2012 in Norwegian football

The 2012 season was the 107th season of competitive football in Norway.

Football in Norway

Season	2012
Men's football
Tippeligaen	Molde
1. divisjon	Start
2. divisjon	Elverum (Group 1) Kristiansund (Group 2) Vard Haugesund (Group 3) Follo (Group 4)
Cupen	Hødd
Women's football
Toppserien	LSK Kvinner
1. divisjon	Avaldsnes
Cupen	Stabæk
← 2011 2013 →

The season began on 25 March 2012 for Tippeligaen, with 1. divisjon started 9 April 2012. First round of 2. divisjon was scheduled to 14 April 2012. 1. divisjon ended on 11 October 2012, while Tippeligaen finished on 18 November 2012. The Cup Final was played on 25 November 2012.^[1]

Men's football

Promotion and relegation

League	Promoted to league	Relegated from league
Tippeligaen	Sandnes Ulf Hønefoss	Start Sarpsborg 08
1. divisjon	Ull/Kisa Bærum Notodden Tromsdalen	Asker Nybergsund-Trysil Randaberg Løv-Ham
2. divisjon	Østsiden Gjøvik FF Grorud Birkebeineren Jerv Egersund Brann 2 Fana Træff Buvik Mo Finnsnes	Tiller Strindheim Steinkjer Herd Jevnaker Manglerud Star Viking 2 Førde Austevoll Harstad Hasle-Løren Skarp

League season

Tippeligaen

Main article: 2012 Tippeligaen

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Molde (C)	30	19	5	6	51	31	+20	62	Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round
2	Strømsgodset	30	17	7	6	62	40	+22	58	Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round[a]
3	Rosenborg	30	15	10	5	53	26	+27	55	Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round[b]
4	Tromsø	30	14	7	9	45	32	+13	49
5	Viking	30	14	7	9	41	36	+5	49
6	Brann	30	13	3	14	57	50	+7	42
7	Haugesund	30	11	9	10	46	40	+6	42
8	Vålerenga	30	12	5	13	42	44	−2	41
9	Lillestrøm	30	9	12	9	46	47	−1	39
10	Odd Grenland	30	11	7	12	40	43	−3	39[c]
11	Aalesund	30	9	11	10	40	41	−1	38
12	Sogndal	30	8	10	12	29	37	−8	34
13	Hønefoss	30	7	12	11	30	42	−12	33
14	Sandnes Ulf (O)	30	8	8	14	44	56	−12	32	Qualification for the relegation play-offs
15	Fredrikstad (R)	30	9	3	18	42	59	−17	30	Relegation to First Division
16	Stabæk (R)	30	5	2	23	25	69	−44	17

Source: fotball.no
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Notes:

1. Hødd, which played in the 2012 First Division, also qualified for the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League second qualifying round as winners of the 2012 Norwegian Cup.
2. Tromsø qualified for the first qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League via the UEFA Fair Play ranking.^[2]
3. Odd Grenland were deducted 1 point for lack of financial control^[3]

1. divisjon

Main article: 2012 1. divisjon

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Start (C, P)	30	20	6	4	71	35	+36	66	Promotion to Tippeligaen
2	Sarpsborg 08 (P)	30	19	6	5	73	43	+30	63
3	Sandefjord	30	16	7	7	44	29	+15	55	Qualification for the promotion play-offs
4	Mjøndalen	30	16	7	7	52	43	+9	55
5	Bodø/Glimt	30	13	9	8	59	36	+23	48
6	Ullensaker/Kisa	30	14	2	14	45	39	+6	44
7	Ranheim	30	11	10	9	55	40	+15	43
8	HamKam[a]	30	13	6	11	51	49	+2	43
9	Kongsvinger	30	12	3	15	44	48	−4	39
10	Bryne	30	10	8	12	41	53	−12	38
11	Strømmen	30	10	7	13	39	51	−12	37
12	Hødd	30	10	5	15	43	52	−9	35	Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round[b]
13	Tromsdalen (R)	30	10	5	15	51	62	−11	35	Relegation to Second Division
14	Bærum (R)	30	5	7	18	49	73	−24	22
15	Notodden (R)	30	6	4	20	38	71	−33	22
16	Alta[c] (R)	30	4	10	16	30	61	−31	21

Source: nifs.no
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:

1. HamKam were deducted 2 points for lack of financial control^[4]
2. Hødd qualified for the second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League as winners of the 2012 Norwegian Cup.
3. Alta were deducted 1 point for lack of financial control^[4]

2. divisjon

Main article: 2012 2. divisjon

Group 1

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Elverum (P)	26	14	9	3	57	30	+27	51	Promotion to First Division
2	Raufoss	26	13	7	6	54	26	+28	46
3	Nybergsund-Trysil	26	13	5	8	49	32	+17	44
4	Birkebeineren	26	13	4	9	50	46	+4	43
5	Strømsgodset 2	26	11	5	10	57	68	−11	38
6	Fram Larvik	26	10	6	10	39	37	+2	36
7	Valdres	26	10	6	10	38	40	−2	36
8	Gjøvik	26	9	9	8	38	43	−5	36
9	Vålerenga 2	26	9	6	11	44	43	+1	33
10	Grorud	26	7	11	8	44	40	+4	32
11	Tønsberg[a]	26	10	3	13	32	52	−20	32
12	Ørn-Horten (R)	26	8	4	14	42	50	−8	28	Relegation to Third Division
13	Lillehammer (R)	26	6	10	10	42	54	−12	28
14	Brumunddal (R)	26	3	7	16	29	54	−25	16

Source: nifs.no
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:

1. Tønsberg were deducted 2 point for using an illegal player.^[5] This was reduced to 1 point on appeal.

Group 2

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Kristiansund (P)	26	22	2	2	77	18	+59	68	Promotion to First Division
2	Nardo	26	15	5	6	58	42	+16	50
3	Fyllingsdalen	26	14	5	7	51	37	+14	47
4	Byåsen	26	14	5	7	57	47	+10	47
5	Kjelsås	26	14	2	10	58	48	+10	44
6	Rosenborg 2	26	11	5	10	63	50	+13	38
7	KFUM Oslo	26	11	5	10	48	49	−1	38
8	Levanger	26	10	4	12	53	48	+5	34
9	Træff	26	8	8	10	51	50	+1	32
10	Molde 2	26	9	5	12	65	67	−2	32
11	Fana	26	8	6	12	54	52	+2	30
12	Skeid (R)	26	7	5	14	42	55	−13	26	Relegation to Third Division
13	Buvik (R)	26	4	4	18	41	88	−47	16
14	Aalesund 2 (R)	26	4	1	21	25	92	−67	13

Source: nifs.no
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Group 3

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Vard Haugesund (P)	26	15	8	3	60	26	+34	53	Promotion to First Division
2	Flekkerøy	26	14	4	8	53	30	+23	46
3	Åsane	26	11	7	8	46	44	+2	40
4	Nest-Sotra	26	12	3	11	50	47	+3	39
5	Vidar	26	10	8	8	42	42	0	38
6	Ålgård	26	11	5	10	36	48	−12	38
7	Brann 2	26	11	4	11	60	63	−3	37
8	Pors Grenland	26	10	6	10	40	36	+4	36
9	Vindbjart	26	9	8	9	56	47	+9	35
10	Egersund	26	9	8	9	46	45	+1	35
11	Odd Grenland 2	26	10	3	13	39	47	−8	33
12	Jerv (R)	26	9	5	12	45	53	−8	32	Relegation to Third Division
13	Mandalskameratene (R)	26	6	6	14	46	72	−26	24
14	Randaberg (R)	26	6	3	17	31	49	−18	21

Source: nifs.no
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Group 4

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Follo (P)	26	18	2	6	58	28	+30	56	Promotion to First Division
2	Lørenskog	26	16	3	7	51	39	+12	51
3	Senja	26	15	5	6	54	44	+10	50
4	Asker	26	14	5	7	54	36	+18	47
5	Kvik Halden	26	11	6	9	53	40	+13	39
6	Østsiden	26	12	3	11	45	43	+2	39
7	Nesodden	26	9	7	10	39	47	−8	34
8	Frigg	26	9	5	12	53	58	−5	32
9	Mo	26	9	4	13	41	49	−8	31
10	Moss	26	8	6	12	42	46	−4	30
11	Tromsø 2	26	8	3	15	35	48	−13	27
12	Mjølner (R)	26	7	6	13	26	41	−15	27	Relegation to Third Division
13	Finnsnes (R)	26	8	3	15	35	51	−16	27
14	Stabæk 2 (R)	26	8	2	16	36	52	−16	26

Source: nifs.no
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

3. divisjon

Main article: 2012 3. divisjon

Norwegian Football Cup

Main article: 2012 Norwegian Football Cup

Final

Main article: 2012 Norwegian Football Cup final

25 November 2012

13:15 CET (UTC+1)

Hødd	1–1 (a.e.t.)	Tromsø
Sellin 62'	Report	Ciss 87'
Penalties
Latifu Nilsen Helland Sandal Rekdal	4–2	Årst Drage Johansen Ciss

Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo

Attendance: 24,217

Referee: Kjetil Sælen (Arna-Bjørnar)^[6]

Women's football

League season

Toppserien

Main article: 2012 Toppserien

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	LSK Kvinner (C)	22	18	2	2	66	17	+49	56	Qualification for the Champions League round of 32
2	Stabæk	22	15	5	2	70	21	+49	50
3	Arna-Bjørnar	22	14	5	3	61	21	+40	47
4	Røa	22	15	4	3	58	19	+39	47[a]
5	Kolbotn	22	9	7	6	36	35	+1	34
6	Sandviken	22	9	2	11	45	51	−6	29
7	Klepp	22	7	5	10	41	41	0	26
8	Vålerenga	22	6	5	11	27	47	−20	23
9	Trondheims-Ørn	22	6	3	13	29	50	−21	21
10	Amazon Grimstad	22	5	5	12	25	35	−10	20
11	Kattem[b] (O)	22	5	3	14	34	56	−22	15[c]	Qualification for the relegation play-offs
12	Fart (R)	22	0	0	22	9	108	−99	0	Relegation to First Division

Source: NIFS
Rules for classification: (1) points; (2) goal difference; (3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Notes:

1. Røa were deducted 2 point because of lack of financial control.^[7]
2. Kattem withdrew their team after the season ended and Fart were offered their place in the 2013 Toppserien, but declined. Instead, Medkila were awarded a spot in the 2013 Toppserien season.^[8]
3. Kattem were deducted 3 point because of license of act plan.^[9]

1. divisjon

Main article: 2012 1. divisjon (women)

Norwegian Women's Cup

Main article: 2012 Norwegian Women's Cup

Final

• Røa 0–4 Stabæk

Men's UEFA competitions

These are the results of Norway's teams in European competitions during the 2012 season. (Norway team score displayed first)

Team	Contest	Round	Opponent	1st leg score*	2nd leg score**	Aggregate score
Molde	UEFA Champions League	Second qualifying round	Ventspils	3–0 (H)	1–1 (A)	W 4–1
		Third qualifying round	Basel	0–1 (H)	1–1 (A)	L 1–2
	UEFA Europa League	Play-off round	Heerenveen	2–0 (H)	2–1 (A)	W 4–1
Aalesund	UEFA Europa League	Second qualifying round	Tirana	1–1 (A)	5–0 (H)	W 6–1
		Third qualifying round	APOEL	1–2 (A)	0–1 (H)	L 1–3
Tromsø	UEFA Europa League	Second qualifying round	Olimpija Ljubljana	0–0 (A)	1–0 (H) (aet)	W 1–0
		Third qualifying round	Metalurh Donetsk	1–1 (H)	1–0 (A)	W 2–1
		Play-off round	Partizan	3–2 (H)	0–1 (A)	L 3–3
Rosenborg	UEFA Europa League	First qualifying round	Crusaders	3–0 (A)	1–0 (H)	W 4–0
		Second qualifying round	Ordabasy	2–2 (H)	2–1 (A)	W 4–3
		Third qualifying round	Servette	1–1 (A)	0–0 (H)	W 1–1
		Play-off round	Legia Warsaw	1–1 (A)	2–1 (H)	W 3–2
Stabæk	UEFA Europa League	First qualifying round	JJK	0–2 (A)	3–2 (H)	L 3–4

* For group games in Champions League or Europa League, score in home game is displayed
** For group games in Champions League or Europa League, score in away game is displayed

UEFA Women's Champions League

Main article: 2012–13 UEFA Women's Champions League

Knockout stage

Round of 32

Main article: 2012–13 UEFA Women's Champions League round of 32

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Stabæk	5–3	Brøndby	2–0	3–3
BIIK Kazygurt	0–8	Røa	0–4	0–4

Round of 16

Main article: 2012–13 UEFA Women's Champions League round of 16

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Wolfsburg	5–2	Røa	4–1	1–1
Stabæk	1–2	Juvisy	0–0	1–2

National teams

Norway men's national football team

Main article: Norway national football team

2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)

Main article: 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)

The Norway national football team played four games in the qualification for 2014 FIFA World Cup.^[10]

Group E

Main article: 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group E

Iceland  v  Norway

7 September 2012	Iceland	2–0	Norway	Reykjavík, Iceland
18:45 UTC±0	Árnason 21' Finnbogason 81'	Report		Stadium: Laugardalsvöllur Attendance: 8,352 Referee: Anthony Gautier (France)

Norway  v  Slovenia

11 September 2012	Norway	2–1	Slovenia	Oslo, Norway
20:00 UTC+2	Henriksen 26' J. A. Riise 90+4' (pen.)	Report	Šuler 16'	Stadium: Ullevaal Stadion Attendance: 11,168 Referee: Fırat Aydınus (Turkey)

Switzerland  v  Norway

12 October 2012	Switzerland	1–1	Norway	Bern, Switzerland
20:30 UTC+2	Gavranović 79'	Report	Hangeland 81'	Stadium: Stade de Suisse Attendance: 30,712 Referee: David Fernández Borbalán (Spain)

Cyprus  v  Norway

16 October 2012	Cyprus	1–3	Norway	Larnaca, Cyprus
21:00 UTC+3	Aloneftis 42'	Report	Hangeland 45' Elyounoussi 81' (pen.) King 83'	Stadium: Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium Attendance: 2,493 Referee: Paweł Gil (Poland)

Friendlies

Norway will also participate in a number of friendly matches.

Denmark League XI v  Norway

15 January 2012	Denmark League XI	1–1	Norway	Bangkok, Thailand
16:10 UTC+7	Makienok 71'	Report	Elyounoussi 79'	Stadium: Rajamangala Stadium Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Mongkolchasi Petsri (Thailand)

Thailand  v  Norway

18 January 2012	Thailand	0–1	Norway	Bangkok, Thailand
19:00 UTC+7		Report	Reginiussen 84'	Stadium: Rajamangala Stadium Attendance: 6,000 Referee: Yadai Yamamoto (Japan)

South Korea U-23  v  Norway

21 January 2012	South Korea U-23	3–0	Norway	Bangkok, Thailand
16:30 UTC+7	Kim Bo-Kyung 16' (pen.) Kim Hyun-Sung 20' Seo Jung-Jin 59'	Report		Stadium: Rajamangala Stadium Referee: Chaiya Mahapab (Thailand)

Northern Ireland  v  Norway

29 February 2012	Northern Ireland	0–3	Norway	Belfast (Northern Ireland)
20:45CET		Report	Nordtveit 44' Elyounoussi 88' Ruud 90+3'	Stadium: Windsor Park

Norway  v  England

26 May 2012	Norway	0–1	England	Oslo, Norway
20:45 CEST		Report	Young 9'	Stadium: Ullevaal Stadion Attendance: 21,496 Referee: Michael Weiner (Germany)

Norway  v  Croatia

2 June 2012	Norway	1–1	Croatia	Oslo, Norway
19:00 CEST	Elyounoussi 90'	Report	da Silva 79'	Stadium: Ullevaal Stadion Attendance: 14,208 Referee: Sergey Karasev (Russia)

Norway  v  Greece

15 August 2012	Norway	2–3	Greece	Oslo, Norway
20:00 CEST	Hangeland 13' Riise 75'	Report	Torosidis 7' Papadopoulos 11' Mitroglou 56'	Stadium: Ullevaal Stadion Attendance: 13,680 Referee: Alan Kelly (Ireland)

Hungary  v  Norway

14 November 2012	Hungary	0–2	Norway	Budapest, Hungary
20:30		Report	Nielsen 38' Abdellaoue 79'	Stadium: Ferenc Puscás Stadium Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Marijo Strahonja (Croatia)

Norway women's national football team

Main article: Norway women's national football team

Managerial changes

Name	Club	Date of departure	Replacement	Date of appointment
Harald Aabrekk	Sogndal	31 December 2011	Jonas Olsson	1 January 2012[11]
Petter Belsvik Magnus Powell	Lillestrøm	31 December 2011	Magnus Haglund	1 January 2012[12]
Thomas Berntsen	Strømmen	31 December 2011	Erland Johnsen	1 January 2012[13]
Jörgen Lennartsson	Stabæk	31 December 2011[14]	Petter Belsvik	2 January 2012[15]
Tom Freddy Aune	Fredrikstad	10 May 2012	Trond Amundsen	10 May 2012[16]

Events of the season

February

20 February 2011: Knut Torbjørn Eggen, the coach of the U-19 team and formerly head coach of Moss and Fredrikstad passes away at the age of 51.^[17]

March

23 March 2012: In the opening match of Tippeligaen, Molde wins 2–1 at home against Strømsgodset.^[18]

25 March 2012: Sogndal beats Odd Grenland 4–0, and is on top of the table for the first time in history.

April

1 April 2012: In Haugesund's 2–0 win against Molde, Alexander Søderlund's goal was never across the line and the debate about goal-line technology is again raised.

9 April 2012: Sogndal collect their first point against Rosenborg at Lerkendal Stadion, having lost the first 13 meetings at Lerkendal.^[19] In the opening match of Adeccoligaen, the two teams relegated from Tippeligaen, Start and Sarpsborg 08 draws 4–4.^[20]

15 April 2012: Sogndal's goalkeeper Kenneth Udjus surpasses Rosenborg's Daniel Örlund as the goalkeeper with the longest clean sheet since 1991. Udjus' new record is 558 minutes, while Örlund's clean sheet lasted for 553 minutes.^[21]

September

16 September 2012: Kristiansund BK secures promotion to the 1. divisjon after winning the 2012 2. divisjon group 2.^[22]