Lillestrøm Sportsklubb is a Norwegianfootball club from the city of Lillestrøm. It was founded in 1917, after the merger of two local football clubs. Their home ground is Åråsen Stadion, while the principal training ground is Lillestrøm stadion1, or the indoor arena, LSK-Hallen. Åråsen Stadion seats 11,637 people; the average attendance is around 10,000. The club holds the Norwegian record for the most consecutive years without being relegated. Over the years the club has had around 40 players who have represented the Norwegian national team. There has also been a number of foreigners who have represented the national teams of Sweden, Iceland, Senegal, Finland, Malta, Australia, South Africa, Slovenia, Tunisia, Canada and Nigeria.
Lillestrøm S.K. was founded on 2 April 1917. It has been Norwegian Elite League champions five times, most recently in 1989, and also in 1986, 1977, 1976, and 1959. Additionally, they have won the Norwegian Cup in 1985, 1981, 1978, 1977 and 2007.2
On September 14, 1977 Lillestrøm played against AFC Ajax Amsterdam in the UEFA cup, at Ullevaal Stadium and won 2-0. The match was seen by more than 20,000, which became an all-time record home attendance for any LSK match. But Lillestrøm lost the second-leg match in Amsterdam 4-0. It was after these two matches Ajax decided that they wanted Lillestrøm's Tom Lund to replace Johann Cruyff when he left for FC Barcelona. But due to his loyalty and love for the club he never did leave Lillestrøm. A statue of him has been erected outside Åråsen.
When Arne Erlandsen left for Sweden and IFK Göteborg after the 2004-season, former LSK player and German international Uwe Rösler took over as head coach of the team. His first season in charge became a successful one, with Lillestrøm finishing fourth in the league. This position secured LSK a place in the Royal League. The team also made it to the Norwegian Cup final, but surprisingly lost 4-2 to Molde FK in front of a crowd of 25,000 at Ullevaal stadium.
In the 2006-season Lillestrøm were among the top favourites to win the league. Following a disappointing 4th place, it was announced on November 13, 2006 that Uwe Rösler had been fired from his position as head coach of Lillestrøm. Only a few days later Tom Nordlie signed a three-year contract.
A key signing ahead of the 2007 season included Fredrikstad's Simen Brenne, an attacking midfielder with a knack for scoring important goals. LSK under Nordlie play a 4-3-3 system, which invites rapid transitional play between defence and attack. The 2007 outfit won the Norwegian cup, beating FK Haugesund2-0 in the final at Ullevaal stadion, and finished fourth in the league.
On May 29, 2008, Tom Nordlie resigned from his position as head coach after a disappointing start of the 2008 season. Statements from Nordlie suggested that fundamental disagreements with club director Jan Åge Fjørtoft also contributed to his resignment.3. It has later emerged that the conflict between the controversial coach and the players was another big contributor behind Nordlie's departure, his punishing training regime in the run-up to the 2008 season being the main complaint.
Erland Johnsen Caretaker
Current season
