The 2011

Tippeligaen Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion ...

was the 67th completed season of top division football in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

. The competition began on 20 March 2011 and ended on 27 November 2011. Rosenborg were the defending champions, having secured their twenty-second League Championship on 24 October 2010.

Sogndal Sogndal is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The village of Hermansverk is the administrative center of Sogndal municipality. Other villages ...

, Sarpsborg 08 and

Fredrikstad Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a List of cities in Norway, city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Viken (county), Viken Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the ...

entered as the three promoted teams from the 2010 1. divisjon. They replaced

Hønefoss __NOTOC__ Hønefoss is a town and the administrative center of the municipality of Ringerike in Buskerud county, Norway. Hønefoss is an industrial center of inner Østlandet, containing several factories and other industry. As of 1 January 2008 ...

Kongsvinger Kongsvinger () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Glåmdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kongsvinger. Other settlements in the municipality include Aus ...

and

Sandefjord Sandefjord () is a city and the most populous municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The municipality of Sandefjord was established on 1 January 1838. The municipality of Sandar was merged into Sandefjord on 1 January 1969. On 1 ...

who were relegated to the 2011 1. divisjon. Molde won their first ever Eliteserien title with two games to spare. Molde's 58 points was a record low for an Eliteserien champion in the current 16-team system. The fastest goal in Norwegian top division history was scored this season on 15 April by

Erik Mjelde Erik Nævdal Mjelde (born 6 March 1984) is a Norwegian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Among his previous clubs are Sandefjord, Lillestrøm, SK Brann and Løv-Ham Fotball. Prior to joining Brann at the age of 16, he pl ...

in a 3–3 draw between his side Brann and Haugesund after 11 seconds.

Overview

At the end of the season, Sarpsborg 08 and Start were relegated to the 2012 1. divisjon, due to having finished in the bottom two positions in the standings. There was no two-legged promotion play-offs this season. On 30 October 2011, Molde became champions with two games to spare after their only remaining challenger, Rosenborg, lost 3–6 to Brann in the 28th round of the series. The trophy was their first ever league championship.

Teams

Sixteen teams competed in the league – the top thirteen teams from the previous season, and the three teams promoted from 1. divisjon. The promoted teams were

, Sarpsborg 08 and

. This was Sarpsborg 08's first top-flight season, while Sogndal and Fredrikstad returned to the top flight after an absence of six years and one season respectively. They replaced

(returning after their debut season in the first tier),

(relegated after a season's presence) and

(relegated after two years in the top flight).

Stadiums and locations

:''Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.

Managerial changes

League table

Positions by round

Results

Season statistics

Top scorers

†

Veigar Páll Gunnarsson Veigar Páll Gunnarsson (born 21 March 1980) is a retired Icelandic football striker. His transfer in 2011 led to football clubs Stabæk and Vålerenga being nominated for fines of Norwegian kroner 500,000 and 350,000 respectively, by a com ...

scored nine goals in sixteen games for Stabæk. Source
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Top assists

†

assisted five goals in sixteen games for Stabæk. ††

Jo Nymo Matland Jo Nymo Matland (born 21 April 1987) is a Norwegian football defender. Career Early career He signed a youth contract with Tromsø in 2004, He was a first-team squad member for the 2005 La Manga Cup. However, in the 2005 season he was loaned ...

assisted three goals in seventeen games for Sarpsborg 08. Source
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Discipline

Player

*Most yellow cards: 10 ** Fegor Ogude (Vålerenga) *Most red cards: 1 **21 players

Club

*Most yellow cards: 59 **Vålerenga *Most red cards: 4 **Fredrikstad **Lillestrøm

Attendances

Awards

Annual awards

Goalkeeper of the Year

The Goalkeeper of the Year award awared to Espen Bugge Pettersen ( Molde)

Defender of the Year

The Defender of the Year award awared to

Even Hovland Even Hovland (born 14 February 1989) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Allsvenskan club BK Häcken and the Norway national team. Club career In his youth, Hovland played for the local clubs Vadheim IL and IL ...

(

)

Midfielder of the Year

The Midfielder of the Year award awared to

Michael Barrantes Michael Barrantes Rojas (; born 4 October 1983) is a Costa Rican professional footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for Cartaginés. On 6 November 2011, he scored two goals for Aalesund in the 2011 Norwegian Cup Final, in a 2–1 w ...

( Aalesunds)

Striker of the Year

The Striker of the Year award awared to

Nikola Đurđić Nikola Đurđić (Serbian Cyrillic: Никола Ђурђић; born 1 April 1986) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a striker or as an attacking midfielder for Degerfors IF in Allsvenskan. Club career Early years Đurđić s ...

( Haugesund)

Coach of the Year

The Coach of the Year award awared to

Ole Gunnar Solskjær Ole Gunnar Solskjær (; born 26 February 1973) is a Norwegian professional football manager and former player who played as a forward who last managed Premier League club Manchester United. As a player, Solskjær spent the majority of his car ...

( Molde)

References

{{2011–12 in European Football (UEFA) Eliteserien seasons 1