Norway — Cyprus (20-06-2023)

I take the tram from the Central Station to Ullevål Stadion and along the way more fans join. When we arrive at the stadium, roughly 45 minutes before the 8.45 PM kick-off, there is a very good crowd.

Fortunately, everyone has their tickets printed out, so when I make it to the ticket office, there is virtually no one there. I ask for “a ticket” and get one for NOK 400 (ca. $37,50), not bad for an official game of the national team (particularly in such an expensive country as Norway). The ticket itself is bare minimum.

Ullevaal Stadion looks like a mall from the outside and has some shops built into the outside. It opened in 1926 and has long been the home ground of the two major teams from Oslo, FK Lyn, which left in 2009, and Vålerenga IF, which left in 2017. Now it is owned by the Norwegian Football Association and the stadium of the national stadium. With a capacity of about 28,000, it is the biggest stadium in the country.

Today’s game is an official qualifier for the UEFA EURO 2024, to be played in Germany, between Norway and Cyprus. Despite the fact that Norway has just one point after three games, it is very busy. Official attendance is 23,643. The audience is typical for national team games in Europe: cross class, but disproportionate upper middle class, very white, quite a lot of girls, women and families, and mostly people who never go to the stadium for a club game (perhaps sometimes an EPL game on vacation). The audience is also quite young.

Norway will dominate the whole game and Cyprus makes it clear why they haven’t won a game yet. In the 5th minute, a Norway corner is headed from close range but bounces over the goal. Four minutes later a Norway player gets the ball free in the middle of the box but his half volley is saved by the goalie. And another minute later a mess up in the Cyprus defense gives Norway another big chance that is saved in two attempts by the (good) goalie. But two minutes later, a cross goes just over the incredibly high jumping Haaland, but behind him is a player who drop shots it hard in the far corner: 1-0.

It gets quite pedestrian after the goal. Norway has about 80% possession but plays predictable, slow, and without any individual actions… yet, as I write this on my phone, another clever pass to Haaland leads to an incredibly hard shot from the bounce but the goalie saves — it’s offside anyway. I honestly think I have no one ever seen shoot as hard as Haaland. Half time score: 1-0.

In the 50th minute Norway gets its first chance of the second half: as Haaland goes down and claims a foul, another player misses a perfect opportunity, free in front of the goal, by heading the ball wide. Despite having one of the best midfielders (Ødegaard) and the undisputed best striker in the world (Haaland), Norway is a very mediocre team.

In the 55th minute a clumsy handball after a corner leads to a Norway penalty. Haaland scores calmly: 2-0. About five minutes later, we finally see a Haaland moment: perfect start at a perfect pass and a cool finish: 3-0. First real good attack that leads to goal. After a lukewarm performance, but with two goals as his already record-breaking tally, Haaland now seems motivated again, I guess to score a hattrick.

Cyprus is really, really poor. Worst than I had expected. They get their first somewhat of a chance in the 72nd minute, a shot that goes far wide. In the 87th minute, a calm, low Norway shot from just inside the box goes wide. And then, with practically the last kick of the game, in the third minute of extra time, Cyprus scores out of nowhere, after a clever through ball and a cool finish: 3-1. That is also the final score.

Overall, this was a classic official international game. A happy audience of people who rarely go to games, are not hostile to the opponent, and entertain themselves even when the football is poor. Ullevaal Stadion doesn’t look much from the outside, but is pretty nice inside, and was almost sold out. Nice convenient hop!

Hammerfest IF Stein — Tromsø IL 2 (18-06-2023)

Hammerfest, a town in Norway, is the most northern settlement with more than 10,000 people. It is also, allegedly, the most northern place in the world where official football games are being played. So, I decided to drive there from Stockholm, approximately 1,600 km (or 1,000 miles), by way of games in Umeå and Luleå.

I arrive in Hammerfest more than 1.5 hour early for the 4 PM kick-off, so I decide to make a quick visit to the old stadium, the Breidabikk Stadion in Rypefjord, just outside of Hammerfest. And “stadium” is a big word here.

Since 2022 Hammerfest plays its home games in the brand new Vår Energi Arena, an indoor Astroturf ground that has place for just 500 people on just one side of the pitch. Although it is indoors, it is also remarkably cold… in fact, colder than outside!

I pay 100 NOK (or $9.50) to get in and get sort of a ticket. I go back to my car to get my jacket and take a seat on one of the ca. 25 plastic seats — the rest is just wooden bench.

It’s pretty busy at the game, particularly given that it is nice weather by local standards (14 C and sunny). The audience is quite young, mostly men, but a few larger groups of girls too (some might play for the girls team). Although I saw a lot of non-white people downtown, there are few in the stands and none on the pitch (one non-white player comes in for Hammerfest in the 79th minute). A significant people wear club gear that indicates they play for the team at some level — few have fan gear.

The game is in the Norsk Tipping Ligaen, Afd 6 (Sixth Division). Hammerfest IF Stein) is a merger of two local teams, founded in 1991. They play the second team of Tromsø IL, whose first team plays in the Eliteserien (First Division).

The first half decent chance occurs in the 12th minute, when a a hard shot by the hosts goes wide and high. A few minutes later, a Hammerfest corner should have been headed in but is weak and wide and the ensuing shot is wild and wide. Two minutes later a long H free kick is headed back and hit weak from close range and then saved by defender.

It is a game between hard work and strong physique (Hammerfest) and high pace and good passing but no final pass (Tromsø). Tromsø 2 looks like the under-21 team of the club: young, fast, technical, but missing the height and strength of lower league Norwegian football. Still, in the 31st minute, the guests have a well-executed counter attack that is finished from close range: 0-1. This is also the half time score.

The second half continues with physical work by Hammerfest and fast counters by Tromsø with a lot of fouls and very few chances. In the 58th minute the ball drops in front of a Tromsø player inside of the box who hits the crossbar. Two minutes later a quick counter through the middle leads to a surprising win in a sprint for the fairly heavy Hammerfest striker, who then shoots a bit weak at the goal, which is saved by the gaolie.

In the 70th and 78th minute a Tromsø goal is disallowed for offside; in both cases the correct decision but particularly the second one was a beautiful attack. After that, there is no more goals and 0-1 is the final score.

Indoor football, rather than futsal, remains really weird, but it does make perfect sense in Hammerfest. Was it worth the drive? Well, yes, because it is the most northern place to play official football. But in terms of stadium, football, or ambiance, it was less remarkable.

KFUM-kameratene – Levanger (22-05-2016)

For business in Oslo I initially have a hard time finding a game in or around the city of a team I haven’t seen on one of my previous trips. In the end, there are two games, but at the same time, so I have to choose one. I choose to see KFUM-kameratene Oslo, which is the local sport branch of the YMCA in Oslo, which plays in the Obos Ligaen (Second Division).

 

I take a tram from downtown, which takes me to the affluent and green outskirts of the city. After a 10 minute walk uphill, I get to the KFUM Arena. When I had done my research into the club, I had been a bit disappointed that they played in an “Arena,” as I associated it with a new, soulless, prefab sports arena. Not so much… I doubt the term “arena” has ever been used so liberally as by KFUM.

After buying a General Admission ticket for 150 NOK (ca. $18) in a small tent, I walk over to a fairly basic pitch with just one stand of bleachers, which seem to have become permanent without the necessary intent. There are some 350 people on this stand, although some 100 arrive during the first half hour of the game. Most people are affluent, white, young males, although there are also some women and a few non-whites. A small group of ca. 50 has banners and a couple drums and, at times, sings.

On the only other stand, a very small bleacher behind one of the goals, some 50 away supporters have come together, also sporting some banners and sometimes singing. Given that Levanger is 575 km to the North of Oslo, roughly a 7.5 hour drive, I assume most of the fans are Levanger transplants in Oslo, the capital of Norway.

The game is played on astroturf, which is not surprising given the harsh climate in Norway. This generally improves the quality of play, as the ball is more predictable and easier to control. And, indeed, the quality of the game is pretty decent, although passing is soft and predictable. KFUM has various black players, who seem foreigners, as the loud and lively goalkeeper shouts his direction in both Norwegian and English.

After an entertaining but fairly harmless first ten minutes, KFUM sets up a slow attack through the center, which end with a soft finish that is just enough to cross the line: 1-0. The home fans are delighted!

 

Although Levanger is not much weaker, KFUM gets at 2-0 five minutes later. A free kick is shot hard into the wall, and in the second rebound it is shot in he high corner. A few minutes later Levanger finally gets its first chance, after a corner in the 20^th minute, and a minute later a good attack leads to a brave safe by the KFUM goalie.

The best chance is for the hosts, however, after the Levanger goalie blunders terribly in the 43^rd minute, but KFUM cannot finish. Just before half time the guests get another chance, but the hard shot goes just wide. 2-0 is the half time score.

After a very uneventful half time break, with absolutely nothing happening on or off the pitch, the game restarts with a vengeance. In face, I miss what produces the chance, but see a KFUM player score from close by: 3-0.

While it is absolutely clear that the game is over, Levanger keeps playing, although without much precession or urgency. The fans remain in good spirits too, despite the fact that it hasn’t stopped drizzling. Overall, it is mild, grey, and wet – a miserable November day in Athens, an average May day in Oslo. In the 74^th minute KFUM gets another corner and scores from a header in the rebound: 4-0.

Even with 4-0 down the game continues to be entertaining, with Levanger slowly and cautiously attacking, and KFUM countering whenever they can. From the play it looks like the score is just 1-0. I become fixated on the home goalie, who shoots every kick straight out of the sideline. Amazing! In the 88^th minute KFUM adds one last goal, from an effective counter with a hard low finish: 5-0. As the referee is clearly a sadist, he gives four minutes extra time to a game that has been over for 44 minutes and, surprisingly, all people stay in the stadium despite the depressing weather. Nothing happens and so the final score is 5-0.

KFUM was one of my more enjoyable groundhops in a while. A real small team with truly local fans, who enjoy the experience and make it enjoyable for others. The play wasn’t bad, even if slow, and with five goals, who could complain?

Strømsgodset IF – Aalesunds FK (01-08-2010)

On my last day in Oslo, I decided to leave the city and make the 40 km (25 miles) journey to Drammen to see a home game of Strømsgodset IF, one of the smaller teams in the Norwegian Toppeligaen (First Division). Normally this would take only 30 minutes by train, but because of work on the tracks, I had to take a bus, which took me some 50 minutes. Although the stadium is just a 15 minute walk from the station, I arrived a couple of minutes late.

The Marienlyst Stadion was opened in 1925 and has been the home of Strømsgodset IF since 1967; the Norwegian national youth team also plays most of its game here. It has a capacity of 7.500, and since 2007 the surface is artificial grass. The stadium consists of three different sized, but all covered stands, and one smaller, non-covered stand for away supporters.

I bought a ticket for NOK 270 (34 Euro) and made my way to the stand of the Strømsgodset ultras, behind the goal. Most of the fans on this stand were wearing team jerseys and were standing and singing during the whole game.

The stadium was pretty crowded; the official attendance was 6,263 (if my Norwegian is correct). Among them at least 500 away supporters, who had made the impressive trip from Ålesund, 537 km (333 miles) to the north of Drammen. Respect!

Although the conditions were perfect for a good game of football – 21C/70F, dry and only a slight breeze – the players had something else in mind. The first half hour almost nothing noteworthy happened, except perhaps for a nasty foul by an Aalesund striker, who was punished by a yellow card and whistles whenever he got the ball until he was substituted in the 63^rd minute.

In the 39^th minute Strømsgodset, which had been the weaker team until that point, takes a free kick fast and scores unexpectedly 1-0. The first half ends on a high note, however, with the home goalie making two safes against headers in the 3^rd minute of extra time and a defender clearing on the goal line after the goalie was defeated by a beautiful lob.

The second half starts with the same bad football, but this time with much less singing from the home fans. Fortunately, they pick it up again after 10-15 minutes, and I am again enjoying my evening out, rather than the football game. It is mostly a game of what the Germans call Kampffussball (work football) with the visitors showing at least some attempts at passing. In the 59^th minute a fantastic cross of Aalesund is missed from close range. The visitors get a lot of possession because the hosts are weak in the personal duels.

After several half-chances for the visitors, Strømsgodset finally challenges too. After a good individual action a thundering shot from ca. 20 meters is tipped over the crossbar by the Aalesund goalie. He also boxes the following two corners away. In the 67^th minute the hosts attack and two players go down in the box: penalty!

The 2-0 was not really deserved, even though Aalesund created few clear chances. A few more chances emerge after the goal and in the 76^th minute Aalesund score with a volley after a good attack: 2-1. It looks as if the last fifteen minutes are going to be exciting, but in the 82^nd minute a Strømsgodset corner is headed back and then headed in from close range: 3-1, game over.

I must admit that I had never heard of Strømsgodset IF before I came to Oslo. Reading up on them, I am happy that ‘Godset’ was saved from bankruptcy in 2006, as they have a cozy stadium and a small but loyal following. Going to a Strømsgodset game is like going to any major game in a provincial town in the 1970s-1980s. The real football experience!

Vålerenga IF – FC Barcelona (27-07-2010)

For some reason, FC Barcelona, Europe’s powerhouse, had decided to come to Oslo to start its season. Afraid it would be sold out, I had asked a local colleague to buy me a ticket in advance, two weeks before the game. As the cheapest tickets were no longer available, he got me the second cheapest: NOK 497 (63 Euro): welcome to Norway! Together with my student S., a Flemish Barca fan, I made my way to the stadium in the cold and rain. Despite the fact that the tram hit a car on the way, we arrived at the Ullevål Stadion well in time for S. to buy a ticket (which he selfishly gave to me as a souvenir, as I had gotten an email print out).

The Ullevål Stadion is the national stadium of Norwegian soccer with a capacity of 25,572. It is home to both the Norwegian national team and Vålerenga IF, the biggest team of Oslo and one of the major teams in Norways Tippeligaen (First Division). Consequently, they are one of the few teams with a sizeable ultra section that sings during the whole match.

Despite the inevitable costs of playing a team like FC Barcelona in a friendly, this was clearly a good move. Despite the terrible weather, 21.993 people had come to the stadium, at least half of them to see FC Barcelona. And although many of the Barca were also Vålerenga fans, all of them were Norwegian incidentally, many clearly were not among the hardcore fans and were there more for Barca than Vålerenga (Barca jerseys far outnumbered Vålerenga jerseys). Hence, the game had more the atmosphere of a circus, or major football event (like World Cup or Champions League), than the authentic vibe of a regular national competition game.

After a festive official opening, during which the Barca and Vålerenga songs were sung, we could finally start. Barca had virtually none of its stars, as all World Cup 2010 players were still on holiday, but the second (and later third) teams were fairly eager, despite the horrendous weather (cold, windy and extremely rainy), and still very skilled.

Although Vålerenga was mid-season and Barca played its first game with its second team, it was the visitors who were the better team. After a couple of half-chances, mostly created by a swirling ball and a blundering Barca goalie, the visitors showed their superior skill. After a beautiful one-two through the center the ball was perfectly placed in the far corner: 0-1 and the audience went crazy as if the home team had scored. However, just one minute a Barca defender gave a light but dumb push in the box, and Vålerenga took the present: 1-1 through a penalty.

In the 31^st minute the hosts could even make it 2-1, but the Barca goalie stopped the shot. As the crowd around me was continuing its “Barca Barca” chants, they were rewarded in the 35^th minute, when a midfielder pounded the ball from just outside the box in the net. Not the best action of the home goalie: 1-2, also the half time score.

At half time Barca exchanged its whole squad and was now playing with Barca 3 and… Zlatan Ibrahimović. As soon as this Swedish superstar made his appearance, people in the stadium went crazy… though they were to be bitterly disappointed. In all my 350+ games, I doubt I have ever seen anyone move so little and so slow as Zlatan Ibrahimović that night (maybe Piet Keur in his Feyenoord days comes close). Incredible! Then again, Barca didn’t need him, as the Vålerenga libero functioned as their 11^th man, kicking the ball straight into the feet of the Barca striker, who only had to take two steps and kick the ball into the net: 1-3. This was the start of several minutes of terrible defending by the hosts, which was only punished again in the 65^th minute, when Barca got a free header in the box: 1-4.

To keep everyone happy, Vålerenga scored once more, the next minute, through a shot from 20 meter which was missed by the weak Barca goalie: 2-4. And that was roughly the end of the game, as Barca seemed ready to leave rainy Norway from the 70^th minute on, and Vålerenga didn’t have the quality to seriously challenge even the third team of Barca. The only excitement came from a crazy guy, who ran on the pitch to give his man love to Zlatan, who remained unfazed. The guy was finally caught by security, who dragged him off under loud applause.

Not much happened after that. Vålerenga cleared its whole bench so that everyone could legitimately claim they had played against Barca. Who would ever know that by that time the only known player left on the pitch was Zlatan, and he barely moved.

Overall, it was an enjoyable evening, despite the rain, costs, and kind of artificial atmosphere of the game. However, I would probably have preferred to see a regular league game of Vålerenga, to appreciate its singing real supporters better. As there is no doubt, together with probably only Rosenborg BK and Lillestrøm SK, Vålerenga IF is the only Norwegian team with a real following.