Outisde90’s David Votoupal continues our look at a 20-year turnaround in the fortunes of Norwegian heavyweights Rosenborg BK.
Later in their 13-in-a-row run, there were signs that Rosenborg’s dominance was facing erosion. Eggen stepped aside from coaching in 2002, and the club was faced with the task of regenerating as players from the golden years gradually retired (Roar Strand, for one, was part of both the 1990 and 2010 title-winning sides for 16 titles in all). It was not until 2005 that Rosenborg finally lost hold on the League title, in a season that was dismal by its high standards (since then, five different clubs have won the Tippeligaen). They regained the crown in 2006, and won further titles in 2009 and 2010, going unbeaten all season in the latter with Eggen briefly returning as coach. In 2007 they even managed further excellent results in Europe, drawing away to Chelsea and beating Valencia home and away.
However, the club appeared to lose its way both on and off the field. It is true that Norwegian outfits would find results in Europe harder to come by, because the balance of power has shifted ever more in favour of Europe’s biggest leagues – England, Spain, Germany, Italy et al – while leagues such as those of Eastern Europe recovered somewhat from the post-1990 exodus of talent west. But the decline at Rosenborg was not simply down to these factors. Fans cite a sense of complacency that crept into club administration, believing quite justifiably that the club’s success was credited overwhelmingly to the genius of Nils Arne Eggen. There was a fairly rapid turnover of coaches, and they looked more and more abroad to players with mixed success – especially as domestic rivals became reluctant to sell their best players. For many, it was a loss of direction and above all else a loss of identity, of soul.
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In the last few years, Rosenborg has sought a return to roots in terms of prioritising home-grown talent as well as a return to the football philosophy of the Eggen years. In 2014, former player Kåre Ingebrigtsen (who once briefly played for Manchester City) took over the reins with a view to returning to what worked so brilliantly, with Eggen serving as a mentor. The impact was almost immediate, generating a feelgood factor that has not been there for a while. In 2015, Rosenborg won their first League title for five years and did so in a manner reminiscent of their glory years, with open football and finishing comfortably ahead (12 points) of their nearest rival Stromgodset.
The current team is built on a solid base of Norwegian players – André Hansen in goal, Jørgen Skjelvik and Tore Reginiussen in defence, as well as Fredrik Midtsjø, Anders Konradsen, Yann-Erik de Lanlay and Pål André Helland, though striker Alexander Søderlund left for Saint-Etienne this year. Most of the foreign imports come from other Nordic countries – Mikael Dorsin (Denmark), Holmar Eyjolfsson, Gudmundur Thorarinsson and Matthias Vilhjalmsson (Iceland), Mike Jensen and Christian Gytkjær (Denmark) and Riku Riski (Finland), with the Australian Gersbach broadening the field. Once again they are leading the league, and well-placed for a second consecutive title.
Success in Europe may be harder to come by, but there is always hope and Rosenborg must surely be in a better position now than they have been for some years to carve out a respectable showing in next season’s European competition, though the relative decline in the standing of Norwegian football will make it more difficult. The national team, likewise, has not qualified for a major tournament since Euro 2000, but made the play-offs for the 2016 iteration. Molde even made the knockout stages of the Europa League, where they lost to eventual winners Sevilla. In a continental scene that is ever so competitive, hope always springs eternal.
Rosenborg’s travails over the last decade offer a valuable lesson to clubs in a similar scenario where league standing is concerned. Firstly, monopolising a country’s Champions’ League access for so long with the inevitable financial advantages it brings by no means guarantees permanent supremacy. It is somewhat different from the way Juventus, Bayern Münich and Paris Saint-Germain have dominated their respective competitions, because being the biggest fish in a smaller pond can amplify matters.
Sides such as BATE Borisov (Belarus), Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia) and HJK Helsinki (Finland) have heavily dominated their respective leagues, although HJK missed out last year. Since Rangers’ bankruptcy, Celtic were given an unprecedented advantage over the rest of Scottish football, but the past season has shown signs of it eroding as Aberdeen and Hearts have shown they can potentially challenge them, and the return Rangers next season raises the stakes further. No club can assure long-term success without the necessary coaching and administrative work, and legacies that have been carefully built over years and sometimes decades can easily be destroyed in a remarkably short time. Furthermore, a club must also remain true to its roots and culture, and consonant with the expectations of supporters.
Rosenborg, it must be said, seems to have learned this lesson well, in a shorter time than most.
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