VIF success interrupted Italy stay after one month:
Five games. Five wins. Table top. A poor setback.
That is the decision for Vålerenga after a more or less flawless start to the season.
An important ingredient has been the new signing Malin Sunde.
The 21-year-old from Spjelkavik has been a fixture in the Vålerenga defense after she surprisingly got ready for the Oslo club in February.
On Saturday, they took victory number five on the rap with a controlled 2-0 triumph against neighbor Kolbotn.
Huge upturn for Riise – first victory with Avaldsnes
– That was delicious. Kolbotn is better than the teams we have met earlier this season. We have started very well and have good conditions to reach far this year, says Sunde after the match at Intility Arena.
– Do not want to go into it so much
Sunde left Fiorentina towards the end of February after just over a month at the club.
«Personal reasons» was the explanation of the Italian team used on its websites.
The 21-year-old, who also has a past in Brøndby in Denmark, chooses his words carefully about what went wrong in Italy.
– There were actually different reasons for that. Personal reasons and various reasons why I felt it was wrong. I then made a choice to come back to Norway. I have previously been in Denmark and not been in Norway for a while now. It is very nice to come home. It was initially between Fiorentina and Vålerenga in January, so I am very happy that I could continue to come here to VIF. I am very happy with it, and I feel I have made the right choice, she says.
– Can you elaborate on what “different causes” mean, or is it a little secret?
– I do not want to go into it so much. Right now I just want to focus on my time here in Vålerenga. I want to focus on developing myself further as a football player. I do not want to think too much about the time in Fiorentina, really. It’s over.
– It was important to get in Sunde
Vålerenga was not bad to be when Sunde immediately became available on the market again, and coach Nils Lexerød is very satisfied with what he has put so far.
– She has had a good start to the season. It was important to get her in after Camilla Huseby was injured in the drive-up. We now have four good midfielders in the stable. I am sure that we can have a good defensive line all season, says Lexerød.
Sunde points to Lexerød as a reason why things have gone so far.
– It has been very nice to come here. I have played with some of the players on age-specific national teams before. I have had Nils Lexerød and Steinar Pedersen (assistant coach) on the national team before, and I am very happy with them. I feel like I have a lot to learn from them. Player group is fine, there is a lot of talent here and I feel we are evolving every day. I also got a lot of playing time, something that has been important to me. It’s nice to come to a hungry group that is constantly reaching for new goals. It’s a lot of fun, she says.
– We are Norway’s best team
On Wednesday, Vålerenga’s toughest opponent so far this season, at least on paper, is on the opposite half of the field: Lillestrøm.
Thorsnes and Tvedten fixed Vålerenga victory in the premiere
Runa Lillegård, who scored Vålerenga’s second and final goal against Kolbotn, gives an indication that it is hardly the self-confidence that will stop the Vålerenga women this season.
– It can not really get better. It has been a good start to the season, she says.
– Are you Norway’s best team?
– Yes, I would say that. The goal is top 2, and right now it looks good, she says.
Sunde has little to complain about during the Vålerenga stay so far.
– We have had a very nice run-up this year. Good matches, good training and things have been done properly. It has been a great start to the season, she says.