Odds Ballklubb, commonly known as Odd, is a Norwegian professional football club from Skien. Originally the football section of a multi-sports club, founded in 1894 nine years after the club's founding. Most sports other than football and gymnastics were discontinued and the club became dedicated primarily to football. Odd plays in the Norwegian First Division, the second tier of the Norwegian football league system, and holds the record of winning the Norwegian Football Cup the most times with twelve wins, the last coming in 2000. The club was known as Odd Grenland between 1994 and 2012. Founded in 1894, Odd is the oldest football club in Norway.[1] As of 13 May 2017 the club was granted a membership in Club of Pioneers. It then became the first Nordic football club to be granted this membership.

Odd
Full nameOdds Ballklubb
Nickname(s)Oddrane
Founded31 March 1894; 130 years ago (31 March 1894)
GroundSkagerak Arena
Skien
Capacity11,767
ChairmanTrond Haukvik
ManagerKnut Rønningene
League1. divisjon
2024Eliteserien, 16th of 16 (relegated)
Websitehttp://www.odd.no/
Current season

History

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IF Odd was founded in 1885,[2] and is thus one of the older sports clubs in Norway still in existence. The name derives from Viktor Rydberg's novel Seierssverdet, where one of the main characters was a Norwegian athlete called Orvar Odd.[citation needed]

In the beginning, IF Odd was mainly focused on gymnastics, and also had a department for Nordic skiing and track and field.[2] A department for football, named Odds BK, was founded on 31 March 1894.[3] This was the club's second effort to do so, some time after English workers at nearby Skotfoss brought the game of football to Skien, and the city[dubiousdiscuss] decided to buy a football. Odd is counted as Norway's oldest football team still in existence.

Odd started a cooperation with the local club Pors in 1994, and changed their names to Odd Grenland and Pors Grenland, in an effort to represent the district of Grenland. In conjunction with the name change, a public limited company named Grenland Fotball was founded.[3] Pors Grenland withdrew from the cooperation in December 2009,[4] and in January 2013 Odd Grenland decided to change its name back to Odds BK because they wanted to be a club for the entire county of Telemark.[5]

Odd won the Norwegian Football Cup in 1903, 1904, 1905, 1906, 1913, 1915, 1919, 1922, 1924, 1926, 1931 and 2000,[3] more than any other team in Norway. In the late 20th century, the men's team struggled in the lower divisions for many years, but made it back to the Tippeligaen in 1999 and stayed there until they were relegated in 2007. The team had survived relegation twice; first in 2005 after a dreadful start of the campaign, then in 2006 when the team only survived relegation by beating Bryne in the relegation play-offs. In 2007 the team was relegated to the 1. divisjon after being beaten by Bodø/Glimt in the relegation play-offs. In 2008, with three games still to play, Odd secured the promotion back to the Tippeligaen after winning 4–0 at home against Hødd.

On 25 September 2011, Odd player Jone Samuelsen scored what is claimed to be the longest headed goal ever scored in a match, in a match against Tromsø, when he headed the ball from within his own half of the pitch into Tromsø's open goal, the goalkeeper having come forward for a late corner in the match. Norwegian police were invited to measure the distance, and calculated the length as to be 58.13 metres.[6]

Home ground

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Skagerak Arena viewed from Sparebank 1 tribune

Club's home ground is Skagerak Arena (capacity 12,000), has seen the largest crowd (approx 12,500 people) at the 1984 Cup semi-final against Viking, though the official number is 8854. Officially, the highest attendance is 12.436, achieved in the 2015 Europa League play-off against Borussia Dortmund. The stadium was rebuilt to hold a capacity of between 13,000 and 14,000, and was finished in 2008. It is named Skagerak Arena after local sponsor Skagerak Energi.

Players and staff

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First-team squad

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As of 25 July 2024[7]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK   NOR André Hansen
2 DF   NOR Espen Ruud
3 DF   NOR Josef Baccay
4 DF   SWE Leon Hien
5 DF   FIN Tony Miettinen
6 FW   NOR Tobias Svendsen
7 MF   NOR Filip Rønningen Jørgensen
8 MF   NOR Etzaz Hussain
9 FW   NOR Ole Erik Midtskogen
10 FW   NOR Mikael Ingebrigtsen
13 DF   NOR Samuel Skree Skjeldal
14 DF   GAM Sheriff Sinyan
15 DF   NOR Sondre Solholm Johansen
16 DF   NOR Casper Glenna Andersen
17 MF   GHA Solomon Owusu
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 FW   NOR Syver Aas
19 FW   NOR Torgeir Børven
20 MF   NGA Ishaq Abdulrazak (on loan from Anderlecht)
21 DF   NOR Steffen Hagen (captain)
22 FW   GHA Abdul Zakaria Mugees
24 FW   SOM Bilal Njie
25 DF   NOR Godwill Fabio Ambrose
26 MF   SWE Alexander Fransson
27 MF   NOR Oliver Jordan Hagen
28 MF   NGA Abduljeleel Abdulateef
29 FW   NOR Bork Bang-Kittilsen
30 GK   NOR Peder Klausen
32 FW   NOR Elion Krosa
40 GK   NOR Kjetil Haug (on loan from Toulouse)


For season transfers, see transfers winter 2024–25 and transfers summer 2024.

Out on loan

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
20 MF   NOR Thomas Rekdal (at Tromsdalen until 31 December 2024)
23 FW   NOR Anders Hartveit Ryste (at Notodden FK until 31 December 2024)
26 DF   NOR Jesper Skau (at Mjøndalen until 31 December 2024)

Coaching staff

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Position Name
Head coach Knut Rønningene
Assistant coach Martin Reier
Goalkeeper coach Terje Abrahamsen
Sport director Morten Rønningen
Personal developer Amir Roland Iranmanesh
Physical and mental coach Mikkel Fillingsnes Marker
Physical therapist Anders Braastad
Player logistic Thomas Skilbred
Player developer Flamur Kastrati
Equipment manager Nils Thomas Strømdal
Team coordinator Tore Andersen
Doctor Ola Stamnes

Honours

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Recent history

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Season Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Cup Notes
2000 Tippeligaen 8 26 11 5 10 40 31 38 Winner
2001 Tippeligaen 6 26 12 6 8 50 40 42 Semi-final
2002 Tippeligaen 6 26 12 5 9 36 30 41 Final
2003 Tippeligaen 4 26 11 5 10 46 43 38 Third round
2004 Tippeligaen 8 26 9 8 9 47 44 35 Third round
2005 Tippeligaen 9 26 9 6 11 28 51 33 Quarter-final
2006 Tippeligaen 12 26 7 8 11 30 38 29 Third round
2007 Tippeligaen 12 26 8 3 15 33 43 27 Semi-final Relegated to the 1. divisjon
2008 1. divisjon 1 30 20 5 5 76 44 65 Semi-final Promoted to the Tippeligaen
2009 Tippeligaen 4 30 12 10 8 53 44 46 Semi-final
2010 Tippeligaen 5 30 12 10 8 48 41 46 Semi-final
2011 Tippeligaen 5 30 14 6 10 44 44 48 Fourth round
2012 Tippeligaen 10 30 11 7 12 40 43 39 Fourth round
2013 Tippeligaen 7 30 11 7 12 43 39 40 Fourth round
2014 Tippeligaen 3 30 17 7 6 52 32 58 Final
2015 Tippeligaen 4 30 15 10 5 61 41 55 Quarter-final
2016 Tippeligaen 3 30 15 6 9 44 35 51 Fourth round
2017 Eliteserien 6 30 12 6 12 27 39 42 Fourth round
2018 Eliteserien 9 30 11 7 12 39 38 40 Fourth round
2019 Eliteserien 4 30 15 7 8 45 40 52 Semi-final
2020 Eliteserien 7 30 13 4 13 52 51 43 Cancelled
2021 Eliteserien 13 30 8 9 13 44 58 33 Fourth round
2022 Eliteserien 5 30 13 6 11 43 45 45 Fourth round
2023 Eliteserien 10 30 10 8 12 42 44 38 Third round
2024 Eliteserien 16 30 5 8 17 26 54 23 Third round Relegated to the 1. divisjon

European record

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Overview

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As of 3 August 2017
Competition S P W D L GF GA GD
UEFA Europa League/UEFA Cup 5 24 11 5 8 37 32 +5
Total 5 24 11 5 8 37 32 +5

Matches

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Season Competition Round Opponent 1st Leg 2nd Leg Aggregate
2001–02 UEFA Cup 1R   Helsingborgs IF 2–2 1–1 3–3 (a)  
2004–05 UEFA Cup 2Q   FK Ekranas 3–1 1–2 4–3  
1R   Feyenoord 0–1 1–4 1–5  
2015–16 UEFA Europa League 1Q   FC Sheriff Tiraspol 3–0 0–0 3–0  
2Q   Shamrock Rovers 2–0 2–1 4–1  
3Q   Elfsborg 1–2 2–0 3–2  
PO   Borussia Dortmund 3–4 2–7 5–11  
2016–17 UEFA Europa League 1Q   IFK Mariehamn 2–0 1–1 3–1  
2Q   PAS Giannina 0–3 3–1 3–4  
2017–18 UEFA Europa League 1Q   Ballymena United 3–0 2–0 5–0  
2Q   Vaduz 1–0 1–0 2–0  
3Q   Dinamo Zagreb 1–2 0–0 1–2  
Notes
  • 1Q: First qualifying round
  • 2Q: Second qualifying round
  • 1R: First round
  • PO. Play-off round

Managers

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  • Lennart Söderberg (1983–84)
  • Tore Andersen (1990)
  • Paul Wilson (1991–93)
  • Lars Borgar Waage (1994–97)
  • Tom Nordlie (1998–99)
  • Arne Sandstø (1 January 1999– 28 September 2007)
  • Gaute Larsen (2005–07)
  • Ove Flindt-Bjerg (28 September 2007 – 17 December 2007)
  • Dag-Eilev Fagermo (17 December 2007 – 31 January 2020)
  • Jan Frode Nornes (11 March 2020 – 8 January 2022)
  • Pål Arne Johansen (24 January 2022 – 31 December 2023)
  • Kenneth Dokken (16 January 2024 – 13 November 2024)
  • Knut Rønningene (interim) (13 November 2024 – 10 December 2024)
  • Knut Rønningene (10 December 2024 –)

References

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  1. ^ dubious, dubious (7 May 2017). "Club of Pioneers" (in Norwegian). Odds Ballklubb. Archived from the original on 13 May 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  2. ^ a b Henriksen, Petter, ed. (2007). "Odd Grenland". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. Archived from the original on 15 October 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  3. ^ a b c Tollefsen, Morten (28 March 2007). "Litt om ODDS BALLKLUBB" (in Norwegian). Odd Grenland. Archived from the original on 23 December 2010. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  4. ^ Saga, Else Jorunn (2 December 2009). "Pors ut av Grenland fotball" (in Norwegian). NRK. Archived from the original on 3 December 2009. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  5. ^ "Odd stryker Grenland fra klubbnavnet". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  6. ^ "Halfway-line Norwegian header set for record books". BBC Sport. 2 October 2011. Archived from the original on 17 December 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
  7. ^ "A-laget" [First team squad] (in Norwegian). Odds BK. Archived from the original on 2023-05-27. Retrieved 2021-06-12.
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