PORTLAND, OREGON – Over the last 12 months, there’s been a lot of talk about the spirit within Vancouver Whitecaps FC’s locker room.
“It’s a special group,” we’ve heard numerous times.
Players and staff have referred to the club as a “family.”
And being a part of such a club is nothing new for Whitecaps FC goalkeeper coach Marius Rovde.
Rovde has been reminiscing about his time with Norwegian side Stabaek Fotball this week, as they’re Vancouver’s next opponent in the Simple Invitational (5 p.m. PT kickoff on Wednesday at Providence Park – live stream on whitecapsfc.com and TSN 1410 radio).
The Trondheim, Norway native spent three years with Stabaek as a goalkeeper in the ‘90s.
“It was like a big family club,” Rovde told whitecapsfc.com. “Everybody cared. You could be yourself, you could be different. It doesn’t matter. Just be yourself, be honest, and you’re welcome. It was a fantastic club to be a part of.”
Rovde referred to his time at Stabaek as his “best years in Norwegian football.” The highlight was winning the Norwegian Football Cup, a prestigious national title, in 1998.
It was Stabaek’s first-ever major championship and it came against Norwegian giant Rosenborg, Rodve’s boyhood club that released him a few years prior.
His father had been a Rosenborg season ticket holder for 30 years.
“He was sitting in a Rosenborg jacket with a Stabaek strip underneath, so when we scored in extra time he threw his jacket,” Rovde laughed.
“It was amazing,” added Rovde, who played in the Cup quarter-final. “It meant a lot to me.”
Part of what made the championship so special was the relationships Rovde built with his teammates. He said there were a group of six or seven players who would always play card games, and the losers would have to pay the price by doing some “strange, strange things.”
“The sports director was running around trying to find us because he was worried about what we’d do next,” Rovde laughed. “It was a very different bunch, but a special group.”
Rovde left Stabaek in 1999 for a “new challenge,” but it’s still a club he holds close to his heart.
He still has a few friends within the club – their current sporting director, for example, played centre back when Rovde was a goalkeeper there – and he’s kept tabs on their progress even after making the move to North America in 2009.
After a year in the Norwegian First Division (second highest level of soccer in Norway), Stabaek was promoted back to the Tippeligaen, or the Premier League, ahead of the 2014 season. The general consensus, according to Rovde, was that they’d get relegated again immediately considering they have the lowest budget in the league “by a mile.”
But that didn’t happen.
“Everyone said they were doomed,” he said. “Every newspaper, every sports channel said they’d get relegated. Then they got (former U.S. men’s national team head coach) Bob Bradley and finished ninth (out of 16 teams), which was a bit of an overachievement in many people’s eyes.”
Stabaek are now preparing for their 2015 Premier League campaign. However, they’re just getting started since the 2015 Tippeligaen doesn’t kick off until the first week of April.
“The Blue Ones,” as they go by, played to a scoreless draw with Chicago Fire on Sunday in their Simple Invitational opener.
“I think it will be a close game,” Rovde said Wednesday’s tilt with Vancouver. “But you have to remember it’s very early for them. They’ll be where we were two weeks ago maybe. But they will be well-organized, hard workers, and decent footballers. It will be a good game.”
Kickoff for Wednesday's match is set for 5 p.m. PT at Providence Park. The match will be streamed live on whitecapsfc.com and TSN 1410 radio.
Participate in the best sporting experience in Vancouver! The 2015 Whitecaps FC season kicks off on March 7 versus Toronto FC at BC Place. Whitecaps FC Season Tickets are now on sale. In addition to Season Tickets, Whitecaps FC offer a flexible range of ticket products, including Half-Season Packs, 5-Packs, Student Half-Season Tickets, and a Youth Soccer Half-Season Ticket. For more information on 2015 Season Tickets, visit whitecapsfc.com/tickets.
