# 2008 Tippeligaen

The 2008 Tippeligaen was the 64th completed season of top division football in Norway. The season began on 29 March and ended 2 November. Brann were the defending champions, having won their third Tippeligaen championship in 2007. The teams promoted from the 1. divisjon at the end of the previous season were champions Molde, automatic qualifiers HamKam, and play-off winners Bodø/Glimt.

## Overview
### Summary

Stabæk secured their first ever league championship by defeating Vålerenga 6–2 in the penultimate round. From the 2009 season onwards, the number of teams in the Tippeligaen was expanded from fourteen to sixteen. To accommodate this expansion, only one team faced automatic relegation to the 1. divisjon, as opposed to the regular two, while the three best teams in the 1. divisjon were awarded automatic promotion. As in previous years, there was a two-legged playoff at the end of the season, this time between the thirteenth-placed team in the Tippeligaen and the fourth best team in the 1. divisjon.

## Teams
### Stadiums and locations

Fourteen teams competed in the league – the top eleven teams from the previous season, and three teams promoted from 1. divisjon.
    Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.
| Team | Ap. | Location | Stadium | Turf | Capacity |
| Aalesund | 7 | Ålesund | Color Line Stadion | Artificial | 10,778 |
| Bodø/Glimt | 18 | Bodø | Aspmyra Stadion | Artificial | 8,800 |
| Brann | 52 | Bergen | Brann Stadion | Natural | 17,967 |
| Fredrikstad | 39 | Fredrikstad | Fredrikstad Stadion | Natural | 12,800 |
| HamKam | 22 | Hamar | Briskeby | Natural | 7,500 |
| Lillestrøm | 45 | Lillestrøm | Åråsen Stadion | Natural | 12,200 |
| Lyn | 35 | Oslo | Ullevaal Stadion | Natural | 25,572 |
| Molde | 32 | Molde | Aker Stadion | Artificial | 11,167 |
| Rosenborg | 45 | Trondheim | Lerkendal Stadion | Natural | 21,166 |
| Stabæk | 13 | Bærum | Nadderud Stadion | Natural | 6,950 |
| Strømsgodset | 21 | Drammen | Marienlyst Stadion | Artificial | 8,500 |
| Tromsø | 22 | Tromsø | Alfheim Stadion | Artificial | 8,300 |
| Vålerenga | 48 | Oslo | Ullevaal Stadion | Natural | 25,572 |
| Viking | 59 | Stavanger | Viking Stadion | Natural | 16,600 |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment | Position in table |
| Lillestrøm | Tom Nordlie | Resigned | 29 May 2008 | Frode Grodås Erland Johnsen Erlend Slokvik Jan Åge Fjørtoft (caretakers) | 29 May 2008 | 13th |
| Aalesund | Sören Åkeby | Sacked | 31 August 2008 | Kjetil Rekdal | 4 September 2008 | 13th |
| Lyn | Henning Berg | Mutual consent | 9 September 2008 | Kent Bergersen | 9 September 2008 | 5th |
| Lillestrøm | Frode Grodås Erland Johnsen Erlend Slokvik Jan Åge Fjørtoft | Released | 1 January 2009 | Henning Berg | 1 January 2009 | off-season |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Stabæk (C) | 26 | 16 | 6 | 4 | 58 | 24 | +34 | 54 | Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round |
| 2 | Fredrikstad | 26 | 14 | 6 | 6 | 38 | 28 | +10 | 48 | Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round |
| 3 | Tromsø | 26 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 36 | 23 | +13 | 44 | Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round |
| 4 | Bodø/Glimt | 26 | 12 | 6 | 8 | 37 | 38 | −1 | 42 | |
| 5 | Rosenborg | 26 | 11 | 6 | 9 | 40 | 34 | +6 | 39 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round |
| 6 | Viking | 26 | 11 | 6 | 9 | 38 | 32 | +6 | 39 | |
| 7 | Lyn | 26 | 11 | 5 | 10 | 38 | 34 | +4 | 38 | |
| 8 | Brann | 26 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 36 | 36 | 0 | 33 | |
| 9 | Molde | 26 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 39 | 43 | −4 | 31 | |
| 10 | Vålerenga | 26 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 31 | 37 | −6 | 30 | Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round |
| 11 | Strømsgodset | 26 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 33 | 44 | −11 | 29 | |
| 12 | Lillestrøm | 26 | 7 | 7 | 12 | 30 | 40 | −10 | 28 | |
| 13 | Aalesund (O) | 26 | 7 | 4 | 15 | 29 | 42 | −13 | 25 | Qualification for the relegation play-offs |
| 14 | HamKam (R) | 26 | 5 | 6 | 15 | 22 | 50 | −28 | 21 | Relegation to First Division |
* ↑ Rosenborg, ranked second after already qualified Stabæk in the 2008 Fair Play competition will be granted access to the UEFA Europa League first qualifying round after Norway ranked first in the UEFA Fair Play ranking.
* ↑ Vålerenga qualified for the Europa League third qualifying round as 2008 Norwegian Cup winners.

## Relegation play-offs

By finishing 13th, Aalesund competed in a two-legged relegation play-off against Sogndal, who finished 4th in the 2008 1. divisjon, for the right to play in the 2009 Tippeligaen. Sogndal played at home first, decided in a draw held by the NFF. Aalesund won 7–2 on aggregate, thereby securing a new season in the Tippeligaen. Sogndal remained in the 1. divisjon.

## Results

| Home \ Away | AAL | BOD | SKB | FFK | HK | LSK | LYN | MFK | RBK | STB | SIF | TIL | VIF | VIK |
| Aalesund | — | 1–0 | 4–2 | 0–0 | 5–0 | 3–0 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–2 |
| Bodø/Glimt | 2–1 | — | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 3–2 |
| Brann | 1–2 | 4–1 | — | 4–2 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–4 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| Fredrikstad | 5–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | — | 2–1 | 4–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 |
| HamKam | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | — | 1–2 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 |
| Lillestrøm | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | — | 1–2 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 2–0 |
| Lyn | 3–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | — | 1–3 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| Molde | 0–0 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | — | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 5–1 | 2–3 |
| Rosenborg | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | — | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 |
| Stabæk | 2–1 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 5–1 | 3–0 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–0 | — | 6–0 | 2–4 | 6–2 | 0–0 |
| Strømsgodset | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 0–0 | — | 1–3 | 1–3 | 3–2 |
| Tromsø | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 4–4 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | — | 2–0 | 0–1 |
| Vålerenga | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | — | 0–1 |
| Viking | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–3 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–3 | — |

## Season statistics

Sources: fotball.no (in Norwegian), TV 2 Sporten (in Norwegian)

### Top scorers

| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Daniel Nannskog | Stabæk | 16 |
| 2 | Johan Andersson | Stabæk | 12 |
| 2 | José Mota | Molde | 12 |
| 4 | Thorstein Helstad | Brann | 11 |
| 4 | Olivier Occean | Lillestrøm | 11 |
| 6 | Garðar Jóhannsson | Fredrikstad | 10 |
| 6 | Morten Moldskred | Tromsø | 10 |
| 6 | Steffen Iversen | Rosenborg | 10 |
| 6 | Veigar Páll Gunnarsson | Stabæk | 10 |
| 6 | Espen Hoff | Lyn | 10 |
| 6 | Trond Olsen | Bodø/Glimt | 10 |

### Discipline
#### Player

* Most yellow cards: 7
** David Nielsen (Strømsgodset)
** Vidar Riseth (Lillestrøm)
* Most red cards: 2
** Abgar Barsom (Fredrikstad)
** Jan Michaelsen (HamKam)
** Kristján Örn Sigurðsson (Brann)

#### Club

* Most yellow cards: 48
** Strømsgodset
* Most red cards: 5
** HamKam

### Attendances

| Team | Stadium | Capacity | Turf | Total | Games | Average | % of Capacity |
| Lyn | Ullevaal Stadion | 25,572 | Natural | 86,359 | 13 | 6,643 | 25.97 |
| Vålerenga | Ullevaal Stadion | 25,572 | Natural | 165,106 | 13 | 12,700 | 49.66 |
| Rosenborg | Lerkendal stadion | 21,850 | Natural | 246,443 | 13 | 18,957 | 86.76 |
| Brann | Brann stadion | 17,967 | Natural | 220,407 | 13 | 16,954 | 94.36 |
| Viking | Viking Stadion | 16,600 | Natural | 199,927 | 13 | 15,379 | 92.64 |
| Fredrikstad | Nye Fredrikstad stadion | 12,800 | Natural | 149,798 | 13 | 11,523 | 90.02 |
| Lillestrøm | Åråsen stadion | 11,637 | Natural | 114,242 | 13 | 8,788 | 75.51 |
| Molde | Aker Stadion | 11,167 | Natural | 106,645 | 13 | 8,203 | 73.45 |
| Aalesund | Color Line Stadion | 10,778 | Artificial | 134,725 | 13 | 10,363 | 96.14 |
| Strømsgodset | Marienlyst stadion | 8,500 | Artificial | 76,890 | 13 | 5,915 | 69.58 |
| Tromsø | Alfheim stadion | 8,159 | Artificial | 71,261 | 13 | 5,482 | 67.18 |
| Bodø/Glimt | Aspmyra stadion | 7,659 | Artificial | 71,533 | 13 | 5,503 | 71.85 |
| HamKam | Briskeby gressbane | 7,500 | Natural | 66,647 | 13 | 5,127 | 68.36 |
| Stabæk | Nadderud stadion | 6,550 | Natural | 75,203 | 13 | 5,785 | 88.32 |
| Total | Games | Average |
| 1,785,186 | 182 | 9,809 |
Source: VG Nett (in Norwegian)