Roger Albertsen

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Roger Albertsen (March 15, 1957 — March 2, 2003) was a Norwegian football midfielder. At the age of 17 he travelled abroad, playing professionally for Dutch team FC Den Haag. He later played for Feyenoord Rotterdam, KFC Winterslag and Olympiakos, before he returned to Norway in 1985, making his debut in the Norwegian Premier League for Rosenborg.

He was capped 25 times for national team, having debuted in 1976. Many remember him from the famous match against England in 1981, where he was awarded the 1-1 goal, despite that television replays have later shown that Albertsen did in fact not touch the ball, and Tom Lund's cross went straight into the net.

Roger Albertsen was a hard-working and hard-tackling midfielder who never truly established himself as a first-choice in the Norway lineup, but he was a dependable player who did a fine job whenever he got the chance. He wasn't a finesse player, but his work-rate and determination made him a fan favorite at every club he played. He is perhaps best remembered for scoring the equaliser (or did he?) in Norway's famous win over England in 1981.

Albertsen began his career with local lower-division sides Tyssedal and Odda. He was regarded as a promising talent, and represented Norway several times at youth level. Nonetheless, it came as something of a shock when he left the country at age 17 to try his luck in the Netherlands, joining his compatriot Harald Berg's old club Den Haag. Albertsen made his debut for the club in 1975, and soon became a regular in the Den Haag lineup, earning praise for his tireless running and no-nonsense physical play. His performance in the Eredivisie didn't go unnoticed back home, and he made his international debut in a World Cup qualifier against Switzerland in 1976.

In the summer of 1979, Albertsen was transferred to Feyenoord, where he became a valuable player in the side that finished fourth in the league and won the cup. However, at the end of the season, after just one year in Rotterdam, he returned to Den Haag. He played one more season for Den Haag, and then he was on the move again - this time to Belgian side Winterslag (now known as Racing Genk following a 1988 merger). Albertsen quickly became a fan favorite at the Belgian club, and his performances earned him a recall to the national team for the World Cup qualifier against England - the game that would provide Albertsen's finest moment in a Norway jersey.

Nobody gave Norway a chance before the England game, and when Bryan Robson gave the visitors the lead after 15 minutes, everyone believed the match was over. However, Norway held on, and in the 35th minute, Albertsen went after a cross from Tom Lund and the ball went into the net. So, who scored the goal? Albertsen was credited with the goal, but television replays seem to indicate that Albertsen did in fact not make contact with the ball before it crossed the line. But it really doesn't matter who scored the goal. The fact remains that Norway had equalised against England, and if Albertsen come running to reach the cross, England keeper Ray Clemence would probably have saved it. And when Hallvar Thoresen scored Norway's second four minutes before half-time, the unthinkable had happened. Norway had taken the lead against England, and went on to win the game.

Albertsen now got an extended run in the national side, and scored two more goals in a pair of summer friendlies. This time there was no doubt about Albertsen being the scorer. He was also a member of the team that defeated [Yugoslavia national football team|Yugoslavia] 3-1 in a Euro 84 qualifier. Shortly after that match, he was on the move again.

Midway through the 1982/83 season, Albertsen was signed by Greek giants Olympiakos, where he won a league championship medal. He spent three years at the club, doing the dirty work in midfield, before his old friend Arne Dokken persuaded him to return home and play for Rosenborg B.K. So, in the summer of 1985, after a decade abroad, Albertsen played his first-ever top division game in the Norwegian league. He was a member of the Rosenborg side that won the title in dramatic fashion in 1985, and played two more years at the Trondheim club before hanging up his boots because of injury at the end of the 1987 season.

After retiring from the game, Albertsen worked in the computer business, and also held coaching jobs for lower-division sides Orkanger, Sokna and Kongsberg. In late 2002, he was diagnosed with cancer, and he died from the disease in March 2003.