
Chairman Per Mathisen
Coach Rúnar Kristinsson
League Tippeligaen
2015 Tippeligaen, 8th
Website Club home page

Lillestrøm Sportsklubb is a Norwegian football club from the city of Lillestrøm. It was founded in 1917, after the merger of two local football clubs. Their home ground is Åråsen Stadion, which has a capacity of 12,250 people, while the principal training ground is Lillestrøm stadion,[2] or the indoor arena, LSK-Hallen. The club holds the Norwegian record for the most consecutive years without being relegated. Over the years the club has had around 40 players who have represented the Norwegian national team. There has also been a number of foreigners who have represented the national teams of Sweden, Iceland, Senegal, Finland, Malta, Australia, South Africa, Slovenia, Tunisia, Canada, Somalia, and Nigeria.

History

Lillestrøm SK was founded on 2 April 1917. It has been Norwegian League champions five times, most recently in 1989, and also in 1986, 1977, 1976, and 1959. Additionally, they have won the Norwegian Cup in 1985, 1981, 1978, 1977 and 2007.[3]

When Arne Erlandsen left for Sweden and IFK Göteborg after the 2004-season, former LSK player and German international Uwe Rösler took over as head coach of the team. His first season in charge became a successful one, with Lillestrøm finishing fourth in the league. This position secured LSK a place in the Royal League. The team also made it to the 2005 Norwegian Cup final, but lost 4–2 to Molde in front of a crowd of 25,000 at Ullevaal Stadion.

In the 2006 season Lillestrøm were among the top favourites to win the league. Following a disappointing 4th place, it was announced on 13 November 2006 that Uwe Rösler had been fired from his position as head coach of Lillestrøm. Only a few days later Tom Nordlie signed a three-year contract.

The supporters of Lillestrøm, "Kanari-fansen". From a match between Lillestrøm and Vålerenga at Ullevaal Stadion in 2006.

A key signing ahead of the 2007 season included Fredrikstad's Simen Brenne, an attacking midfielder with a knack for scoring important goals. LSK under Nordlie played a 4–3–3 system, which invites rapid transitional play between defence and attack, Lillestrøm finished fourth in the league and won the 2007 Norwegian cup, beating Haugesund 2–0 in the final at Ullevaal Stadion.

On 29 May 2008, Tom Nordlie resigned from his position as head coach after a disappointing start of the 2008 season. Statements from Nordlie suggested that fundamental disagreements with club director Jan Åge Fjørtoft also contributed to his resignation.[4] It later emerged that the conflict between the controversial coach and the players was another big contributor behind Nordlie's departure, his punishing training regime in the run-up to the 2008 season being cited as the main complaint. Nordlie, no stranger to controversy during his career, had reportedly "lost the dressing room" as early as autumn 2007.

Erland Johnsen and Frode Grodås stepped in as caretakers until a new head coach was hired. On 19 August 2008, the club announced that Henning Berg would take over as head coach on 1 January 2009, after leaving his post at Lyn. Berg's first task would be to rescue the team from relegation, a feat he accomplished in his very first match as head coach. LSK beat Rosenborg 4–2 in a classic encounter to secure their place in the Tippeligaen.

The 2009 season was one of great upheaval. In an increasingly tight economic position, LSK sold or released 11 players before and during the season, with Berg also restructuring the squad and bringing in new talent. Enormous injury problems also made the start to the season a difficult one for Berg's charges. After 9 games, LSK had won none and drawn four[5] and seemed destined for relegation. An impressive comeback saw Lillestrøm deliver a strong second half to the season, eventually finishing 11th. Newcomer Nosa Igiebor had an especially impressive first season in the Lillestrøm jersey.

The team continued to impress over the course of the winter and start of the 2010 season. LSK were in early June fifth in the Tippeligaen, undefeated in 14 league matches. They saw however a dramatic drop in form over the summer which saw them briefly flirt with relegation, before a late surge of form late in the season salvaged 10th place.

In 2011 LSK made an exciting start to the new season, scoring an incredible 18 goals from their first five league matches, including a 7–0 drubbing of Stabæk in their first league match of the season - away from home. Early season form was good enough for the team to flirt with the top three until the end of July. Early in August, however, stars Anthony Ujah and Nosa Igiebor were sold to stave off the dire economic straits of the club. Also, in-form Icelandic midfielder Stefán Gíslason was out of contract and left the club. In mid-August, prodigy striker Björn Bergmann Sigurðarson was injured for the rest of the season, and the club failed to win any of their last 11 league games, a new record for Lillestrøm.

Coach Henning Berg was sacked three matches before the end of the season as investor Per Berg promised fresh funds for acquiring quality players after the season. The club again flirted with the prospect of relegation; however, the incessant poor form of Start and Sarpsborg meant Lillestrøm again saved themselves. This despite an abject 34 points gathered over 30 league matches,[6] which normally would mean relegation.

Former Elfsborg coach Magnus Haglund was appointed coach after the season.[7] Lillestrøm was quite active in the transfer window ahead of the 2012 season, and bought 11 new players.[8] The change of coach and flurry of transfers did the club no good however as they again flirted with relegation until just a few weeks before the end of the season, hovering between 12th and 14th place before a strong finish to the season propelled them into 9th.[9] On the whole the season was deemed a big disappointment however and Haglund's position has been subject to debate throughout the winter pre-season.

Ahead of the 2013 season, the club again has reined in spending and started the season with a first team squad of just 18 full senior players and additional backup players from the youth academy. LSK under Haglund have performed well away from home (2nd best away record in 2012), but often struggled on their own turf.

Achievements

Recent history

Season Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Cup Notes
1995 Tippeligaen 4 261187 503641 Semi-final
1996 Tippeligaen 2 261376 543346 Third round
1997 Tippeligaen 10 269611 414933 Fourth round
1998 Tippeligaen 8 269512 344332 Third round
1999 Tippeligaen 4 261538 604148 Quarter-final
2000 Tippeligaen 6 261178 422940 Quarter-final
2001 Tippeligaen 2 261754 643356 Semi-final
2002 Tippeligaen 7 2610610 373036 Third round
2003 Tippeligaen 7 261079 333537 Fourth round
2004 Tippeligaen 7 268117 453335 Semi-final
2005 Tippeligaen 4 261268 373142 Final
2006 Tippeligaen 4 261286 443344 Quarter-final
2007 Tippeligaen 4 261286 472844 Winner
2008 Tippeligaen 12 267712 304028 Second round
2009 Tippeligaen 11 3091011 435037 Fourth round
2010 Tippeligaen 10 309138 514440 Third round
2011 Tippeligaen 13 309714 465234 Fourth round
2012 Tippeligaen 9 309129 464739 Fourth round
2013 Tippeligaen 10 309912 374436 Semi-final
2014 Tippeligaen 5 3013710 493546 Quarter-final
2015 Tippeligaen 8 301299 454344 Third round
2016 (in progress) Tippeligaen 7 7241 141010

European record

Summary

Competition Pld W D L GF GA Last season played
European Cup
UEFA Champions League		 14 3 5 6 10 17 2002–03
UEFA Cup 26 10 2 14 34 43 2008–09
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 10 3 0 7 11 18 1993–94
UEFA Intertoto Cup 8 4 2 2 18 11 2006
Total 58 20 9 29 73 89

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against. Defunct competitions indicated in italics.

List of matches

Season Competition Round Opponent Home Away Agg.
1977–78 European Cup R1 Netherlands Ajax 2–0 0–4 2–4
1978–79 European Cup R1 Northern Ireland Linfield 1–0 0–0 1–0
R2 Austria Austria Vienna 0–0 1–4 1–4
1979–80 Cup Winners' Cup PR Scotland Rangers 0–2 0–1 0–3
1982–83 Cup Winners' Cup R1 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Red Star Belgrade 0–4 0–3 0–7
1984–85 UEFA Cup R1 East Germany Lokomotive Leipzig 3–0 0–7 3–7
1986–87 Cup Winners' Cup R1 Portugal Benfica 1–2 0–2 1–4
1987–88 European Cup R1 Northern Ireland Linfield 1–1 4–2 5–3
R2 France Bordeaux 0–0 0–1 0–1
1989–90 UEFA Cup R1 West Germany Werder Bremen 1–3 0–2 1–5
1990–91 European Cup R1 Belgium Club Brugge 1–1 0–2 1–3
1993–94 Cup Winners' Cup QR Estonia Nikol Tallinn 4–1 4–0 8–1
R1 Italy Torino 0–2 2–1 2–3
1994–95 UEFA Cup PR Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk 4–1 0–2 4–3
R1 France Bordeaux 0–2 1–3 1–5
1995–96 UEFA Cup PR Estonia Flora Tallinn 4–0 0–1 4–1
R1 Denmark Brøndby 0–0 0–3 0–3
1996–97 Intertoto Cup Group
5		 Lithuania Kaunas N/A 4–1 –
Republic of Ireland Sligo Rovers 4–0 N/A –
Netherlands Heerenveen N/A 1–0 –
France Nantes 2–3 N/A –
1997–98 UEFA Cup QR2 Belarus Dinamo Minsk 1–0 2–0 3–0
R1 Netherlands Twente 2–1 0–1 2–2 (a)
2000–01 UEFA Cup QR Northern Ireland Glentoran 1–0 3–0 4–0
R1 Russia Dynamo Moscow 3–1 1–2 4–3
R2 Spain Deportivo Alavés 1–3 2–2 3–5
2002–03 Champions League QR2 Bosnia and Herzegovina Željezničar 0–1 0–1 0–2
2006–07 Intertoto Cup R2 Iceland Keflavík ÍF 4–1 2–2 6–3
R3 England Newcastle United 0–3 1–1 1–4
2007–08 UEFA Cup QR1 Luxembourg Käerjéng 97 2–1 0–1 2–2 (a)
2008–09 UEFA Cup QR2 Denmark Copenhagen 2–4 1–3 3–7

Records

Current squad

As of 11 March 2016[10]

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

No. Position Player
2 Sweden DF Martin Falkeborn
3 Norway DF Simen Kind Mikalsen
4 Norway DF Marius Amundsen
5 Norway DF Ole Martin Rindarøy (on loan from Molde)
7 Lebanon MF Bassel Jradi (on loan from Strømsgodset)
8 France MF Malaury Martin
9 Iceland FW Árni Vilhjálmsson
10 Norway MF Marius Lundemo
11 Norway FW Erling Knudtzon
12 Norway GK Jacob Faye-Lund
13 Norway DF Frode Kippe (Captain)
No. Position Player
15 Norway MF Erik Brenden
16 Norway DF Håkon Skogseid
17 Norway MF Jørgen Kolstad
18 Nigeria MF Bonke Innocent
20 Norway FW Mohamed Ofkir
21 Norway FW Petter Mathias Olsen
22 Denmark DF Michael Jakobsen (on loan from Esbjerg fB)
23 Nigeria FW Fred Friday
26 Norway MF Sheriff Sinyan
29 Norway GK Emil Ødegaard
77 Kenya GK Arnold Origi

Players out on loan

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

No. Position Player
14 Norway MF Fredrik Krogstad (on loan at Ull/Kisa)
27 Norway FW Markus Brændsrød (on loan at Strømmen)

For season transfers, see transfers winter 2014–15.

Coaching staff

Position Name
Head coach Iceland Rúnar Kristinsson
Assistant coach Iceland Sigurður Ragnar Eyjólfsson
Goalkeeping coach Norway Rolf Høgmo
Physio Norway Erik Kveen
Development coach Norway Arild Sundgot
Analysis manager Norway Didrik Bjella
Equipment manager Norway Tor Arne Solberg
Doctor Norway Terje Rambøl

Administrative staff

Position Name
Chairman Norway Owe Halvorsen
Managing director Norway Robert Lauritsen
Sports director Norway Torgeir Bjarmann
Sports administrator Norway Simon Mesfin

Managers

Supporters

Lillestrøm is one of the most supported clubs in Norway, and has the second biggest fan-club in Norway, as the official fan-club, Kanarifansen has more than 5,000 members. Kanarifansen was founded on 3 December 1992 and publishes its own magazines and has its own collection of clothing.

Rivalries

Lillestrøm's biggest rival is Vålerenga Fotball. The club has also had a rivalry with Rosenborg. Their traditional local rival dated back to the clubs foundation is Strømmen IF.

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, April 25, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.