{"id":6517,"date":"2017-09-01T11:50:19","date_gmt":"2017-09-01T15:50:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonfootball.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=6517"},"modified":"2017-09-07T21:08:37","modified_gmt":"2017-09-08T01:08:37","slug":"football-in-the-land-of-the-midnight-sun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2017\/09\/01\/football-in-the-land-of-the-midnight-sun\/","title":{"rendered":"Football in the ‘Land of the Midnight Sun’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Imagine seeing football being played outdoors some 210 miles north of the Arctic circle. This is football in the ‘Land of the Midnight Sun’ in Troms\u00f8,<\/a> Norway. Games here take place in the northernmost top-level stadium in the world. In August, however, the temperature is a mild 16 degrees. Watching the home team now is a very comfortable experience.<\/p>\n

Football in the ‘Land of the Midnight Sun’<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Though on this particular weekend, it turned out not to be so conducive for the locals. Their team lost 2-1 to Molde.\u00a0<\/span>It began well enough for new Finnish coach Simo Valakari. Thomas Olsen netted to put the home side in front. However, the visitors<\/span>\u00a0replied when Sander Svendsen swept in the equaliser.\u00a0<\/span>The match continued with chances at both ends before Molde coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer<\/a> brought on Erling Haaland. <\/span>The robust 17 year-old would soon head in the winner from a right wing cross, prompting celebrations by the 40 or so intrepid Molde fans.<\/span><\/p>\n

Young Haaland is the son of Alf-Inge, who is most famous for his crunching altercation with Manchester United’s Roy Keane.<\/a>\u00a0On this evening, though, the Old Trafford connections were much more positive. However,\u00a0the loss meant the home side will have to continue to battle relegation. <\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes football in the ‘Land of the Midnight Sun’ can be hard.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bendtner the hero<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Meanwhile, at the other end of the Norwegian league table, Rosenborg maintained their hold on top position with a convincing 4-1 defeat of Kristiansund in Trondheim.\u00a0<\/span>As usual, they were watched by a sizeable crowd of over 17,000. Not every Norwegian fan travels over to England to watch Manchester United or Chelsea. <\/span><\/p>\n

After losing to<\/span>\u00a0Celtic in midweek, the record league winners returned to winning ways with the help of Danish striker Nicklas Bendtner.<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>The ex-Arsenal front man easily converted a penalty. This added to Helland\u2019s earlier effort to give the home side a 2-0 lead.\u00a0<\/span>He would eventually add another before neatly setting up Jevtovic for the clincher.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kristiansund had their moments. Ivorian Daouda Bamba did give them hope when shooting past Hansen on the hour.\u00a0<\/span>However, Rosenborg ultimately restored the natural order and ran out comfortable winners.<\/span><\/p>\n

A cameo from Agyiri<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The final encounter of this long weekend took place just south of Oslo, in Drammen. Stromsgodset met Valerenga b<\/span>efore a lively crowd. A very watchable match began in pouring rain but ended in sunshine. Th<\/span>e home side would score twice through Norway international Marcus Pedersen and Lebanese international Bassel Jradi.<\/span><\/p>\n

Though the visitors struck the bar, they generally failed to produce enough threats to really trouble the home side.\u00a0<\/span>Valerenga did bring on Manchester City loanee Ernest Agyiri<\/a> and he showed flashes of left foot skills. I<\/span>n the end, though, it was the home fans who enjoyed the ninety minutes the most.<\/span><\/p>\n

Football in Norway<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Agyiri hails from Ghana and he is part of the mix of nationalities in Norwegian football.\u00a0<\/span>This young Ghanaian progressed through the \u2018Right to Dream\u2019 academy and a number of clubs have connections with such organisations\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0(Diambars<\/a> in Senegal being another prominent academy). Often p<\/span>aired up with fellow countrymen, these overseas players settle in an environment far removed from the cities of West Africa.<\/span><\/p>\n

They would need to be well paid, as this is the country of the \u00a312 sandwich, \u00a38 beer and where 13-year-olds have credit cards.\u00a0<\/span>However, Norway is seen by foreign players as a stepping stone to higher ranked leagues, such as Belgium, France and the Premier League in England.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Whether the large number of artificial pitches in Norwegian football is positive or negative remains a debatable issue. F<\/span>rom this observer\u2019s viewpoint, however, the quality of football on such surfaces will enhance passing skills.<\/span><\/p>\n

Also, where else would you get an opportunity to play football in the \u2018Land of the Midnight Sun\u2019<\/a>?<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Main Photo
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>