Greetings from Lyn fan

Hello,

I am a long-time Lyn fan, resident in San Diego since 1996. Every summer, I travel back to Norway to support Lyn (Last May, I flew to Norway for 4 nights to see one, huge game - first time we played cross town arch rivals in 21 years). I have suffered with Lyn through several relegation seasons, enjoyed several promotions, and last summer was amazing, when Lyn lead the Norwegian Elite for two months, at one point being 7 points clear at the top. Down the stretch, Rosenborg caught up (the keys here are team depth, Lyn's akilles heel and Rosenborg's strength, and instability at the coaching level, with Lyn bringing in a new guy in midseason only to fire him and Rosenborg having a guy in his 11th year with the club), but it was an amazing run. Lyn hadn't been top of the top league in decades, and 3rd place gave them their first medals in ages. Also, they BEAT cross town rivals vålerenga (smelly racist alcoholics) BOTH home and away in the first season they were in the same division since 1981. So after surviving promotion in 2001, 2002 was a real "comeback" season for Lyn, after spending the 90s doing the promotion/relegation yo-yo thing.

Offseason changes at Lyn give reasons to hope they will ensconce themselves in the top of the Norwegian league. They have brought in a new, experienced coach in Teitur Thordarson and kept last year's interim coach Sture Fladmark as his assitant. Fladmark, a former player, won Norwegian coach of the year in 2002, despite being "merely" an interim solution. Thordarsson coached Lyn successfully for 2 seasons in the early 1990s, and in fact was coach of Lyn when Fladmark was a player. This is significant in that in stark comparison to last season, Lyn's coaching staff is predictable, stable, internally harmonious, and will have time to shape the team in the preseason.

Lyn have also tried to address their depth weakness. They haven't acquired as many new players as they had hoped, but have 2 additions worth noting. Winger Jan Derek Sørensen has returned to Lyn after spells with Bodø/Glimt, Rosenborg and in the Bundesliga. Sørensen ALSO played under Thordarsson from 92-94. He's fast, but although healthy he lacks match fitness since he didn't get much playing time in the Bundesliga the last few seasons. Once he's conditioned... The other major acquisition is Oman's national team goalkeeper, Ali al-Habsi. He has performed very well in a friendly between Norway and Oman (1-1) and in his initial exhibitions with Lyn. An English scout claimed al-Habsi was the best 21-year old goalie he'd ever seen. Ali is young, tall, and said to have great range. So far, Lyn will not let him drive in Norway, since he can barely walk on snow/ice without falling over, let alone drive on it. He'll compete with last year's goalie, Thomas Andre Ødegaard, an experienced and well-rounded keeper.

Another strength Lyn brings to 2003 is continuity. Only one significant player from last season has departed, so a solid core remains. However, the team is currently plagued with injuries and recuperation from certain players' surgeries. But only one or two of these problems are expected to last into the regular season.

All this being said, I am also very familiar with the Galaxy. I'm at University in southern CA (writing this from San Diego) and have to leave Norway/Lyn every September because of the way the academic calendar works. I have deliberately used the Galaxy as my soccer substitute, driving to Pasadena whenever the urge for live soccer becomes too strong. I enjoy MLS very much, and find the development of soccer in the US to be exciting to follow. I kept telling my mildly incredulous friends back in Norway that by 2010 they would see the US in a World Cup quarterfinal - until it happened last summer... Anyhow, I attended MLS Cup 98 and go to 5-10 Galaxy games per season. Last season, I attended 6 and watched another 13 on TV - I keep track of such things), including attendance at home playoff games against kansas City and Colorado.

So, Lyn and the Galaxy are by far the teams I am most familiar with. MLS and the Norwegian Elite are by far the two leagues that interest me the most. If I had a dollar for everytime I pondered which was the better team or the stronger league... Well, I'd be writing from Spain right now. Needless to say, I am VERY excited about this matchup, and interested in the other MLS/Norway matchups.

I realize much depends on injuries (Lyn) and how many recent draftees (Galaxy) are used. Either team at full strength should beat a reduced version of the other. With both at full strength, I'd put my money on Lyn - and that's not just my heart speaking. In terms of the leagues, I think the best 3-4 MLS teams (say LA, SJ, Chicago and maybe one more) would be competitive in the Norwegian league, but not the rest. In my opinion (based on watching literally hundreds of games in both leagues), the difference between top and bottom is greater in MLS, despite the Norwegian Elite having more teams (14).

So anyway, good luck to all full-fledged Galaxy fans (a true fan can only have ONE team in the world) from a dedicated Lyn fan (and Galaxy sympathizer). And...

Heia LYN!