2012 Tippeligaen


The 2012 Tippeligaen was the 67th completed season of top division football in Norway. The competition began on 23 March 2012 and ended on 18 November 2012, with a summer break from 28 May to 30 June. Molde were the defending champions, while Hønefoss and Sandnes Ulf entered as the promoted teams from the 2011 1. divisjon. They replaced Start and Sarpsborg 08 who were relegated to the 2012 1. divisjon.
On 11 November 2011, Molde won the title with one matchday left to play after a 1–0 home win over Hønefoss. It was their second consecutive league title and also their second top-flight title overall.

Season summary

were leading the league most of the season, but four matches before the end of the season there were three teams competing for the title. Rosenborg lost out on the title-race after losing to Strømsgodset and Molde. Molde secured the title in the 29th round after they won 1-0 at home, while Strømsgodset lost 2-1 against Sandnes Ulf.
Stabæk were relegated after being positioned at the bottom of the table throughout the season. Ahead of the last round, four teams were fighting against relegation, but Fredrikstad lost their match against the league-winners Molde and were relegated, while Sandnes Ulf finished 14th and played relegation play-offs against Ullensaker/Kisa, the sixth-placed team in the 1. divisjon. Sandnes Ulf won the play-offs 7–1 on aggregate, and were not relegated.
The average attendance in 2012 were 7,014 spectators, down from 7,995 in 2011, which was the lowest average attendance in Tippeligaen since 2003.

Teams

Sixteen teams competed in the league – the top fourteen teams from the previous season and the two teams promoted from the 1. divisjon The promoted teams were Hønefoss and Sandnes Ulf. They replaced Sarpsborg 08 and Start.

Stadiums and locations

TeamLocationArenaTurfCap.Manager
Aalesund11ÅlesundColor Line StadionArtificial10,778 Kjetil Rekdal
Brann56BergenBrann StadionNatural17,824 Rune Skarsfjord
Fredrikstad42FredrikstadFredrikstad StadionNatural13,300 Trond Amundsen
Haugesund6HaugesundHaugesund StadionNatural5,000 Jostein Grindhaug
Hønefoss2HønefossAka ArenaArtificial4,000 Leif Gunnar Smerud
Lillestrøm49LillestrømÅråsen stadionNatural11,637 Magnus Haglund
Molde36MoldeAker StadionNatural11,800 Ole Gunnar Solskjær
Odd Grenland31SkienSkagerak ArenaArtificial13,500 Dag-Eilev Fagermo
Rosenborg49TrondheimLerkendal StadionNatural21,850 Jan Jönsson
Sandnes Ulf3SandnesSandnes IdrettsparkNatural3,850 Asle Andersen
Sogndal14SogndalFosshaugane CampusNatural5,402 Jonas Olsson
Stabæk17BærumNadderud StadionNatural7,000 Petter Belsvik
Strømsgodset25DrammenMarienlyst StadionArtificial7,500 Ronny Deila
Tromsø26TromsøAlfheim StadionArtificial7,500 Per-Mathias Høgmo
Vålerenga52OsloUllevaal StadionNatural25,572 Martin Andresen
Viking63StavangerViking StadionNatural16,600 Kjell Jonevret

AalesundBrannFredrikstadHaugesund
Color Line StadionBrann StadionFredrikstad StadionHaugesund Stadion
Capacity: 10,778Capacity: 17,824Capacity: 13,300Capacity: 5,000
HønefossLillestrømMoldeOdd Grenland
Aka ArenaÅråsen StadionAker StadionSkagerak Arena
Capacity: 4,000Capacity: 11,637Capacity: 11,800Capacity: 13,500
RosenborgSandnes UlfSogndalStabæk
Lerkendal StadionSandnes IdrettsparkFosshaugane CampusNadderud Stadion
Capacity: 21,850Capacity: 3,850Capacity: 5,402Capacity: 7,000
StrømsgodsetTromsøVålerengaViking
Marienlyst StadionAlfheim StadionUllevaal StadionViking Stadion
Capacity: 7,500Capacity: 7,500Capacity: 25,572Capacity: 16,600

Managerial changes

TeamOutgoing managerManner of departureDate of vacancyIncoming managerDate of appointmentTable
Sogndal Harald AabrekkEnd of contract31 December 2011 Jonas Olsson1 January 2012Pre-Season
Lillestrøm Petter Belsvik
Magnus Powell 		End of contract31 December 2011 Magnus Haglund1 January 2012Pre-Season
Stabæk Jörgen LennartssonSigned by IF Elfsborg31 December 2011 Petter Belsvik2 January 2012Pre-Season
Fredrikstad Tom Freddy AuneResigned10 May 2012 Trond Amundsen10 May 201213th
Viking Åge HareideSacked9 June 2012 Kjell Jonevret19 June 201210th

League table

Positions by round

Relegation play-offs

At the end of the season, Stabæk and Fredrikstad were relegated directly to 1. divisjon, and will be replaced by Start and Sarpsborg who were directly promoted.
Five teams entered a play-off for the last Tippeligaen spot in the 2013 season. These were:
The four 1. divisjon teams first played a single game knockout tournament, with the winner advancing to a two-legged tie against the Tippeligaen team for the 16th and final spot in the 2013 season. Sandnes Ulf retained their Tippeligaen spot with an aggregate 7–1 win over Ull/Kisa.
;Results
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Sandnes Ulf won 7–1 on aggregate.
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Results

Season statistics

Top scorers

Source:

Top assists

Source:

Discipline

Player