IK Start

IK Start

Full name	Idrettsklubben Start
Founded	19 September 1905;118 years ago (19 September 1905)
Ground	Sør Arena Kristiansand
Capacity	14,563
Head coach	Azar Karadas
League	Norwegian First Division
2023	1. divisjon, 5th of 16
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours

Idrettsklubben Start (or simply IK Start, translates to The sports club Start ) is a Norwegian football club from the city of Kristiansand that currently plays in the Norwegian First Division, the second tier of the Norwegian football league system. The club was founded on 19 September 1905. The club's current head coach is Sindre Tjelmeland. The team plays in yellow jerseys, black shorts and socks at home, and black jerseys, yellow shorts and socks away.

They play their home matches at Sør Arena, the club's own football stadium, opened in 2007. Before moving to Sør Arena, IK Start played their games at Kristiansand Stadion. The team's official supporter club was called "Tigerberget", until 2017, when the IK Start board decided to no longer have an official supporter club.

History

Start were Norwegian champions in 1978 and 1980. They participated in the European Cup in 1979 and 1981, as well as being qualified for the UEFA Champions League 2006–07. The years since 1995 have been turbulent, but recent investments have given greater expectations for the future. In 2004 they won the Norwegian 1. divisjon and were promoted to the top flight.

In 2005 they reached second place, following Vålerenga, after a strong comeback season in the Tippeligaen. For this, Start earned a place in the UEFA Cup 2006.

In 2006, after beating Skála of the Faroe Islands in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Cup, and Drogheda United of Ireland in the second qualifying round (after penalties), they reached the first round of the UEFA Cup, where they were knocked out by Ajax of the Netherlands.

2007 was a bad year for Start, with problems working as a team and management issues. It led to a disappointing 13th place, leading to Start's relegation to 1. divisjon. In 2008 the club got financial problems. The local government saved the club from bankruptcy. The financial difficulties has plagued Start for several seasons, due to the financial crisis and the Norwegian footballteams overspending, Start being no exception. The last couple of seasons, Start has downsized and saved money, for example by changing the turf on Sør Arena, the hopes being that the savings will keep the wheels turning in Start.

Ahead of the 2009 season, Knut Tørum was appointed head coach of Start. The next two seasons, Start was positioned at the lower half of Tippeligaen although achieving some strong results, like being the only team to beat Rosenborg in 2009, at Rosenborgs homeground Lerkendal, delaying their gold celebration. On 22 June 2011, Start had 13 points in 12 matches, and Tørum decided to resign hours before a cup-match against Strømsgodset, a match Start won without Tørum. Mons Ivar Mjelde replaced Tørum as head coach, but was not able to save Start from relegation. Start started the 2012 1. divisjon in strong fashion, leading the division and winning important matches and won promotion at the end of the season.

Start defeated Stabæk 4–1 on 4 July 2015. From 12 July 2015 to 18 September 2016, Start played 39 consecutive games without a win in Tippeligaen. ^[1] This is the longest run without winning a single game across any top division in Europe.

Badge

Former logo of IK Start, used between 2018 and 2021.

Since the club was founded in 1905, the club badge had been a blue and white pennant. In November 2017, the badge was replaced with a more modernised version in all black. ^[2] The new crest was in use for four years, before Start decided to return to the old one in March 2022. ^[3]

Achievements

• Eliteserien:
  • Winners (2): 1978, 1980
  • Runners-up (1): 2005
  • Third place (7): 1973, 1975, 1979, 1983, 1984, 1991, 1992
• Norwegian Cup:
  • Semi finalist (7): 1975, 1978, 1988, 2000, 2006, 2011, 2018
• 1. divisjon:
  • Winners (4): 1968, 1972, 2004, 2012
  • Promotion: 1958–59, 1988, 1999, 2001, 2008, 2017

Recent history

Season		Pos.	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	P	Cup	Notes
2002	Tippeligaen	↓14	26	2	5	19	21	72	11	Fourth round	Relegated to the 1. divisjon
2003	1. divisjon	9	30	12	4	14	53	50	40	Third round
2004	1. divisjon	↑1	30	24	2	4	71	28	74	Third round	Promoted to the Tippeligaen
2005	Tippeligaen	2	26	13	6	7	47	35	45	Fourth round
2006	Tippeligaen	6	26	10	7	9	29	32	37	Semi-final
2007	Tippeligaen	↓13	26	6	8	12	34	44	26	Fourth round	Relegated to the 1. divisjon
2008	1. divisjon	↑3	30	17	8	5	58	34	59	Fourth round	Promoted to the Tippeligaen
2009	Tippeligaen	9	30	10	10	10	46	52	40	Third round
2010	Tippeligaen	8	30	11	9	10	57	60	42	Quarter-final
2011	Tippeligaen	↓15	30	7	5	18	39	61	26	Semi-final	Relegated to the 1. divisjon
2012	1. divisjon	↑1	30	20	6	4	71	35	66	Fourth round	Promoted to the Tippeligaen
2013	Tippeligaen	9	30	10	8	12	43	46	38	Quarter-final
2014	Tippeligaen	12	30	10	5	15	47	60	35	Fourth round
2015	Tippeligaen	14	30	5	7	18	35	64	22	Second round
2016	Tippeligaen	↓16	30	2	10	18	23	59	16	Third round	Relegated to the 1. divisjon
2017	1. divisjon	↑2	30	16	7	7	57	36	55	Second round	Promoted to the Eliteserien
2018	Eliteserien	↓15	30	8	5	17	30	54	29	Semi-final	Relegated to the 1. divisjon
2019	1. divisjon	↑3	30	19	5	6	54	31	62	First round	Promoted to the Eliteserien
2020	Eliteserien	↓15	30	6	9	15	33	56	27	Cancelled	Relegated to the 1. divisjon
2021	1. divisjon	9	30	10	8	12	59	59	38	Fourth round
2022	1. divisjon	3	30	16	6	8	63	38	54	Fourth round
2023	1. divisjon	5	30	12	10	8	49	30	46	Third round

Source: ^[4]

Current squad

As of 18 September 2023 ^[5]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK   NOR Jasper Silva Torkildsen 3 DF   NOR Altin Ujkani 4 MF   NOR Sivert Sira Hansen 5 DF   NOR Nicolas Pignatel Jenssen 6 MF   CGO Faites Prévu Kaya Makosso 7 FW   SWE Marijan Ćosić 8 MF   NOR Mathias Grundetjern 9 FW   NOR Kristoffer Hoven 10 FW   GAM Alagie Sanyang 11 MF   NOR Eirik Schulze 12 GK   NOR Herman Seierstad Johnsen 14 DF   FIN Kalle Wallius 15 FW   NOR Marius Nordal

No. Pos. Nation Player 16 MF   SWE Tom Strannegård 17 FW   NOR Sander Richardsen 18 FW   NOR Jonas Lomeland Seim 19 DF   NOR Deni Dashaev 21 MF   NOR Sander Sjøkvist 22 DF   NOR Adrian Eftestad Nilsen 24 DF   NOR Jesper Gravdahl 25 DF   NOR Jesper Gregersen 26 GK   NOR Mats Viken 30 DF   NOR Fabian Østigård Ness 44 FW   SWE Salim Nkubiri

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 20 MF   NOR Levi Eftevaag(at Fløy)

No. Pos. Nation Player 27 FW   NOR Sander Alvestad Svela(at Tromsdalen)

Coaching staff

Position	Name
Head coach	Azar Karadas
Assistant coach
Player developer	Andreas Jenssen
Physical coach	Atle Thunselle
Physio	Pål Erik Pedersen
Equipment manager	Rune Hægeland

Former head coaches

IK Start coaching history from 1947 to present

Håkon Hertzberg (1947–48) Karsten Johannessen (1 Jan 1954 – Dec 31, 1955) Håkon Hertzberg (1956) · Karsten Johannessen (1 Jan 1957 – Dec 31, 1957) Håkon Hertzberg (1958–60) Karsten Johannessen (1 Jan 1961 – Dec 31, 1961) Håkon Hertzberg (1966) Karsten Johannessen (1 Jan 1967–68) Karl Durspekt (1970) Karsten Johannessen (1 Jan 1971 – Dec 31, 1974) Tor Røste Fossen (1975–77) Karsten Johannessen (1 Jan 1978 – Dec 31, 1981) Svein Hammerø (1982) · Karsten Johannessen (1 Jan 1985 – Dec 31, 1985) Brian Green (1986–87) Karsten Johannessen (1988 – Dec 31, 1989) Steve Perryman (1995) Teddy Moen (1 Jan 1996 – July 7, 1996) Karsten Johannessen (8 July 1996 – Dec 31, 1996)

Jan Halvor Halvorsen (1 Jan 1999 – June 30, 2002) Guðjón Þórðarson (1 July 2002 – Dec 31, 2002) Bård Wiggen (2003) Tom Nordlie (1 Jan 2004 – July 14, 2006) Stig Inge Bjørnebye (15 July 2006 – Sept 5, 2007) Benny Lennartsson (Sept 9, 2007 – Dec 31, 2007) Arne Sandstø (1 Jan 2008 – Dec 31, 2008) Knut Tørum (1 Jan 2009 – July 9, 2011) Mons Ivar Mjelde (10 July 2011 – Sept 4, 2015) Bård Borgersen (Sept 4, 2015 – Dec 31, 2015) Steinar Pedersen (1 Jan 2016 – Sep 29, 2017) Mick Priest (30 Sep 2017 – Dec 1, 2017) Mark Dempsey (1 Dec 2017 – May 18, 2018) Mick Priest (18 May 2018 – 1 June 2018) Kjetil Rekdal (1 June 2018 – 2 April 2019) Jóhannes Harðarson (2 April 2019 – 14 June 2021) Sindre Tjelmeland (14 June 2021 – 9 January 2024) Azar Karadas (8 February 2024 – )

European record

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Agg.
1974–75	UEFA Cup	First round	Djurgården	1–2	0–5	1–7
1976–77	UEFA Cup	First round	Wacker Innsbruck	0–5	1–2	1–7
1977–78	UEFA Cup	First round	Fram	6–0	2–0	8–0
		Second round	Eintracht Braunschweig	1–0	0–4	1–4
1978–79	UEFA Cup	First round	Esbjerg	0–0	0–1	0–1
1979–80	European Cup	First round	Strasbourg	1–2	0–4	1–6
1981–82	European Cup	First round	AZ	1–3	0–1	1–4
2006–07	UEFA Cup	First qualifying round	Skála	3–0	1–0	4–0
		Second qualifying round	Drogheda United	1–0	0–1	1–1 (11–10 (p))
		First round	Ajax	2–5	0–4	2–9

References

1. "Start med sin første seier siden 4. juli i fjor: – Det kom en tåre i øyekroken". tv2.no (in Norwegian). TV2. 25 September 2016. Archived from the original on 13 November 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
2. Haus, Line (13 November 2017). "Start snur etter supporterstorm – endrer logo". NRK (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 13 March 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
3. "Tilbake til blå og hvit vimpel". NRK (in Norwegian). 10 March 2022. Archived from the original on 13 March 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
4. "IK Start". NIFS (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
5. "Start sin spillerstall" (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2019.

External links

• Official website (in Norwegian)
• Menigheden – official fan club (archived 10 March 2016)