Caroline Graham Hansen is voted Norway's Player of the Year 2020 Ingrid Engen and Maren Mjelde were the other nominees this year. Erling Haaland won the men's award. Hardly shocking.
Christmas is shortly upon us. Time for another "silly season" update. Arna Bjørnar IN: Milena Kokosz (fw, Åsane), Kamilla Aabel (df, Røa) OUT: Pia Rijsdijk (fw, Napoli), Augustine Siliki (df, FC d’Ebolowa), Teagan Micah (gk, Melbourne City) Avaldsnes IN: Giovanna de Oliveira (fw, Santos), Rebecka Holum (fw, Røa) OUT: Katrina Gorry (mf, Brisbane Roar), Elise Thorsnes (fw, Vålerenga) Klepp IN: OUT: Marthine Østenstad (df, Sandviken), Tuva Hansen (df, Sandviken), Elisabeth Terland (mf/fw, Sandviken), Nicole Stanton (mf, back to USA), Matilde Rogde (fw, Rosenborg), Isabella Hayes (fw, pregnant), Hege Hansen (fw, pregnant) Kolbotn IN: Vilde Birkeli (mf, Røa), Ingrid Kvernvolden (fw, Røa), Marit Clausen (fw, Rosenborg) OUT: Nikola Orgill (df, Western Sydney Wanderers), Marit Bratberg Lund (df, Sandviken), Maja Nordahl (df, unknown dest.) LSK Kvinner IN: Mimmi Löfwenius (fw, Lyn), Camilla Linberg (fw, Lyn) OUT: Silje Kittilsen (mf, Fart), Cathrine Dekkerhus (mf, unknown dest.) Lyn IN: OUT: Mimmi Löfwenius (fw, LSK Kvinner), Camilla Linberg (fw, LSK Kvinner), Mariana Larroquette (fw, back to Argentina), Trine S. Jensen (df, unknown dest.) Rosenborg IN: Matilde Rogde (fw, Klepp) OUT: Rakel Engesvik (mf, Sandviken), Marit Clausen (fw, Kolbotn) Sandviken IN: Marthine Østenstad (df, Klepp), Tuva Hansen (df, Klepp), Elisabeth Terland (mf/fw, Klepp), Rakel Engesvik (mf, Rosenborg), Marit Bratberg Lund (df, Kolbotn) OUT: Stabæk IN: Linn Huseby (mf, Røa) OUT: Vålerenga IN: Camilla Huseby (df, Djurgården), Elise Thorsnes (fw, Avaldsnes), Amanda Andradottir (mf/fw, Nordsjælland) OUT: Sherida Spitse (mf, Ajax), Maruschka Waldus (df, Adelaide City), Mia Huse (mf, Røa) - Ingrid Kvernvolden to Kolbotn after two years on the sideline with two consecutive ACL injuries. Good luck to her. - Isabell Bachor (age 37) has signed on for yet another year for LSK and will also feature in a double role as assistant coach. - Marit Clausen turned down offers from Italy, France and Sweden to sign for Kolbotn. That’s a surprise. - Cathrine Dekkerhus released at LSK. She is no longer the player she was. May be a return to Stabæk is an option. - Amanda Andradottir to Vålerenga. Just turned 17 and a real diamond. A Norwegian/Icelandic player who has played in the Danish league this year. - Elise Thorsnes to Vålerenga as new #9 raises questions regarding the future of other regulars up front, especially Synne Jensen.
There has been lots of behind-the-scenes drama in Norwegian woso over the last few days regarding television rights. A new deal for Norwegian league football (men and women) in the domestic market 2023-28 was signed last Friday and it has sparked fury in the woso community. No representative for women's football was allowed to be included in the negotiations even if Toppserien was part of the deal. NFF, lead by president Terje Svendsen, shut them out and accepted the bid which gave Toppserien the least money. If the details leaked are true, it seems NFF has accepted the bid from TV2 (21 million Euros) and turned down Altibox (36 million Euros). Of course this has to do with the total package from TV2 worth roughly 450 million Euros where men's football is included. TV2's overall bid was better and it's Norway's biggest commercial channel, but Head of Toppfotball Kvinner, Hege Jørgensen, wrote a passionate column in Norway's biggest daily VG, slagging off NFF for shutting them out of the negotiations and preventing them to work out a better deal for Toppserien which is a product on the rise and has received more media exposure this year than ever before. I guess we have to wait for the next episode of this. Something tells me more will follow.
I read a couple days ago there was a partnership/consortium that offered the NFF considerably more than TV2 for the Toppserien rights. The whole fiasco sounded like a right mess and I wondered how it was allowed to happen and how it could get fixed. Domestically the NFF may be lagging behind the times, but globally they're quite progressive by comparative standards to most FA's. Sounds like the current operating crew need a history lesson though. The in's and out's for Klepp look ominous. Minus seven bodies and some of those are hefty. Yikes. Hope they have the chequebook open or some award winning local youth teams or someone on staff with a sharp eye for talent. Marit Clausen to Kolbotn drew a lot of press. Sounds like they're willing to build around her and that kept her in country. Exciting and should be interesting and hope she gets them back to the upper half of the table. I saw Trine Jensen is leaving Lyn, that's another tough replacement and they're starting to add up there too. I was always a fan, even back in her Røa days when she played with her sister. Smart player, good teammate. The offseason seems to have a bit more spice than usual this early on. Perhaps an outcome of the more competitive nature of the league.
Klepp have a strong youth academy, and I see they have promoted three players up to the senior squad for 2021. And today they've signed a good goalkeeper, Kathrine Larsen, who is in Denmark's NT squad.
That's a good start and a relief they're proacting, will be interesting to see what Lyn does too. With Stabæk coming up there won't be any soft games next season and it will be a risky year for teams who don't patch their holes. Could be an even tighter table next year.
Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays to all! Don't punish me - off topic/off soccer: Congratulations to Norway ladies handball team for their eighth Euro title!
The Euro handball semi-final Denmark vs Norway last week had a bigger television audience in Denmark than the 2017 Euro football final Netherlands vs Denmark. That just underlines the position this sport has in Scandinavia. These handball tournaments (Worlds or Euros) are always held in December (not the Olympics obviously), so it is sort of a pre-Christmas ritual for many to follow them on tv. Merry Christmas everyone!
Based on television audience, yes. Euro football 2017 final NED-DEN: 1 469 000 Euro handball 2020 semi-final DEN-NOR: 1 599 000 - - - - - Trying to divert this at least slightly back on topic again. VG published their annual Top 100 Norwegian Athletes today. Five woso players made the ranking. 20 - Caroline G. Hansen 24 - Guro Reiten 26 - Ingrid Engen 34 - Maren Mjelde 99 - Ada Hegerberg The Top 10: 1 - Erling Haaland 2 - Viktor Hovland (golf) 3 - Marte Olsbu Røiseland (biathlon) 4 - Magnus Carlsen (chess) 5 - Karsten Warholm (athletics) 6 - Johannes Thingnes Bø (biathlon) 7 - Casper Ruud (tennis) 8 - Therese Johaug (xc skiing) 9 - Jakob Ingebrigtsen (athletics) 10 - Jarl Magnus Riiber (Nordic combined) Personally I think it's an impossible job to compare athletes from all sports and both genders on one list. I can think of plenty names I want to move up and down on that list. Jakob Ingebrigtsen is way too low though. The injured Ada moved down to the bottom, but will probably climb much higher next year.
Very true it is unfair to compare different disciplines with any scientific accuracy. The Top 10 they have put together is interesting though. I think CGH is a bit under-repped. I put her well above Reiten and Engen. Cross country is such a big thing culturally. Remembering the cross country coach's comment mid-way in the last Olympics where the country fell behind Sweden in the XC medals, it was something like "I'll be lucky if they only take me out behind the shed and work me over." I thought Therese Johaug would be higher now that Petter Northug is retired with a veil of tarnish on his reputation. But I guess biathlon is a cousin and has good representation in the list. Chess, like curling is pretty questionable to call it's competitors athletes. I remember a curler who was not fit and needed to lose weight and smoke and drank being interviewed in the Olympic village saying "why am I living in the athletes village?" Golf is about as close as it gets when people consider who is and isn't an athlete. Viktor Hovland had two PGA wins in fairly modest events but with Suzann Pettersen retiring in 2019 he's a natural. Haaland and Warholm both had great years and are natural great athletes. ManU may have ended their chase but both Man City and Chelsea are in the news this week with rumoured interest in Haaland.
Uh-oh! Norway-Japan coming at the next SheBelieves Cup? Brasil Feminino schedule to be confirmed prior to the Olympics so far. also the possibility of another game in Europe in April SBC 🇺🇸 Feb 15-24USANorwayJapanApril 5-13 NorwayJune 7-15Japan x2 pic.twitter.com/3JZYFDwgpV— Wosoworld (@karlyboy71) December 25, 2020 I remember the last time Norway and Japan met: I feel comfortable.
Big if true! No news on it here yet. Norway haven't been invited to SheBelieves Cup before. Japan, Brazil and USA will be exciting opponents and a real tough test. With Norwegian players being spread all over Europe in different leagues, I wonder how many will be released for this journey across the pond. The Vålerenga players will be bound up with the Brøndby games in the CL around those dates in mid-February.
I started at about eight, used to tag along with my Dad. We grew up about a block from his club. Young kids just shove off and push and glide without lifting. We also played outdoor and in school recreationally and competitively. I've also played with friends over the years. Curling has professionallized a lot in the past 10 years with bigger purses and tv coverage, but it's still in essence like bocce, or shuffleboard, or lawn bowling (which was an Olympic trial sport I believe too). Curling and golf are how most of my hockey, football, basketball and soccer friends stay healthy in retirement. Games definitely. Competitive definitely. But games where athletics is of less importance than most Olympic sports.
Norway won the Olympics in men's curling unexpectedly one year and the team became cult heroes overnight. They weren't your average athletes, for sure. The skip Pål Trulsen looked like a typical middle aged armchair fan, and everybody loved him.
And he beat Kevin Martin who is a legend (and who had a simple draw to win the gold but blew it). I can't remember who was the first to wear the wild pants, but it struck and that's what the men are most known for now. Growing up Dordi Nordby was a household name in curling families. She was a staple for years.
As a skip Trulsen didn`t need to sweep but I read that he had to retire because of knee problems which doesn`t surprise me due to the way curlers deliver the stone. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curling#/media/File:12-01-20-yog-674.jpg 10 kilogram less and Trulsen might have been active for some more years.
Ajara Njoya announced last night on Instagram that she is leaving Vålerenga. She is rumoured to join Atletico Madrid, the club Marit Clausen was linked to until she signed for Kolbotn. With Njoya gone, Vålerenga's signing of Thorsnes makes sense.
Huge loss for Valarenga as Nchout has not only killer instinct in front of goal but also vision and high technical skills. Imo that makes her much valuable player than Oshoala, Chawinga or Banda.
Yes, Njoya will be missed. She has delivered three strong seasons in Norway; one for Sandviken and two for Vålerenga. 48 goals in 72 matches in all competitions for these clubs. Njoya is very strong for her size and can hold up the ball well. Good skills, as you said. She has clever movement inside the box and is a reliable goalscorer. With Spitse gone as well, Vålerenga are currently a bit on the minus side in this transfer window. They need one or two more established internationals. I wonder if they will pick up anyone from the folded Göteborg team.. It's just four hours away by car.
Norway ladies need to get back to serious curling contention! The youth Gold medal they get early this year might provide some rebounded interest for ladies curling (and sustaining men's curling success).
I'm beginning to think that Norway in the SheBelieves Cup is just a pie in the sky. Still nothing on it on NFF's website or anywhere else. It just seems to be a twitter rumour circulating. If it was any truth to it, NFF would announce the participation immediately. We're probably stuck with Belarus and the Faroe Islands, the meaningless remaining matches in the Euro qualifiers, during that international week in February.