The Norwegian Connection
- Dag Jenkins
- Jul 9
- 5 min read
Updated: Jul 20
Norway is famous for the Vikings, fjords and natural beauty, its oil, the North Cape, the midnight sun, the northern lights, salmon, whales, tørrfisk, lapskaus (some may not know that Scousers -Liverpudlians are named after this dish ,a meat stew, which became popular as "Lobscouse" in Liverpool and eaten by sailors and locals in the port city), fårikål, aquavit, brunost, Edvard Munch, Edvard Grieg, Henrik Ibsen, Knut Hamsun, Roald Amundsen, Liv Ullmann, Bo Nesbø, Lars Saaybe Christensen, Karl Ove Knausgaard, A-ha, nordic and alpine skiing, handball, tennis player Casper Ruud and a lot more but also, albeit to a lesser degree... football.
Norway have participated in 3 World Cups, reaching the last 16 in 1938 and 1998 (when they famously beat Brazil 2-1). They have also taken part in 1 European Championship, in 2000. The best players in their history include; Tom Lund, Odd Iversen, Henning Berg, Tore André Flo, John Carew, Morten Gamst Pedersen, Erik Thorstvedt, John Arne Riise, Ole Gunnar Solskjær and nowadays Martin Ødegaard and Erling Haaland.
Norway have high hopes of reaching the 2026 World Cup with their present generation of stars, especially after beating Italy 3-0 in June 2025.
At club level the most successful teams are: Rosenborg (Trondheim) with 26 league titles, Fredrikstad 9, Viking (Stavanger) 8, Molde 5, Lillestrøm 5, Vålerenga 5, Bodø Glimt 4, Brann (Bergen) 3. The domestic league is called the Eliteserien (sponsors were dropped in 2017).
Bodø Glimt reached the semifinals of the Europa League in 2024-25 (beating Lazio on penalties in the quarters). In the 1990's Rosenborg were competitive in Europe, reaching the Champions League quarter-finals in 1996-97
On a personal level my favourite team is Brann Bergen. My mother is from Bergen so I have often attended matches at the Stadion in the summer months (including Atlético Madrid and Tottenham).
Norway are currently ranked 48th in the world by FIFA.
Here are some Norwegians who have played in Italy and for Lazio.
1950's
Kurt Andersen - midfielder (Padova 1951-53, 43 league games and 6 goals)
Finn Gundersen - midfielder and ice hockey international (Verona 1957-59, 24 league games and 3 goals)
Ragnar Larsen - midfielder - Lazio
Ragnar Nikolay Larsen arrived at Lazio in 1951 from Sandaker. He stayed two seasons.
In 1951-52 the manager was Giuseppe Bigogno and Lazio finished 4th Larsen played 26 league games and scored 7 goals (Napoli, Novara, SPAL, Udinese, Padova x2, Milan).
In 1952-53 the manager was first Giuseppe Bigogno (1-25) and then Alfredo Notti (25-34). Lazio finished 10th and Larsen played 31 league games with 7 goals (Novara, Napoli x2, Sampdoria, Torino, SPAL, Como). Roma were back in Serie A but Lazio won both derbies.
In 1953 he moved to Genoa where he stayed 3 seasons. In Italy, in total he played 149 league games with 19 goals.
At Lazio he had a positive spell, combining well with compatriot Per Bredesen in the 52-53 season.
Per Bredesen - midfielder - Lazio
Per Bredesen arrived at Lazio in 1952 from Ørn-Horten. He stayed three seasons. He was known as "Varechina" (Bleach) for the blondness of his hair, almost white.
In 1952-53 the manager was first Giuseppe Bigogno (1-25) and then Alfredo Notti (25-34). Lazio finished 10th and Bredesen played 32 league games with 6 goals (Novara, Pro Patria, Milan, SPAL, Palermo, Bologna). Lazio won both derbies.
In 1953-54 the manager was first Mario Sperone (1-24) and then Federico Allasio (25-34) and Lazio finished 11th. Bredesen played 32 league games and scored 6 goals (Udinese, Fiorentina, SPAL, Genoa, Sampdoria x2).
In 1954-55 the manager was Allasio (1-7) and then George Raynor (8-34). Lazio finished 12th and Bredesen played 29 league games with 7 goals (Juventus, Napoli, Juventus x2, Fiorentina, Napoli, Milan). Bredesen scored a brace in a 2-1 win against Juventus and Lazio also beat Roma 3-1. At Lazio he played 93 league games and scored 19 goals.
Bredesen was then sold to Udinese in the deal that brought Arne Selmosson to Rome. A pity as Bredesen was a big success with Lazio.
He then spent a season at Udine, 2 with Milan, 1 with Bari and 2 with Messina.
In total in Italy, he played 224 league games and scored 50 goals. He won a Scudetto with Milan and a Serie B championship with Udinese.
1990's
Steinar Nilsen - defender (Milan 1997-98, Napoli 1998-2001, 56 league games and 1 goal)
Runar Berg - midfielder (Venezia 1999-2001, 30 league games and 2 goals)
Petter Rudi - midfielder (Perugia 1996-97, 14 league games and 1 goal)
2000-2024
John Arne Riise - defender/midfielder (Roma 2008-11, 99 league games and 11 goals)
John Carew - forward (Roma 2003-04, 20 league games and 6 goals)
Tore André Flo "Flonaldo" - forward (Siena 2003-05, 63 league games and 13 goals)
Erik Huseklepp - forward (Bari 2011, 14 league games and 2 goals)
Haitam Aleesami - defender (Palermo 2016-19, 90 league games and 1 goal)
Rafik Zekhnini - forward (Fiorentina 2017-18, 1 league game)
Stefan Strandberg - defender (Trapani 2019-20, Salernitana 2021-22, 23 league games)
Jens Petter Hauge - forward (Milan 2020-21, 18 league games and 5 goals)
Kristofer Askildsen - midfielder (Sampdoria 2020-22 33 games, 1 goal), Lecce 2022-23 (22 games), Sampdoria 2023-24 (19 games))
Leo Østigard - defender (Genoa 2022 (15 league games, 1 goal), Napoli 2022-24 (32 games, 2 goals))
Valon Berisha - midfielder- Lazio
He is Norwegian and has 20 caps for Norway but from 2016 he represents Kosovo as he has dual nationality.
He arrived at Lazio in 2018 from Salzburg. The Austrians had eliminated the Romans in the previous Europa League and Berisha had been excellent.
In 2018-19 the manager was Simone Inzaghi and Lazio finished 8th. There was glory in the Coppa Italia however when they beat Atalanta to win their 7th title. Berisha disappointed, playing 8 league games, 1 in Coppa Italia and 5 in Europa League.
The following year, still under Inzaghi, he played even less, only 3 league games, 1 in Coppa and 4 in Europa League. In January he left on loan to Fortuna Dusseldorf. He never returned. A huge disappointment as Lazio had great hopes in him but he never gave any signs of being the player Lazio had admired as an opponent.
In 2024-25 there were 4 Norwegians playing in serie A in Italy: Morten Thorsby (Genoa), Marcus Pedersen (Torino), Mathias Løvik (Parma), Ola Solbakken (Empoli)
3 in B: Dennis Johnsen (Cremonese), Emil Bohinen (Frosinone, on loan from Genoa), Emil Konradsen Ceide (Sassuolo)
Plus: Julian Kristoffersen (Lecco) & Martin Palumbo (Avellino)
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