Football Season Guide

Vålerenga made it a quick return to the Eliteserien after mostly coasting to the title in the OBOS-Ligaen last season, going unbeaten in the final 23 games after a terrible opening period of three losses in the first seven. They looked much more confident once they hit their stride and played some beautiful football along the way to winning the title with a 11-point cushion to the closest challenger. Their squad looks quite good on paper and they have made some smart additions during the off season too. Kevin Tshimbe is a rugged defender that will bring muscle and resilience to the back line while speedy winger Elias Sorensen could be a very good pickup, coming from the English Championship. They already boast a load of quality in the squad from last year, with Henrik Bjordal, Daniel Håkans, Petter Strand and Eirik Hagen, while up front Muamer Brajanac and Mees Rijks both got into double figures last season and look capable of stepping up a level. Losing exciting youngster Joonas El-Abdellaoui so early in his career was a disappointment but the club got a great sum of money for him nonetheless and could be quite active in the market in the months to come. Geir Bakke has definitely won over the skeptic Vålerenga fans during last year and he will now be able to work with a bit more comfort and confidence as he aims to replicate the success that he had with their local rivals, Lillestrøm, in qualifying them for Europe a few years back. He certainly knows that he will not be able to produce the same swashbuckling football from last season but this teams does have momentum and quite a lot of quality and can certainly push for a top-six finish this season given the relative lack of reinforcements in some other teams.