FCBARCELONA.CAT

15.06.2010 11:20

Two European ties and one friendly in Norway

Manel Tomàs

Barca have never before played a friendly game against a Norwegian team, though they have faced outfits from Norway twice in European competition.

Only once have the team played in Norway, with three games held in Barcelona.

In the 1968/69 Cup Winners Cup, Barca were drawn to play SOFK Lyn Oslo, whose players formed the core of the national team, in the quarter finals. This was the first time a Norwegian team had progressed so far in Europe and UEFA faced a serious logistics problem due to the intense Scandinavian winter, which meant Oslo could not play at home either in January when the game was due to be held, nor before the cut off date for the tie to be finished by mid March.

Barca play away… at the Nou Camp

As a result, UEFA came to an agreement with the Norwegian Federation for both legs of the tie to be played at the Nou Camp and on January 30 1969, Barca came out at their home stadium … as the away team, though it’s not clear if they had to use the away team changing rooms!

Close result

Goals from Zaldúa, Pellicer and Gallego gave Barca a narrow 3-2 win ahead of the return game a week later, when the Norwegians, now really playing as the away team, raced to a 0-2 lead. Pellicer and Gallego drew Barca level though and the threat of a third play off game – again at the Nou Camp, was avoided.

Celebrations in Norway

Many years later, Barca made their first trip to Norway when they met Víking FK Stavanger in the 1992/93 Champions League. Johan Cruyff’s men were made to work hard for a 1-0 win in the first leg on September 16th 1992, with an 87th minute goal from Amor giving them the lead in the tie. It was a tense second leg as the Norwegian’s defensive tactics kept the game goalless and Barca just squeezed through.

The Norwegian fans -15,000 were crammed into the Viking Stadium – celebrated Barca’s first visit to their country in a party like atmosphere and holding the European Champions to a goalless draw was seen as a great success. As the Viking’s coach Bjarne Berntsen put it: “if we’d beaten Barca the whole of the country would have been partying”.