Canadians in Scandinavia

[Joe MacCarthy]

Tks to TorontoInferno and Ashton Gate at Vs

Arnesen scouts duo
by Kent Hedlundh - created on 9 Aug 2005

http://skysports.planetfootball.com/list.asp?hlid=297855&lid=2&cpid=8&title=Arnesen

Chelsea new man Frank Arnesen was spotted watching Helsingborg's 2-0 defeat to IFK Gothenborg.

The former Tottenham director of football will plan ways of spending Roman Abramovich's millions by recommending targets to Blues boss Jose Mourinho.

Although IFK were victorious at Olympia, it is rumoured that two of Helsingborg's stars were the focus of his attention.

Canada international Atiba Hutchinson and defender Andreas Granqvist are the players in question.

Tall midfielder Hutchinson, 22, has scored four goals in 16 games this term and is a key man following his arrival from Osters.

"Chelsea would be the perfect club," said defensive anchor Hutchinson in Sportbladet after the game.

http://www.blues.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/WTPS/0,,10412~674430,00.html

Canadian midfielder Atiba Hutchinson was last night watched by chief scout Bernard Paintain. The 22-year-old made his 50th appearance for Swedish club Helsingborgs in their 1-0 defeat against Malmo.

An international, Hutchinson has gone public about Blues' interest and said he was flattered that they wanted to sign him.

But his comments were somewhat premature as although Blues have been alerted to his capabilities, no bid has been lodged.

**********************************************
As an aside Birmingham can confirm that midfielder Mehdi Nafti will be out of action for several months after scans revealed he has torn his cruciate ligament.

Perhaps an opening for Atiba.

Do you guys remember when Holger used to play this gangly teenager and invite him to camps. Now we know why. Similar to Yallop/Peters which I hope has the same successful outcome.

[Joe MacCarthy]

With one more game to go in the Norwegian Tippeligaen all Canadians will remain in the league. Only Rob Friend (Molde) has yet to be decided whether his team will be relegated.

In other good news Milan Kojic, Chris Pozniak, Nikola Budalic, and Kevin De Serpa of Haugesund have all be promoted to the Norwegian Adeccoligaen (2)

In Sweden Tyler Hughes of Östers has been promoted to (Swedish Allsvenskan) (1)

Ali Gerba of Sundsvall has been relegated to (Swedish Superettan) (2) but has some Norwegian Tippeligaen and Dutch teams looking at him.

And the strange case of Kenny Stamatopoulos. His team Bodens has been relegated to (Swedish Division 2) (3) but he was on loan from possible promotion team Enkopings (Swedish Division 2) (3) So he may not be relegated after all.

[toronto_soccer]

i've heard of there being more canadians than americans playing soccer in norway. the u.s. has great young talent there. any info on this?

[Joe MacCarthy]

Do your research man. There are ten Canadians in Norway. Are there more Americans? All I know is an American talk show host told me we had more Canadians playing abroad than Americans. I don't know if it is true as I am not particularly concerned with what the US does although I do cheer them on against the traditional powers.

[Joe MacCarthy]

Tks to Stian Stryni at Vs

May end up in Lerkendal

http://www.nordlys.no/sporten/til-magasinet/article1804129.ece

TRONDHEIM: RBK-coach Hogmo wont acknowledge it. But both Patrice Bernier and Lars Hirschfeld are wanted in Lerkendel next year.

RBK 1-1 TIL

All 21,258 spectators in Lerkendal Saturday know why. Bernier and Hirschfeld were the dominating players on the pitch.

Bernier was creating havoc in the midfield, ran at least 10-15 kilometers and was brilliant with the ball. He was several classes above one of Aage Hareides (coach of Norway) most trusted men: Jan Gunnar Solli.

Hirschfeld played another amazing match. Fantastic saves on the line, and was exceptional in deciding one-on-one situations.

A class keeper, says Rosenborg coach Per-Mathias Hogmo

It is Lars, Patrice and Ole Martin who push TIL forward in this match.

He wont tell if Rosenborg will go for these players the next season.

We have been in browsing mode until now. After the Real Madrid game (on Tuesday) we'll see what we'll do. All our players are under contract.

Noone in TIL will be surprised if Rosenborg during the next weeks will try to secure Lars and Patrice.

It's not impossible that RBK will put 20-25 million kroner (Besiktas offered 10 million) on the table for Patrice, says Bjorn Johansen (veteran who retires after this season)

He is clear on this: TIL must stretch as far as possible to keep both Bernier and Hirschfeld.

We see it against RBK, and we have seen it before, these are players who have a high level. Lars produces world class saves. And Patrice is just playing with Rosenborg (like stealing candy from kids). Of course it's important for Tromso to keep these players, but there's a limit to what one can say no to. (20 million?)

Another veteran, Morten Pedersen, says this:

TIL must do everything to keep Lars and Patrice. They are two of the most importants players we have.

[Joe MacCarthy]

Tks to Ceres at Xtratime

http://pub.tv2.no/nettavisen/sport/tippeliga/article484580.ece

Norwegian TV2 nettavisen Sport has just selected the two Canadians Lars Hirschfeld and Patrice Bernier among the top 14 best (out of around 100 foreigners) in the Norwegian league 2005 :

ÅRETS UTLENDING (Foreigner of the year):

1. Paul Scharner, Brann. (Austria, 11 caps) ,Defender/midfielder
2. Adin Brown, Aalesund. (USA), goalkeeper
3. Arni Gautur Arason, Vålerenga. (Iceland, 50 caps), goalkeeper
4. Robert Koren, Lillestrøm. (Slovenia, 4 caps) midfielder
5. Claus Reitmaier, Lillestrøm. (Germany) goalkeeper

"Subs"
Lars Hirschfeld (Canada, Tromsø)
Patrice Bernier (Canada, Tromsø)
Allan Gaarde (Denmark, Viking)
Charlie Miller (Scotland, Brann)
Steven Lüstü (Denmark, Lyn)
Ali Al-Habsi (Oman, Lyn)
Jan Michaelsen (Denmark, Ham-Kam)
Christoffer Andersson (Sweden, Lillestrøm)
Anthony Basso (France, Viking)

Particularly noteworthy for Lars as he only joined Tromso for the second half of the season and basically resurrected them from relegation and helped with the big win over Galatasaray

[Joe MacCarthy]

Tks to RosenborgFan at Xtratime for headsup

Hirschfeld to make up his mind by weekend
By Endre Bakken, 12 November 2005, 01:53
http://www.rosenborg.info/article/4011

By Monday Lars Hirschfeld is going to decide whether to stay in Tromsø, sign for Rosenborg or go to a different club.

http://www.canadasoccer.com/images/media/hirschfeld_hs.jpg
Lars Hirschfeld

The Canadian national team's keeper has been given much of the credit for TIL's impressive statistics this fall, which has led to him being sought after by many clubs. Rosenborg, Lyn and Lillestrøm are amongst the clubs wanting to buy the 27 year old goalie, whose contract with Tromsø expires this season.

"A dozen of clubs have shown their interest. And we have gotten five or six very good offers from clubs both Norwegian and foreign. There is obviously a lack of good goalies in Norway," Hirschfeld's Swedish agent, Patrick Mörk, told Nordlys.

Ivar Rønningen will most likely leave Rosenborg this winter - perhaps for Molde, and RBK are therefore willing to spend good money to secure an able replacement, and not least, an exciting alternative to Espen Johnsen.

"But money is not all in life. The most important thing to me is that I am happy with my life and what I do, and that I will be able to improve myself as a goalkeeper," Lars Hirschfeld said.

Born: October 17 1978
Place of birth: Edmonton, Alberta
Position: Goalkeeper
Current club: Tromsø
Former clubs: Edmonton Drillers, Energie Cottbus, Calgary Storm, Tottenham, Luton (loan), Gillingham (loan), Dundee United, Leicester

League matches/-goals 2005: 11/0
National caps/goals: 18/0

Read more at:
CanadaSoccer.com (http://www.canadasoccer.com/eng/nationals/profile.asp?id=95)

VG player ratings 2005 (http://fotball.vg.no/bors/spiller.php?spiller_id=15797&sesong_id=143&klubb_id=13)

[Joe MacCarthy]

Tks to Winnipeg Fury at Vs for headsup

Friend and Mates the Toast of Norwegian city
By Warren Henderson
Staff Reporter
Nov 11 2005
http://www.kelownacapnews.com/

http://web.bcnewsgroup.com/portals/uploads/kelowna/.DIR288/11_S_Rob_friend.tif.jpg
Kelowna's Rob Friend celebrates a goal for Molde FK last Sunday in the Norwegian soccer final in Oslo. Molde beat Lillestrom 4-2 in double overtime to win the national title. Scanpix/contributed

With a nation watching, Rob Friend and his Molde teammates won Norwegian soccer's most coveted prize last Sunday in Oslo.

But it isn't just the game, the goal he scored, or the gleam of the champion's trophy the 24-year-old striker will recall for the rest of his days.

For Friend, being swept up in the hysteria and aura of a city's long-awaited triumph now ranks as the unparalleled thrill of his soccer career.

"All the soccer I've played in university, professionally or nationally, nothing has come close to this," assured Friend, a product of Kelowna's minor soccer program.

"The atmosphere was electric, the people were going crazy - it was wild. The whole weekend was unbelievable. I don't know if I'll ever be involved in anything like this again. It was like a dream."

Last weekend, Friend and his Molde FK team won the The Cup - Norway's equivalent of the NFL's Super Bowl - with a 4-2 double overtime win in the title game over Lillestrom at Ulleval Stadium in Oslo.

Friend scored the first goal of the game, then set up two more goals including the insurance marker in overtime.

With 26,000 rabid, cheering fans packing the stands, split almost evenly between Molde and Lillestrom, it was an environment like no other Friend had experienced.

"It's every kid's dream in this country to play in The Cup and win it and after you do it, you know why," said Friend.

"Half the stadium was in blue (Molde's colour) and half in yellow for Lillestrom. Our supporters were great and it was just a great atmosphere."

What awaited the Molde players upon their return home to the city of 30,000 - about 40 minutes from Oslo - after the game on Sunday was sheer pandemonium and a most pleasant surprise for Friend and his teammates. It was Molde's first cup win in 11 years.

"We took a flight back to Molde after the game and all these people were waiting for us. We were paraded into the city centre and escorted onto the roof of the town hall. More than 4,000 people jammed the downtown, there were fireworks going off - you could feel how much it meant to everyone."

While the victory in Oslo was the highlight of their season, Molde's work isn't quite finished.

Friend and his teammates must beat Moss in a two-game set beginning this weekend to avoid being relegated from Norway's Premier League to the first division for next season.

"Molde has a lot of history and tradition and it would be a disaster to lose and get dropped from premier," Friend said. "We've got a lot of national team players and a lot of experience, so we feel good about it."

On an individual basis, the 6 foot 4, 205-pound Friend had another stellar season connecting 10 goals in 22 league games, and three more in five starts on the run to The Cup.

He's also back on the radar for Canada's national program and was invited by head coach Frank Yallop to play for his country early next week in Luxembourg.

But Friend had to decline because of his commitment to Molde.

As for the impending off-season, Friend is looking forward to a little downtime, particularly after having just five days off since January.

"My body's taken a lot of abuse and I'm pretty tired," he said. "I've been stressing since January so it'll be nice to get away from that part of it for a while. That's the life of an athlete, I guess."

whenderson@kelownacapnews.com

[Joe MacCarthy]

Today, Rob Friend's Molde defeated Moss 3-2 in the first leg of their two game Norwegian Tippeligaen relegation playoff. They return to Molde to play the second leg Saturday November 19

[Joe MacCarthy]

Tks to RosenborgFan at Xtratime for headsup

Hirschfeld will choose RBK or LSK
By Endre Bakken, 14 November 2005, 17:22
http://www.rosenborg.info/article/4018

Lars Hirschfeld has declined to extend his contract with Tromsø. Shortly he will decide whether to sign for Lillestrøm or Rosenborg.

"Lars has told Tromsø he will not stay with the club the next season, but he has not decided where to continue his career. The choice is between two other Norwegian clubs," Hirschfeld's agent Patrick Mörk told in an interview with Nordlys.

The Swede did however not want to confirm that Rosenborg and Lillestrøm are the clubs involved:

"But I guess that is not far from the truth," he admitted.

Hirschfeld visited Trondheim this weekend, and had a meeting with the RBK management who might have been able to tempt him to move further south.

"The months at TIL in Tromsø have been the best of my soccer career thus far, leaving such a team and such a group of wonderful people is not easy. I have looked at all the pros and cons, over and over again, and I have, with great doubt, decided that the best thing for me at this moment is to change teams. I am thankful for having gotten the opportunity at TIL and I will always look back at the time spent in Tromsø with joy," Lars Hirschfeld told til.no.

[Joe MacCarthy]

Lars Hirschfeld has signed a three year deal with Scandinavian giants Rosenborg. He will compete with Espen Johnsen for the top job at the club.

Norwegian Articles (http://www.rbkweb.com/vis/4020)
http://www.rbk.no/incoming/article.jhtml?articleID=89448

[Joe MacCarthy]

Tks to mjoni at Vs for translation
http://www.vg.no/bilder/bildarkiv/1132033792.95749.jpg

LSK made an offer a week ago, but Odd Grenland is pricing Occean at 10 million NOK. A team in the Bundesliga, FC Köbenhavn and Bröndby are also interested. And the trainer, Arne Sandstö, adds that he hopes to sell Occean into the Bundesliga. He wants to make the most money possible.

http://tinypic.com/foqfd2.jpg
Olivier Occean

Born: October 23 1981
Place of birth: Brossard, Quebec
Position: Striker
Current club: Odd Grenland
Former clubs: Southern Connecticut State University

League matches/goals 2005: 22/8
League matches/goals Total: 46/22
National caps/goals: 12/1

Rosenborg Article in Norwegian (http://www.rbkweb.com/vis/4019)

Another rumour has a trade in the works, with Occean going to RBK for money and Frode Johnsen. Also, other numbers guesses are saying LSK's bid was in the 6-7 million NOK for Occean, while Odd wants 12 million. So, this should be interesting. All told in the last month there have been rumours of four Canadians going to RBK. In any case, they'll only have the domestic league to think about next year.

Read more at:
CanadaSoccer.com (http://www.canadasoccer.com/eng/nationals/profile.asp?id=95)

VG player ratings 2005 (http://fotball.vg.no/bors/spiller.php?spiller_id=15797&sesong_id=143&klubb_id=13)

[Joe MacCarthy]

Tks to mjoni at Vs for translation

Sundsvall rejects AIK's offer
http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/sport/story/0,2789,729993,00.html

Hot attacker: AIK and Göteborg fight for Sundsvall's forward Ali Gerba.

Offered three million (SEK) for Gerba: they'll be back

GÖTEBORG.

GIF Sundsvall rejected the first offers for forward Ali Gerba, 23, a few days ago. There's now a bidding war between AIK and IFK Göteborg. Last night the negotiating continued in conjunction with the Football Gala.

Already on the 24th of October, the day after the last round of Allsvenskan, Sportbladet revealed that Sundsvall forward Ali Gerba was at the top of IFK Göteborg's wish list for new forwards. A few days ago GIF Sundsvall rejected bids for Gerba from both IFK Göteborg and AIK, at around three million (SEK).

I won't talk about numbers, says Urban Hagblom in today's edition of the Dagbladet in Sundsvall. We're talking about a lot of money from a Sundsvall perspective, but we've decided that it's not enough considering his market value.

Not playing in the Superettan

Canadian international Gerba was brought to Sundsvall last summer from the Montreal Impact. The powerful and quick forward, 183 cm and 91 kg, scored five goals in 11 Allsvenska matches.

Gerba said to Dagbladet that he isn't interested in playing in the Superettan with the relegated GIF Sundsvall:

It wouldn't be good for my career to play there. I want to play in the highest league in order to keep my place in Canada's national team, he said. In the case of a transfer for Gerba, his attacking partner from the same club, Jonas Wallerstedt, might come with the purchase. In the fight for Gerba's services Gif's club president Urban Hagblom gives AIK the advantage.

AIK will be back, I believe. IFK Göteborg, I'm not sure. They have to settle things in the organisation first, says Hagblom. (after some major tax evasion stuff)
But at yesterday's Football Gala, Urban Hagblom was seen in earnest conversation with both IFK Göteborg's head, Bengt Halse, and AIK's transfer boss, Stefan Söderberg.

All parties declined to comment on what was discussed.

[Joe MacCarthy]

Bernier turning heads north of the Arctic Circle
By NEIL DAVIDSON

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Soccer/Canada/2005/11/15/1308357-cp.html

(CP) - Patrice Bernier has been making his soccer mark north of the Arctic Circle this season. The 26-year-old midfielder from Montreal is turning heads in Tromso, some 1,100 kilometres north of Oslo, alongside fellow Canadians Lars Hirschfeld and Stephen Ademolu who are also doing well in Norway.

"Tromso is kind of a lucky town I guess for Canadian soccer players," Bernier said contentedly Tuesday from Luxembourg where Canada plays a friendly Wednesday (Rogers Sportsnet, 2 p.m. ET).

Ademolu, a forward from Windsor, Ont., is also in the Canadian squad - and could win his first cap Wednesday - while goalkeeper Hirschfeld, an Edmonton native, withdrew through injury.

Midfielder Sandro Grande (Viking Stavanger, Norway) pulled out Tuesday with a calf injury. He has been replaced by Jaime Peters (Ipswich Town, England).

Luxembourg is ranked 152nd in the world by FIFA, while Canada is No. 86. The two teams have only met once before, with Canada winning 2-0.

Slightly smaller than Rhode Island, Luxembourg has a population of about 487,000 - roughly the same as London, Ont. Its soccer team took a beating in World Cup qualifying, losing all 12 matches while being outscored 48-5.

Luxembourg is 2-89 in its World Cup qualifying history, with wins over Portugal in 1961 and Turkey in 1972.

That bodes well for Canada and Bernier, who has had bigger fish to fry with his club team.

Tromso has made it to the group stage of the UEFA Cup, eliminating Turkey's Galatasaray along the way. There have since been losses to Roma and Strasbourg with matches down the road against Crvena Zvezda and Basel.

Domestically, the club won four of its last five games to finish eighth in the 14-team Norwegian league.

"It's been going quite well, I think," Bernier said.

Good enough that Bernier has attracted an offer from Turkey's Besiktas, a proposal that was turned down by Tromso.

"It would have been nice to go there for the football, for the life," said Bernier. "Also for the fact that they usually play in the Champions League or UEFA (Cup).

"For me I would have loved to play there. Because in your football career, opportunities like that don't come that often. But I respected the club's decision and I move on. I just have to keep going."

Bernier joined Tromso in July 2004 and his contract runs until July 1, 2007. He spent a season and a half with Moss FK in Norway and before that, three seasons with the Montreal Impact.

His new home is a long way north - 400 kilometres inside the Arctic Circle.

"We're higher up than Alaska," Bernier said.

But it's a pleasant place, nestled in the mountains. There's a university, more than 120 nationalities call Tromso home and people are friendly

Plus it boasts the world's most northern brewery.

"It's a nice town, it's a good place to live," said Bernier, who struggled to find a negative.

"OK, the darkness in the winter. But the advantage during the summer is you have the sun pretty much 24 hours a day."

[Joe MacCarthy]

Hirschfeld ready for Rosenborg
By Endre Bakken, 15 November 2005, 23:30
http://www.rosenborg.info/article/4022

Lars Hirschfeld signed a three year contract with Rosenborg today. The Canadian national team's goalie came for free from Tromsø.

This Monday Hirschfeld revealed that he did not intend to extend his short term contract with TIL, despite the fact that the UEFA cup participants were willing to increase his salary.

"I have looked at all the pros and cons, over and over again, and I have, with great doubt, decided that the best thing for me at this moment is to change teams," Hirschfeld told til.no.

Lillestrøm and Lyn were willing to go to great lengths to get the goalie to sign, but the Canadian decided to go to RBK at last. The visit to Trondheim Saturday was what got him to decide to move there. The reliable goalie was most probably offered to compete, on equal footing, with Espen Johnsen for the position of main goalkeeper.

He passed the medical tests done Saturday. Today, the only thing he had to do was give his signature. He will probably receive a considerable "sign-on-fee".

Lars Hirschfeld is to finish the season with two UEFA cup matches for Tromsø against Red Star and Basel. At the same time Alexander Lund Hansen is on his way home after having been loaned out for eighteen months to Fredrikstad.

Because of these two arrivals at RBK, Ivar Rønningen and Roar Husby are about to leave. Both Molde and FFK are supposedly interested in Rønningen, while the 26 year old Husby will most likely go back to the lower divisions after two seasons at Lerkendal without getting to play a single obligatory match.

PS! If RBK gets to the UEFA cup after Christmas they will not be able to use Hirschfeld.

[Joe MacCarthy]

Tks to Gutan at Xtratime and Stian Stryni at Vs for headsup and translation

Canadian goalie ready

http://www.nordlys.no/sporten/til-magasinet/article1828067.ece

Tromso IL has already found a replacement for Lars Hirschfeld. Today TIL came to an agreement with Canadian national goalie Kenny Stamatopoulos (26), who tonight is playing for Canada against Luxembourg.

We have made an oral agreement on a 3-years contract, confirms Tore Rismo in TIL to Nordlys.

Is Kenny better than Lars?

Impossible to say. Of course he keeps a good standard. We have been keeping an eye on him for a while and have good recommendations, says Rismo.

TIL is, according to Rismo, in agreement with the Swedish club Enkoping about the transfer. Kenny Stamatopoulos was last season on loan to Bodens BK in the Swedish second highest level. He, as Lars, has two passports. (Greek-Canadian)

[Joe MacCarthy]

http://tinypic.com/ftnf3r.jpg

Looks like Ali Gerba has signed with Sweden's biggest club AIK, recently promoted back to the top tier. His previous team Sundsvall was relegated from the top tier.

http://www.aik.se/fotboll/aikindex.html?/fotboll/2005/herrar/lasvart/051116gerba.html

[Joe MacCarthy]

Tks to Stian Stryni at Vs for translation

New TIL goalie from Canada

http://www.vg.no/bilder/bildarkiv/1132162507.96861.jpg
Kenny Stamatopoulos

TIL has today come to an oral agreement with Kenny who tonight will play for Canada against Luxembourg. Patrice and Stephen will also join him.

A keeper with good range and great basis. We have studied him on video, and are pretty safe with his qualities, says TIL keeper trainer Kjetil Tidemandsen.

The Canadian, who also has a Greek passport, was last season on loan to Bodens BK from Enkoping. In Bodens he was a teammate of former TIL player Espen Minde.

Minde confirms that TIL has a new good keeper on the team. He states that Kenny may challenge injured Knut Borch.

A very good keeper. He will without doubt challenge Knut, says Minde.

Bodens was relegated from the Swedish Superettan (2nd level)

But he is very good. Tall, swift and good with his feet, Minde adds.

Hirschfeld replaced
http://www.vg.no/pub/vgart.hbs?artid=296910

Tromsø IL has already the replacement ready after Canadian Lars Hirschfeld (27) left Alfheim to join Rosenborg and Lerkendal yesterday.

TIL management confirms to VG that Hirschfeld's rival as Canada's national keeper, Kenny Stamatopoulos (26), has orally agreed on a 3-year contract with the club. Only the medical test is left, before everything is set.

Stamatopoulos (190 cm/82 kg) arrives from the Swedish club Enkoping, and has been out on loan this season to Bodens BK. He also has a Greek passport, and thus is not hampered by the restrictions on Norwegian clubs to only utilize two players in the field (or on the bench in total) from countries outside the EU zone.

Hirschfeld out - Stamatopoulos in
http://www.til.no/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleID=2127

It wasn't many hours after Lars Hirschfeld said no to TIL before the replacement was ready.

Kenny Stamatopoulos is the name of TIL's new keeper. Tonight he guards the Canadian goal in the friendly against Luxembourg. He is competing with Greg Sutton and Lars Hirschfeld for the first spot on Canada's national team.

The two last matches Stamatopoulos has been the first choice. (my note: I believe that is because Lars has said no, against Spain because he wanted to concentrate on his club play and against Luxembourg because of an injury)

Next season he will compete with Knut Borch for the first spot in Tromsø.

He has played the last years in Enkoping and Bodens in Sweden.

He has double nationality - Greek and Canadian

Born in 1979
190 cm, 83 kg

He is inexpensive - both the investment and on the pay roll.

He has a 3-year agreement with TIL - though he must pass the medical test.

Comments from the management and players on the new guy:

Tore Rismo, adm. leader of "sports":
A very good solution. He is a national keeper for Canada. We have many positive references, and have done thorough research. We here get a good keeper who doesn't cost us much. This gives us a good and safe depth cover for the keeper position next season. (TIL now have three keepers). He has potential to develop.

Kjetil Tidemandsen, keeper trainer:
Have studied him on video, among others in the away match against Spain recently. Offensive, good foot, good field work. Exciting stuff.

Espen Minde, teammate in Bodens:
A great keeper. Nice guy, good mood, and very difficult to score goals on.

Patrice Bernier, teammate on the national team.
He has been schooled well in Canada, without a doubt ready for the Tippeliga.

This looks good - and a wittily Tore Rismo ends with a greeting to his "friend", Rosenborg coach Per Mathias Høgmo:

The cooperation with Rosenborg looks to work splendid, Rosenborg gets Canada's second choice from us, while we pick up Canada's first choice...

[Joe MacCarthy]

Improving the midfield and the attack
By Endre Bakken, 18 November 2005, 14:24
http://www.rosenborg.info/article/4033

Last Tuesday the Norwegian transfer market opened and Hirschfeld was the first player to be bought. Now the hunt for players continues at Rosenborg.

ON THE LOOKOUT: Rune Bratseth is currently evaluating several players these days.

RBK has already secured their first improvement before the season of 2006 commences. Rune Bratseth is very happy with Hirschfeld's transfer and thinks that he is going to be a worthy challenger to current main goalie Espen Johnsen.

"We needed two good goalkeepers. We needed someone to make sure there is always great competition for the role of goalie, to make sure they are always doing their utmost. Espen has also been struggling with various injuries, and that was another reason to get another good goalie," the director of sports told Rosenborg Web.

"Having two such good goalies will also involve some difficulties, but that's just the way it is. If a club is going to stay at the top and try to get even further, it has to risk something," Bratseth explains.

The backmost part of the team has been ameliorated. Now the attack needs to be bettered.

"The midfield and the attack will undergo a couple of changes. Something is going to happen, but if it is one, two or even three players that are going to arrive we just don't know at this moment."

"What kind of players are you looking for?"

"If we are going to buy a new striker, it must be because he has got something we are lacking. He must have a special skill we do not currently have and he must really improve the team. The same goes for a midfielder, if we decide to get one. It is important that he will be able to instantly join and improve the the starting eleven," Rune Bratseth said.

"Regarding a new midfielder: Is it first and foremost a central midfielder you want?"

"No, we are mostly looking for someone who will be able to take on several roles on the midfield, not neccesarily just one. But it might be that we first and foremost should look for someone with defensive qualities."

"How important is age when it comes to buying new players?"

"It matters greatly, but first and foremost they have to be good enough. We should be looking to improve Rosenborg in 2006. There is no point in buying a player that might become good in 2008. We might buy a fully grown up player, that will be able to do the job that needs doing instantly, but that does not have a much time left on a professional level. We feel that that is the right thing to do."

"Høgmo was very much in an offensive positon when he was hired, and said that RBK should try to get even more class players to sign. What are your thoughts on this?"

"The biggest challenge with getting really good players is that most of them do not want to play in Norway. We have to be realistic, but that doesent mean that we should not try."

"Lastly, the great question: Where will RBK find new players?"

"There are very few players in Norway that would be able improve RBK. Several could better the squad, but not do much more. At the same time we must be principled when buying non-Eu players. But I do not see any problems related to having three non-EU players in the squad, even though we will only be allowed to use two in each match," Rune Bratseth said and thereby finished the interview.

footnote:
some of the players that RBK are supposedly evaluating:
Patrice Bernier (mf, Tromsø)
Olivier Occean (f, Odd)
Sigurd Rushfeldt (f, Austria Wien)
Ole Martin Årst (f, Tromsø)

[Joe MacCarthy]

Tks to mjoni at Vs for headsup and translation

http://fotball.aftenposten.no/nyhetsarkiv/article.jhtml;jsessionid=DAIG2SUKJ5HFPQFIMUNCFEQ?articleID=89614
Norwegian article

http://fotball.adressa.no/multimedia/archive/00043/Rob_Friend__Magnus_P_43592a.jpg
Rob Friend

Article entitled "Friend considering transfer" basically has Rob giving a standard answer that there are a lot of interested clubs, that it would take a lot to leave Molde and that the important thing is to concentrate on the next game, etc...

Friend will be playing at home this weekend in the second leg of the relegation playoff against Moss to determine if Molde will remain in the Norwegian Tippeligaen. Molde won the first leg, away.

Friend was fifth in scoring in the Tippeligaen this year with ten goals in a 26 game league season.

[Joe MacCarthy]

Molde (Rob Friend) at home defeated Moss 2-0 today in the second game of their playoff to remain in the Norwegian Tippeligaen.

Friend scored in the 61st minute to give Molde the lead. The question now remains if Friend will stay in Molde or seek greener pastures.

[Joe MacCarthy]

Tks to Sigma at Vs for headsup

Soccer dreams are made of this
Edmonton keeper eyes global opportunities

Dan Barnes, The Edmonton Journal
Published: Thursday, December 15, 2005

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/story.html?id=1325f667-3ffd-496f-aa21-e7fd2b102e81&k=32212

With rose-coloured glasses strapped to his bald head, Lars Hirschfeld can see Canada in the World Cup of soccer, perhaps in 2010 but more realistically not until 2014.

And if he squints really hard, the Edmonton-born goalkeeper can see himself between the pipes.

But the picture remains quite fuzzy because the 27-year-old is focused not on Canada, but on Norway, and not on 2010, but on 2006. His first concern is the opportunity in front of him, a chance to start in goal next year for Norway's biggest and richest pro team, Rosenborg, which is in a rebuilding mode after its 13-year run as league champion ended in disappointment this season.

If he displaces Espen Johnsen as No. 1 keeper and the team re-establishes its mastery as quickly as he expects it will, Hirschfeld will be playing Champions League soccer in perhaps two years.

If he's successful there, the contract offers he fields will be much more enticing than the ones that have led him on an odyssey from Edmonton through Germany to England with Tottenham and Scotland with Dundee United. And, of course, Canada's national team would come calling again, too.

"Right now, I'm really focusing on the club because that's what pays the bills," Hirschfeld said Wednesday.

"International is just an honour thing. You come in and you do it. I want to play in the biggest games.

I want to play in Champions League. After UEFA Cup, that's the next one I'd love to be in."

After running out of real opportunities in Great Britain, Hirschfeld jump-started his career by playing well for a smaller Norwegian team, Tromso, in league and UEFA Cup qualifying games this year. He wound up with the league's best goals-against average and listened to post-season offers from Swedish, Norwegian and German teams before signing with Rosenborg on Nov. 15.

He doesn't start training with his new team until January in Spain, so he's home in Edmonton for the holiday season, although still busy. He's launching an instructional business, Top Corner Goalkeeper Academy, with a clinic on Dec. 19 at the Clareview indoor facility, and helping out friend Frank Saporito with the St. Francis Xavier high school soccer academy.

Hirschfeld doesn't want to focus so much on his career path that he forgets how important it is for Canadian kids to receive the top-level instruction he didn't get himself until he went to Europe.

"I just had my father (Fred), who was very patient and had a good eye for the game and just told me to enjoy it. He was always there. He never played pro but he played as a keeper coming out of Germany. As a kid I watched him playing church league soccer in net. He was 44 years old or something in the pipes. Playing with a broken arm once, I remember. Nuts, you know. Watching him rubbed off on me."

He also kept tabs on national team goalkeepers Craig Forrest and Paul Dolan, of course, and watched Forrest stand on his head against Brazil at Commonwealth Stadium in 1994.

Six years later Hirschfeld made his national team debut and after starring in the 2002 Gold Cup, he was everybody's pick as Canada's goalie of the future.

But that was under Holger Osieck. When Frank Yallop took over as head coach, he went with Pat Onstad on the World Cup 2006 qualifying trail and Hirschfeld found himself on the outside.

"He knows Pat, he brings him in, that's how it goes. I get dethroned by default. It stings a little bit when a guy says I've never seen you play and you never get a shot to prove yourself. It stings when you only play the one qualifier and that's my stint for the World Cup."

Yallop knows it rankled Hirschfeld, but the head coach hasn't written the goalie out of the national team picture.

"He found a home (in Tromso), he did fantastically well and he got a great move out of it. It's been great for his career," said Yallop. "I expect Lars to be knocking on the door, trying to get the goalkeeping job. But there is competition and that's healthy. You never know what's going to happen ... But he's only 27. He's got plenty of time to establish himself."

They say goalies can play into their late 30s and Hirschfeld envisions himself doing that, even though it requires putting up with the distasteful politics and heartless business moves that come with the territory. On balance though, he knows that his is a great lifestyle. No glasses required.

"In its pure shape, when you're in the field and you're not thinking of anything else, you've got 60,000 or 70,000 fans there and you can't hear the guy 10 feet away from you, in moments like that you just step back and go 'wow.' "

[Joe MacCarthy]

Ali Gerba finally signs with IFK Goteborg instead of false alarm with AIK.
http://www.ifkgoteborg.se/modules/extras/publish/display.asp?id=2718&publicationid=2718&type=channel&locText=Gerba+klar+f%F6r+Bl%E5vitt

http://www.ifkgoteborg.se/imageCache/0/34/2333/2334/publikation.jpg
Ali Gerba

[Joe MacCarthy]

Tks to RosenborgFan at Xtratime for headsup

Hirschfeld to be main goalkeeper
By Håvard Lindheim, 27 March 2006, 10:51
http://www.rosenborg.info/article/4333

Lars Hirschfeld has been given a good reward for his efforts during the friendlies this winter. Sunday, he was selected as the main choice between the posts.

http://i1.tinypic.com/seat6r.jpg
Photo: Thomas Karlsen

So far it has been a very close duel between Hirschfeld and Espen Johnsen. The two candidates have so far this winter been playing about equally much in the ten friendlies: Hirschfeld has been guarding the net for five and a half games, while Johnsen has been there for the remaining four and a half. In addition, the last named played the two games against Zenit St. Petersburg. Both have conceded four goals.

For now, Lars Hirschfeld has pulled the longest straw. He will be the main goalkeeper for the season, and will be honing his shape by acting as the last man in the friendlies against IFK Göteborg on Sunday, and against Viking the next Sunday.

The Canadian played very well for Tromsø both in the league and in the UEFA cup last autumn, and was promised a fair fight for the keeper spot when RBK collected him free as a Bosman player before Christmas. The 27-year old is, overall, a very good goalkeeper. Perhaps lacking some of the extreme skills Johnsen posesses, he still compensates by being extremely level-headed, and by communicating well with the defensive line in front of him. In other words, Hirschfeld shall contribute to the security in the back lines, where a lot of uncertainty was witnessed last season.

"He wants clear guidelines on how the keeper and the defence shall cooperate. Lars is a type of goalkeeper that knows what areas he needs to practice in, and he has a clear option on his own skills. It seems that he likes to take responsibility, and that is challenging and educating for the rest of us," keeper coach Jørn Jamtfall tells local Trondheim newspaper Adresseavisa.

And hence, for the first time since his debut season in 2002, Espen Johnsen will be placed on the bench more or less permanently. Together with the third goalkeeper Alexander Lund Hansen he will put pressure on Hirschfeld, 'forcing' him to keep his prestations on a top level.

[Joe MacCarthy]

"Lars gives us stability"
By Håvard Lindheim, 31 March 2006
http://www.rosenborg.info/article/4342

It is the degree of confidence and the verbal work that makes Lars Hirschfeld the preferred goalkeeper in competition with Espen Johnsen.

Hirschfeld to be main goalkeeper (27/03/06)

"It was a very, very close and even duel. If we had went for Espen, that too had been fine," Per-Mathias Høgmo tells rosenborg.info.

But last Sunday, Hirschfeld was the one chosen for the mission as main goalkeeper.

"What made Lars come out as the winner, is that he has been more stable than Espen. Especially in the offensive part with the ball in the feet. Espen is improving, but this field still separates them," Høgmo says.

The 27-year old from Canada is know for the way he always commands his defense.

"He is very good at communicating with the back four. He acts wise, and has a good head for tactical judgements. He is very good at reading the game. On the whole, stability is a key factor when describing Lars," the RBK coach ends.

[Joe MacCarthy]

With headsup by Starcraft at Xtratime and Start fan in exile at Vs. Tks
http://www.dagbladet.no/sport/2006/04/07/463141.html

http://i2.tinypic.com/t7bw34.jpg
Olivier Occean voted by coaches as top foreign player in Norway, with a huge accompanying photo and headline "Here is Norway's best foreigner". At least I think that word says foreigner.

Here are the results of thirteen Norwegian clubs' coaches rankings of the top foreign players in the league. Each coach made their top three choices for best foreign player. 3 points for a first place vote, 2 for 2nd and 1 for 3rd

The coaches voted Olivier Occean as the best foreign player in the league, Rob Friend was 5th, Patrice Bernier 6th and Lars Hirschfeld wasn't far off 6th with 4 points (two second place votes).

Top Foreign Player
1. Olivier Occean 21 points
2. Koren 14
3. Arason 12
4. Gislason 8
5. Rob Friend 7
6. Patrice Bernier 5
Lars Hirschfeld 4

And here is the Norwegian NT coach saying that Rob Friend is irreplaceable to Molde and their tactics. The article is in Norwegian.

http://pub.tv2.no/nettavisen/fxt/article602798.ece

*****************************************************

Interesting in the light of Rosenborg's coach (former Tromso coach) calling Patrice Bernier the best midfielder in the Tippeligaen.

Also Lars Hirschfeld won the early season battle over Norway Number one keeper Espen Johnsen and Kenny Stamatopoulos battling top rated Knut Borch at Tromso.

[Joe MacCarthy]

Here are some other rankings where Canadians are involved. Again the coaches voting are using the same scoring system as above.

Top Striker
1. Årst 23 points
2. Olivier Occean 13
3. Sæternes 11
4. Helstad 9
5. Rob Friend 6

http://i1.tinypic.com/v6ncyt.jpg
Olivier Occean
http://www.dagbladet.no/sport/2006/04/06/463007.html

Top Keeper
1. Arni Gautur Arason 27 points
2. Lars Hirschfeld 26
3. Espen Johnsen 6
3. Rune A. Jarstein 6

http://i1.tinypic.com/v6ncif.jpg
Lars Hirschfeld
http://www.dagbladet.no/sport/2006/04/11/463455.html

Top Team
1. Lillestrøm (Olivier Occean) 27 points
2. Rosenborg (Lars Hirschfeld) 26
3. Vålerenga 12
4. Brann 3
5. Lyn 2
6. Viking 1

Top Coach
1. Per-Mathias Høgmo Rosenborg (Lars Hirschfeld) 21 points
2. Uwe Rösler Lillestrøm (Olivier Occean) 11.5
3. Prahl 8
4. Nordlie 7
5. Rekdal 6

As stated above, top coach Per-Mathias Høgmo previously named his former player at Tromso, Patrice Bernier, the best midfielder in the Tippeligaen.

[Joe MacCarthy]

Tks to Daniel at Vs for headsup

Hutch at home in Copenhagen
(FIFA.com) 12 Dec 2006
http://fifa.com/en/mens/index/0,2527,127652,00.html?articleid=127652

http://i10.tinypic.com/47mf4li.jpg
Hutchinson has proved a big hit in Copenhagen. (AFP)

Despite exiting the competition, FC Copenhagen - who eliminated Ajax in the preliminary rounds - made an impressive debut in the Champions League group stages, amassing a creditable seven points and even managing to beat Manchester United and Celtic and draw with Benfica while maintaining a remarkable unbeaten record at home.

During this inaugural campaign, few in the team from the Danish capital shone more brightly than their dynamic, box-to-box midfielder, Atiba Hutchinson. In a squad comprised almost primarily of native Scandinavians, it is safe to say that Hutchinson - the product of two Trinidadian parents and born in Canada - stands out in more ways than one. In fact, Atiba and Razak Pimpong of Ghana are the only players in the squad not born in Scandinavia.

Nevertheless, he distinguished himself in the Group F campaign with searing runs into attack and even grabbed himself a goal in the impressive 3-1 victory over already-qualified Celtic on the final matchday. In doing so, Hutchinson became only the second Canadian in history to score in the UEFA Champions League. Tomasz Radzinski holds the honour of being the first during his final season with Anderlecht in 2001 when he struck five times to help the Belgians emerge from their group section.

'Hutch', however, holds the distinction of being the first Canadian-born player to score in the competition, as Radzinksi is a naturalised Canuck, born in Poznan, Poland.

A northern trajectory
Born in Ontario, Hutchinson caught the eye early on with bags of pace and a skilful technique that reflected his roots in the Caribbean. At only 18 years of age and still in secondary school, he represented Canada at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Argentina, where, unfortunately, the Canucks were returned home with no points to show for their efforts.

Once back in his homeland, the player turned down scholarship offers with top University sides in the US to try his luck with pro outfit Toronto Lynx of the now-defunct Canadian A-league. After only four games with the team - where he was used mainly as an attacking midfielder - the lure of Europe called him away. After successful trials with Osters IF in the Swedish top flight, he signed a contract at the start of 2003.

Just two months before, he had turned up with the Canadian U-20 national team for a second go at a FIFA U-20 World Cup, this time in the United Arab Emirates. He was determined to show his mettle as a lynchpin of the Canadian midfield, and thanks largely to his sturdy play, the Canucks ran through to the quarter-finals and only just missed out on the semis after losing to eventual finalists Spain in extra-time. His performances were such that Atiba - named to the UAE 2003's all-star eleven - earned trials with Udinese in Italy and courted interest from a number of other European clubs. He also made his senior debut with the full Canadian national that same year while still a teenager.

Deciding instead to stay in Sweden, where he had become something of a media darling, Atiba moved on to local powers Helinsgborgs IF following Osters' relegation before finally heading for FC Copenhagen - Danish champions four times out of the last six seasons - in January of 2006.

http://i16.tinypic.com/2rq0pc0.jpg
A future force for Canada, the 23-year-old already has over 20 caps. (AFP)

Bright future for Canada
In fine form for Copenhagen this season (which is now in its winter break with the capital club seven points clear at the top), Hutchinson, now 23, is a full fledged senior international for Canada (with over 20 caps and two goals) and a player well-equipped to help the side find some positive results in the CONCACAF region.

After qualifying for their one and only FIFA World Cup back in 1986, Canada have failed - with the notable exception of their 2000 Gold Cup title - to make waves on the international scene.

However, with a talented stable of players led by Hutchinson, Dwayne DeRosario, Iain Hume and Radzinski, the future is looking bright. Next year's Gold Cup - the CONCACAF region's championship - will take place in June, with the prize for the winner a place at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa. "We have a raft of very talented players like Atiba (Hutchinson)… and if we get our organisation down and play like we know we can, there is no reason we can't find a way to the top of the heap in CONCACAF," DeRosario - who recently won the MLS championship with Houston Dynamo - told FIFA.com.

If his performances in the 2006 Champions League and another rampaging run for Copenhagen in their domestic championship are anything to go by, the tireless Hutchinson may well be the key to a Canuck revival.

[Joe MacCarthy]

Hirschfeld prioritizes Rosenborg
By Thomas Myren, 22 May 200
http://www.rosenborg.info/article/5217

Lars Hirschfeld has rejected playing the North-American championship in June.

http://i13.tinypic.com/6bwtgci.jpg
Photo: Thomas Karlsen

"The situation demanded that I stay. We just have two keepers, and I have responsibility for not leaving Rosenborg in shortage of keepers. It would have been affecting the team too much in such an important period," Hirschfeld told rosenborg.info.

He made his comeback for Canada in the 3-0 win over Bermuda in March, and was wanted for the squad for the Gold Cup in USA 6-24 June.

"The tournament is not being played on international dates. If we go to the next round, I don't just miss the Fredrikstad game, but that could be 4-5 matches. That's unacceptable - a lot to ask for one player," the Rosenborg goalie thinks.

The 28-year-old would probably just become back-up for Toronto keeper Greg Sutton anyway.

"That you should ask the coach. But that had no importance for my decision," Hirschfeld claims.

He hopes he does not close the door for future play for Canada under his former coach in Vancouver Whitecaps, Dale Mitchell.

"I don't know his intentions for me, but if I hadn't been missing games for Rosenborg, I would have gone," Lars Hirschfeld ends.

[Vic]

I remember when Hutchinson used to play in my fav team here in Sweden, Helsingborg. He's just pure class!!

[Joe MacCarthy]

I remember when Hutchinson used to play in my fav team here in Sweden, Helsingborg. He's just pure class!!Still is, next stop EPL