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Real deal LilleMay 28 2006
By Neil Farrington, The Sunday Sun
Newcastle beware - their likeliest obstacle to the UEFA Cup are hellbent on doing a Middlesbrough in next season's competition.
Not surprising really, as the man charged with making Norwegian club Lillestrom a big hitter in European football is a Boro old boy . . .
And one wanting to avenge a painful memory against the Magpies, with help from a few other familiar names and faces.
In two years as their chief executive, Jan-Aage Fjortoft has steered Lillestrom out of debt and to the top of the Norwegian league.
Now, his sights are set on winning the right to take on the Toon in the Intertoto Cup - and then springing a huge surprise.
Lillestrom must beat either Iceland's IBK Keflavik or Northern Ireland's Dungannon Swifts to face off against United next month for UEFA Cup football next season.
But Fjortoft (above) is confident not only that they will meet Newcastle, but that they can match them.
Why? United may be underprepared and, just possibly, over-confident.
"We hope Newcastle do what every team did to Boro in this season's UEFA Cup - underestimate us," says Fjortoft, who spent almost two years on Teesside in the mid-90s.
"We would not be happy just to play Newcastle. With us in mid-season and them only just back in pre-season training, we feel we could win that tie.
"I went to Boro's semi-final game against Steaua Bucharest and saw a banner saying `A Small Town In Europe. . .' That is a major inspiration to us.
"I can't tell you how much we want to be in the UEFA Cup. We have put this club back on top in Norway but we want to make our mark further afield.
"We want to keep going forward, and the way to do that is by taking the club into Europe."
And Fjortoft, now 36, will relish a return to St James's Park despite still wincing at the memory of his last visit.
"I collided with the post when I scored an equaliser for Barnsley there in 1998 and hurt myself quite badly," he recalls.
"Unfortunately, Alan Shearer scored a late winner and my team-mates wouldn't even believe I had touched the ball for my goal."
But Fjortoft is not the only senior figure at Lillestrom who knows how to put one past Newcastle.
Uwe Rosler, formerly of Manchester City and Southampton, is the club's coach.
Rosler scored against United during his time with the Saints and is maintaining his attacking mentality since making the move into the dug-out.
"Both Uwe and I both believe you can't have too many strikers," adds Fjortoft. "That's why we went out and spent £800,000 on Olivier Occean, a Canadian international, in December."
Rosler is assisted by former Leeds and Oldham defender Gunnar Halle, and Liverpool star John Arne Riise's brother, Bjorn Helge, is a key man in their midfield.
First things first though, and Lillestrom's need to see off either Keflavik or Dungannon.
"I don't know a lot about those teams," admits Fjortoft. "But we have so many Icelandic players in Norway that there can't be many left in Iceland!
"Of course, every team deserves respect. But we would be devastated not to go through."
Real deal LilleMay 28 2006
By Neil Farrington, The Sunday Sun
Newcastle beware - their likeliest obstacle to the UEFA Cup are hellbent on doing a Middlesbrough in next season's competition.
Not surprising really, as the man charged with making Norwegian club Lillestrom a big hitter in European football is a Boro old boy . . .
And one wanting to avenge a painful memory against the Magpies, with help from a few other familiar names and faces.
In two years as their chief executive, Jan-Aage Fjortoft has steered Lillestrom out of debt and to the top of the Norwegian league.
Now, his sights are set on winning the right to take on the Toon in the Intertoto Cup - and then springing a huge surprise.
Lillestrom must beat either Iceland's IBK Keflavik or Northern Ireland's Dungannon Swifts to face off against United next month for UEFA Cup football next season.
But Fjortoft (above) is confident not only that they will meet Newcastle, but that they can match them.
Why? United may be underprepared and, just possibly, over-confident.
"We hope Newcastle do what every team did to Boro in this season's UEFA Cup - underestimate us," says Fjortoft, who spent almost two years on Teesside in the mid-90s.
"We would not be happy just to play Newcastle. With us in mid-season and them only just back in pre-season training, we feel we could win that tie.
"I went to Boro's semi-final game against Steaua Bucharest and saw a banner saying `A Small Town In Europe. . .' That is a major inspiration to us.
"I can't tell you how much we want to be in the UEFA Cup. We have put this club back on top in Norway but we want to make our mark further afield.
"We want to keep going forward, and the way to do that is by taking the club into Europe."
And Fjortoft, now 36, will relish a return to St James's Park despite still wincing at the memory of his last visit.
"I collided with the post when I scored an equaliser for Barnsley there in 1998 and hurt myself quite badly," he recalls.
"Unfortunately, Alan Shearer scored a late winner and my team-mates wouldn't even believe I had touched the ball for my goal."
But Fjortoft is not the only senior figure at Lillestrom who knows how to put one past Newcastle.
Uwe Rosler, formerly of Manchester City and Southampton, is the club's coach.
Rosler scored against United during his time with the Saints and is maintaining his attacking mentality since making the move into the dug-out.
"Both Uwe and I both believe you can't have too many strikers," adds Fjortoft. "That's why we went out and spent £800,000 on Olivier Occean, a Canadian international, in December."
Rosler is assisted by former Leeds and Oldham defender Gunnar Halle, and Liverpool star John Arne Riise's brother, Bjorn Helge, is a key man in their midfield.
First things first though, and Lillestrom's need to see off either Keflavik or Dungannon.
"I don't know a lot about those teams," admits Fjortoft. "But we have so many Icelandic players in Norway that there can't be many left in Iceland!
"Of course, every team deserves respect. But we would be devastated not to go through."
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