Northern Ireland v Norway Official Match Programme

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NORWAY’S FAMOUS COACH
Egil Olsen is the most successful national
coach in his country's footballing history.
The 69-year-old former midfielder, who
earned his nickname Drillo for his dribbling
skills on the wing, had two spells in charge
of Norway as well as winning 16 caps
between 1964 and 1971.
Olsen took Norway to two World Cup finals
in his first spell in charge between 1990
and 1998 - to the USA in 1994 and France
four years later where his charges achieved
arguably their greatest ever result, defeating
Brazil 2-1 in the opening round.
After WC 1998 he returned to club football,
coaching Valerenga (Oslo) until he joined
Wimbledon in June 1999. But his spell
with the Dons ended in tears when he
was sacked two games before the end of
the 1999-2000 season, and shortly after
Wimbledon were relegated after 15 years in
the top flight.
Spells with Norway’s U19s, club side
Fredrikstad and the Iraq national team
followed before he became Norway’s
national coach for a second time in
January 2009. And Norway celebrated a
famous victory in his return game: away to
Germany in Dusseldorf (1-0) in February
2009.
He almost took his charges to Euro 2012,
just missing out on the play-offs. But that
momentum was not continued when
Norway finished fourth in their World
Cup 2014 qualifying campaign. He was
dismissed in September 2013 with Per-
Mathias Hogmo taking his place.
Egil Olsen, Norway’s most famous coach, was in charge
when the Norwegians last played in Belfast in 2012.
LAGERBACK AND
NORTHERN IRELAND!
Tonight’s match will be the third time Lars
Lagerback has been in charge of a team to
play against Northern Ireland. His first two
matches were as coach of Sweden in the Euro
2008 qualifiers. In March 2007 Sweden lost
2-1 at Windsor Park and seven months later
Northern Ireland drew 1-1 against the Swedes
in Solna.
MOST CAPPED PLAYERS
John Arne Riise 2000-13 110
Monaco, Liverpool, Roma, Fulham
Thorbjørn Svenssen 1947-62 104
Sandefjord
Henning Berg 1992-2004 100
Lillestrøm, Blackburn,
Manchester United, Rangers
Erik Thorstvedt 1982-96 97
Viking, Eik, Borussia M'Gladbach,
IFK Göteborg, Tottenham
John Carew 1998-2011 91
Vålerenga, Rosenborg, Valencia,
Roma, Besiktas, Lyon, Aston Villa,
Stoke, West Ham
Brede Hangeland 2002-14 91
Viking, FC København, Fulham
Oyvind Leonhardsen 1990-2003 86
Molde, Rosenborg, Wimbledon, Liverpool,
Tottenham, Aston Villa
TOP GOALSCORERS
Jørgen Juve 45 caps 1928-1937 33
Lyn
Einar Gundersen 33 caps 1917-1928 26
Odd, Tønsberg Turn
Harald Hennum 43 caps 1949-1960 25
Skeid, Frigg
John Carew 91 caps 1998-2011 24
Vålerenga, Rosenborg, Valencia, Roma,
Besiktas, Lyon, Aston Villa, Stoke, West Ham
Tore Andre Flo 76 caps 1995-2004 23
Tromsø, Brann, Chelsea, Rangers,
Sunderland, Siena
Ole Gunnar Solskjær 67 caps 1995-2007 23
Molde, Manchester United
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