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The rise and fall of Fredrikstad Fotballklubb ( A thread)
On the 7th of April 1903 Fredrikstad fotballklubb was founded. FFK was the first club in Norway to only focus on football, and not other sports aswell. Since Fredrikstad is one of the oldest clubs in Norway there was a lack of opposition. A few months later an Englishman with the
Name of H.W Kenworthy who was living in the neighboring city of sarposborg wanted to practice football. He joined one of our training sessions and decided to form a club him self in Sarpsborg. That was the start of the rivalry. FFK wears a trademark red and white kit. And the
Story behind that is quite the one interesting. In 1926 an international friendly between Norway and Poland was played on Fredrikstadâs ground. The club liked Polandâs kit so much that they sent an official letter to the polish FA asking to use the kit. And they were allowed.
In 1932 the club won their first piece of silverware when they beat Ărn Horten 6-1 in the final of the Norwegian cup. A few years later the first League campaign was played out. Fredrikstad won it and the next season (1938/1939) they won the double. From 1932 to the start of
World war 2 the club won 5 cup titles and 2 league titles. FFK was at the time the biggest club in Norway. After the war ended football was more popular then ever, that was also the case in Fredrikstad. The next 2 decades was the most successful in the club 117 year history.
In those 2 decades the title was won 6 times and the Norwegian cup 5 times. In the league they also finished runners up 7 times. In the 1960/61 season the club was the first team from Norway that entered the European cup where they beat Ajax 4-1 on an aggregate score.
The city it self were one of the powerhouses of European economy. Fredrikstad had one of the busiest ports in Europe due to its ship building and woodwork. That optimism from around the city also affect the style of play as this quote from Jørgen Juve this is how football is
Supposed to be playedÂť. This relaxed playstyle eventually lead to their demise. When other clubs turned more professional the players in Fredrikstad still had normal jobs besides playing football. Their philosophy also included that they wouldnât train more than 2 days a week
since that would ruin the fun of football. The 70âs and 80âs were hard times for the club. During the 1970âs they only won 1 cup title and in 1973 they got relegated to the 2nd division for the first time. They would automatically get promoted again. Between 1977 and 1984 FFK
Experienced a rollercoaster between the divisions. In 1984 that came to an end when they got relegated to the 2nd division and wouldnât return for a long time. In 1992 things got even worse both financially and on the pitch when important sponsors pulled out and they got
Relegated to the 3rd division. For 10 years they fought in the 3rd division of until son of legendary manager Nils Arne Eggen, Knut Torbjørn Eggen took over as manager. Knut implemented a whole new level of professionalism and training regime which lead to back to back promotions
In 2006 they got back to their winning ways and won the Norwegian cup for the 11th time. A few good seasons saw them finished 2nd but eventually relegated again in 2009. Again, they got promoted back up the following season. The last year the club would find them self in the
Top division was 2012. In that 8 years star players like Tarik Elyounussi, Costa Rican international Celso Borges and Simen Rafn all left bor bigger clubs which further lead to the downfall of the once Norwegian powerhouse. This year the club finally got out of the 3rd division
After they walked the league and only lost 1 game. A new season will soon begin and the club is looking for another promotion to get back where they belong, the first division. With the Corona situation hopefully being over soon fans are eager to go back to the stadium.
12000 fans insane that stadium is one of the best atmospheres Iâve ever experienced. And hopefully Iâll be able to experience that again soon.
END OF THREAD
