OSLO, Norway (AP) _ Norway's most successful soccer club, Rosenborg, named Per Joar Hansen as its new head coach Tuesday.
The club's 39-year-old assistant coach succeeds his former boss, Ola By Rise, who was asked to step down last month despite leading Rosenborg to its 13th consecutive Norwegian elite league title.
Rosenborg also made the Champions League nine times in the past 10 years, and is accustomed to being unassailable in Norwegian soccer. According to Norwegian media, Rise was asked to step down partly because of complaints from key players about his coaching style.
"We are different people," said Hansen after the announcement in Trondheim, the central Norway city that is Rosenborg's home. "How different is something we may see at this time next year."
Before deciding on Hansen, Rosenborg had unsuccessfully sought to recruit Trond Sollied, the Norwegian head coach of Belgian team Club Brugge.
The new Rosenborg head coach was recruited as Rise's assistant from a post as head coach for Sweden's Sundsvall. He played for Rosenborg in the late 1980s. His contract begins immediately and lasts through 2005.
Another Rosenborg assistant coach, Rune Skarsfjord, will remain on the staff as Rise's deputy.
Nils Arne Eggen, the former head coach credited with building Rosenborg into a European-class team, will remain part of the staff in an advisory capacity, as will his long-time assistant Bjoern Hansen.
"The 'council of elders'," as the new head coach jokingly called Eggen and Hansen "will give us a lot of professional insight. I think this can turn out well, and is clearly the best solution we have at the moment."
Even though the Norwegian season is over, Rosenborg is gearing up for Scandinavia's new Royal League winter season by meeting Sweden's Djurgaarden at home in Trondheim on Thursday.
The new league involves teams from Norway, Sweden and Denmark playing against each other.
