Viking FK
| Full name | Viking Fotballklubb | ||
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| Nickname(s) | Viking | ||
| Founded | August 10, 1899 | ||
| Ground | Viking Stadion, Stavanger | ||
| Capacity | 15,300 | ||
| Chairman | Ole Rugland | ||
| Manager | Tom Prahl | ||
| League | Norwegian Premier League | ||
| 2005 | Premier League, 5th | ||
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Viking F.K. is a Norwegian football club from the city of Stavanger. The club was founded in 1899 as football was becoming increasingly popular. It is one of the great aristocrats of Norwegian football, having won 8 Norwegian Premier Football League titles, last in 1991, and 5 domestic cup titles. The club has played and won more top-flight league games than any other club, and it has played in the top division since the league was established, except for the years 1966-67 and 1987-88. Its most recent claim to fame on a continental scale came during the 2002-03 season, when it eliminated English giants Chelsea from the UEFA Cup.
History
Viking F.K. was founded in Stavanger in 1899 and played mainly local games in the early years. From the 1930s, the club established itself at the national level, playing in the 1933 cup final, which it lost to Mjøndalen. During the 1930s the club produced several of its best known players, most prominently Reidar Kvammen, who played in Norway's bronze medal winning 1936 olympic team. His brother Arthur Kvammen was also capped for Norway, while Bernhard Lund later went on to write the club anthem.
After the Second World War, Viking became a dominant side in the 1950s, beating Lillestrøm S.K. in the 1953 cup final and Sandefjord in the 1959 final, as well as the league title in 1958. Long-serving goalkeeper Sverre Andersen was the most prominent player in this generation, while Edgar Falch also earnt several caps for Norway. Rolf and Kåre Bjørnsen, Asbjørn Skjærpe and Leif Nicolaysen were other prominent players, while a young Olav Nilsen began his remarkable Viking career in 1959. The club attendance record also stems from 1959, when 18,892 spectators saw Viking beat Odd 4-0 in the cup semifinal.
While the 1960s was a somewhat quieter decade for Viking, the club returned to dominate Norwegian football in the 1970s. Viking won four straight league titles from 1972 to 1975, as well as the double in 1979. Innovative 1972 manager Kjell Schou Andreassen has been credited for laying the foundation for the success, with his ideas on cooperative behaviour and his revolutionary use of pacey, attacking full backs Sigbjørn Slinning and Anbjørn Ekeland. However, the team had a new manager every year, with Sverre Andersen, Stewart Williams and Olav Nilsen leading them to the title in the subsequent years, and Tony Knapp managing the 1979 team. Midfielder Olav Nilsen was also a crucial player on the pitch in the first half of the decade, earning the nickname "Olav Viking", while fellow midfielder Svein Kvia was awarded the Norwegian Player of the Year title on several occasions. Reidar Goa, Hans Edgar Paulsen, Erik Johannessen, Inge Valen, Johannes Vold, Svein Hammerø, Gunnar Berland and Trygve Johannessen were other key players.
The 1980s started well for the club. Kjell Schou Andreassen returned to guide the club to the league title in 1982. They also finished runners-up in the league in 1981 and 1984, and in the cup in 1984, producing players such as Bjarne Berntsen, Per Henriksen, Erik Thorstvedt, Svein Fjælberg, Nils Ove Hellvik, Tonning Hammer, Isak Arne Refvik, Torbjørn Svendsen, Trygve Johannessen and Gary Goodchild. However, the mid-80s saw the club relegated to the second division, and 1987 was the club's worst season in recent memory as the club fell to 8th position in the Second Division, while local rivals Bryne F.K. won the cup and neighbouring minnows Vidar almost won promotion to the Premier League.
Something had to be done, and the solution was a massive financial gamble which saw Swedish manager Benny Lennartsson and players Kjell Jonevret and Per Holmberg arrive on large salaries. The gamble paid off when charismatic striker Alf Kåre Tveit secured a controversial penalty in the 95th minute against Vard in the final league game of the 1988 season. Arild Ravndal converted the spot kick to give Viking the victory and secure promotion, dubbed "the miracle in Haugesund". This signalled the start of a new era, and the club won the cup in 1989 and the league in 1991. Lars Gaute Bø, Roger Nilsen, Kent Christiansen, Egil Fjetland, Jan Fjetland, Trond Egil Soltvedt, Mike McCabe, Børre Meinseth were other key players in a young Viking team.
However, many of the young players from the 1991 league winning squad did not manage to live up to their expectations, and the club was almost relegated under new manager Arne Larsen Økland in 1992. Bjarne Berntsen took over as manager in mid-season and secured renewed Premiership status, as well as almost knocking FC Barcelona out of the European Cup. While the club spent most of the 1990s challenging for Premier League medals, it did however never manage to challenge Rosenborg B.K. for the league championships. The 1990s was also the era of player exports in Norwegian football, and Viking made substantial earnings from the sales of striker Egil Østenstad to Southampton F.C. for £900,000 in 1996 and goalkeeper Thomas Myhre to Everton F.C. for £800,000 in 1997, among others. Gunnar Aase, Lars Gaute Bø, Magnus Svensson, Bjarte Aarsheim, Kenneth Storvik, Roger Nilsen and Ingve Bøe were other key players in this generation.
Benny Lennartson returned in 2000 to take over from Dane Poul Erik Andreasen, and this resulted in two bronze medals, a cup title and a memorable European Cup victory over Chelsea. In 2003, Kjell Inge Olsen took over as manager, and the club finished fifth in the league. At the beginning of the 2004 season, the club moved to its new stadium in Jåttåvågen, named Viking Stadion. At the same time, Roy Hodgson took over as manager. The club finished ninth in its first season in the new stadium, but had high ambtions to win a medal in it's 2005 campaign. The star players in that years squad were Brede Hangeland, Egil Østenstad, Peter Kopteff, Frode Hansen, Ronny Deila and Peter Kovacs. Roy Hodgson quit his job as Vikings coach, heading towards Finland to train it's national team. Tom Prahl replaced Hodgson.
Honours
Winners: 1958, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1979, 1982, 1991
Third place: 1955, 1968, 1971, 1978, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2001
Winners: 1953, 1959, 1979, 1989, 2001
Runners up: 1933, 1947, 1974, 1984, 2000
Famous European Cup Runs
1972/73 UEFA Cup, 1st round: Beat IBV Vestmannaeyar 1-0 on aggregate (1-0 at home, 0-0 away).
2nd round: Beat FC Köln 1-0 at home, lost 9-2 on aggregate.
1982/83 UEFA Cup, 1st round: Beat Lokomotive Leipzig on away goals, after 1-0 at home and 2-3 away.
2nd round: Lost 1-3 on aggregate to Dundee United (1-3 at home, 0-0 away).
1992/93 Champions League, 1st round: Held Barcelona to 0-0 draw at home, lost 0-1 away two weeks earlier.
1999/00 UEFA Cup, preliminary round: Beat Principat 18-0 on aggregate.
1st round: Beat Sporting Lisbon 3-1 on aggregate (3-0 at home, 0-1 away).
2nd round: Lost to Werder Bremen on away goals (0-0 away, 2-2 at home).
2001/02 UEFA Cup, preliminary round: Beat F.C. Brotjno 2-1 on aggregate (1-0 at home, 1-1 away).
1st round: Beat Kilmarnock 3-1 on aggregate (1-1 away, 2-0 at home).
2nd round: Lost 0-3 on aggregate to Hertha Berlin (0-1 at home, 0-2 away).
2002/03 UEFA Cup, 1st round: Beat Chelsea 5-4 on aggregate, after losing 1-2 away and winning 4-2 at home two weeks later.
2nd round: Lost 4-1 to Celta Vigo (0-3 away, 1-1 at home).
2005/06 UEFA Cup, 1st preliminary round: Beat Portadown 3-1 on aggregate (1-0 at home, 2-1 away).
2nd preliminary round: Beat Rhyl 3-1 on aggregate (2-1 at home, 1-0 away).
1st round: Beat Austria Vienna 2-2 on away goals (1-0 at home, 1-2 away)
Group stages: Beat AS Monaco 1-0 at home, lost 0-2 to Hamburg away, drew 2-2 with Slavia Prague at home, lost 0-2 to CSKA Sofia away.
Norwegian Youth Cup
Winners: 1965, 1979, 1995, 2003
Runners up: 1969, 1970, 1981, 1992, 1996, 1998
Records
Largest victory
11-0 v Principat, Andorra, August 26, 1999 (UEFA cup)
8-1 v Rosenborg B.K., August 12, 1984 (Norwegian Premier League)
Heaviest defeat
Largest attendance
Stavanger Stadion: 19,563 v Odd, 1959
Viking Stadion: 15,300 v Molde F.K., 2004
Most appearances
551 Svein Kvia
523 Sigbjørn Slinning
501 Erik Johannesen
500 Torbjørn Svendsen
482 Sverre Andersen
414 Olav Nilsen
407 Isak Arne Refvik
404 Reidar Goa
396 Arvid Knutsen
383 Gunnar Aase
377 Per Henriksen
374 Lauritz Abrahamsen
370 William Danielsen
364 Lars Gaute Bø
346 Tonning Hammer
341 Inge Valen
327 Cato Andersen
312 Trygve Johannessen
311 Ingve H. Bøe
Most goals
202 Reidar Kvammen
181 Trygve Johannessen
180 William Danielsen
176 Arthur Kvammen
150 Egil Østenstad
146 Åsbjørn Skjærpe
132 Erik Nevland
124 Håkon Kindervåg
117 Arvid Knutsen
117 Torbjørn Svendsen
115 Olav Nilsen
110 Nils Ove Hellvik
103 Endre Aanonsen
100 Gunvald Bøe
99 Rolf Bjørnsen d.e.
99 Kåre Ingvaldsen
98 Hans Edgar Paulsen
94 Johann Fosse
86 Isak Arne Refvik
85 Kjell Jonevret
Most caps
62 Olav Nilsen (19 goals)
51 Reidar Kvammen (17 goals)
42 Sigbjørn Slinning (1 goal)
41 Sverre Andersen
39 Thomas Myhre
38 Svein Kvia (3 goals)
33 Svein Fjælberg
32 Roger Nilsen (3 goals)
28 Edgar Falch
26 Frode Olsen
Current squad
Playing squad
As of December 28th, 2005 Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Players out on loan
| — | MF |  NOR
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Jone Samuelsen (on loan to Skeid) |
Coaching staff
| Manager | Tom Prahl |
| Assistant manager | Arvi Taaler |
| Development coach | Geir Lunde |
| Reserve team manager | Gary Goodchild |
| Physical trainer | Thor Arne Aasen |
| Goalkeeping coach | Kurt Hegre |
Administrative staff
| Chairman | Ole Rugland |
| Director | Erik Forgaard |
| Marketing director | Hans-Øyvind Sagen |
| Marketing consultants | Børge Moi Nilsen, Arild Gjerde |
External links
Template:Norwegian football start
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