Valur

Knattspyrnufélagið Valur is an Icelandic athletic club based in Reykjavík, Iceland. The club is situated close to the city centre, in the east side of town, on the former farmland of Hlíðarendi. The club was originally formed as part of the local YMCA to play association football, but later incorporated handball and basketball. Valur's handball section reached the EHF Champions League final in 1980. It has won the Icelandic league 22 times, more than any other Icelandic handball team.

This article is about the sports club from Reykjavík. For the one from Reyðarfjörður, see Valur Reyðarfirði.

Valur
Full nameKnattspyrnufélagið Valur
Nickname(s)Valsarar
Hlíðarendapiltar
Founded11 May 1911 (1911-05-11)
GroundHlíðarendi
Reykjavík
Iceland
Capacity1,524
Club ChairmanÞorgrímur Þráinsson[1]
Football ChairmanE. Börkur Edvardsson
ManagerHeimir Guðjónsson
LeagueÚrvalsdeild
20201st*
WebsiteClub website

In 2019, Valur women's teams won the national championships in basketball, football and handball, the first time that one club held all three major titles.[2] The Valur women's basketball team also won all four major titles during the year and 47 of their 50 games. For this feat, it was selected as the Icelandic Sports Team of the Year by the Icelandic Association of Sports Journalists in an annual ceremony held by the National Olympic and Sports Association of Iceland.[3]

History

The club was founded on 11 May 1911, as a subdivision of KFUM, the Icelandic YMCA. Later that year its name was changed to Valur, which is an Icelandic word for gyrfalcon. In 1930 the club won its first national title, and it has been amongst the best football teams in the country ever since. In 1939 Valur bought the farmland of Hlíðarendi which retains its name even today, where they now have a football field and an indoor arena.

Originally Valur played only football, but around 1940 the club got involved in more sports, starting with men's handball. They won their first national handball title in 1940, and reached the final of the EHF Champions League in 1980. In the post-war era (1948), a women's handball division was started at Valur, and in the 1970s a women's football division was added. In 1970, Körfuknattleiksfélag Reykjavíkur (Reykjavík Basketball Club, KFR) joined Valur and became their basketball division.[4]

Valur is the most successful sports club in ballgame with 120 titles across football, handball and basketball in both men's and women's Icelandic and Cup championships. It is the wealthiest sports club in Iceland.[5]

Stadia

The grounds at Hlíðarendi were completely renovated in the years between 2004 and 2007. Valur's football teams currently play their home games at Valsvöllur and basketball and handball teams in the Valshöllin, the first section of the new grounds to be utilised. The football pitch was used for the first time in the 2008 season.

In June 2007 the club signed a 5-year sponsorship deal with Vodafone.[6] In June 2018 the club signed a five-year sponsorship deal with Origo which saw the football stadium being renamed Origovöllurinn and the indoor stadium being renamed Origo-höllin (English: Origo arena).[7]

Basketball

Men's basketball
Main article: Valur men's basketball

The Valur men's basketball team was founded as Gosi on 25 December 1951[8] and was one of the founding members of the Icelandic men's top division.[9] On 22 December 1957 the club changed its name to Körfuknattleiksfélag Reykjavíkur (Reykjavík Basketball Club) and played under that name until 1970.[10] On 3 October 1970 the club merged into Valur sports club and became its basketball department.[11][12]

Under the new name it has won the Icelandic Championship two times, 1980 and 1983,[13] and the Icelandic cup three times, 1980, 1981 and 1983.[14]

Titles
  • 1980, 1983
  • 1980, 1981, 1983

Women's basketball
Main article: Valur women's basketball

Valur first played in the Icelandic top-tier basketball league in 1993. In April 2019, the team won its first ever national championship when it beat Keflavík in the Úrvalsdeild finals 3-0.[16][17]

Football

European competition

Valur first competed in Europe at the 1966–67 European Cup Winners' Cup Preliminary Round, playing to a draw (1–1) in its first match against Standard Liège, ultimately losing on aggregate 9–2. Since then, the club has participated in European competition 20 times, never advancing beyond the second round of any tournament.

Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate
1966–67 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Preliminary Round Standard Liège 1–1 1–8 2–9
1967–68 European Cup First round Jeunesse Esch 1–1 3–3 4–4(a)
Second Round Vasas 0–6 1–5 1–11
1968–69 European Cup First round Benfica 0–0 1–8 1–8
1974–75 UEFA Cup First round Portadown 0–0 1–2 1–2
1975–76 European Cup Winners' Cup First round Celtic 0–2 0–7 0–9
1977–78 European Cup First round Glentoran 1–0 0–2 1–2
1978–79 European Cup Winners' Cup First round 1. FC Magdeburg 1–1 0–4 1–5
1979–80 European Cup First round Hamburg 0–3 1–2 1–5
1981–82 European Cup First round Aston Villa 0–2 0–5 0–7
1985–86 UEFA Cup First round Nantes 2–1 0–3 2–4
1986–87 European Cup First round Juventus 0–4 0–7 0–11
1987–88 UEFA Cup First round Wismut Aue 1–1 0–0 1–1(a)
1988–89 European Cup First round Monaco 1–0 0–2 1–2
1989–90 European Cup Winners' Cup First round BFC Dynamo 1–2 1–2 2–4
1991–92 European Cup Winners' Cup First round Sion 0–1 1–1 1–2
1992–93 European Cup Winners' Cup First round Boavista 0–0 0–3 0–3
1993–94 European Cup Winners' Cup Qualifying round MyPa 3–1 1–0 4–1
First round Aberdeen 0–3 0–4 0–7
2006–07 UEFA Cup First qualifying round Brøndby IF 0–0 1–3 1–3
2008–09 UEFA Champions League First qualifying round BATE Borisov 0–1 0–2 0–3
2016–17 UEFA Europa League First qualifying round Brøndby IF 1–4 0–6 1–10
2017–18 UEFA Europa League First qualifying round Ventspils 1–0 0–0 1–0
Second qualifying round Domžale 1–2 2–3 3–5
2018–19 UEFA Champions League First qualifying round Rosenborg 1–0 1–3 2–3
UEFA Europa League Second qualifying round FC Santa Coloma 3–0 0–1 3–1
Third qualifying round Sheriff Tiraspol 2–1 0–1 2–2 (a)
2019–20 UEFA Champions League First qualifying round Maribor 0–3 0–2 0–5
UEFA Europa League Second qualifying round Ludogorets Razgrad 1–1 0–4 1–5
2021–22 UEFA Champions League First qualifying round
Current squad
As of 26 August 2020

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  ISL Hannes Þór Halldórsson
2 DF  ISL Birkir Már Sævarsson
4 MF  ISL Einar Karl Ingvarsson
5 MF  ISL Birkir Heimisson
6 DF  SWE Sebastian Starke Hedlund
7 MF  ISL Haukur Páll Sigurðsson (Captain)
9 FW  DEN Patrick Pedersen
10 MF  ISL Kristinn Freyr Sigurðsson
11 FW  ISL Sigurður Egill Lárusson
12 GK  ISL Torfi Geir Halldórsson
13 DF  DEN Rasmus Christiansen
14 FW  ISL Aron Bjarnason (on loan from Újpest)
No. Pos. Nation Player
15 FW  DEN Kasper Høgh
17 MF  ISL Andri Adolphsson
18 MF  ISL Kristófer André Kjeld Cardoso
19 MF  DEN Lasse Petry
20 DF  ISL Orri Sigurður Ómarsson
21 DF  FRO Magnus Egilsson
23 DF  ISL Eiður Sigurbjörnsson
24 DF  ISL Valgeir Lunddal Friðriksson
25 GK  ISL Sveinn Sigurður Jóhannesson
26 MF  ISL Sigurdur Dagsson
77 FW  FRO Kaj Leo í Bartalsstovu
Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF  ISL Kári Daníel Alexandersson (to Njarðvík until 11 October 2020)
— MF  ISL Luis Carlos Cabrera Solys (to KH until 4 October 2020)
— MF  ISL Ólafur Karl Finsen (to FH until 1 November 2020)

Coaches

Honours

Úrvalsdeild[18]

  • Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the season was suspended with four games left to play. Valur was handed the title.

Icelandic Cup

  • Champions (11): 1965, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2005, 2015, 2016

Icelandic League Cup

Icelandic Super Cup

  • Champions (11): 1977, 1979, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1993, 2006, 2008, 2016, 2017, 2018

Women's football
Main article: Valur women's football

The Valur women's football team has won the Icelandic championship 10 times[19] and the Icelandic Women's Cup 13 times.[20][21][18]

Titles
  • 1978, 1986, 1988, 1989, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
  • 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1995, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011

Handball

Men's handball
Main article: Valur men's handball

Titles
  • 1940, 1941, 1942, 1944, 1947, 1948, 1951, 1955, 1973, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2007, 2017
  • Cup Champions: 10
  • 1974, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1998, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2016, 2017
  • Icelandic Super Cup: 1
  • 2009
  • Final 1980

Women's handball
Main article: Valur women's handball

Titles
  • 1962, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1983, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2019
  • Cup Champions: 7
  • 1988, 1993, 2000, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2019

Further reading

References
  1. "Þorgrímur Þráinsson kjörinn formaður Vals" (in Icelandic). valur.is. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  2. Valur Páll Eiríksson (29 December 2019). "Viðburðaríkt ár Valskvenna gert upp". RÚV (in Icelandic). Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  3. Ingvi Þór Sæmundsson (29 December 2019). "Kvennalið Vals í körfubolta lið ársins 2019". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  4. "Saga – Knattspyrnufélagið Valur" (in Icelandic). valur.is. Archived from the original on 6 October 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  5. "Sagan af því hvernig Valur varð ríkasta íþróttafélag á Íslandi". Kjarninn (in Icelandic). 17 May 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  6. "Valsmenn kynna ný íþróttamannvirki" (in Icelandic). ruv.is. Retrieved 4 October 2009.
  7. Anton Ingi Leifsson (27 December 2018). "Íþróttasvæðið á Hlíðarenda tekur upp nafn Origo". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  8. Körfuknattleiksdeild stofnuð – K.F.R. sameinast Val
  9. Fyrsta Íslandsmótið í körfuknattleik á morgun
  10. „Körfuknattleiksfélag Reykjavíkur" í stað „Gosi"
  11. Körfuknattleiksdeild stofnuð – K.F.R. sameinast Val
  12. KFR lagt niður og gert að körfuknattleiksdeild Vals
  13. Íslandsmeistarar – Úrvalsdeild karla
  14. Bikarkeppni – Meistaraflokkur karla
  15. "Körfuknattleiksdeild – Titlar" (in Icelandic). valur.is. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  16. Valur Páll Eiríksson (27 April 2019). "Valskonur Íslandsmeistarar í fyrsta sinn". RÚV (in Icelandic). Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  17. Anton Ingi Leifsson (28 April 2019). "Rúmlega þrettán þúsund dagar á milli Íslandsmeistaratitla á Hlíðarenda". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  18. "Knattspyrnudeild – Titlar" (in Icelandic). valur.is. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  19. "Valur Íslandsmeistari eftir 8:1 sigur". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 4 September 2010. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  20. Óskar Ófeigur Jónsson (22 August 2011). "Bikardrottningin í Valsliðinu". Fréttablaðið (in Icelandic). p. 30. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  21. Ólafur Már Þórisson (22 August 2011). "Tilfinningin er yndisleg". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). pp. 4–5. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  22. "Handknattleiksdeild – Titlar" (in Icelandic). valur.is. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  23. "HSÍ meistaraskrár" (in Icelandic). Handball Association of Iceland. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
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