The 2016 season was

Molde Molde () is a town and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Peninsula, surrounding the Fannefjord and Moldefjord. The administrative centre of the m ...

's ninth consecutive year in

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 ...

, and their 40th season in the top flight of

Norwegian football Association football, Football is the most popular sport in Norway in terms of active membership (by television viewership football comes third, behind winter sports biathlon and cross-country skiing (sport), cross-country skiing). The Football A ...

. Along with the Tippeligaen, the club also competed in the

Norwegian Cup The Norwegian Football Cup ( no, Norgesmesterskapet i fotball for herrer) is the main knockout cup competition in Norwegian football. It is run by the Football Association of Norway and has been contested since 1902, making it the oldest football ...

and

2015–16 UEFA Europa League The 2015–16 UEFA Europa League was the 45th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the seventh season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. The 2016 UEFA Europa League Final w ...

. The 2016 Eliteserien season is the first season since 2004 without former club captain

Daniel Berg Hestad Daniel Berg Hestad (born 30 July 1975) is a Norwegian football manager and a former player, who played as a central midfielder, most notably for Molde. He is the manager of Molde 2 and the Under-19 squad of Molde. With 666 official appearances, ...

, who retired after the Europa League round of 32 defeat against Sevilla on 25 February 2016. He played 666 games for the club and won 7 trophies, more than any other Molde player.

Season events

Club legend Daniel Berg Hestad had earlier announced that he was going to retire after the 2015 season, but changed his mind because of the ongoing successes of the club in

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

. Initially, his contract expired on 31 December 2015, but he was given a special deal from the club allowing him to play for the club until they were knocked out from the Europa League. On 25 February 2016, Molde were defeated 1–3 on aggregate by Sevilla in the round of 32 and Berg Hestad retired with the 1–0 win at home against Sevilla as his last game. After the season was finished, Ruben Gabrielsen was named Molde FK Player of the season through a vote on the club's website. Best player in the under-23 category was Petter Strand.

Squad

Reserve squad

Transfers

In

Out

Loans out

Released

Trial

Friendlies

Competitions

Tippeligaen

Results summary

Results by round

Results

Table

Norwegian Cup

UEFA Europa League

Knockout phase

As winners of group A in the group stage, Molde were seeded for the Europa League round of 32 draw, along with the other group stage winners and the best four third-placed finishers in the Champions League group stage. The draw took place on 14 December 2015 and saw Molde drawn against two-time defending Europa League champions

Sevilla Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Gua ...

, with the away tie taking place on 18 February and the home tie on 25 February 2016. Molde lost 0–3 away in

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

. In the second leg, Molde won 1–0 through a goal scored by Eirik Hestad in what became club legend

's 666th and final appearance for Molde. Molde exited the tournament, losing 1–3 on aggregate. Sevilla went on to win their third consecutive title in the competition.

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

, - , colspan="14", ''Players away from Molde on loan:'' , - , colspan="14", ''Players who appeared for Molde no longer at the club:''

Goal scorers

Disciplinary record

References

{{2016 in Norwegian football

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...