June 2012 Round-Up:
29 June, 2012
TB Tvøroyri sign Serbian midfielder Nenad Stankovic
Newly promoted TB have announced that they have signed Serbian midfielder Nenad Stankovic who originally came to Skála in 2004 and was the pivotal point in Skála’s heydays when they reached the 3rd and 2nd place in 2004 and 2005.
In 2007 he won the player of the year award after his influential role in helping NSÍ winning the league title in 2007. Later he moved on to B68 Toftir and Víkingur and finally to KÍ Klaksvík last season but did not get is contract extended for this season and had been without a club now that he signed for TB. He will be eligible to play already on Saturday against B68 as the transfer window opened a few days ago.
Stankovic will be the 5th Serbian player in TB in addition to the Serbian coach, Milan Kuljic.
Update on 3 July: On Friday we wrote that TB’s new signing Nenad Stankovic had been without a club now that he signed for TB.
But that’s not entirely correct as he has been playing for 3rd division club FK Zeleznicar Lajkovac in his native Serbia.
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Oddmar Færø available again for B36 Tórshavn
B36’s defence have been strengthened by central defender Odmar Færø who has come home from his studies in Scotland where his summer break will last until the end of the season.
Færø had a superb season for B36 last year.
26 June, 2012
Champions- and Europa League draw was made on Monday
Champions League
B36 Tórshavn
2011 champions B36 Tórshavn were paired with Linfield FC of Northern Ireland in the first qualifying round of the Champions League. Only six teams play in the 1st qualifying round. In addition to B36 and Linfield, the teams were F91 Dudelange (LUX), SP Tre Penne (SMR), Valletta FC (MLT) and FC Lusitans (AND).
The first leg will be played on Windsor Park in Northern Ireland on Tuesday 3 July, and the return leg will be played in Tórshavn a week later. The winner of the tie will face Cypriote outfit AEL Limassol FC in the second qualifying round.
No Faroese club have ever met a Northern Irish club before. But Windsor is not quite unfamiliar to Faroese football, however, as it was there that the Faroe Islands in their 3rd ever competitive match managed a 1-1 draw with Northern Ireland on 1 May 1991.
Wikipedia’s short description of the club is:Linfield F.C., is a semi-professional, Northern Irish football club, whose home ground is Windsor Park in Belfast, which is also the home of the Northern Ireland international team.Founded: 1886
As B36 isn’t in the same shape as they were last season when they won the title, B36’s chances of advancement seem slim. But playing on the artificial surface at home seems to be an advantage to Faroese teams as results have been quite good, so B36 must hope that the tie hasn’t already been decided in the first leg in Northen Ireland.
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Europa League
EB/StreymurLast season’s runners-up EB/Streymur have qualified for the Europa League as cup winners and were drawn to meet Armenian side FC Gandzasar Kapan who have had six different names since their foundation in 1963.
Last season EB/Streymur met Qarabağ FK from neighbouring country Azerbaijan where EB/Streymur lost out on the away-goals rule. We can only guess that this year’s opponent have a similar level of strength, so EB/Streymur could maybe be in with a chance of progressing to the 2nd qualifying stage this time.
However, EB/Streymur coach Heðin Askham has said that their main focus is on the league and worn-out and injured players will not be sacrificed in the Europa League.
The coach wasn’t too happy about having to travelling such a long distance again this year, but maybe he should be as it’s just as long from Armenia to the Faroes, as it is from the Faroes to Armenia, and hence the Armenian players should be tired when they come to the Faroes to play, and therefore easier to beat… right? :-)
EB/Streymur's home match will be played on 5 July and the away match on 12 July. The winner will face Suisse team Servette FC.
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Víkingur
Víkingur, who finished 3rd in the league last season, were drawn against FC Gomel from Belarus. Just as the Armenian team – and many of the former Soviet teams – FC Gomel has had several name changes since their foundation as Lokomotiv Gomel in 1959.
They have won the Belarus league title once, in 2003, but otherwise their results have not been too impressive, and 2009 they were relegated. Last season they finished 3rd in the top flight.
There have been no previous meetings between Faroese and Belarusian teams and nor have the Faroe Islands ever played against Belarus on international level, so it’s quite difficult to predict what’s in store for Víkingur.
Current FIFA world ranking list says that Belarus in no. 69 while the Faroes are place no. 122, although that doesn’t have so mean a lot at club level.
The first leg will be played in the Faroes on 3 July and the away leg will be on 12 July. The winner will face FK Renova (MKD) or AC Libertas (SMR.
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NSÍ Runavík
NSÍ, who finished fourth last season, will meet FC Differdange 03 from Luxembourg, who also finished fourth in the Luxembourg league last season.
When Faroese clubs for the first time participated in European competitions in 1992, B36 played against Luxembourgian club Avenir Beggen who narrowly went through to the next face after winning 1-0 at home with an early goal and drawing 1-1 at Svangaskarð, Toftir, with B36’s lead-goal coming from a free kick from Kári Reynheim.
If B36 toady met an Avenir Beggen team that would have the same level today as in 1992, then B36 would probably have gone through. But of course Luxembourgian football might have developed since then also.
But at international level the Faroe Islands have been the stronger side, so there is no reason to be too afraid of FC Differdange 03.
Reynheim, B36’s goal scorer from 1992, is now coach at NSÍ. Unfortunately NSÍ are far from the strength of last year, and are struggling in the relegation zone. A top-3 team from the Faroese league should stand a chance against a team from Luxembourg, but NSÍ, currently no. 8, might struggle.
Differdange was founded in 2003 after a merger between FA Red Boys Differdange and AS Differdange.
In last season’s Europa League, Differdange (who started in the second qualifying round) progressed to the 3rd qualifying round by narrowly beating Levadia Talling 1-0 on aggregate. In the 3rd round they were defeated 6-0 on aggregate by Olympiakos Volou, who later were expelled from the comprtition however, as they had been involved in a corruption case. Differdange therefore progressed to the play-off stage where they met Parist St-Germain who won 6-0 on aggregate.
The first leg will be in Luxembourg on 5 July and the second leg at home on 12 July.
22 June, 2012
Danish forward Simon Skibsted to leave ÍF Fuglagførður
Danish forward Simon Skibsted, who arrived at ÍF ahead of the season, has announced that he will leave again in the summer-break because of personal reasons. He will be available for the two remaining matches before the break. However, it’s doubtful if he will play because of injury. Skibsted has scored 4 goals in 13 league games.
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B68 Toftir add 12-times-league-winner Johan Nielsen as coaching-assistant
Relegation threatened B68 have named Johan Nielsen as new assistant coach to head coach Pauli Poulsen. In 2007, the situation was reversed when Nielsen guided NSÍ Runavík to their first league title with Poulsen as his assistant.
Nielsen is the most winning coach in the Faroe Islands with 12 league titles to his name and a number of cup titles as well, but since his second year at NSÍ in 2008 he hasn’t been quite as much sought after as in previous years – maybe his age playing a role as he is of the same age as Alex Ferguson (70) who by the way has won 12 titles at Manchester United.
Faroe Islands Football News
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