After reviewing the 2013/14 and 2014/15 seasons (links can be found at the bottom), I decided to travel further back in time to review the 2011/12 season. This was a season of two halves. André Villas-Boas took charge of the majority of this season until his sacking in March of 2012, where he was replaced by second in command and fan-favorite (and former Chelsea player), Roberto Di Matteo. What followed, was something special. Let's find out what the best/worst matches and general highs/lows were from this season.
P.S. If you are a newer fan, you do not want to miss this season!
Quick recap of where we were in 2011:

Carlo Ancelloti won us the double (league title and FA Cup) in 2009/10, and was sacked the following season (2010/11) after finishing runners up to United. This sacking is perhaps one of the more shocking sackings in our modern history (and we have had ALOT), even many Chelsea fans were left speechless. Carlo was loved, albeit inconsistent (we came 2nd but were as low as 5th at one stage in 2010/11, also his defeat to Jose's Inter in the CL KO, was probably curtains in Abramovich's eyes). Anyways, I'll go into this more when reviewing those respective seasons.
Point is, we were searching for a new manager going into the 2011/12 season and appointed a very young, talented up and coming manager André Villas-Boas (AVB), he was just 32 years old at the time and had just come off of winning the treble with Porto (Europa League).
At this point, Abramovich REALLY wanted to win the CL (only major trophy left to win under his ownership at this time) and we had come so close on many occasions in the past, and were only left empty-handed by either sheer dumb luck (2005), scandalous refereeing (2009) or just the wrong side of the post (2008). If you are a newer fan, and don't completely know what I am talking about here, CONSIDER YOURSELF LUCKY. Point is, Abramovich was desperate, and we were also very annoyed and frustrated, that our legendary spine was running out of time (in terms of their peak) to win this illustrious trophy.
We always knew a transition season was coming, where we had to replace/phase out the likes of Lampard (33), Terry (31), Drogba (33), Paulo Ferreira (32) and Cole (31). Cech was close too (30), but GKs typically have more years. Even Essien (29) who should be in his peak, was constantly injured, and even missed the first half of this season sadly.

André Villas-Boas's term & The Lows:

Basically, in his whole 9-month term, AVB attempted to transition Chelsea into a more youthful, less reliant on the old-guards, higher tempo, and higher backline Chelsea. In hindsight, it was a good project, and the manager was a good appointment, he was known for a good attractive brand of football at Porto (undefeated season, only 13 goals conceded), and given time, and more backing, who knows what he could have accomplished.

https://preview.redd.it/xm1mzh1ub2l51.png?width=1078&format=png&auto=webp&s=6bdb565d26c94d9dfd0389b0ae4d014a108a3758

The signings this season (both summer and January) were terrific and in hindsight could have been one of the best TW in Chelsea's history. We signed fan favorite and a future 2 time POTS Juan Mata, ultimate underdog story Gary Cahill, young Belgium talents Lukaku, Courtois, and KDB. We also had newly signed David Luiz and 50M Fernando Torres from last season's January TW. We also bought Raul Meireles (MRLSH) for dirt cheap on deadline day in the summer. Seriously, this window was underrated and was indicative of the future Abramovich wanted Chelsea to go towards.
The league campaign fell apart pretty soon, through a combination of very strong Manchester sides running away with the league and our poor results, we started to see faults and background rumblings in October-November with defeats to QPR away, Arsenal at home and back to back losses to Liverpool. Those months were infamous during this time period for Chelsea, I will get into this more in the 2012/13 season review, but as a quick summary, from 2010 to 2013 we had notoriously poor form in late October-November, and even had a manager sacked in November, because of this bad form. It was dubbed the 'dreaded month of November' by Chelsea fans. it was bad.

QPR 1-0 Chelsea: The game itself was interesting, we had two red cards in the span of 7 minutes, yes TWO. We actually didn't play too badly with 9 men, but ultimately blew the chance to go second after United lost 6-1 at home to City. This game was also where Terry became involved in an investigation by the FA for his alleged racial abusement of QPR defender Anton Ferdinand. Terry would be found guilty and banned for four games the following season.
Chelsea 3-5 Arsenal: Yes, you heard it right, a team hardly knew what it was like to lose at SB, conceded 5 goals to Arsenal, including goals from Andre Santos, a ridiculous goal from Theo Walcott and a hattrick from in-form Robin Van Persie. Arsenal completely destroyed Chelsea's high line.
Shock double loss to Liverpool at SB: In November, we lost 2-1 at home to an under-par Liverpool side, which included a rare piece of brilliance from FULLBACK Glen Johnson in the 87th minute. Chelsea suffered their first back to back home defeat in the league since Roman took over in 2003. What made this worse, is a week later we would lose at home AGAIN, to Liverpool as they knocked us out of the Carling Cup (which they would end up winning). Liverpool were NOT fun to face in 2010 and 2011, we lost to them countless times. It was also some of their worst built teams which made it all the more worse.

On top of this, the real run of bad results came in Dec-Feb, where we would only pick up 12 points from 10 games, including a crazy 3-3 draw to United. Combination of high-risk tactics (playing slow defenders like Brana, Alex and Terry in a very high line), inconsistencies in our attack (Torres/Drogba/Anelka), and some players perhaps downing tools due to disagreements with the manager (or just not getting game time). There was also that game in Naples in the CL KO.

Chelsea 3-3 Manchester United: Have you ever wondered why people troll United saying referees (namely Howard Webb) always favored them, or always award them penalties? Just watch this match in February 2012. We led 3-0 at half (one of which includes a brilliant Mata volley) but then ended up conceding TWO penalties and a trademark goal from the man who couldn't stop scoring against Chelsea in 2010-2012, Chicharito. United of course were chasing the title, so you could imagine the backlash following this match. I believe this Howard Webb photoshop was made after this game lol. This game also features an incredible DDG save denying Juan Mata's world-class free-kick to win it.
Napoli 3-1 Chelsea, CL KO: Napoli's front 3 of Cavani, Lavezzi, and Hamsik were probably borderline world-class, and were having good individual seasons. Chelsea actually went infront this game through Mata but were then ripped apart. Criticisms fell on Luiz, Cahil, MRLSH, and of course the on-going saga with the old guard and AVB, as guys like Lampard, Cole, Essien, Torres were all benched for this game. Cole did come on and make a now-iconic clearance off the line to deny Napoli going 4-1, which they deserved.

Ashley Cole had later confirmed that many players were not the happiest under AVB, and there were strong stories of the old-guard going to Abramovich to complain about AVB's tactics. It's a shame that the club was embroiled in this kind of controversy, especially around the time AVB was ultimately sacked.
AVB was a relatively new manager, who wasn't a charismatic enigma like Jose Mourinho or club icon like Sir Alex both of whom could probably get away with ruffling feathers (and have). AVB on the other hand was still young and not as proven as our old guard were. I also think his communication skills weren't the best, or it came off very Mauricio Sarri like. I think not having the accolades to back some of his actions ultimately cost him, and he was probably the wrong guy to entrust a transitional season with IMO. I also think this shouldn't have been a transitional season. I know the old guard were, well, old, but they could still play, as we would find out soon
Ultimately, Chelsea dropping out of the top 4, and likely heading out of the Champions League knockouts (after being destroyed in Naples at the hands of a frightening Napoli side) was the tipping point, and AVB was sacked in March. Roberto Di Matteo took over.

Roberto Di Matteo's term & The Highs:

I feel Robbie, was never the tactics guy, or the manager that was known for a certain attribute (defending, passing, attacking, etc.), he had great faith with the fans, mostly for his time as a Chelsea player which was highly successful (he scored in the FA cup final in 97 and won two more trophies the following year). RDM was a big fan favorite. IMO he was not the manager Chelsea wanted but the manager Chelsea needed at this time. Someone that the players loved and respected, and someone who could steady the ship. But he did more than that. Especially at a time where the club, the fans, and the players were at a low point.

Chelsea 3-0 Valencia, CL Group Stages: Ok, so I kind of cheated here, we did have one big high during AVB's term. We needed to beat a tricky, unpredictable Valencia at home in a straight shootout for that last spot in the KO. Lampard was benched for this game which probably would have been fatal for AVB had he lost, but thankfully Drogba stepped up with a brace. Mata and Ramires were also great that night. What's funny is Leverkusen had what looked like a sure-fire win against winless Genk, to claim the top spot, only for them to tie and gift Chelsea top spot where we would avoid Barcelona in the first round of KO!

So our league form didn't really improve after Di Matteo took charge, it was more or less the same, we had our upsides in the league (6-1 win against QPR with Torres's hat trick) but also lows like losing at home to Newcastle courtesy of a brace at the hands of Papisse Cisse. We were outside top 4 when AVB was sacked and ultimately stayed outside top 4 with RDM, and ended up finishing 6th. Granted we were touching distance at times from top 4, and the overall mood, atmosphere and club morale was at a much higher level than under AVB. But ultimately, RDM pretty much sacrificed certain league games in favor of the FA Cup and Champions League.

Chelsea 4-1 Napoli (5-4 AGG), UCL KO: Lets go back to where we left off with AVB, it was March 2012, Chelsea were down 3-1 on AGG, manager sacked, club/fans morale low, and facing a Napoli side on the back of 5 straight league wins, scoring 6 in their last league match. There was only 1 favorite, and perhaps this is why this match is so legendary. RDM's first decision was to bring back the golden oldies and boy did they deliver. Drogba and Terry score first to make the scoreline 3-3 on AGG, with Chelsea advancing on away goals. Then Inler scores which now requires Chelsea to score 2 to advance. Napoli then has an incredible near 1v1 chance but Cech makes a vital save to keep Chelsea in the CL. Chelsea then gets a pen in the 75th which Lampard scores and the game goes to ET (4-4 on AGG). We all know what happens next with Brana scoring a stunner to win the game in ET. Chelsea won against all the odds and media predictions. Turning point of the season.
Chelsea 2-1 Benfica (3-1 AGG) UCL, QF: Benfica were up next after Napoli. Benfica was a dark horse, having already knocked out last years CL finalist Machester United, Chelsea went into the second leg at home with a slender but brilliant 1-0 lead, which they got through an underrated Ramires-Torres assist to Kalou (who really shone in the second half of the season). Chelsea took the lead early through Lampard penalty and should have killed it if not for an incredible miss from Ramires. Benfica got one back and it set up a very tense last 10 minutes finish to the game because a Benfica goal would mean Chelsea were knocked out. ENTER MRLSH and THAT iconic goal on the break in the 90th, the one where he should have maybe passed but instead scores a screamer, and celebrates like only he can. Shame he only stuck around for a season, he was a cult hero.

Sorry about the lengthy write-ups about the next two games, but had a lot to say

Barcelona 2-2 Chelsea (2-3 AGG) UCL, SF: Chelsea's CL campaign was a roller coaster that didn't fail to deliver incredible ups and downs. After a great win over Benfica, Chelsea faced defending champions Barcelona in the semi-finals (and the greatest football team in the world, that Guardiola's Tiki Taka team that dominated club football since 2008/09). Chelsea took a brilliant 1-0 lead to the Nou Camp, after an incredible gritty performance in the first leg at SB. There was so much happening in this game it's ridiculous, Gary's injury in the 12th forcing him off, being replaced by Jose Bosingwa at CB. Pique also departed shortly. Then a period of extreme lows, in the span of 7 minutes, our Captain, Leader, Legend let us down big time by getting sent off in a ridiculous manner, which was sandwiched in the middle of two Barcelona goals. This meant Chelsea were trailing 1-2 of AGG, then a minute before half time, Lampard takes out 3 players and plays probably one of the best passes of his career under pressure right at Ramires's feet who scores what is possibly the greatest goal in Chelsea's history, that audacious chip against Valdes that stunned the Nou Camp and put Chelsea ahead in the tie due to away goals, and required Barcelona to score again against 10 man Chelsea. In the second half Drogba gave away a penalty but Messi hit the post, Messi again hit the post, and it seemed it just wasn't going in for Barcelona, but they were putting tremendous pressure on a resolute makeshift Chelsea backline (Ramires-Ivanovich-Bosingwa-Cole). Then comes the moment straight out of a Hollywood script, as injury time sub Fernando Torres comes on and scores an incredible breakaway goal to send Chelsea to Munich.
Chelsea beating Bayern in the Champions League Final: Bayern didn't win the league this year and all their marbles were in this basket. If that was not enough, the final was being played at their home ground, which is such a rarity. Add to that, Chelsea had many key players missing through suspension including Ivanovic, MRLSH, Ramires, and of course Chelsea's Captain John Terry. RDM's deployment of Ryan Bertrand on the left-wing surprised everyone, but it was a masterstroke, as he and Cole kept Robben at bay. Luckily for us, Gomez had a bad night, but Chelsea were resilient in their defending, with standout performances from Mikel, Cahill, and Luiz (both of the latter playing injured). Chelsea didn't really threaten at all this game sadly, and Muller would eventually put Bayern ahead in the 82nd minute, only for him to be taken off shortly after for a defensive change. Enter Torres who did inject some spark into Chelsea and showed directness, winning a corner in the 88th, which Mata delivered and Drogba scored. This header is criminally underrated, only Drogba could score from that location against the best keeper in the world. Game went into ET, where Drogba gave up a penalty when he fouled Ribery, Cech saved Robben's penalty, and the game went to a shootout. It's amazing that Chelsea not only won the shootout against a German team (notoriously good at penalties) but won it after missing their first penalty and Bayern scoring their first three (one of which was by a keeper). Luiz, Lampard, Cole with crucial penalties, and Drogba of course sealed it after Cech saved Bayern's last two spot-kicks.

Cech has since told us he spent several hours studying Bayern's kick takers all the way from 2007
Drogba has also since said that he took a short run-up b/c he didn't want to give Neuer any time to think where he will go.
Another fun fact, Lampard won the toss for the shoot out and chose to have the kicks be at the Bayern end, I guess to put less pressure on Chelsea, and it worked out!
Thus ended a terrific end to the season, and RDM's Chelsea go down in the history books, Drogba left Chelsea a legend, and the old-guards did have one last European spark to lift that famous trophy.

Other notes from this season:
https://preview.redd.it/4bjwfljgy1l51.png?width=898&format=png&auto=webp&s=bc79e9ed635aa5fbb9afd76832127e54f5de765a
Cech's finest hour: The amount of crucial saves Cech made in the second half of the season is unbelievable, he is IMO the SOLE reason we won the two trophies we did win, sure Drogba and Torres take the headlines, but Drogba cost us two massive penalties (vs Barca and vs Bayern) that could have gone the other way, Cech guessed right for both and saved Drogba's blushes. Cech was outstanding in the home ties vs Napoli, Barcelona, and of course was the official MOTM in the CL final, where he saved Robben's penalty in ET, and correctly guessed all 5 Bayern penalties in the shootout, saving 2 (Yes, he got fingertips to Schweinsteiger's penalty). Not to mention he made IMO one of the best saves you will ever see, when he somehow kept Carrol's bullet header out of the goal with milliseconds to react due to how close Carrol's header was, this was in the FA cup final no less. Absolute Champion. There was a reason Drogba went to him first after slotting in the winning penalty against Bayern.
Special Juan: Special shout out to Juan Mata, in his debut season, he contributed 12 goals and a stunning 20 assists! one of course being in the CL final. Chelsea's POTS. That is some honor considering there were many contenders.
https://preview.redd.it/rlbiiklb82l51.png?width=275&format=png&auto=webp&s=0f45bbe18d4e1b5d786ef411e5d96e089509d39c
FA Cup victory, 2-1 win vs Liverpool, Final: After 4 consecutive defeats to Liverpool, Chelsea finally beat them in the big one, FA Cup final. Liverpool had just won the Carling Cup in February 2012, so both teams had momentum. Of course Wembley specialist and man for the finals, Drogba scores the opening goal after a brilliant assist by Frank. Ramires scored the second continuing his big match scoring spree. Liverpool definitely fought back and Andy Carrol scored perhaps his best Liverpool goal and probably should have had a second if it was any other keeper then Cech, who pulled of the save of the season. I love winning FA cups. This often gets overshadowed b/c of our CL victory, but this would have given us a lot of confidence ahead of Bayern in a few weeks time.

Fun Moments:

John Terry being the 3rd best passer in the world in 2011 (for players with over 1,000 passes), with a 91.6% pass accuracy rate. Only Barcelona player Xavi (93.0%) and Swansea City player Leon Britton (93.3%) were better. Terry was always a criminally underrated passer, this was nice to read.

https://preview.redd.it/3t0yt2ib02l51.png?width=275&format=png&auto=webp&s=4cab834069acaf47491fb5f15190d493940751e6

Thrashing Spurs 5-1 at Wembley in the FA semi-finals: This is a hidden gem of a match, right smack dab in the middle of our CL run, was a quiet but quite brilliant FA cup run as well. Our first real test in this competition came here, against Spurs. Drogba scored arguably his best goal at Wembley, and that is saying something, considering he's scored 265 goals at Wembley lol. If you have not seen this, I would take the time to check it out. Lampard probably the same tbh. Stunning performance. Mata with a great assist to Ramires who continued his great form. Terry with a vital clearance off the line at 0-0.

https://preview.redd.it/wgtr0jp1g2l51.png?width=809&format=png&auto=webp&s=464aae1a3f9283a21a0cdb2aa583113d6d3a8786

BOSSingwa absolutely trolling our trophy celebration in Munich, when he just couldn't let anyone else get the limelight, it was pretty hilarious
The CL trophy celebration in general, from Terry's strip to full Chelsea kit, to Luiz and Brana's goal post celebration, to RDM telling Abramovich "I told you", it was all good.
Daniel Sturridge's regular goals during the first half of the season, he scored 13 goals in 2011/12 a great return for a player so young and playing out of his preferred position. Became less used under RDM. He was also inconsistent and was often a frustrating figure due to his selfishness and general lack of awareness, also his injury record. When he was fit, he definitely was a goal threat, as we would find out for Liverpool in 2 seasons time.

https://preview.redd.it/cct9tqf8j1l51.png?width=445&format=png&auto=webp&s=7c70cae9d8cfb42d19dc22064fcbc2cfd0229d65

Chelsea is no stranger to Brazilian players, but before Ramires, we hardly had many. Ramires and Luiz really brought out that proper Brazilian samba and flair to Chelsea, and it's no surprise they were very popular, especially the Geezer. Ramires had a terrific goal-scoring season as well. He is of course a two-time Chelsea goal of the season winner for a reason! Luiz also scored some crackers this season, including two peach curlers that Drogba would have been proud of
I cannot say again how underrated Ramires was during this season, goals throughout the season, same with Mata, Lampard, Terry, Brana and Cole, vital contributions throughout
Torres's hat trick against QPR, it came right after the goal at the Nou Camp, you could tell he was confident, it was a great week for good old Nando

https://preview.redd.it/crr0nybdt1l51.png?width=259&format=png&auto=webp&s=6b40f959c44138e1cd6dc21df832f52af153bd93

Kalou's CL final haircut, I think Drogba summarized everyone's reaction pretty well here.

https://preview.redd.it/wa7v7k6ok1l51.png?width=290&format=png&auto=webp&s=4e8e5e4decafd23892dc9cece8b8075bf4d7eb99

Just before the kickoff of our CL final, which was being played at Bayern Munich's home stadium, the Bayern fans had this banner up which read " "Unser Stadt. Unser Stadion. Unser Pokal." Which meant "Our City" "Our Stadium" "Our Cup". They got 2/3 of that right. At least it didn't generate too many memes, right? WRONG.

https://preview.redd.it/rsy2cg5ts1l51.png?width=290&format=png&auto=webp&s=2f30d3f626ec731e3c758e24769c5e4b88154e5f

IDK if anything will top this, ever, but because we came 6th and won the CL, we actually prevented Spurs from playing in the CL next season even though they came fourth. At this time, UEFA strictly only allowed the # of designated teams of that league to play, England had four, so if one of the teams outside the top four won the competition, they would take the place of the lowest-ranked team, which would be Spurs at 4th LOL. Ultimate back-handed slap in the history of our rivalry! GOLD. (UEFA has since changed the rules lol)

TL:DR: Story of two halves. Season of so many incredible moments. FA cup win. One of the best UCL campaigns I have ever seen and many rival fans say this is perhaps the best ever. The odds stacked against us to win that Champions League was so much, I still can't believe we won it. But man, did we deserve it. We were founded in 1905 and won our biggest trophy on 19/05, in our opponent's backyard. It was written in the stars.
Other season reviews

LIVERPOOL [vs] CHELSEA

Competition: UEFA Super Cup
Date: 14 August 2019
Kick Off: 20:00 BST Convert to local time
Venue: Beşiktaş Park, Istanbul Capacity: 41,188
Referee: Stéphanie Frappart Assistants: Manuela Nicolosi, Michelle O'Neill
Fourth official: Cüneyt Çakır VAR: Clément Turpin
Odds: Liverpool 8/13 Chelsea 96/19 Draw 13/4
Links
Where to Watch
Pre-Match Conference: Jurgen Klopp Frank Lampard
Preview
The traditional curtain-raiser for the UEFA club competition season brings together UEFA Champions League holders Liverpool and UEFA Europa League winners Chelsea.
Liverpool:

The Reds made an ideal start to the new Premier League season, beating Norwich 4-1 and wrapping things up inside an imperious first half.
Jurgen Klopp‘s men may have dropped down a few gears as the match wore on, but apart from Alisson‘s worrying injury, it was a night littered with positives.
Sandwiched between the Norwich game and Saturday’s trip to Southampton is Liverpool’s sixth appearance in the Super Cup.

Chelsea:

For Frank Lampard’s Chelsea, it’s been a rough start to the campaign. Despite playing their hosts roughly even over the course of the 90 minutes, they suffered a heavy 4-0 loss at Old Trafford, immediately casting doubts over their club hero’s managerial abilities. Bereaved of their best player for the past half decade and subject to a summer transfer ban, the team lack depth and top-shelf quality at both ends of the pitch, as was starkly evident on Sunday.
There is clearly still talent at Stamford Bridge, and the midfield trio of N’Golo Kante, Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic should theoretically be one of the strongest in Europe, but this is not the same Chelsea side that finished third in the league last year, 25 points behind tomorrow’s opponents.

Statements
Jurgen Klopp:

"Stay greedy. That's very important - I have no doubt about that, but it's clear that we have to do that.
"After the (Champions League) final we had about four weeks where everybody was (patting us on the back) and it was brilliant wherever we went.
"It's just nice, but in different world things like this can soften you and it can take the power out of you a bit. We are not like this, but it's a fact that it could happen.
"We only have to do the same again, and with a couple of things we maybe didn't do too well, we have to do better.
"Knowing that something works out helps you to believe that it'll work out again, 100 per cent.
"That helps when I try to convince the boys that (anything is) possible. Thank God I'm not the only one in the dressing room who thinks that these things are possible, and that helps a lot."

Frank Lampard:

"We need to be absolutely ready, It's a cup that the club desperately wants to win. I've never won it, a lot of players in there have never won it, so we have to give it everything.
"Going up against the team with the quality of Liverpool in a final is as tense as finals can be.
"You can lose finals; they're very tough. But what you cannot do is lose it on the premise that we weren't prepared, or we didn't have that hunger or desire or everything you need to try and win a game of this magnitude.
"It's going to be one of my first competitive games as manager of this club.
"Every player in there needs to be aware of the importance of the game to this club and we have to give everything because it's going to be tough.
"It's going to be tough, but we cannot walk off the pitch and think, 'Oh, we could've done that' or 'We missed that opportunity' or 'We weren't quite ready' or make any excuses for ourselves."

Match Facts

Female French referee Stéphanie Frappart will referee the game. She will be joined by assistants Manuela Nicolosi and Michelle O'Neill, with Turkey's Cuneyt Cakir the fourth official. This will be the first time that a female official takes charge of a major UEFA men's competition event.
For the first time since 2013, there will be no Spanish team present in the Uefa Super Cup final.
This is the first all-English UEFA Super Cup, though it is the fifth time in six seasons domestic rivals have met, and eighth time in all.
Liverpool were the last English side to win the UEFA Super Cup, getting the better of CSKA Moskva after extra time in 2005. Four Premier League teams have lost in the fixture since: Manchester United (2008, 2017) and Chelsea (2012, 2013).
This is Liverpool’s sixth UEFA Super Cup; they won in 1977 and 2005 as European champions, and in 2001 as UEFA Cup holders. They lost (as European Cup holders) in the 1978 and 1984 games.
This is Chelsea’s fourth UEFA Super Cup; they beat Real Madrid 1-0 in 1998, when they qualified as UEFA Cup Winners' Cup holders, but have lost in two subsequent appearances: 4-1 to Atlético in 2012 and on penalties to Bayern München the following year.
Both teams do have Super Cup successes to their name, with Liverpool adding to their 2005 glory with wins in 1977 and 2001, while Chelsea’s solitary victory came in 1998. However, both sides have also tasted defeat with two each, Chelsea losing the aforementioned 2012 and 2013 finals and Liverpool losing in 1978 and 1984.

Head to Head

Wednesday’s Super Cup will be the 183rd time these two sides have met and the 11th in Uefa competitions.
Liverpool hold the overall advantage, winning 78 to Chelsea’s 63, but the Blues do have the edge in Europe with three wins to two and five draws.
Liverpool wins: 78 Draws: 41 Chelsea wins: 63

Team News
Liverpool

Liverpool will be without goalkeeper Alisson after he picked up a calf injury in the season-opening win against Norwich City on Friday.
The Brazil international is set to be out for "the next few weeks", according to Klopp, which means former West Ham keeper Adrian is set to start.
Klopp also said that Dejan Lovren had not traveled with the squad because he was ill and had "no idea" if he would leave the club in the next few weeks.

Chelsea

Lampard is deprived of two of the Blues' foremost academy graduates in Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Callum Hudson-Odoi. The England internationals are both recovering from Achilles tendon ruptures, with the latter expected to return within a month, whilst his counterpart may be out until November.
Lampard has confirmed that N'Golo Kante is a doubt for the game after picking up an injury against Manchester United on Sunday.
Central defensive linchpin Antonio Rudiger is likewise unavailable due to a knee injury that he sustained against Liverpool last April, though Willian is a potential option on the wing as he nears full fitness.

Predicted Lineups
Liverpool XI:

Adrián; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson; Fabinho, Henderson, Milner; Mané, Firmino, Salah

Chelsea XI:

Arrizabalaga; Azpilicueta, Christensen, Zouma, Emerson Palmieri; Jorginho, Kovačić; Pulišić, Barkley, Pedro; Giroud

Form


Liverpool	D L W L W
Chelsea	W W W D L

Feel free to suggest any edits or correct me with any misinformation.

[Pre-Match Thread] Liverpool vs Chelsea - Premier League

Reading Career Mode - Part 2

Guide to 2019 K League


Chelsea	D L W W W
Liverpool	W W W W W

POS	CLUB	P	W	D	L	GD	PTS
1	Liverpool	33	25	7	1	55	82
2	Man City	32	26	2	4	62	80
4	Spurs	33	22	1	10	30	67
3	Chelsea	33	20	6	7	23	66
5	Man United	33	19	7	7	19	64

^{^{^{^.}}}
Welcome to what I think is the first ever reddit guide to the K League, Korea's top flight. The new K League 1 season kicks off 1^st March with last season's champions Jeonbuk against FA Cup winners Daegu. (1^st is a Friday, but it's a national holiday.)
To whet your appetite, here's a best goals of the season video, and because this montage missed out one of my favourite goals of the season, here's the most entertaining team in last season's relegation battle, Incheon United's top 5 goals of last season.

2018 season recap & 2019 club guide
1. K League 1 club guide
2. K League 2 clubs
3. Winter transfer window activity
History of club football in Korea & establishment of the K League
Football pyramid & League format
1. K League 1
2. International context
Resources
1. Websites & podcasts
2. Highlights & watching live

2018 season recap & 2019 club guide

Here's how the K League 1 table looked at the end of 2018:

#	Team	P	W-D-L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Notes
1	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	38	26-8-4	75	44	31	86	CL group stage
2	Gyeongnam FC	38	18-11-9	59	44	15	65	CL group stage
3	Ulsan Hyundai	38	17-12-9	61	46	15	63	CL playoffs
4	Pohang Steelers	38	15-9-14	48	49	-1	54
5	Jeju United	38	14-12-12	42	42	0	54
6	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	38	13-11-14	53	54	-1	50
7	Daegu FC	38	14-8-16	47	56	-9	50	CL group stage - FA cup winners
8	Gangwon FC	38	12-10-16	56	60	-4	46
9	Incheon United	38	10-12-16	55	69	-14	42
10	Sangju Sangmu	38	10-10-18	41	52	-11	40
11	FC Seoul	38	9-13-16	40	48	-8	40	Relegation playoff with K League 2
12	Jeonnam Dragons	38	8-8-22	43	69	-26	32	Relegated to K League 2

• FC Seoul won their playoff against K League 2's Busan IPark • Seongnam FC were promoted from K League 2 • Ulsan won their Champions League playoff and are in the group stages
It's impossible to write a concise summary of the 2018 season - you can get some of the details from the club guide below - but one of the most interesting stories actually comes from K League 2.
For context, you need to understand a bit about military service for footballers. Rather than take 2 years out of their career to serve in the military or do some kind of e.g. 'desk job' service, players can join one of two military football teams that play in the K League. In K League 1 there is Sangju Sangmu, and in K League 2 there is Asan Mugunghwa. Every player in these two teams is on loan for two years from another club in the K League. Sangju Sangu is affiliated with the 'normal' military, whilst Asan Mugunghwa is affiliated with the Police (serving in the auxilliary police force is another way to do your service).
The Korean government recently decided to abolish the auxilliary police force by 2023. The Police however decided to already wind down their sports teams, putting an immediate halt on recruiting players and disbanding the teams in 2019.
Now, the champions of K League 2 last season were... Asan Mugunghwa. They were in line for direct promotion to K League 1. To compete in the K League, you need to have at least 20 players, but by the time the next season started, Asan would only have 14 players, as the loan deals ran out. The League gave Asan a deadline in November to submit a recruitment plan, which they failed to do, and so the promotion spot passed to second-placed Seongnam FC. Although that deadline and hence promotion was missed, Asan have how submitted a recruitment plan that would see their 14 serving players be supplemented by new signings that indicates the club will transition to an city-owned club with the help of the Asan government.
Funnily (or depressingly), this is not the first time "Police FC" won K League 2 and missed out on promotion - in 2016 Ansan Mugunghwa were crowned champions, but at the end of that year moved from Ansan to Asan. In line with the League's policies, they were registered as a brand new club.

K League 1 club guide

Clubs can have up to three foreign players in their squad, plus an extra one from another AFC nation. Although rare, a player with North Korea citizenship is not considered foreign. Most of those foreign places are taken by Brazilians, or players from the former Yugoslavia (e.g. K League veteran Dejan Damjanovic). The exception to the foreigner rule is the goalkeeper - Korean goalkeepers in the 90s were just so bad that a block on recruiting foreign goalies was put in place to help encourage development of domestic talent. It seems to have worked, with Korean goalkeepers often being signed abroad (in Asia at least).
There is also a requirement to have U23 players fielded and on the bench, with a failure to meet this impacting the number of substitutes that can be made (Article 30 of the league 'rules').
You'll notice some of the clubs have a Korean chaebol in their team name, and even if it's not in the name, they may still be owned by a corporation behind the scenes. This sounds very odd if you're not familiar with it, but it is extremely common in Japan, China, and Korea. It may just be a symptom of some of the teams being relatively recently-founded, and perhaps isn't that unusual these days (think Red Bull, City group, majority shareholders in the West). However, the number of "Citizen" clubs, owned by the local city or provincial government, is on the rise - Gyeongnam FC is one example.
A lot of clubs probably like to think they have a derby with FC Seoul (because, well, it's Seoul) but the biggest, and probably considered the national derby, is the "Super Match" (슈퍼매치…) between FC Seoul and Suwon Samsung Bluewings. Montenegrin Damjanovic, known simply as 'Dejan', formerly of Seoul and now playing for Suwon, is the top scorer in this fixture.
Here's the clubs, by last season's standing, and since crests are a bit unstable on reddit at the moment, here's an imgur album of all club crests and corresponding home kits for the 2019 season:

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors

Jeonbuk are the dominant team in Korea, and one the of the teams you don't want to face in the Champions League whoever you are. They've now won 4 out of the last 5 K league 1 titles, and a most recent Champions League title in 2016.
Their rise to power over the last decade+ has been overseen by long term manager Choi Kang-hee. Choi left at the end of last season to ~~Tianjin Quanjin/Tianhai~~ Daliang Yifang FC in China. Korea seems to have a thing for Portuguese managers these days, and his replacement is one José Morais. Morais was assistant manager to José Mourinho for a period, but as manager proper he's been a bit shit. He was at two clubs in 2018, which included ushering Barnsley into relegation to English League One. How Jeonbuk will fare after Choi remains to be seen.
Although Jeonbuk cruised to the League title, it would be difficult to call their season an outright success due to a horrendous 15 mins at the end of the second half in a home match against Suwon in the Champions League quarter-final. They turned the 3 goal deficit around in the seond leg when they travelled to Suwon, but went out on penalties.

Gyeongnam FC

Gyeongnam were only promoted from K League 2 the previous season, so coming second in K League 1 is something special. Top scorer in the league Marcão, played his part with 26 goals.
Gyeongnam will now feature in the Champions League for the first time. I thought that seems to have put the brakes on too many of their players departing, but captain Choi Young-jun signed for Jeonbuk in the winter transfer window. A major loss is Marcão who was also top scorer in K League 2 in the year they were promoted, who appears to have followed the money to China. Also off to China is key centre-back Park Ji-soo. So basically the backbone of the team from defence to attack has left…

Ulsan Hyundai

Known as the Horang-i (호랑이) - the Tigers - Ulsan have had intermittent success in Asia, winning the Champions League for the first and only time in 2012 in an unbeaten run.
Towards the end of the 2018 season, Ulsan were battling Gyeongnam for the second spot, which brings with it direct qualification to the Champions League group stages rather than having a play-off. They lost out, but were widely expected to secure a direct qualification spot anyway when they faced Daegu FC in the FA Cup final. Ultimately they finished the season on a low, losing 5-1 on aggregate to Daegu in the final.

Pohang Steelers

One of the few clubs that predates the formation of the K League, Pohang are another of the historical Korean powerhouses. They hold the record for the most number of Champions League title (3), but their last title came in 2009.
Finishing fourth in the league, they were hoping that Ulsan would beat Daegu in the FA Cup final to pass their Champions League spot on down, but it didn't happen.

Jeju United

One of the original members of the K League, founded as the Yukong Elephants in the Seoul area. As part of the decentralisation program, they moved to Bucheon (kind of) and were renamed as Bucheon SK. The decision to move to Jeju in 2006 was an abrupt one, and understandably deeply unpopular with the fans. Teams uprooting and moving elsewhere is a bit of a catalyst for the creation of new teams in Korea, and the fans formed Bucheon FC 1995 in the absence of Bucheon SK.
The reason given for the relocation was to the address the imbalance in football teams being located around Seoul/Gyeonggi-do, and Jeju did not have a pro team at the time, but there are suggestions the owners SK group wanted to cut their investment and recoup some costs.
There were recent rumours that Jeju would move yet again, back north to Yongin, but who knows.
Jeju had a pretty mediocre season, what more can I say.

Suwon Samsung Bluewings

Suwon's 2018 season was a bit bonkers, and especially so in their Champions League run.
In their Champions League group, in which they were drawn with eventual winners Kashima Antlers, Suwon did not manage a single home win. However they had managed to get two away wins, and going into the final match, they still had their fate in their own hands if they could win against group leaders Kashima in Japan. They won 1-0, getting three away wins and topping the group.
Manager Seo Jung-won, at a time when Suwon were 4th in the League, resigned the day before the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final clash with Jeonbuk, due to fan protests. Jeonbuk were apparently completely bamboozled by this event, and took a 3-0 beating at home. Then in the return leg in Suwon, Jeonbuk fought back to win 3-0, but Suwon were able to scrape through on penalties to face Kashima Antlers yet again in the semis.
In the semi-final fixture, Suwon went 2-0 up against Kashima Antlers inside the first 10 minutes, but went on to lose 3-2 in the first leg. Soon after, manager Seo returned as suddenly as he had departed, having been gone for just 6 weeks. In the second leg, Suwon went a goal down in the first half, but came back with 3 in the second half to be on their way to the final after 60 mins played. However, Kashima Antlers fought back to get two more goals and win 6-5 on aggregate, and would go on to win the final. If you want to relive a part of that rollercoaster night, here you go, and here's an idea of the atmosphere that night.
At one point, it looked like they might qualify for the Champions League again for the 2019 season, but Suwon didn't win any of their final five league matches and dropped to 6th.
Manager Seo left again at the end of the season and will manage Japan's Sagan Tosu. Recently, captain Kim Eun-sun was released from the club for drink-driving. The drama just never ends.

Daegu FC

Prior to the World Cup, Daegu were languishing at the bottom of the table, but after the return they found some kind of consistent form, helped out by World Cup hero goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo. They really peaked at the right time, as Daegu made it to the FA Cup final, and against the odds defeated Ulsan Hyundai 5-1 on aggregate, meaning for the first time they will feature in the Champions League. This is no mean feat for team whose best ever finish in the top flight is 7th place. If they carry over their momentum into the 2019 season the year could be one of their most successful ever. They will also be playing in a new football-specific stadium this year.

Gangwon FC

Gangwon are a fairly mid-bottom team, I don't really know what to say about them. They did have the 2nd-highest top scorer in the 2018 season though, Bosnian Uros Deric. They also had the worst colour scheme in the league last season, their kit is slightly improved this season.

Incheon United

I always like to imagine that Incheon chose their strip so that they could be the Inter to FC Seoul's AC Milan. They even have a nickname "Nerazzurri" (another nickname is the Durumi - 두루미 - the cranes).
Incheon spent most of the 2018 season at the very bottom of table, and had the joint-leakiest defence in the league. They brought in Norwegian manager Jørn Andersen midway through the season to turn their fortunes around, but even after that they were on the wrong end or the biggest thrashing of the season, 7-0 against Gangwon. Coming into the end of the season though, they were playing really nice attacking football, even if they didn't always get the result. At 'the split' they were still bottom, but won 4 out of 5 games to pull themselves up 3 places.
It was in attack that Incheon shone. Montenegrin Stefan Mugosa was their top scorer in his debut season. Moon Seon-min, with the best goal celebration in the league, also put in a strong performance, but has now signed for champions Jeonbuk. Nam Jun-jae returned in the summer to score some bangers. Costa Rican international Aguilar was also impressive, but has signed for Jeju in the new season.

Sangju Sangmu

The "military team" where other K League players get loaned to to complete their military service. Their history goes far back in one sense, as various military teams were playing way back to the 50s, but they were founded for pro footballers to serve their time only in 1984. Although they were for pro players, they competed in the semi-pro National League until 2003 when they joined the K League, based in Gwangju. When Gwangju FC were formed, they moved to Sangju.
Sangju Sangmu do not have any foreign players for obvious reasons, and cannot compete in the Champions League, although the chances of ever finishing in a qualifying spot are fairly slim.

FC Seoul

FC Seoul. Wow. What happened? Having won the league in 2016 (albeit somewhat fortuitously), and always finishing in the top half if not competing for the title in the past decade, nobody expected Seoul to be fighting against relegation. Although relatively solid defensively, they scored the least number of goals in the league season of all teams. Their star foreign players almost all left before the season started (including Dejan to rivals Suwon) and were not replaced with the same quality, and for many matches Seoul played with an all-Korean team. One bit of good news for the future is that former captain Osmar will return from his loan to Cezero Osaka for the new season.
Seoul at least managed to avoid relegation by beating Busan IPark over two legs in the play-off, helped by a red card in the first leg. Surprisingly they managed to score 3 goals in the first leg in open play.
Seoul is probably the most popular club in Korea, I'm sure helped by the fact that it is the main club in a city of 10 million people - Seoul generally has the highest game attendances (although it was much reduced last season because they were so crap).
Starting out as Lucky-Goldstar (i.e. LG) FC in Chungcheong province, the team was permitted to relocate to Seoul at the start of the 90s, and were renamed as LG Cheetahs. During the decentralisation period, they moved to Anyang, modifying their name to Anyang LG Cheetahs. After the World Cup, the team successfully negotiated a move back to Seoul and did away with their "cheetahs" moniker, taking their current name FC Seoul. Their founding and "re-birth" years are both on their badge - 1983 and 2004.

Seongnam FC

Gaining direct promotion due to Asan Mugunghwa's situation, Seongnam is actually the most decorated team in Korea.
Founded in 1989 in Seoul as Ilhwa Chunma, they were forced out of Seoul and settled in Cheonnan for a period. In 2000 they moved to Seongnam, a satellite city of Seoul and appended the city name to the name of the club. Seongnam's title drought started when the head of the owner company that backed Seongnam died in 2012, and the board were keen to let go of the club. Seongnam city government took over ownership of the club for the 2014 season, and they were renamed Seongnam FC. Seongnam are now back in K League 1 after a 2 year absence.

K League 2 clubs

By last season's standings:

Jeonnam Dragons

Jeonbuk's Jeolla province rivals, they finished the previous season on an awful losing streak and were relegated for the first time.

Asan Mugunghwa

"Police FC", they missed promotion despite winning K League 2, and will probably lose their police affiliation by next year.

Busan IPark

One of the founding members of the K League and another that effectively predates the K League, Busan were beaten by K League 1 opposition in the pro/rel play-off for the second year in a row. They were the first Korean team to win the Asian continental title in the 80s.

Daejeon Citizen

One of the first community/city-owned clubs in Korea.

Gwangju FC

Relegated in the 2017 season. Despite finishing 5th in 2018, they still got to participate in the play-offs due to Asan Mugunghwa's situation.

FC Anyang

Founded in 2013, finally filling the void left by the departure of FC Seoul from the city.

Suwon FC

The other Suwon team, they featured in K League 1 briefly in 2016.

Bucheon FC 1995

Formed after the departure of Jeju United from the city. Formed in 2007, 1995 refers to the year of the organising of the Yukong Elephant fan club. Including 1995 in the name is meant to show it's a club for the fans or something.
Bucheon FC 1995 are also one half of the '032 derby' with Incheon United because they share the same area code, 032.

Ansan Greeners FC

Formed only in 2017, they've had two 9th-position finishes.

Seoul E-Land FC

The other Seoul team, their debut season was in 2015. They didn't do very well last season, although it was very tight at the bottom of the table.

Winter transfer window activity

From a monetary point of view, Korea is the biggest net exporter of players in Asia in the transfer market. This winter window was no different, with what I would say were the two biggest stories involving young homegrown Korean talent going abroad.
The first is that of Jeonbuk and national team star centre-back, Kim Min-jae, nicknamed "the monster". There were rumours of an offer from English side Watford, but it wasn't clear if there ever was any offer or negotiations - Kim himself said he did not know of any interest from Watford. It doesn't really matter now - Kim signed with Chinese side Beijing Sinobo Guoan and will see Champions League football with them in the new season, being drawn in the same group as Jeonbuk.
The second is Hwang In-beom, who has signed for MLS side Vancouver Whitecaps. Hwang In-beom played in K League 2 last season with Asan Mugunghwa and Daejeon Citizen, but has impressed as a midfield playmaker and is currently seen as a replacement for Ki Sung-yueng in the national team.
For a recognisable name for western readers, the best I have is Englishman Jordon Mutch who signed for Gyeongnam from Crystal Palace, resulting in this awkward photo op. (Another recognisable name is Mix Diskerud on loan to Ulsan from Man City, but he joined the previous year).
K League 1's top scorer Marcão left Gyeongnam for Hebei China Fortune, and his replacement is Luc Castaignos signed from Sporting CP. His stats in Europe haven't been great in recent years, but he may fare better in Korea.
There were of course a few hundred domestic internal transfers and number of other foreign player signings - if you want the full list, K League United's winter transfer tracker has it all.

History of club football in Korea & establishment of the K League

Association football was first introduced to Korea in 1882 when British Royal Navy crew harboured at Incheon played a game. It wasn't until the 1900s that football began to take hold, and the first public match was played in 1905. There was a boom in in the 1910s with a number of football clubs being formed, and rivalries began to form between clubs in Seoul and Pyongyang.
The first nationwide competition was the All Joseon Football Tournament (Joseon being the name for Korea at the time), founded in 1921. There wasn't actually a champion crowned in 1921, as the tournament was cut short due to complaints over refereeing decisions. All this was taking place during Japanese occupation of Korea during most of the first half of the 20th century.
According to the KFA, "football was the only tonic that could relieve the the national resentment that had accumlated in the hearts as a colony under the Japanese empire, and was a sprout that could foster the hope of freedom". A tad hyperbolic maybe.
One side effect of being a Japanese colony is that some Korean teams were allowed to participate in the Emperor's cup, Japan's FA cup, and in 1935 Kyungsung FC (Kyungsung was a name for Seoul during Japanese occupation) won the tournament, becoming the only 'non-Japanese' team to ever do so.
The All Joseon Football Tournament ran until WWII.
After WWII came Korean independence, and shortly thereafter the Korean War. There was football being played during this period continuously when possible. The Korean National Semi-Professional Football League was founded in 1964, and is the predecessor to today's tier 3 National League. Many of the teams during this period were works teams - employed by a company, playing under the name of the company, but also having a 'proper job' in the company. Cha Bum-kun, said by some to be the greatest ever Asian footballer, rose to fame during this period (albeit mainly in the Bundesliga), starting his senior career at the mighty Seoul Trust Bank FC. The most astonishing statistic about Cha Bum-kun is he only received one yellow card in his career.
Finally we get to the establishment of professional football with the Korean Super League in 1983, now named the K League. Initially there were only 5 teams, and 2 of those teams dropped out within 2 years. The number of clubs in the top flight has varied from the initial 5 to a high of 16 in 2011. In 2013 the K League split into two tiers, now K League 1 and K League 2.
For the first few years of the K League, teams did not have a fixed home stadium that they played in, because there was no standard home/away format that we are so familiar with today. Instead it was operated as a "national tour".
The K League in the modern era has its own history, but one of the most interesting events was the forced exodus of all three clubs from Seoul in 1996 as part of a policy to spread the popularity of football around the country, also with an eye on stadium infrastructure for the 2002 World Cup. Two of the clubs didn't move far, only just outside the city of Seoul, each to one of Seoul's satellite cities. Yukong Elephants, only half-left, because the city they moved to didn't have a stadium yet, so they continued to play in Seoul until a new stadium was built. For a number of years the K League was without any Seoul representation. In 2004, after the need to find someone to fill a great big national football stadium and help pay towards it, one of those relocated teams moved back to Seoul, becoming FC Seoul.

Football pyramid & League format

The current system looks like this:

Tier	League	Notes
1	K League 1	12 teams, 1 relegation to K League 2, 1 relegation play-off with K League 2
2	K League 2	10 teams, 1 promotion to K League 1, 1 promotion play-off with K League 2
3	National League	8 teams, Semi-pro, no promotion/relegation
4	K3 League Advanced	12 teams, Semi-pro/amateur, 2 relegations to K3 League Basic, 1 relegation play-off with K3 League Basic
5	K3 League Basic	11 teams, Semi-pro/amateur, 2 promotions to K3 League Advanced, 1 promotion play-off with K3 League Advanced
6	Division 5 League	6 regional leagues with 52 teams, some relegation to Division 6
7	Division 6 League	26 regional leagues with 174 teams, some pro/rel with Divisions 5 & 7
8	Division 7 League	160 regional leagues with 960 teams, some promotion with Division 6

As you can see, the naming is completely screwed up - K3 League occupies tiers 4 and 5, and Division 5 is in tier 6. This is probably because the top tier K League only split in two in 2013 with the creation on K League 2 and nobody's been bothered to update their names.
The National League sits stubbornly in tier 3, blocking any continuous pro-rel. The powers that be have regularly stated that they want to reform the pyramid to have a continuous route from top to bottom (at least to the bottom of K3 League) within a few years, but for some reason it's not happening. The winners of the 2006 National League season were offered promotion to the K League, but they declined the offer. The winners of the 2007 season were also offered promotion, but declined again even though they said they would like promotion at the start of the season.
One of the more recent additions to the K League, Bucheon FC 1995, joined from K3 League because they didn't want to pay the higher fees associated with starting out in the National League.
Outside of this system, there is the WK League, the women's top tier. The WK League has been dominated by Incheon Red Angels (no connection to Incheon United) in recent years. There's no Womens Champions League in Asia yet, but for a few years in the past the winners of the WK League played the winners of Japan's Nadeshiko League. For a little more info on the WK League, see this reddit post.
Also worth a mention is the separate U League (for universities and colleges), some of the teams from which enter into the Korean FA cup. The route into a pro team in Korea is often direct from High School or University teams, something I don't think exists in Europe. Some High School teams are even seen as "feeder teams" for a particular pro team. I won't pretend to understand how the system works, but I'll leave you with the tidbit that Park Ji-Sung was first signed to a professional team from a University team, almost by accident as the scout had come to see a different player but took home Park instead.

K League 1

K League 1 consists of 12 teams playing 38 games. The format is identical to the Scottish Premiership - all teams play each other three times and then after "the split" the top 6 and bottom 6 battle it out among themselves to settle the championship and relegation spots respectively. The first tie breaker for teams level on points is goals scored rather than goal difference.
The top 3 places offer a chance in the AFC Champions League, the fourth Champions League spot going to the winner of the Korean FA cup. Bottom place gets relegated to K League 2, whilst 11th place has a play-off with one of the teams that finished 2nd-4th in K League 2.

International context

In the current format of the AFC champions league, the competition is split into a West region (think UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iran) and an East region. The East region is dominated by three nations - Korea, China and Japan. Australia, who decided it wanted to be Asian earlier this century, has also had a bit of success.
This year there will be two debutants from Korea - Gyeongnam FC and Daegu FC. It's dufficult to predict how well these two will fare, but if they can carry some form over to this year, they could get out of the group stages at least.
Determining who has the strongest teams amongst the 'big three' East Asian nations is a difficult task and is hugely subjective. I'm almost (I say almost because obviously K League is best league) of the opinion that they're as close to equal as makes no difference. Korea has the most number of titles and the club with the most titles (Pohang Steelers). China have the highest coefficient. Japan has won the past two tournaments.
In recent years China and Japan have had a number of 'big star' foreigner signings (e.g. Paulinho, Torres) which are absent from the K League. I believe this is due to Japan having cash mainly coming from TV money, and China having cash from... well, being China. Despite Korea lagging financially, all three nations have the same limit on foreign players (three foreigners plus one from another AFC country), and so Korean teams are still competitive due to the relative strength of their domestic players.
While we're on the topic of the Champions League, each of the 'big three' East Asian nations get 4 places total - 2 or 3 to the group stages and 1 or 2 to the last qualifying play-off round before the group stages. This play-off round is massively weighted in the big three's favour, as they have to win just one home game when the weather is still genrally freezing cold, against a team from a nation with a tropical climate. I don't know of a Korean club ever losing this play-off match.
The AFC cup is sometimes said to be the equivalent of UEFA's Europa League, but it's not really comparable. The AFC cup is for the 'weaker' Asian nations only and Korea aren't allowed to enter.

Resources

Websites & podcasts

For those of us who are linguistically challenged, here's how you can follow K League in English
One of the best websites for news, match previews, and analysis is K League United. It covers everything - K League 1 & 2, FA cup, transfer news, national team and more. It also has a podcast if you're into that sort of thing.
A really good resource for up-to-date breaking news is an English version of a Korean news outlet. The "sports" category of Yonhap news for example is great. Although you'll be getting other sports news in there such as Korean baseball, football appears pretty regularly. Also, the team that works on writing the articles don't seem to work weekends.
Tavern of the Taeguk Warriors has a lot of information mainly on the Korean national team and tracks the progress of Koreans playing in Europe, but covers the domestic club scene now and then.
48 Shades of Football is a great English language podcast following Korean football.
The Asian Game is another great English language podcast that doesn't specifically follow Korean football, but since they cover Asian football they'll sometimes have in-depth coverage of the Korean clubs competing in the AFC Champions League, as well as the Korean national team.
For your Twitter fix, the Korea Football News (@KORFootballNews) and Viva La K-League (@kleagueno1) Twitter feeds are pretty quick with breaking news in English.
There is also the official K League website which can be viewed in English, but I think unless you live in Korea it's going to be painfully slow to use.
Then of course there's kleague with news and discussion, and where you can ask questions to the community.

Highlights & watching live

All highlights from K League 1 matches are uploaded fairly promptly to the spotv Youtube channel (spotv is a korean sports broadcaster). They also upload content from the KBO (baseball) and the V League (volleyball), so you'll have to scroll down until you see something saying "K리그1". It helps if you know how Korean letters sound phonetically to understand which teams are playing, but you can also see which match a video is from the crests in the thumbnail. The commentary will be in Korean, but each video is really good quality, typically about 10 minutes long.
If you watch to watch live, the good news is that is very easy, and basically free. I have no idea whether any national broadcasters or streaming services around the world have K League rights, but in Korea itself, essentially every thing is streamed on Korean online behemoth Naver's platform. The one caveat is that live streams are region locked, so to access them you'll need a VPN to get a korean IP address (although some other Asian countries also seem to have access). I won't repeat what others have already written, so here's a short guide to getting it working which also covers another route via the Daum online portal; or there's a comment in that thread which covers a more straightforward way by using the Naver TV app.
The KFA Youtube channel has a bunch of non-K League highlights including the FA cup, K3, and WK League highlights.
The K League website also has plenty of highlights, but again, outside of Korea it might be buffering for a long time.

Guide to the 2018 Norwegian Eliteserie

The 74th season of the Norwegian premiership kicks off tomorrow so a post introducing you to the league was overdue. If you're interested in following Norwegian soccer more closely or want to take part in our fantasy league you can head over to /norskfotball
To start with I need to touch on one of the controversies of 2018, namely the extremely early start of the season. Last season was kicked off in the beginning of April, but this year the FA decided to start the league in early March while we're still hosting world cups in skiing. The stated reason was to better prepare teams for the European Qualifiers, however many teams have expressed extreme dismay about this decision and several matches have been cancelled due to snow/cold. This decision could force more teams to lay artificial pitches in the future.

Supporters

Norwegian supporter culture is a mixed bag, anglophilia runs rampant and if you talk about football you're just as likely to be asked what English club you support as what your local team is, additionally Norway is a big country with a spread out population, and outside the big cities of which there are a handful you're not likely to have a local club that's not deep into the amateur tiers.
One of the solutions to this issue has been for clubs to merge to have one main club representing the city or region, too many clubs around the same level means that both sponsorship money and talent is spread too thin meaning no one will succeed. In the past decade several new clubs have emerged and many have found success, the most prominent being ten year old Sarpsborg08 who placed third last season. This is not a painless process however, as these usually are membership clubs, and having members vote on giving up the badge, colors and history can be an extremely hard sell for anyone involved.
The terrace culture is a mixed bag as well. The old guard's connection to British supporter culture has been a big part of the traditional supporter groups in Norway, however the younger generations in more and more clubs are adopting the continental style of active, directed support, with drums, flags and flares. With supporters of Rosenborg, Lillestrøm and Vålerenga being on the forefront.

The clubs

While traditionally clubs have been membership based, meaning there is no one owner and the supporters all have a vote in the running of the club, some clubs are now owned by various levels of millionaires and billionaires IK Start Vålerenga being the best examples. Some clubs benefit greatly from local benefactors, while others have to scrounge for whatever they can find of sponsors and volunteer workers to just exist.

Bodø/Glimt

City: Bodø
2017 placement: 1st place Second tier
Stadium: Aspmyra (7354)
A club used to the ups and downs of football, having spent five years in the second tier in the last ten years, the second northernmost club in the league is set to make a triumphant return to the premiership after completely dominating the second division winning it with a goal difference of fifty. Glimt have made sure to retain the core of their promotion-winning team, with only one player from their first 11 leaving after his loan spell being over, and he was replaced with former Betis player José Isidoro. The transfers they have made are all improvements or adding squad depth.
The club has a small, but dedicated following who are by many considered pioneers of Norwegian terrace culture, adding flair and a big singing support that soon would become the staple of Norwegian football fandom, they carry around a massive yellow toothbrush in their stands.
Person of interest: Kristian Fardal Opseth (28) striker
A big part in Bodø/glimt's push for promotion last season, the striker scored 28 goals in 30 matches securing the top scorer title with ten goals down to the second place. If he can replicate some of his blistering form from last season he will be a player to look out for, but many strikers have found that tearing up the second tier does not necessarily mean much when making the step up to the premiership.

Start

City: Kristiansand
2017 placement: 2nd place Second tier
Stadium: Sør Arena (14 448)
Sør Arena stands as a monument to the optimism that existed in Norwegian football around the middle of the last decade. Rosenborg's iron grip on the league had just been toppled, the national team hadn't gone to complete shit yet and attendance was at a massive high with several teams breaking average crowds of over ten thousand. After Start's breakout season where they narrowly failed to win the title (A good short doc about the match, really intense) in front of a crowd of 16000. But the good times stopped flowing and club after club felt the financial hangover of the roaring noughties. Interest in the league started falling and with it attendances. The ambitious stadium project turned out to be a financial calamity for the club and as results couldn't match the fantastic 2005 season attendance was more than halved of what it used to be, eight years after it was built the project went bankrupt and was bought out by the local council who is currently renting it out to the club.
Now things seem to have turned around as the club has been the big talking point over the last few months in Norwegian football. Start was taken over last summer by a group of local young billionaires who made their fortunes on tech and online gambling software, they have made massive changes to the club starting by sacking local legend Steinar Pedersen and hired British manager and assistant to Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Mark Dempsey, despite Pedersen being on course for a direct promotion spot.
Two things the the new owners don't lack is ambition and money, they have invested a lot of money into the club and brought in many new faces while speaking of european football and running the club like Chelsea with a small army of foreign players being loaned out to feeder teams. Last I heard they had already signed so many foreigners (12) that they need to loan some out in order to be able to register everyone (foreign player limit is 9). The project is ambitious, but hinging on the purses of the new owners, should things not go to plan one has to wonder how long they're willing to throw money away.
One of their biggest signings in 2017 was not a manager or a player, but their sporting director, Tor-Kristian Karlsen who's been sporting director for Monaco and Maccabi Haifa and worked as a scout for Watford, Leverkusen, Zenit, Grasshopper and Hannover. This is a man who's contacts will be vital in bringing in the level of talent that
Person of interest: Mark Dempsey (54) Manager
A Man Utd academy graduate, many people credit him with part of the success of Solskjær's Molde, being responsible for a lot of man management and discipline within the squad. A highly touted managerial talent so far he has had brief spells in charge of clubs, but chosen to leave almost as soon as he got the job every time. Now with deep pockets backing him and a project to rebuild a club with a proud past with a city hungry for a successful football club.

Ranheim

City: Trondheim
2017 placement: 4th place second tier, qualified through playoffs
Stadium: EXTRA Arena (3000)
The Cinderella story of Norwegian soccer, a semi-professional side with a bilbao-like philosophy of only signing locals to the region, Ranheim had everything stacked up against them when they promoted to the second tier in 2010. They are located in Trøndelag's regional capital Trondheim alongside the country's most successful side Rosenborg. But they kept punching above their weight and after several attempts last season they managed to promote to the top tier of Norwegian football for the first time since the 1955.
For a long time they were a direct feeder club for Rosenborg. Their manager is from the Rosenborg system and they have adapted both their playing style of an aggressive 4-3-3, many pundits claiming that they play more like Rosenborg than Rosenborg at times. They closely work together in developing talents and Ranheim often sign the players that are not quite good enough to make the Rosenborg first team.
The club is by far the smallest in the league in terms of resources, their budget being less than 2 million euros, for comparison newcomer Kristiansund last season was the poorest club with a budget of close to 4 million euros. This shows in the type of players the club have chosen to sign, besides a couple from Rosenborg they're all star players from lower league clubs in the region.
Person of interest: Even Barli (26) Keeper
Before last season Barli nearly joined premiership runners up Molde, but due to not wanting to move 4 hours away from his girlfriend he decided to stay and was an important part of the club securing promotion to the premiership. Thought by experts to be the strongest player in the club Barli will be extremely important if the club is going to have any hope of survival.
I wrote a post about them when they gained promotion if you're interested in reading more about them.

Sandefjord

City: Sandefjord
2017 placement: 13th
Stadium: Komplett Arena (6582)
Founded in 1998 as a merger of several clubs in the city of Sandefjord, the club has been a club that's slightly not good enough for the premiership, but too good for the second tier, this will be their seventh season in the premiership. Recently Sandefjord spent a lot of time and resources to accommodate their manager Lars Bohinen who is a big proponent of 3-5-2 or 3-4-3, even going so far as to instruct the lower league clubs in their area to pick up the formations to better foster players that can fit into the system if they make the step up.
This made it quite a shock when Bohinen who kept his job through relegation and was given the confidence to get the team up, which he did, quit to join recently relegated Aalesund where he felt he would have more resources to play his style of football. In his place they signed Magnus Powell who's known for his more traditional 4-4-2 formation, which has left many people scratching their heads and pegging Sandefjord for relegation this season.
Person of interest: Flamur Kastrati (26) Striker
A fierce player, known for playing rough, yellow cards and scoring goals. When everything works he is the deciding factor between relegation and survival for Sandefjord who need him to replicate his form last season in order to stay afloat. This season he has to compete with Pontus Engblom one of the most prolific goal scorers from the second tier.

Lillestrøm

"City": Lillestrøm
2017 placement: 12th
Stadium: Åråsen (12250)
One of the most historic clubs in the league, Lillestrøm has the longest consecutive stint in the premiership, and despite two cup wins the last ten years has not been a success for the club having come close to relegation several times. Now things are starting to look positive, they've brought back a successful local coach in Arne Erlandsen who is a proponent of pragmatic and though football.
The club's main asset is it's dedicated and loyal fanbase the canaries, who has stuck with them through thick and thin, while Lillestrøm isn't the most populated city in Norway with only 14.000 inhabitants they still managed an average attendance of almost 6000. And while they may not be the most numerous they make sure they're heard regardless of where they are or what the score is. A fun clip of a handful of LSK supporters having the time of their life.
In recent years Lillestrøm like many other clubs in Norway has struggled financially, part of the solution was to work closely with Nigerian scouts in order to bring in big talents they could develop and sell on for profit. The most recent big transfer was their top scorer Fred Friday being sold to AZ Alkmaar for aprox 1.4 million euros.
Person of interest: Frode Kippe (40) defender
A name that may trigger some deeply buried memories among Stoke fans, after a brief spell in English football Mister Lillestrøm returned to his Boyhood club where he has stayed since then. Now 40 years old and a bit on the slow side, Kippe still has a role to play which he showed when scoring the winning goal in the 2017 cup final. Kippe is the oldest player in the league and is playing his 400th league match in Norway in his 18th season for the club.

Tromsø

City: Tromsø
2017 placement: 11th
Stadium: Alfheim (6801)
The northernmost team in the Norwegian premiership looked absolutely dire last season, until they hired a relatively unknown (outside Finland) Finnish manager in Simo Valakari, he wasted no time and managed to turn it around going from 15th and clear relegation candidates to 12th losing only 2 of their final ten matches, both against top 4 teams. It seems Valakari who won the Finnish premiership with a newly promoted team in 2015 has something special about him, and if he is able to recreate the form they tapped into towards the end of the season they could go back to punching way above their weight.
Their finances are not in a great state which has forced them to sell several key players from last season, so a lot hinges on the veterans in Tom Høgli and Morten Gamst Pedersen and the newly appointed manager.
Throwback to when Chelsea disappeared in a blizzard while playing against Tromsø.
Person of interest: Morten Gamst Pedersen (36) winger
A legend in Norwegian football, in 2016 local businessmen arrived on the scene to bring him back to the club he played for before his meteoric rise to fame. Since joining the 36 year old has been an important figure in keeping Tromsø above the relegation spot and in the last season he had the most assists (11) in the league. Can he keep producing the necessary results under a new and demanding manager?

Haugesund

City: Haugesund
2017 placement: 10th
Stadium: Haugesund stadion (8754)
Personally I find this club to be the most boring in the league, it's from a medium sized city and outside of one third place finish they seem to be reliably mid table performing slightly above what you would expect from a club with their resources. A complete collapse at the end of the season had them falling down the table ending on a disappointing tenth place.
Their crest is a seagull, i fucking hate seagulls.
Person of interest: Per Kristian Bråtveit (22) Keeper
Had the most clean sheets in the 2017 great talent who will only keep improving.

Stabæk

City: Bærum
2017 placement: 9th
Stadium: Nadderud (4500)
For a club that comes from the richest per capita area in the country, the club is remarkably poor. After having to pull out of the modern stadium Telenor Arena in 2011 they went back to the old and run-down Nadderud, a spectacular fall from grace for the club who's supporters sing about daddy's money and hating poor people.
The club's main strength is their academy, they've been working closely with the country's biggest high school for sports which has allowed them to both sign some of the country's biggest talents, and given them access to resources they otherwise wouldn't. This has ensured that the club has a steady flow of exciting youngsters passing through their ranks, with 17 year old Hugo Vetlesen becoming the first person born in this millenia to play in the premiership.
Person of interest: Ohi Omoijuanfo (24) striker
For most of last season he was the league top scorer, and while he ended in second place behind Bendtner hype still surrounds the 24 year old. He recently rejected a big move to Chinese super league club Henan Jianye to the club's dismay. Rumors say he rejected a potential 5-10 times salary increase because he doesn't care about the money and have bigger ambitions. If he can deliver the goods like last season he will surely be sold in the summer.

Vålerenga

City: Oslo
2017 placement: 8th
Stadium: Intility Arena (17333)
Besides a few standout seasons they've been woefully average for the past 10 years. Now with Ronny Deila at the helm, new money being invested and maybe most importantly, the new stadium being finished things are looking like project Deila might finally pick up some steam.
After their rivals Lyn went bankrupt Vålerenga is the only club representing the capital in the premiership, the capital is and has been divided between the east and west side, with Vålerenga hailing from the east-side working class area from which it derives it's name the club was famous for it's massive support of working class people, but with gentrification the proud traditions that once carried this club is slowly eroded. Many move to the city from all over the country and bring with them their own regional team, so despite Oslo being by far the biggest city in the country, that doesn't necessarily equate to the biggest support for the only premiership side in the capital.
With the new stadium being finished the club hopes to boost attendance as they've moved back to their working class area after decades of playing in the other side of town. Additionally the fractured supporter groups have reconciled and are finally standing and singing together again in in their new section modeled after Dortmunds yellow wall. The hope is that what was once Norway's loudest supporters can return to old form as one of Norway's slumbering giants are looking to wake up.
Ronny Deila (42) Manager
Arriving from Celtic with a less than stellar performance review, Deila made a return to Norwegian football in taking over a club in a small crisis. Lacking sporting success and finances to compete the owner announced more investments with Deila at the helm. As it stands he is slowly building the squad in his image, last season the club looked almost bipolar at times playing blistering football one match and then performing absolutely dreadfully the next, but as he is rebuilding the squad the future is looking bright for the club. The question remains if the notoriously restless supporters will give him the needed time to rebuild.

Kristiansund

City: Kristiansund
2017 placement: 7th
Stadium: Kristiansund Stadion (4126)
Founded in 2003 as a merger between several local clubs to have one top club in the city, KBK hails from a town of 24.000 inhabitants on an island close to Molde, the football rivalry is new, but important to the locals as it encompasses much more from identity to regional politics with a feeling of being overlooked in favor of the regional capital, most recently losing their hospital to Molde. The stadium is small, but close to sold out every game and at times they can sound like many times their actual number creating some of the best atmospheres in the league.
The club has improved every season, always ending up in the same position or better than the year before. 2017 was going to be the big test for the club as they made their premiership debut after only four season in the second tier, and to everyone's surprise the relegation candidates fought their way to the upper half of the table. Experts now talk about the difficult second season where a sense of normalcy starts kicking in and the fans are no longer just happy to be there. KBK are expected to face a much harder second season.
Person of interest: Torgil Gjertsen (25) striker
Arriving from (then) second tier side Ranheim last summer, Gjertsen was underestimated by many, having only netted twice in 15 matches in the second tier. But sometimes things just fall into place, and after joining relegation candidates Kristiansund he lead them to seventh place with the highest goal average in the league with 0.67 goals per game (edging out Bendtner's 0.66).

Odd

City: Skien
Stadium: Skagerak Arena (13500)
2017 placement: 6th
Over the years Club built a successful academy (with some help from a local lotto millionaire) with a seemingly endless supply of young talents with the most recent success story being now Fiorentina winger Rafik Zekhnini who famously Shocked Hummels by his skills at such a young age. This year too they seem to be giving youngsters a chance with 18 year old defender John Kitolano being touted as the next big talent to come out of Skien.
Last season was woeful for them, after several seasons of competing for medals and qualifying for Europe, Odd were far away from their usual form, scoring only 27 goals over a 30 game season, despite this the longest serving manager in the league Dag-Eilev Fagermo still enjoys support from the club, but can he afford another season like the one they just had with dire football and 1-0 wins?
Persons of interest: John (18) and Joshua (17) Kitolano Defender and midfielder
Two of the biggest talents in the youth system of Odd, their family arrived from Kongo in 2005 and have since lived in Skien. When the younger brother Joshua was signed as a 16 year old manager Fagermo called him the biggest talent he had ever seen. John is expected to be in the first XI this season with Joshua surely making appearances.

Brann

City: Bergen
Stadium: Brann Stadion (17686)
2017 placement: 5th
Brann is one of the best examples of the high Norwegian football experienced around 2007, they spent money frivolously and when they couldn't recreate their success of a 2007 league title and round of 32 in the UEFA cup the club has been in a downward spiral since then culminating in the 2014 relegation of the once so proud club. Afterwards the club made big changes, they made a strict wage structure, brought in a local manager who demands discipline and hard work from his players above all else. This move turned out to be great for the club as they gained immediate promotion followed by a second place in the premiership the following season. Now it remains to be seen if they are able to
Their fans are notoriously demanding with one of the best known memes in Norwegian football Brann supporters claiming the gold is "coming home" after a decisive win. But they also show a great support for their club consistently having the second highest attendance in the league.
Person of interest: Bismar Acosta (31) defender
A physical, the Costa Rican international knows how to rough up the opposing side's attackers and make his mark. The central defender always makes himself known and is able to put his own mark on any match that he plays.

Strømsgodset

City: Drammen
Stadium: Marienlyst (8935)
2017 placement: 4th
In the summer of 2017 Strømsgodet was a club in crisis, the 2013 champions were a few points off relegation and the hiring of former Molde coach Tor Ole Skullerud seemed to have been a massive fiasco. Then something happened in the 16th round, they won convincingly against Kristiansund and then never looked back, in the next 14 rounds they were undefeated having the highest points haul in the league for that period until they were beaten in the last round narrowly missing out on second place and a Europa cup qualifier.
On the back of Ronny Deila's work "Godset" has placed itself firmly on the map of Norwegian football again for the first time since the 70s and are looking to once again challenge for titles this year.
Person of interest: Marcus Pedersen (27) Striker
He hasn't really been a success outside of Strømsgodset, and has been described as a very volitile player that will repay you a thousand times if you put your trust in him, but will be completely useless if you dont. Scored 11 goals in 10 appearances in his first season back for Strømsgodset in 2015, will be hugely important to their title chances.

Sarpsborg08

City: Sarpsborg
Stadium: Sarpsborg stadion (4700)
2017 placement: 3rd
As their name suggests Sarspborg08 were formed in 2008 merely 10 years ago, but football history is sarpsborg goes back over a hundred years with several cup trophies, however the last time the city received any silverware was in the 50s and no top tier football since 1974 so something had to change. Sarpsborg08 was a result of local clubs getting together in 1999, but it would take 8 years of infighting and relegation battles before everyone were agreed on the project forming the unifying club in Sarpsborg the 15th of January 2008.
The one thing where Sarpsborg08 stands out is how they maximize their resources, they're not a rich club and last year there were only three clubs in the league with a lower budget, yet they managed to place third and get to a second cup final in three years. The reason is simple, they've been building slowly, not undertaking any ambitious infrastructure projects, but rather slowly added seats to their stadium, instead of big name signings they've made a habit of identifying who in the lower leagues have been overlooked, but are good enough for the premiership. Several players now prominently featured in their first team turned out for teams in the second, third and even forth tier of Norwegian football.
However, money is going to be less of an issue this season, the club has sold several key players for a lot of money making back approximately their entire 2017 operating budget on player sales alone, most prominently being the 19 year old winger Krepin Diatta who was sold to Club Brugge for a club record of about 3 million euros and 23 year old defender Sigurd Rosted who went for an undisclosed fee to Gent in the same league.
The main challenge for Sarpsborg08 is to recreate the scouting successes they've already had, they've parted with 14 players this winter and brought in 12, if their scouting is as good this year as their past performances suggests the good times might just continue.
Person of interest: Kristoffer "Doff" Zachariassen (24) Wingemidfielder
A hidden jewel hidden on an island on the western coast of Norway, no one, even Sarpsborg themselves thought "Doff" would have have been such a success, ten goals in 34 matches in the league and cup is more than a decent tally for a player arriving on a free from the fourth tier of Norwegian football at the beginning of the season. Playing both centrally and on the left in the midfield Zachariassen will be one of the key players this season if Sarpsborg are going to repeat last year's season. And if he keeps turning up the way he has, we might see him in a bigger league sooner rather than later.

Molde

City: Molde
2017 placement: 2nd
Stadium: Aker Stadion (11800)
Ole Gunnar Solskjær is back where it all began... Again. After a disastrous season in in the premier league Solskjær came back to Molde after the 2015 season, now embarking on his third consecutive season as Molde manager he looks to repeat his success from his last stint as manager where he toppled Rosenborg and put Molde on the top of the Norwegian football hierarchy.
Molde are quite a resourceful club, they've got two local billionaires backing them, Bjørn Runde Gjelstein and Kjell Inge Røkke, the latter financed most of the stadium which has been nicknamed Røkkeløkka after him. This has meant that the club periodically has received massive windfalls over the years allowing them to sign some of the best players in the league with ease, using the money and Solskjær's star power as an attraction, many in Norwegian soccer has bemoaned their artificial purchasing power, but this is modern football and money talks. In 2010, before winning their first league title, it was reported Røkke had spent a total of 50 million euros on the club and he has repeatedly injected money since then.
After a disappointing 2015 season Solskjær righted the ship with a strong finish to the season dropping only five points in the final ten matches placing them second. Having one of the youngest squads in the league, it seems Solskjær is content with his team being one year older and more experienced. They've made very few moves in the transfer market signing only two players this transfer window. On the outgoing side they mostly got rid of dead weight, although the loss of their 2017 top scorer Björn Bergmann Sigurðarson will be felt.
Erling Braut Håland (17) Striker
Son of former Leeds and Manchester city player Alf-Inge Håland, the young Erling seem to have inherited some of his father's abilities. Making his debut for league runner up Molde at 16 last season, the now 17 year old has already attracted international attention with rumors of Juventus launching a bid at the end of the winter transfer window which Molde declined.

Rosenborg

City: Trondheim
2017 placement: 1st
By far the most successful club in Norway, with 25 league trophies and 11 cup wins with most trophies from the recent past there has never been a more dominant club in Norway. So there's no wonder that the golden age of Norwegian football came after Rosenborg lost their first league title in 13 years in 2005, after which they've "only" won the league five times.
The main reason for Rosenborg's success is the historic manager Nils Arne Eggen (76), he managed the club several times before retiring in 2002 (briefly taking over in 2010 leading the club to another league title), but he has remained an ever-looming presence that new managers at the club have had to deal with. Eggen is a hero to everyone supporting the club and wields a massive amount of influence, and while retired he is still involved in the day to day running of the club popping up during training and sometimes completely taking over. It would take over ten years before the club were able to find a manager able to properly deal with this situation, and of course he was a former Eggen protegee.
Kåre Ingebrigtsen wasn't an obvious candidate for the job, in 2011 the former Rosenborg-player had managed Bodø/Glimt through relegation and after failing to get them promoted he was fired. He quit football all together and became a car salesman. But after a few years as assistant manager in Viking he was tapped up to the job of restoring the biggest football dynasty in Norway to the throne after four title-less seasons. He had an immediate effect, "Bruttern" (translated to brother) lead his team to three consecutive league wins and two cup wins during his three years as manager. His appointment signaled a return to what has been dubbed Eggen-football, 4-3-3 with overlapping fullbacks making bombing runs down the wings which is hugely popular among the fans.
For this season the minimum expectations is winning the league, Rosenborg's budget dwarfs most others, and the club is once again buying the top talent off their competitors. Rosenborg is a club with proud history in the champions league, beating clubs like AC Milan, Real Madrid and Valencia and the big goal is either qualifying for Champions League, or at a minimum the Europa League, not getting to the group stages in Europe would be considered a failure.
Stadium: Lerkendal (21850)
Person of interest: Nickles Bendtner (30) Striker
While Rosenborg is filled to the brim with talents and personalities, there was no other possible choice. Arguably the biggest signing in the league's history, Bendtner arrived at the lowest point of his career with Nottingham Forest more than happy to be rid of him. And after a relatively weak start to the season he lit up the league and played a pivotal role in Rosenborg getting into the Europa League group stages becoming the league top scorer in the process. In the winter he allegedly turned down several offers to both Turkey, China, Ligue 1 and the Premier league as he seems to be chasing a spot in the world cup, and it probably won't hurt his chances to stay in a team danish NT manager Åge Hareide already has managed. Most pundits are predicting a Bendtner exit after the world cup and the club has already bought his replacement.

PRE-MATCH THREAD - AC Milan vs Arsenal [UEFA Europa League - Ro16]

What are the odds of seeing 5 teams from the same league in the next Uefa Champions League?

A look at the coefficient as is

The Europa League Cup Predictions For The Year 2019/20

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UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE TIPS AND PREDICTION, AUG 05/2020

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Rank	League	Odds	>1% Odds	<1% Odds
1	Premier League	23%	Arsenal	Liverpool
2	Serie A	7%	Lazio	Roma
3	Bundesliga	6%	RB Leipzig	none
4	Liga	<1%	none	Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Sevilla

Rank	Country	Coefficient	Teams Still In	Progress?	Chance Team 1	Chance Team 2
17	Czech Republic	25.675	3/5	2/5	74%	87%
18	Cyprus	24.425	2/4	0/4	-	-
19	Serbia	22.25	1/4	1/4	2%	-
20	Scotland	22.125	2/4	2/4	77%	40%
21	Belarus	20.875	1/4	1/4	28%	-
22	Sweden	20.4	1/4	1	27%	-

AC Milan	Draw	Arsenal
1	1	1
4-0 [CL Ro16, 2011/12]	1-1 [Friendly, 2010]	3-0 [CL Ro16, 2011/12]

AC Milan
G. Donnarumma
Rodriguez
Bonucci
Romagnoli
Calabria
Biglia
Kessie
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UEFA Europa League Predictions FiveThirtyEight

uefa europa league odds predictions

uefa europa league odds predictions - win

Pre-Match Thread: Spurs vs Lokomotiv Plovdiv (17 Sep 2020)

Milan vs Celtic

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Reviewing the 2011/12 Season, Best/Worst Matches, Highs/Lows - by BluFF

Napoli vs Real Sociedad

Full-Time Winner Odds & Prediction

Goals Market Prediction

Soccer Daily Discussion - 2/15/18 (Thursday)

Haters Guide to the 2020-21 Champions League Group Stage!

Prediction--Connahs Quay Nomads FC VS Dinamo Tbilisi, home win

Pre Match Thread: Liverpool F.C. vs Chelsea F.C. [UEFA Super Cup]

LIVERPOOL [vs] CHELSEA

[Pre-Match Thread] Liverpool vs Chelsea - Premier League

LIVERPOOL CHELSEA

Reading Career Mode - Part 2

Guide to 2019 K League

Guide to 2019 K League

Table of contents

2018 season recap & 2019 club guide

K League 1 club guide

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors

Gyeongnam FC

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Daegu FC

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Sangju Sangmu

FC Seoul

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K League 2 clubs

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Busan IPark

Daejeon Citizen

Gwangju FC

FC Anyang

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Bucheon FC 1995

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Start

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Odd

Brann

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Sarpsborg08

Molde

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PRE-MATCH THREAD - AC Milan vs Arsenal [UEFA Europa League - Ro16]

AC MILAN VS ARSENAL

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What are the odds of seeing 5 teams from the same league in the next Uefa Champions League?

A look at the coefficient as is