And now, for the truly tasty part of this thing, the forward trio:
Right Forward:
Veigar Pall Gunnarsson (Stabæk)
We know, we know, he isn't strictly a right forward/winger, more of second striker who loves nothing more than to bewilder opposing defenses by occupying the space just in front of them and flicking devilishly clever through balls into the path of his teammates' expertly timed runs, but such a position doesn't really exist in our preferred 4-3-3-formation and Gunnarsson is a versatile bloke so we'll stick him out wide. And anyway, with 10 goals and a whopping 14 assists this season, a Team of the Season without him wouldn't have much credibility. To put it this way: Pall Gunnarsson scored or created more goals than HamKam scored all season.
Looking only at the sporting side of things, Pall Gunnarsson is fjordball's favorite player in the Tippeliga right now. While Nannskog and Alanzinho usually get the headlines, Pall Gunnarsson is the real brain behind Stabæk's fantastically flowing forward-play and probably the one of their stars who would be hardest to replace. Which is why their sporting director Lars Bohinen told French side Nancy to bugger off when they offered 15 million NOK for him a few weeks ago.
Centre forward:
Daniel Nannskog (Stabæk)
Top-scorer and captain of the side that pretty much romped the league, not bad for a 35 yearold. Careful observes will have noticed that his turn of pace isn't quite as terrifying as it used to be and his output is diminishing (16 goals against 19 the two seasons before), but with Torstein Helstad gone he is by some margin the best finisher in the league and his leadership and irrepressible will to win is an invaluable asset to Stabæk. He remains undecided on whether or not he'll go back to Sweden, and while he would be a real loss for the Tippeliga there's a part of fjordball who feels he should leave while he's on top. Having said that, it's very possible that he'll sign a new contract with Stabæk and score 20+ goals next season just to prove his critics wrong, really, you can never rule anything out with this fella.
Left forward:
Trond Olsen (Bodø/Glimt)
Completing the Fjordball Team Of The Season is Bodø/Glimt's outstanding winger Trond Olsen. With 10 goals and 11 assists he was involved in over half of Bodø/Glimt's goals (at total of 36), and his pace on the break made him a constant threat to opposing teams. Was handed a wholly deserved international debut in that game against the Ukraine and should be seriously considered as an option for the national team, certainly as an impact-sub coming off the bench against tired legs. Olsen's raw pace makes him a perfect fit for Bodø/Glimt's cheeky counter-attacking ways, and an occasionally thunderous shot makes him a player who requires constant attention from your defenders if you're going to contain him.
So there we are, the eleven players who have been truly outstanding in their positions this season. A team we'd pay good money to watch, and one which would probably give the Norwegian national side a good spanking (though times may be a-changing, more on that later..). .
8 opinions:
Thanks Lars,
Good stuff for us the ponder during a very loooong off season. Anything on Norwegian Nat's manager selection or anything on Start getting a boss?
Trond Olsen notched up 13 assists this season, not 11.
http://fotball.vg.no/bors/poeng_liga.php?sesong_id=403
Good choices though. 71 goals and assists between them this season. Should have made a decent attacking force together.
As a Glimtsupporter I just hope that the new Norway coach, whoever that may be, will have some faith in Trond Olsen. He deserves it, and Norway needs a player like him in the squad.
Lars,
Of your top eleven, how many will be playing in the Tippeligaen again next year?
Thanks again for your good work.
Crazy Al
Errrr... Daniel Nannskog is NOT captain of Stabæk and, as far as I am aware, never has been.
Despite Daniel being the guy who captures all the headlines, the captain is actually the quiet, unassuming Morten Morrisbak Skjønsberg, unless Mike Kjølø was playing, in which case the captaincy went to him.
You may have noticed that it was Kjølø who, in his last year at the club, was given the honour of being presented with the Championship trophy.
Blimey! Well, that's what happens when the fact-checking department have all gone off on their christmas holidays and various shenanigans at the infamous fjordball christmas-party leaves the rest of us unable to use google.
Still.. he IS the real leader of the team isn't he? Especially now that Muri isn't as much a part of it all anymore?
And anyway.. what does the Stabæk-supporting people make of Pall Gunnarsson's imminent departure?
Muri??? What the hell has he got to do with it??
FYI, Muri was one of the first rats to leave the sinking ship when Stabæk went down in 2004, his pathetic performances were one of the biggest reasons for the teams relegation and he was NEVER captain of Stabæk!
The captain for the past few years has been Mike Kjølø, who only lost the captaincy to Skjønsberg due to injury but who has always been given the armband whenever he has played.
Re Gunnarsson, believe it or not, it was important for the club's development that one of Veigar/Nannskog/Alanzinho was sold, and Veigar is in reality the easiest to replace. If everything had stayed "business as usual", complacency would have set in.
Now new players have to perform to live up to what the club has achieved recently.
The most important thing is the playing style, which is firmly in place, and having competent players to carry it out. Stabæk already has potential replacements ready in Espen Hoff/Palmi Palmason.
Good luck to Veigar, but the important thing now is that Nannskog/Alanzinho/Farnerud and co. remain. If so, expect more fantastic footie from Stabæk in 2009 (in which case you should probably learn who the captain is) :-)
Keep up the good work guys - Love this blogg!
NUTS! I obviously meant Kjølø..
How do you as a Stabæk-fan feel about the whole Kjølø-thing btw? Are you ok with the way it went down? From an outsiders perspective it felt a bit harsh, but then again he isn't getting any younger and there is the injury-thing..
I see how the transfer was inevitable once Gunnarsson himself wanted to go (especially as his contract expires after next season), but does it worry you at all that replacing him could be tricky? I mean, Espen Hoff hasn't really played in that kind of Nr10-ish role before, nor has Palmi (to my knowledge anyhow), how confident are you that he'll be able to fill the gap?
Cheers for your comments, and stick around next season to make sure we get our facts straight! ;)
Is it so obvious that I'm a Stabæk fan??! :-)
Regarding Mike Kjølø, with younger alternatives available in a returning I A Olsen, an option to buy Niclas Sandberg and a fit-again Pontus Segerström, it was obvious that there would be no place in the 2009 squad for Mike, despite his fantastic contribution to the club and definite leadership qualities.
I would have loved that he had been given an administrative position at Telenor Arena or something, but he said himself that he didn't want it - he still wants to play. Football is harsh - It went how it had to go.
Neither Espen Hoff or Palmi Palmason are another Veigar Pall Gunnarsson, but Pontus Farnerud isn't another Somen Tchoi and Henning Hauger isn't another Anthony Annan either. Still, Stabæk won the league with both of those "irreplaceable" players being ....replaced!
If the two aforementioned players don't exactly fill the old Veigar role, Jan Jönsson will find a new way of making it work that maximises their individual talents and minimises their weaknesses. That's what great trainers do - and that's what Stabæk has.
(Hands off Norway!!!)
The old VPG/Nannskog combo won the league but would never have been able to defend it. (Mentally, the job's been done.) Now it's time for new players to rise to the challenge and take over, and under JJs leadership, I have no doubt that they will.
Having said all that, I think it's essential that Nannskog stays for another year. After that, he can leave as a hero and with his head held high.
Merry Christmas everyone!
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