The 2011 Tippeligaen was the 67th completed season of top division football in Norway. The competition began on 20 March 2011 and ended on 27 November 2011. Rosenborg were the defending champions, having secured their twenty-second League Championship on 24 October 2010. Sogndal, Sarpsborg 08 and Fredrikstad entered as the three promoted teams from the 2010 1. divisjon. They replaced Hønefoss, Kongsvinger and Sandefjord who were relegated to the 2011 1. divisjon.
Molde won their first ever Eliteserien title with two games to spare. Molde's 58 points was a record low for an Eliteserien champion in the current 16-team system.
The fastest goal in Norwegian top division history was scored this season on 15 April by Erik Mjelde in a 3–3 draw between his side Brann and Haugesund after 11 seconds.
Overview At the end of the season, Sarpsborg 08 and Start were relegated to the 2012 1. divisjon, due to having finished in the bottom two positions in the standings. There was no two-legged promotion play-offs this season.
On 30 October 2011, Molde became champions with two games to spare after their only remaining challenger, Rosenborg, lost 3–6 to Brann in the 28th round of the series. The trophy was their first ever league championship.
Teams Sixteen teams competed in the league – the top thirteen teams from the previous season, and the three teams promoted from 1. divisjon. The promoted teams were Sogndal, Sarpsborg 08 and Fredrikstad. This was Sarpsborg 08's first top-flight season, while Sogndal and Fredrikstad returned to the top flight after an absence of six years and one season respectively. They replaced Hønefoss (returning after their debut season in the first tier), Kongsvinger (relegated after a season's presence) and Sandefjord (relegated after two years in the top flight).
Stadiums and locations
Note: Table lists in alphabetical order. Team Location Stadium Turf Capacity Manager Aalesund 10 Ålesund Color Line Stadion Artificial 10,778 Kjetil Rekdal Brann 55 Bergen Brann Stadion Natural 17,824 Rune Skarsfjord Fredrikstad 41 Fredrikstad Fredrikstad Stadion Natural 13,300 Tom Freddy Aune Haugesund 5 Haugesund Haugesund stadion Natural 5,000 Jostein Grindhaug Lillestrøm 48 Lillestrøm Åråsen stadion Natural 11,637 Henning Berg Molde 35 Molde Aker Stadion Natural 11,800 Ole Gunnar Solskjær Odd Grenland 30 Skien Skagerak Arena Artificial 13,500 Dag-Eilev Fagermo Rosenborg 48 Trondheim Lerkendal stadion Natural 21,850 Jan Jönsson Sarpsborg 08 1 Sarpsborg Sarpsborg Stadion Artificial 5,000 Roar Johansen Sogndal 13 Sogndalsfjøra Fosshaugane Campus Natural 5,402 Harald Aabrekk Stabæk 16 Bærum Telenor Arena Artificial 15,500 Jörgen Lennartsson Start 36 Kristiansand Sør Arena Natural 14,300 Mons Ivar Mjelde Strømsgodset 24 Drammen Marienlyst Stadion Artificial 7,500 Ronny Deila Tromsø 25 Tromsø Alfheim Stadion Artificial 7,500 Per Mathias Høgmo Vålerenga 51 Oslo Ullevaal Stadion Natural 25,572 Martin Andresen Viking 62 Stavanger Viking Stadion Natural 16,600 Åge Hareide
Managerial changes TeamOutgoing managerManner of departureDate of vacancyTableIncoming managerDate of appointmentTableRosenborg Nils Arne EggenEnd of contract31 December 2010Pre-Season Jan Jönsson1 January 2011Pre-SeasonStabæk Jan JönssonSigned by Rosenborg31 December 2010Pre-Season Jörgen Lennartsson1 January 2011Pre-SeasonMolde Uwe RöslerEnd of contract31 December 2010Pre-Season Ole Gunnar Solskjær1 January 2011Pre-SeasonStart Knut TørumResigned22 June 201115th Mons Ivar Mjelde12 July 201114thLillestrøm Henning BergSacked27 October 201112th Petter Belsvik (caretaker)27 October 201112th
League table
Positions by round
Results
Season statistics Top scorers RankScorerClubGoalsGamesAverage1 Mostafa AbdellaoueTromsø17290.592 Rade PricaRosenborg16270.59 Ole Martin ÅrstStart16300.534 Kim OjoBrann15280.545 Anthony UjahLillestrøm13121.08 Tarik ElyounoussiFredrikstad13280.467 Pape Paté DioufMolde12140.86 Mushaga BakengaRosenborg12260.46 Nikola ĐurđićHaugesund12270.44 Veigar Páll GunnarssonVålerenga†12290.4111 Espen HoffStart11290.38 Alexander SøderlundHaugesund11290.38
†Veigar Páll Gunnarsson scored nine goals in sixteen games for Stabæk.
Source: Alt om fotball
Discipline Player Most yellow cards: 10 Fegor Ogude (Vålerenga) Most red cards: 1 21 players
Club Most yellow cards: 59 Vålerenga
Most red cards: 4 Fredrikstad Lillestrøm
Attendances
Awards Annual awards
Goalkeeper of the Year The Goalkeeper of the Year awarded to Espen Bugge Pettersen (Molde)
Defender of the Year The Defender of the Year awarded to Even Hovland (Sogndal)
Midfielder of the Year The Midfielder of the Year awarded to Michael Barrantes (Aalesunds)
Striker of the Year
The Striker of the Year awarded to Nikola Đurđić (Haugesund)
Coach of the Year
The Coach of the Year awarded to Ole Gunnar Solskjær (Molde)
References