Rosenborg gun for glory

By Claire Nash
 
Rosenborg BK coach Ola By Rise insists his side have nothing to fear ahead of their home match against Arsenal FC.

Winning ways
The Norwegian champions ended their run of run of three straight defeats with a 2-1 win over Sogndal IL at the weekend, attributing it to their confidence-boosting performance in their UEFA Champions League opener against Panathinaikos FC.

Panathinaikos promise
Rosenborg lost 2-1 to their Greek counterparts two weeks ago, but By Rise took great heart from his side's display. "If we can perform in the future like we did then, we will have a good chance of qualifying for the next stage," he told uefa.com.

'Well prepared'
That confidence has continued ahead of the visit of Arsène Wenger's English champions, whose unbeaten run in domestic football was extended to 47 games at the weekend. "It's clear Arsenal are the favourites at Lerkendal," By Rise said. "But we must make sure we score when we get the opportunities. We are very well prepared for the Arsenal game."

European heritage
The Trondheim side are back in the Champions League group stages after a one-year absence, having competed in all eight of the previous competitions under coaching legend Nils Arne Eggen. Eggen's successor Åge Hareide is now coach of the Norwegian national team, having won the Norwegian title in his only season in charge, and now By Rise has inherited a side that has won every Tippeligaen title since 1992.

Pride restored
By Rise's side were low on confidence after losing league games 4-1 to Vålerenga IF and 3-0 to Odd Grenland but came back strongly in their last European performance, when a late Frode Johnsen goal threatened an impressive comeback to overturn two Ezequiel González strikes. "We got our pride back against Panathinaikos," said By Rise. "We proved against Panathinaikos that we are as strong as previous Rosenborg teams in this competition. The game in Greece has made us stronger ahead of the Arsenal game."

Good record
Rosenborg's home record in the competition has been impressive in the past - another reason for confidence in Norway. "We have had tight contests against a lot of the best teams in Europe at Lerkendal such as Real Madrid [CF], [FC] Porto, [FC] Bayern München and [FC] Internazionale [Milano]. Only AC Milan and [FC] Spartak Moskva have outplayed us. We have done well against a lot of good teams so why not Arsenal?"

Crucial match
By Rise's confidence has seeped into his players as well, and goalkeeper Espen Johnsen is hopeful that Arsenal's dominance may cause a three-way tussle for second place alongside PSV Eindhoven and Panathinaikos. He said: "It is difficult to say how many points we will need to progress from this group but I think the game in the Netherlands against PSV could be crucial."

On the right track
Leading scorer Johnsen urged his team-mates to make home advantage count. "We played a perfect game tactically against Panathinaikos and created so many chances that we should have won," he said. "But you get fewer chances in Europe than at home so you have to take the chances you get."