Norway, modest as ever, but not without intrigue. The Cup final opposed Lillestrom SK and Brann.
Lillestrom, led by their wonderful star Tom Lund, prevailed – 2-1 – and won one more trophy. The strongest years of the club continued.
The championship was a bit different than usually – Norwegian football had no overwhelming favourites, teams appeared quite equal, but this season the 12-club league split into three distinct groups. Three clubs fought their own battle at the bottom, trying to reach the save 10th place. Molde FK were the lucky ones at end with 12 points. The previous year they were at the top of the table, but such changes of fate or strength were common. At least Molde escaped relegation. By a point – the other two clubs finished with 11 points each.
Having better goal-difference, Lyn (Oslo) finished 11th. No matter – relegated they were. One of the oldest clubs in the country, founding member of the Football Association of Norway in 1902, champions and Cup winners, but all was history and quite ancient history too. The last success was the double in 1968. The decline of the club representing upper middle class was not temporary – it turned out to be long and painful. The relegation was not even the worst moment, but rather an early signal that Lyn was permanently losing its leading position. Perhaps to the joy of their city rivals, Valerenga, the working class club.
Last finished the opposite kind of club like Lyn.
Steinkjer FK had no glorious past, not even memorable one. The club played rarely and briefly in first division. Old they were, founded in 1910, but their existence was marked by a single triumph: the second place in 1961-62 championship. Soon they was back in second division and after ten years there they were finally promoted in 1977. 1978 was not good at all – this happened to be the last time Steinkjer played top league football. Outsiders…
Six clubs occupied the middle of the table – relegation was not a concern (the weakest of the group finished 6 points ahead of Molde), not disturbing the leaders either (the gap between 3rd and 4th place was 5 points). Only Brann deserves mentioning of this group – they reached the Cup final and also they were the top scoring team in the league with 52 goals. They finished 5th.
The last group battled for the title. Two familiar contenders – Viking (Stavanger) and Lillestrom, perhaps the best Norwegian clubs of this decade. No surprise seeing them on top. The trird club, although familiar name, was a surprise. IK Start (Kristiansand) were not often at the very top, so bets were on the obvious rivals. Viking finished 3rd with 31 points. Above them ended Lillestrom thanks to better goal-difference. The champions had 2 points more – 33 – and they were the underdog: Start. True to their name to the finish.
One more old club – Start was founded in 1905 – but nothing more. Regular members of the first league, sometimes among the best, but so far not a single trophy. And may be Viking and Lillestrom did not take them seriously, given Start’s history. May be the other contenders were preoccupied with fighting each other and did not pay attention to the dark horse. Whatever it was, Start collected point after point and at the end had the most.
First time champions! Such squads are usually remembered and called legendary… unfortunately, Norwegian players meant nothing outside their home country. No names… but champions! Well done. Yet, they were unusual – lower levels of world football were marked by high scoring at that time. Norway was not an exception as a whole – her champion was, though. Given the numbers, Start appeared clearly defensive-minded team. Their strength was at the back – they received only 13 goals in 22 championship games. The next best record was 22 – shared by Lillestrom and Viking. But the attack… Start scored just 30 goals. Only three clubs scored less – the relegated Lyn and Steinkjer, and the 7th placed Bryne. Yet, Start won the most matches this championship – 13. Strong defense paid out.