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Molde
The city of Molde
Molde is a small city with a population of approximately 24,000 founded in 1742 and located between Bergen and Trondheim on the west coast of Norway. Already in the 19th century, the city was an attractive tourist destination. Among the regular visitors were the German Kaiser Wilhelm II, who resided in Molde every summer. The tourists nicknamed the city The city of roses, because of its numerous flowered gardens.
Great authors such as Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Henrik Ibsen, and Alexander Kielland have some connection to the city. Today, however, the city is culturally best known for hosting Europe's oldest jazz festival, at which celebrities such as Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and Paul Simon have performed.
Molde Football Club
Molde FC was founded on June 19th 1911, and named International because the opponents were primarily visitors from cruise ships or trading vessels. The rising interest and activity in football in neighbouring towns caused the club to change its name to Molde Fotball Club.
Today the club has approximately 800 members and around 45 teams in three departments. 40 of the teams are youth teams, two are ladies teams, one is an amateur team, and two teams are professional.
League history
Until the beginning of the 70s, the club mainly played in local lower division leagues, except from a short visit to the top division in the 1957-58 season. In 1974 Molde was back in the premier division following the entrance of a series of young talented players in the first team, coinciding with the return of top level players adding new skills to the team. Jan Fuglset, Åge Hareide, and Harry Hestad, amongst others, played at Molde at the time.
Since then, Molde has generally stayed in the top division and has become one of the nations leading clubs. The club has produced a respectable number of national team players, and players who have gone professional in foreign leagues. Among these is the famous Manchester United star Ole Gunnar Solskjær.
The 1987 season was the closest Molde has come to winning the league championship, when a draw at home against Moss would have ensured the title. In spite of Molde delievering an excellent game with lots of great opportunities, Moss won the game by two goals to nil at Molde stadium, thus winning the league championship as well. The attendance of 14,615 set the record at the old Molde stadium. The best league results obtained by Molde are the silver medals in 1974, 1987, 1995, 1998, 1999, and 2002.
The Cup and Champions League
Molde played in the cup finals in 1982, and 1989, but lost both. In 1994 finally Molde succeeded in winning the title by defeating Lyn by three goals to two at Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo. The highlight of the history of the club is however the participation in the UEFA Champions League in the 1999/2000-season, when the major clubs Real Madrid, Porto and Olympiakos visited Molde.
Stadium
The new stadium of the club was inaugurated in 1998. The finest stadium of Norway, by the seashore of central Molde, cost approximately £20,000,000 and was constructed thanks to the investors Kjell Inge Røkke and Bjørn Rune Gjelsten who donated the necessary funds. The attendance record at the new Molde stadium is 13,308 against Rosenborg in 1998.
Players
The club has been one of the leading in exporting players, which has given the club a substantion amount of funds, especially in the late 90s. Harry Hestad (den Haag), Åge Hareide (Manchester City, Norwich City), Kjetil Rekdal (Borussia Mönchengladbach, Lierse, Rennes, Herta Berlin), Ole Gunnar Solskjær (Manchester United), Petter Rudi (Sheffield Wednesday, Gent, Perugia, Lokeren), Trond Andersen (Wimbeldon, Aalborg), Andreas Lund (Wimbledon) and Jo Tessem (Southampton) are all among those who have been sold from Molde to foreign clubs.
One of Norways best-regarded coaches, Åge Hareide, coached Molde in the periods 1987-1991 and 1993-1997. He has since then been in charge of Helsingborg, Brøndby, Rosenborg, and the national team of Norway.
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