Continental Partner Valerenga IF Oslo has taken over from record champions

Continental congratulates Valerenga IF Oslo on winning the Norwegian Tippeliga. In the final match of the season on 29 October 2005, the team backed by Continental won the league championship and consequently qualified directly for the 2006/2007 Champions League.

The incident clouded the end of the Tippeliga championship race a little but ultimately couldn’t permanently dampen the delight in the capital city. They had achieved their big target: Rosenborg Trondheim, serial championship winners over the past 13 years were dethroned by Valerenga just four years after being promoted. finished seventh and the capital, thanks to Valerenga, were finally the No 1 place in Norwegian football.

A big contribution to the championship win was made by Kjetil Rekdal, the former Borussia Mönchengladbach and Hertha Berlin player, who enjoys a great deal of popularity in Germany. After nine Bundesliga games for Gladbach between 1988 and 1990, he made 64 appearances as Hertha captain in the German first division in his time in  between 1997 and 2000. Capped 83 times and a member of ’s side that beat  2-1 in the 1988 World Cup, he returned home afterwards. Since then success has also returned to Valerengens Idrettsforening Oslo, as the club founded in 1913 are called officially. Under player-coach Rekdal, who – in June 2004 – played his last match at the age of 36, the side gained promotion from the second division. On 30 June 2004, one year after they had come very close to being relegated, the team’s unexpected sharp rise in fortunes would have been crowned by a sensational championship win.

The scene was set: it was the final day of the season in the Tippeliga, ’s highest division. Valerenga and Rosenborg Trondheim were equal on points and goals scored at the top of the table. After the 3-0 win against already relegated Stabaek IF the capital city club had edged past Rosenborg, who had made themselves known all over after a series of appearances in the Champions League. The record champions were only 3-1 up against Lyn Oslo. But then in the 89^th minute Frode Johnsen scored in to make it 4-1. Rosenborg BK were again champions and Valerenga had to be content with the runners-up spot. “That really hurt,” said Rekdal.

After calling it a day on his playing career, Rekdal’s duties were now confined to those of head coach in the 2005 season. “The future belongs to us. Rosenborg is undergoing a period of change. We can overtake if things go well,” predicted Rekdal pre-season and was duly proved right. With a team made up almost entirely of home players and one that included Tore Andre Flo, a striker with whom Rekdal played alongside in the 1998 World Cup, Valerenga deservedly took the title.

It was the fifth title in the history of the club which had produced star striker John Carew and which had seen its most successful era back in the 80’s. The supporters, who enjoy a great reputation in , celebrated three championships between 1981 and 1984. The team, which plays in blue shirts, white shorts and red socks, won its first title in 1965.

Champions League games will therefore take place in the Ulleval Stadium, ’s national stadium where Valerenga play, in 2006. The 40,000 capacity arena is also the home of Lyn Oslo and the Norwegian national team. It is additionally the venue of the men’s and women’s cup finals. The pitch therefore comes in for a lot of wear and tear but it does not harm VIF’s – the common abbreviation for Valerenga – successful style of play.

In Champions League 2005 qualifying Rekdal’s charges were narrowly beaten by (1-0, 0-1) and were then knocked out by Steaua Bucharest the first round of the UEFA Cup. But the revival of the Royal League in which the best Scandinavian teams again appear during the gaps in their national leagues has provided them with games of a higher standard. It is the ideal way of bridging the winter break. During the championship celebrations in front of ’s town hall, Rekdal announced to the fans his new target for 2006: “Enjoy the evening. We’re ’s best team. And it’ll be the same again in 2006,” shouted the coach to the cheering Valerenga supporters.

Continental has been a partner of Valerenga IF since the start of 2004. In addition to hoardings in the stadium, Continental Norway makes use of a special ticket contingency for visits to home games with customers. Furthermore Continental Norway is supported by individual players, coaches and the management at promotions and product communication.