Vålerenga started the season with ambition to finally get back to the top and become challengers again after quite a few years in the wilderness. They appointed one of the big pragmatist and overachievers in the league in the last decade in Dag-Eliev Fagermo and he immediately seemed to find the right tone and settled in nicely in Oslo.
The coach immediately showed massive belief in a batch of young players coming through the academy in Kristoffer Klaesson, Christian Borchgrevink and Osame Sahraoui while making the most of some tried and trusted players like Fredrik Oldrup Jensen and Mathias Vilhjalmsson.
The result was a pretty efficient and assured side that got off to a good start and looked immediately to be in the running for the top places, losing only one of the opening nine games.
They still had the odd bad day in the office but were really good at home and remained unbeaten on home soil throughout the seaosn.
Their season rally took a turn for the better in September, though, when they filled the one gaping hole in their squad, a real goalscoring striker, as Vidar Kjarantansson sealed a return to the club where he made his name a few years ago. The Iceland striker had a superb start and never really let up, getting hat-trick in his debut and scoring seven goals in his first six games. Indeed, the team lost only to champions Bodø/Glimt in the second half of the season and maintained the pace throughout the campaign.
They overcame a slight stumble late on and got a huge win over Rosenborg with two games left to seal a spot in Europe, thus ensuring a return to the international scene for a first time in ten years.
It is a superb achievement for Fagermo and the players and the coach has laid the foundations for a sustained period of success, given the undoubted quality of the young players.
