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Vålerenga urged to avoid “civil war” as Oslo club faces turmoil

From Aftenposten · () Norwegian

Translated from Norwegian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Vålerenga sits five points above the relegation line and has not won in the Eliteserien since July 26.
  • The club sold captain Henrik Bjørdal to rival Viking before the transfer window closed, then chairman Søren Eriksen resigned.
  • Former coach Lars Tjærnås urged the club to establish a clear direction and avoid internal conflict.

Vålerenga’s poor run and internal turmoil have prompted calls for the Oslo club to avoid what former coach Lars Tjærnås described as “civil war.”

The club is five points clear of the relegation line and has not won an Eliteserien match since July 26. Just before Wednesday night’s transfer deadline, Vålerenga sold captain Henrik Bjørdal to league rival Viking. On Thursday morning, chairman Søren Eriksen resigned with immediate effect, saying he no longer had the board’s confidence.

Right now, I believe everyone at the club must put Vålerenga ahead of themselves and point to a clear, distinct and credible direction and strategy for the way forward. First and foremost for the rest of the season, but also beyond. They must by all means avoid civil war within the club now.

· Lars TjærnåsThe former Vålerenga coach called for unity and a clear strategy.

Tjærnås, now a football analyst, said everyone at the club needed to put Vålerenga ahead of personal interests and agree on a clear, credible strategy for the rest of the season and beyond. “They must by all means avoid civil war within the club now,” he told VG.

The sale is very unfavorable. It is mainly the timing that seems strange to me.

· Jonatan Tollås NationThe former captain criticized the decision to sell Henrik Bjørdal late in the transfer window.

Former captain Jonatan Tollås Nation questioned the timing of Bjørdal’s departure. He said the sale was particularly unfavorable because Johannes Moesgaard was still new as Vålerenga’s manager, and the club had not brought in an obvious replacement. Nation also doubted that the sale was necessary to secure liquidity, as Eriksen had claimed.

Vålerenga sold academy talent Filip Thorvaldsen to Dutch club Twente for about 60 million kroner just over three weeks ago, the biggest transfer sale in the club’s history. Klanen spokesperson Sebastian Hytten said each sale reduced the debt owed to investor and owner Tor Olav Trøim, accusing the club of selling itself into poverty to cover his losses.

Every sale makes the debt to Tor Olav Trøim fall. We are selling ourselves into poverty to get as close as possible to Trøim covering the loss he has suffered.

· Sebastian HyttenThe Klanen spokesperson criticized the club’s transfer strategy.

With 12 matches remaining, Vålerenga is 11th in the Eliteserien, six points above Kristiansund in the relegation playoff place. Asked whether the team risked relegation, coach Moesgaard said his focus was on looking upward. Vålerenga played in the second-tier OBOS-ligaen two years ago.

We were in the OBOS-ligaen two years ago, and someone is relegated every year. My focus is to look upward.

· Johannes MoesgaardThe coach responded to questions about Vålerenga’s relegation risk.
About this summary

Originally published by Aftenposten in Norwegian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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