Football league
Mesterfinalen
(English:
Champions Final
), also known as
UNICEF Mesterfinalen
due to its cooperation with
UNICEF
, is a
Norwegian
association football
competition contested between the champions of the previous
Eliteserien
season and the holders of the
Norwegian Football Cup
. If the same team is both reigning League and Cup champions, the silver medalist from the league provides the opposition.
[1]
The competition was founded in 2009, then known as
Superfinalen
(English:
Super Final
). Superfinalen was not arranged between 2011 and 2016 before it was rebranded and again arranged in 2017. The fixture is a recognised competitive football
super cup
.
History
[
edit
]
There have previously been attempts at a Supercup, and before that, pre-season friendlies between the reigning league and cup champions. For instance, the 2002 pre-season match between Rosenborg and
Viking
was played between the reigning league and cup champions, although it had no official status. The Superfinalen was introduced in
2009
as the first attempt to make an official tournament, but the tournament folded in
2010
after two finals. Ahead of the 2011 season,
Norges Fotballforbund
and
Norsk Toppfotball
stated that Superfinalen would be discontinued, stating that the championship was interesting neither from sports nor from a commercial aspect. However, the two would-be qualified teams, league winner Rosenborg and cup winner
Strømsgodset
, were free to play a pre-season friendly, although it would not be regarded as an official match.
[2]
In 2016, after
Discovery Communications
and
TVNorge
acquired the rights for the
Eliteserien
a new attempt was made to arrange a Supercup starting in 2017 under the name UNICEF Mesterfinalen.
[3]
The first final was played between reigning
League
and
Cup
champions
Rosenborg
and the league runners-up
Brann
at
Brann Stadion
.
[4]
Editions
[
edit
]
2009
[
edit
]
The first edition was contested between Stabæk and Valerenga at
Telenor Arena
in
Bærum
on 8 March 2009.
[5]
It was the first official match to take place at Stabæk's new home ground. Stabæk qualified as winners of the
2008 Tippeligaen
, where they finished six points ahead of
Fredrikstad
.
[6]
Valerenga qualified as winners of the
2008 Norwegian Football Cup
, where they had won
the final
4?1 against Stabæk. As such, Superfinalen became a replay of the previous year's cup final.
[7]
Stabæk won the match 3?1 after goals by
Daniel Nannskog
,
Daigo Kobayashi
and
Palmi Rafn Palmason
.
Mohammed Abdellaoue
scored for the losing side.
Martin Andresen
, playing coach for Valerenga, received two yellow cards.
[5]
- Match details
2010
[
edit
]
The 2010 edition was contested between Rosenborg BK and Aalesund FK at
Color Line Stadion
in
Alesund
on 7 March 2010. Rosenborg qualified as winners of the
2009 Tippeligaen
, where they finished 13 points ahead of
Molde
.
[8]
Aalesund qualified as winners of the
2009 Norwegian Football Cup
, where they beat Molde in a penalty shootout in
the final
.
[9]
Rosenborg won the match 3?1 after leading 2?0 at halftime.
Kris Stadsgaard
and
Rade Prica
scored the goals in the first half, and
Trond Olsen
increased Rosenborg's lead to 3?0 before Aalesund pulled one back, courtesy of
Peter Orry Larsen
.
[10]
- Match details
2017
[
edit
]
The 2017 edition was contested between SK Brann and Rosenborg BK at
Brann Stadion
in
Bergen
on 29 March 2017.
[12]
Rosenborg qualified as winners of the
2016 Tippeligaen
, where they finished 15 points ahead of
Brann
.
[13]
Brann qualified as runners-up in the Tippeligaen, this because Rosenborg won the
2016 Norwegian Football Cup
. Rosenborg won the match 2?0 after leading 1?0 at halftime.
Milan Jevtovic
scored the goal in the first half, and
Tore Reginiussen
increased Rosenborg's lead to 2?0 in the 90th minute.
- Match details
2018
[
edit
]
The 2018 edition was contested between Lillestrøm SK and Rosenborg BK at
Arasen Stadion
in
Lillestrøm
on 25 April 2018. Initially the game was scheduled for 5 March 2018, but the game was cancelled due to the winterly conditions at Arasen Stadion.
[14]
Rosenborg qualified as winners of the
2017 Eliteserien
, where they finished 7 points ahead of
Molde
.
[15]
Lillestrøm qualified as winners of the
2017 Norwegian Football Cup
where they defeated
Sarpsborg 08
3?2 in the final. Rosenborg won the 2018 Mesterfinalen with the score 0?1.
[16]
After a goalless first half,
Nicklas Bendtner
scored the winning goal in the 52nd minute.
- Match details
2019
[
edit
]
The 2019 edition was to be contested between Rosenborg BK and
Molde FK
at
Ullevaal Stadion
in
Oslo
. Rosenborg qualified as winners of the
2018 Eliteserien
, where they finished 5 points ahead of Molde.
[17]
Molde qualified as runners-up in Eliteserien as Rosenborg also won the
2018 Norwegian Football Cup
, but due to
extreme weather
conditions the games was cancelled 2 days prior to the scheduled matchday.
[18]
Venues
[
edit
]
The fixture is usually played at the home ground of one of the teams competing. The first exception would have been the
2019
final, when defending league champions Rosenborg decided that the final should be held at Ullevaal Stadion. In total there have been five host grounds. The first ground to host the fixture was
Telenor Arena
in 2009. The 2009 final is the only game hosted by the league champions.
Records
[
edit
]
- The most successful team in the competition is
Rosenborg
(3 wins).
- The highest scoring games were the
2009
and
2010
finals. Stabæk's 3?1 win against
Valerenga
in 2009 was equaled by Rosenborg's 3?1 win against
Aalesund
in 2010.
- Rosenborg
hold the record for most consecutive wins (3) from 2010 to 2018.
- Kris Stadsgaard
has scored the fastest goal in a Norwegian super cup. In 2010 he scored in the 7th minute in the final between Aalesund and Rosenborg.
- Brann
are the only club to participate in Mesterfinalen, not qualified as either champions of the League or the Cup.
Performances
[
edit
]
Performance by club
[
edit
]
Total cup wins by city
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
|
---|
Superfinalen
| |
---|
Mesterfinalen
| |
---|
|
|
|
---|
League competitions
| |
---|
Cup competitions
| |
---|
Defunct cup competitions
| |
---|
Playoff competitions
| |
---|
Youth competitions
| |
---|
National teams
| |
---|
Others
| |
---|
Lists and categories
| |
---|
|