# 2011 Tippeligaen

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 | Ap. | 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 | Sogndal | 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

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment | Table |
| Rosenborg | Nils Arne Eggen | End of contract | 31 December 2010 | Pre-Season | Jan Jönsson | 1 January 2011 | Pre-Season |
| Stabæk | Jan Jönsson | Signed by Rosenborg | 31 December 2010 | Pre-Season | Jörgen Lennartsson | 1 January 2011 | Pre-Season |
| Molde | Uwe Rösler | End of contract | 31 December 2010 | Pre-Season | Ole Gunnar Solskjær | 1 January 2011 | Pre-Season |
| Start | Knut Tørum | Resigned | 22 June 2011 | 15th | Mons Ivar Mjelde | 12 July 2011 | 14th |
| Lillestrøm | Henning Berg | Sacked | 27 October 2011 | 12th | Petter Belsvik (caretaker) | 27 October 2011 | 12th |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Molde (C) | 30 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 54 | 38 | +16 | 58 | Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round |
| 2 | Tromsø | 30 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 56 | 34 | +22 | 53 | Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round |
| 3 | Rosenborg | 30 | 14 | 7 | 9 | 69 | 44 | +25 | 49 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round |
| 4 | Brann | 30 | 14 | 6 | 10 | 51 | 49 | +2 | 48 | |
| 5 | Odd Grenland | 30 | 14 | 6 | 10 | 44 | 44 | 0 | 48 | |
| 6 | Haugesund | 30 | 14 | 5 | 11 | 55 | 43 | +12 | 47 | |
| 7 | Vålerenga | 30 | 14 | 5 | 11 | 42 | 33 | +9 | 47 | |
| 8 | Strømsgodset | 30 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 44 | 43 | +1 | 45 | |
| 9 | Aalesund | 30 | 12 | 7 | 11 | 36 | 38 | −2 | 43 | Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round |
| 10 | Stabæk | 30 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 44 | 50 | −6 | 39 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round |
| 11 | Viking | 30 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 33 | 40 | −7 | 37 | |
| 12 | Fredrikstad | 30 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 38 | 41 | −3 | 36 | |
| 13 | Lillestrøm | 30 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 46 | 52 | −6 | 34 | |
| 14 | Sogndal | 30 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 24 | 31 | −7 | 34 | |
| 15 | Start (R) | 30 | 7 | 5 | 18 | 39 | 61 | −22 | 26 | Relegation to First Division |
| 16 | Sarpsborg 08 (R) | 30 | 5 | 6 | 19 | 31 | 65 | −34 | 21 | Relegation to First Division |
* ↑ Aalesund qualified for the second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League as winners of the 2011 Norwegian Cup.
* ↑ Stabæk qualified for the first qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League via the UEFA Fair Play ranking.

## Positions by round

| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
| Molde | 15 | 13 | 14 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Tromsø | 3 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Rosenborg | 9 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 |
| Brann | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Odd Grenland | 12 | 7 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| Haugesund | 12 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 |
| Vålerenga | 3 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 7 |
| Strømsgodset | 6 | 11 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 8 |
| Aalesund | 9 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Stabæk | 16 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Viking | 12 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
| Fredrikstad | 6 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 12 |
| Lillestrøm | 1 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 |
| Sogndal | 9 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 |
| Start | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 |
| Sarpsborg 08 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 |

## Results

| Home \ Away | AAL | SKB | FFK | HAU | LSK | MFK | ODD | RBK | S08 | SIL | STB | IKS | SIF | TIL | VIF | VIK |
| Aalesund | — | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 |
| Brann | 1–1 | — | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 3–2 |
| Fredrikstad | 3–1 | 4–2 | — | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 0–1 |
| Haugesund | 1–0 | 3–3 | 3–2 | — | 2–0 | 5–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 4–2 | 4–0 | 3–4 | 1–0 | 5–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| Lillestrøm | 1–1 | 1–4 | 0–0 | 5–0 | — | 0–3 | 1–1 | 2–5 | 3–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 4–2 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 |
| Molde | 5–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | — | 0–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 5–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 |
| Odd Grenland | 2–2 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 1–0 | — | 3–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 4–2 |
| Rosenborg | 2–2 | 3–6 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 4–4 | 3–1 | 7–0 | — | 4–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 |
| Sarpsborg 08 | 2–0 | 3–5 | 1–4 | 0–3 | 2–4 | 3–0 | 3–2 | 0–6 | — | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 |
| Sogndal | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 1–0 | — | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 |
| Stabæk | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 0–7 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | — | 4–1 | 2–0 | 2–4 | 1–0 | 0–1 |
| Start | 2–3 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 1–4 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–4 | — | 5–1 | 1–6 | 0–2 | 4–0 |
| Strømsgodset | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 5–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | — | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 |
| Tromsø | 1–0 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 2–0 | — | 4–1 | 3–1 |
| Vålerenga | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | — | 3–0 |
| Viking | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | — |

## Season statistics
### Top scorers

| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals | Games | Average |
| 1 | Mostafa Abdellaoue | Tromsø | 17 | 29 | 0.59 |
| 2 | Rade Prica | Rosenborg | 16 | 27 | 0.59 |
| 2 | Ole Martin Årst | Start | 16 | 30 | 0.53 |
| 4 | Kim Ojo | Brann | 15 | 28 | 0.54 |
| 5 | Anthony Ujah | Lillestrøm | 13 | 12 | 1.08 |
| 5 | Tarik Elyounoussi | Fredrikstad | 13 | 28 | 0.46 |
| 7 | Pape Paté Diouf | Molde | 12 | 14 | 0.86 |
| 7 | Mushaga Bakenga | Rosenborg | 12 | 26 | 0.46 |
| 7 | Nikola Đurđić | Haugesund | 12 | 27 | 0.44 |
| 7 | Veigar Páll Gunnarsson | Vålerenga† | 12 | 29 | 0.41 |
| 11 | Espen Hoff | Start | 11 | 29 | 0.38 |
| 11 | Alexander Søderlund | Haugesund | 11 | 29 | 0.38 |
†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

| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
| 1 | Rosenborg | 217,664 | 20,710 | 11,433 | 14,511 | −14.2%$^†$ |
| 2 | Vålerenga | 199,962 | 20,012 | 10,421 | 13,331 | −2.3%$^†$ |
| 3 | Brann | 195,173 | 17,237 | 10,120 | 13,012 | −5.2%$^†$ |
| 4 | Viking | 153,825 | 12,584 | 8,898 | 10,255 | −11.1%$^†$ |
| 5 | Molde | 147,273 | 11,292 | 8,158 | 9,818 | +16.7%$^†$ |
| 6 | Aalesund | 143,480 | 10,677 | 8,783 | 9,565 | −5.7%$^†$ |
| 7 | Fredrikstad | 136,790 | 12,565 | 6,863 | 9,119 | +34.0%$^1$ |
| 8 | Stabæk | 111,165 | 11,930 | 5,686 | 7,411 | −9.1%$^†$ |
| 9 | Start | 105,843 | 11,419 | 5,128 | 7,056 | −15.9%$^†$ |
| 10 | Lillestrøm | 88,942 | 8,852 | 4,401 | 5,929 | −9.8%$^†$ |
| 11 | Odd Grenland | 85,718 | 7,106 | 4,499 | 5,715 | −13.8%$^†$ |
| 12 | Strømsgodset | 85,606 | 6,426 | 5,052 | 5,707 | −2.6%$^†$ |
| 13 | Tromsø | 72,991 | 6,535 | 3,772 | 4,866 | +3.6%$^†$ |
| 14 | Haugesund | 68,248 | 5,000 | 4,082 | 4,550 | −2.4%$^†$ |
| 15 | Sarpsborg 08 | 57,283 | 4,760 | 2,798 | 3,819 | +49.9%$^1$ |
| 16 | Sogndal | 47,708 | 5,623 | 1,884 | 3,181 | +58.7%$^1$ |
| | League total | 1,917,671 | 20,710 | 1,884 | 7,990 | −1.5%$^†$ |
Source: nifs.no Notes: 1: Team played last season in 1. divisjon.

## 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)