Lillestrøm Sportsklubb is a Norwegian professional football club based in the city of Lillestrøm, just outside of the capital Oslo. Lillestrøm SK is a Norwegian football club based in Lillestrøm, playing in Eliteserien. The club 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, having played 45 seasons from 1975 until 2019. 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 the United States, Sweden, Iceland, Senegal, Finland, Malta, Australia, South Africa, Slovenia, Tunisia, Canada, Somalia, and Nigeria.

Lillestrøm SK
Full nameLillestrøm Sportsklubb
Nickname(s)Kanarifugla, Fugla
(The Canaries, The Birds)
Short nameLSK
Founded2 April 1917; 107 years ago (1917-04-02)
GroundÅråsen Stadion
Lillestrøm
Capacity12,250[1]
ChairmanMorten Kokkim
Head coachDag Eilev Fagermo
LeagueEliteserien
2024Eliteserien, 15th of 16 (relegated)
Websitehttp://www.lsk.no/
Current season

History

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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, 2007 and 2017.[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.[citation needed]

In the 2006 season, Lillestrøm were among the top favourites to win the league.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed]

 
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.[citation needed]

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.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed]

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.[citation needed] This despite an abject 34 points gathered over 30 league matches,[6] which normally would mean relegation.[citation needed]

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[citation needed] 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.[citation needed]

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

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Recent history

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Season Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Cup Notes
1995 Tippeligaen 4 26 11 8 7 50 36 41 Semi-final
1996 Tippeligaen 2 26 13 7 6 54 33 46 Third round
1997 Tippeligaen 10 26 9 6 11 41 49 33 Fourth round
1998 Tippeligaen 8 26 9 5 12 34 43 32 Third round
1999 Tippeligaen 4 26 15 3 8 60 41 48 Quarter-final
2000 Tippeligaen 6 26 11 7 8 42 29 40 Quarter-final
2001 Tippeligaen 2 26 17 5 4 64 33 56 Semi-final
2002 Tippeligaen 7 26 10 6 10 37 30 36 Third round
2003 Tippeligaen 7 26 10 7 9 33 35 37 Fourth round
2004 Tippeligaen 7 26 8 11 7 45 33 35 Semi-final
2005 Tippeligaen 4 26 12 6 8 37 31 42 Final
2006 Tippeligaen 4 26 12 8 6 44 33 44 Quarter-final
2007 Tippeligaen 4 26 12 8 6 47 28 44 Winner
2008 Tippeligaen 12 26 7 7 12 30 40 28 Second round
2009 Tippeligaen 11 30 9 10 11 43 50 37 Fourth round
2010 Tippeligaen 10 30 9 13 8 51 44 40 Third round
2011 Tippeligaen 13 30 9 7 14 46 52 34 Fourth round
2012 Tippeligaen 9 30 9 12 9 46 47 39 Fourth round
2013 Tippeligaen 10 30 9 9 12 37 44 36 Semi-final
2014 Tippeligaen 5 30 13 7 10 49 35 46 Quarter-final
2015 Tippeligaen 8 30 12 9 9 45 43 44 Third round
2016 Tippeligaen 12 30 8 10 12 45 50 34 Third round
2017 Eliteserien 12 30 10 7 13 40 43 37 Winner
2018 Eliteserien 12 30 7 11 12 34 44 32 Semi-final
2019 Eliteserien 14 30 7 9 14 32 47 30 Third round Relegated to 1. divisjon through play-offs
2020 1. divisjon 2 30 16 9 5 49 26 57 Cancelled Promoted to Eliteserien
2021 Eliteserien 4 30 14 7 9 49 40 49 Quarter-final
2022 Eliteserien 4 30 16 5 9 49 34 53 Final
2023 Eliteserien 6 30 13 4 13 49 49 43 Second round
2024 Eliteserien 15 30 7 3 20 33 63 24 Quarter-final Relegated to 1. divisjon

European record

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Summary

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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 28 10 2 16 35 49 2018–19
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 10 3 0 7 11 18 1993–94
UEFA Europa Conference League 4 2 0 2 7 7 2022–23
UEFA Intertoto Cup 8 4 2 2 18 11 2006
Total 64 22 9 33 81 102

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

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Season Competition Round Opponent Home Away Agg.
1977–78 European Cup R1   Ajax 2–0 0–4 2–4
1978–79 European Cup R1   Linfield 1–0 0–0 1–0
R2   Austria Vienna 0–0 1–4 1–4
1979–80 Cup Winners' Cup PR   Rangers 0–2 0–1 0–3
1982–83 Cup Winners' Cup R1   Red Star Belgrade 0–4 0–3 0–7
1984–85 UEFA Cup R1   Lokomotive Leipzig 3–0 0–7 3–7
1986–87 Cup Winners' Cup R1   Benfica 1–2 0–2 1–4
1987–88 European Cup R1   Linfield 1–1 4–2 5–3
R2   Bordeaux 0–0 0–1 0–1
1989–90 UEFA Cup R1   Werder Bremen 1–3 0–2 1–5
1990–91 European Cup R1   Club Brugge 1–1 0–2 1–3
1993–94 Cup Winners' Cup QR   Nikol Tallinn 4–1 4–0 8–1
R1   Torino 0–2 2–1 2–3
1994–95 UEFA Cup PR   Shakhtar Donetsk 4–1 0–2 4–3
R1   Bordeaux 0–2 1–3 1–5
1995–96 UEFA Cup PR   Flora Tallinn 4–0 0–1 4–1
R1   Brøndby 0–0 0–3 0–3
1996–97 Intertoto Cup Group
5
  Kaunas N/A 4–1
  Sligo Rovers 4–0 N/A
  Heerenveen N/A 1–0
  Nantes 2–3 N/A
1997–98 UEFA Cup QR2   Dinamo Minsk 1–0 2–0 3–0
R1   Twente 2–1 0–1 2–2 (a)
2000–01 UEFA Cup QR   Glentoran 1–0 3–0 4–0
R1   Dynamo Moscow 3–1 1–2 4–3
R2   Deportivo Alavés 1–3 2–2 3–5
2002–03 Champions League QR2   Željezničar 0–1 0–1 0–2
2006–07 Intertoto Cup R2   Keflavík 4–1 2–2 6–3
R3   Newcastle United 0–3 1–1 1–4
2007–08 UEFA Cup QR1   Käerjéng 97 2–1 0–1 2–2 (a)
2008–09 UEFA Cup QR2   Copenhagen 2–4 1–3 3–7
2018–19 UEFA Europa League QR2   LASK Linz 1–2 0–4 1–6
2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League QR2   SJK 5–2 1–0 6–2
QR3   Royal Antwerp 1–3 0–2 1–5

Records

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  • Greatest home victory: 10–0 vs. Geithus, 4 October 1953
  • Greatest away victory: 7–0 vs. Stabæk, 20 March 2011
  • Heaviest home loss: 1–7 vs. Fredrikstad, 15 August 1954
  • Heaviest away loss: 1–7 vs. Odd, 7 June 1953
  • Highest attendance, Åråsen Stadion: 13,652 vs. Vålerenga, 16 May 2002
  • Highest average attendance, season: 9,018 in 2007
  • Most appearances, total: 720, Frode Kippe 1997–1998, 2002–2019
  • Most appearances, league: 441, Frode Kippe 1997–1998, 2002–2019
  • Most goals scored, total: 319, Tom Lund 1967–82
  • Most goals scored, league: 154, Tom Lund 1967–82
  • Most goals scored, season: 26, Tom Lund 1973

Current squad

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As of 17 July 2024[10]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK   NOR Stefan Hagerup
2 DF   NOR Lars Ranger
3 DF   NOR Martin Ove Roseth
4 DF   NOR Espen Garnås
5 DF   IRQ Mohanad Jeahze
6 MF   NOR Vebjørn Hoff
7 FW   KOS Ylldren Ibrahimaj
8 MF   NOR Marius Lundemo
9 FW   SWE Jabir Abdihakim Ali (on loan from Västerås)
10 FW   NOR Thomas Lehne Olsen
11 DF   DEN Frederik Elkær
12 GK   NOR Mads Hedenstad Christiansen
14 FW   CIV Mathis Bolly
15 MF   NOR Erling Knudtzon
16 MF   NGA Uba Charles
17 MF   NOR Eric Kitolano
18 MF   SWE August Karlin
No. Pos. Nation Player
19 DF   NOR Kristoffer Tønnessen
20 FW   ANG Felix Vá
21 MF   NOR Markus Karlsbakk
22 FW   NOR Elias Solberg
23 MF   NOR Gjermund Åsen
28 DF   NOR Ruben Gabrielsen (captain)
29 GK   NOR Jørgen Sveinhaug
30 DF   NOR Sander Moen Foss
31 GK   NOR Oliver Petersen (on loan from Molde)
33 FW   SEN Moctar Diop
37 MF   NOR Leandro Neto
38 FW   NOR Alexander Røssing-Lelesiit
43 FW   NOR Markus Wæhler
55 MF   NOR Kevin Krygård
64 DF   SWE Eric Larsson
77 DF   NOR Lucas Svenningsen

For season transfers, see transfers winter 2023–24.

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
24 MF   NGA Efe Lucky (at Åsane until 31 December 2024)
26 FW   NOR Oliver Henriksrud (at Strømmen until 31 December 2024)
27 MF   NOR Uranik Seferi (at Hødd until 31 December 2024)
No. Pos. Nation Player
90 FW   NOR El Schaddai Furaha (at Raufoss until 31 December 2024)
DF   NOR Maximilian Balatoni (at Strømmen until 31 December 2024)
DF   USA Sam Rogers (at Aalesund until 31 December 2024)

Coaching staff

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Position Name
Head coach   Dag Eilev Fagermo
Assistant coach
Goalkeeping coach   Fredrik Vestgård
Fitness coach/Physio   Geir Kåsene
Physio   Erik Kveen
Head of Analytics   André Schelander
Sports coordinator   Tor Arne Solberg
Mental coach   Mette Rosseland
Doctor   Pål Jeroen Husby
Nutritionist   André Baumann
Scout   Espen Olsen

Academy

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Position Name
Head of academy   Toni Ordinas[11]
Head of Development   Frode Kippe

Administrative staff

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Position Name
Chairman   Morten Kokkim
Managing director   Robert Lauritsen
Sporting director   Simon Mesfin
Sales and partnership rep   Kari Herredsvela
Sales and partnership rep   Andreas Nilsen Grov
Financial and administration director   Linda Djupnes
Head of communications   Morten Stokstad
Marketing consultant/club store manager   Jørgen Heen Enger

Coaches

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Supporters

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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

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

References

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  1. ^ "Åråsen Stadion". www.lsk.no. Lillestrøm SK. 4 December 2016. Archived from the original on 25 September 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  2. ^ "Lillestrøm". Archived from the original on 22 September 2008. Retrieved 9 September 2008.
  3. ^ "Lillestrøm". Archived from the original on 22 September 2008. Retrieved 9 September 2008.
  4. ^ "Tom Nordlie trekker seg – P4 – 29.05.08". Archived from the original on 30 May 2008. Retrieved 4 June 2008.
  5. ^ "VG Live". Archived from the original on 5 September 2018. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  6. ^ "VG Live". Archived from the original on 5 September 2018. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  7. ^ "Haglund er LSKs nye hovedtrener". vg.no (in Norwegian). Verdens Gang. 23 November 2011. Archived from the original on 24 November 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
  8. ^ Sande, Egil (4 April 2012). "- Har ikke opplevd lignende i Norge". nettavisen.no (in Norwegian). Nettavisen. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
  9. ^ "VG Live". Archived from the original on 5 September 2018. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  10. ^ "Lag / Lillestrøm". Lillestrøm SK. Archived from the original on 24 August 2019. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  11. ^ "Fra Stabæk til Lillestrøm: Ordinas ny utviklingsleder". Archived from the original on 19 October 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
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