Lillestrøm SK

Lillestrøm SK

Full name	Lillestrøm Sportsklubb
Nickname(s)	Kanarifugla, Fugla (The Canaries, The Birds)
Short name	LSK
Founded	2 April 1917; 107 years ago (1917-04-02)
Ground	Åråsen Stadion Lillestrøm
Capacity	12,250[1]
Chairman	Morten Kokkim
Head coach	Dag Eilev Fagermo
League	Eliteserien
2023	Eliteserien, 6th of 16
Website	http://www.lsk.no/
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

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 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]}

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.

• Eliteserien:
  • Winners (5): 1958–59, 1976, 1977, 1986, 1989
  • Runners-up (8): 1959–60, 1978, 1983, 1985, 1988, 1994, 1996, 2001
• Norwegian Cup:
  • Winners (6): 1977, 1978, 1981, 1985, 2007, 2017
  • Runners-up (8): 1953, 1955, 1958, 1980, 1986, 1992, 2005, 2022
• Royal League:
  • Runners-up (1): 2005–06
• UEFA Intertoto Cup:
  • Runners-up (1): 2006

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 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 (in progress)	Eliteserien	15	27	7	3	17	30	53	24	Quarter-final

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

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

• 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

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.

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)

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

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

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

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.

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.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lillestrøm Sportsklubb.

• Official website
• "Kanari-Fansen", the Lillestrøm SK Supporters Club
• Stats, history and facts