Steffen Iversen

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Steffen Iversen
Personal information
Full name Steffen Iversen
Date of birth November 10, 1976 (1976-11-10) (age 31)
Place of birth    Oslo, Norway
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current club Rosenborg B.K.
Youth clubs
 ?
1995		 Nationalkameratene
Astor F.K.
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1995–1996
1996–2003
2003–2004
2004–2005
2006–		 Rosenborg B.K.
Tottenham Hotspur
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Vålerenga I.F.
Rosenborg B.K.		 050 (18)
143 (36)
016 0(4)
029 (11)
044 (30)   
National team2
1995–1998
1998–		 Norway U21
Norway		 023 (17)
071 (19)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 14 November 2007.
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of 21 November 2007.
* Appearances (Goals)

Steffen Iversen (born November 10, 1976 in Oslo) is a Norwegian football player currently playing for Rosenborg.

Contents

[edit] Career

The first club that Iversen played for was Nationalkameratene. He later moved on to Astor, before starting his professional career at Rosenborg, and helped them win the Tippeligaen twice, in 1995 and 1996.

His exploits attracted the attention of overseas clubs, and in November 1996 he signed for Tottenham Hotspur just after his 20th birthday. He spent seven years at White Hart Lane before a having brief and relatively unsuccessful spell at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

In 2004, he moved back to Norway to play for Vålerenga where he played a crucial role (along with goalkeeper Arason) during the 2005 season and won his third Tippeligaen, ten years after his first. His contract ended on 31 October 2005, and for months he was a free agent. Rumours abounded of several clubs showing their interest, including Mallorca, Everton and his previous club Vålerenga. On February 10th, 2006 it was, a bit surprisingly, announced that he wanted to return to his old club Rosenborg, where his joining was officially announced on February 13th, 2006. In Rosenborg Iversen was the star player and Rosenborg's topscorer (18 goals) of the 2006/07 season and helped his team win the title, Iversen's fourth medal.

When the transfer market was about to open again in the winter, the Belgian club K.R.C. Genk showed a great interest to buy him. A clause in his contract allowed him to leave the club if the new deal was signed before new year. After a lot of speculations and rumors, Iversen announced that he was staying in Rosenborg to Genk's dismay and disappointment. According to the Belgian club, Iversen had agreed over the phone. Rumours say that it was heavy fog that made the ex-Tottenham player stay in Norway. The story was that he was on his way to Belgium when his plane couldn't take off due to fog. While at the airport, he, for some reason, changed his mind and returned to Rosenborg, signing a new contract that lasts until 2011.

Iversen is known for his finishing abilities and astonishing heading skills. He is a constant threat to the opponents' defence and goalkeeper. Many consider Iversen the best header in Norway, which means beating, among others, former team-mate Vidar Riseth, Hannes Sigurdsson and Olivier Occean.

Iversen also has 71 caps for the Norwegian national team, scoring 19 goals, and was part of their Euro 2000 squad.

The son of legendary footballer Odd Iversen, Steffen is considered by many to be a "trønder" denoting someone from the regions around Trondheim where his father played for Rosenborg, in part because he speaks the regional dialect. But Steffen was in fact born in the Norwegian capital of Oslo, when his father played for Vålerenga, and considers himself just as much a native of Oslo as of Trondheim.

He also collected a League Cup winners medal with Tottenham in 1999.

[edit] Honours

[edit] Norway

[edit] Individual

[edit] England

Tottenham Hotspur F.C.

[edit] International goals

Steffen Iversen: International Goals
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 20 May 1999 Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo Flag of Jamaica Jamaica 6-0 Win Friendly
2 30 May 1999 Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo Flag of Georgia (country) Georgia 1-0 Win Euro 2000 Qualifier
3 5 June 1999 Qemal Stafa, Tirana Flag of Albania Albania 2-1 Win Euro 2000 Qualifier
4 8 September 1999 Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo Flag of Slovenia Slovenia 4-0 Win Euro 2000 Qualifier
5 27 May 2000 Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo Flag of Slovakia Slovakia 2-0 Win Friendly
6 13 June 2000 Feijenoord Stadion, Rotterdam Flag of Spain Spain 1-0 Win UEFA Euro 2000
7 12 October 2002 Lia Manoliu Stadium, Bucharest Flag of Romania Romania 1-0 Win Euro 2004 Qualifier
8 15 November 2003 Estadio Mestalla, Valencia Flag of Spain Spain 1-2 Defeat Euro 2004 Qualifier
9 18 February 2004 Windsor Park, Belfast Flag of Northern Ireland Northern Ireland 4-1 Win Friendly
10 9 October 2004 Hampden Park, Glasgow Flag of Scotland Scotland 1-0 Win World Cup 2006 Qual.
11 16 November 2004 Craven Cottage, London Flag of Australia Australia 2-2 Draw Friendly
12 8 June 2005 Råsunda Stadium, Solna Flag of Sweden Sweden 3-2 Win Friendly
13 6 September 2006 Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo Flag of Moldova Moldova 2-0 Win Euro 2008 Qualifier
14 2 June 2007 Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo Flag of Malta Malta 4-0 Win Euro 2008 Qualifier
15 6 June 2007 Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo Flag of Hungary Hungary 4-0 Win Euro 2008 Qualifier
16 8 September 2007 Zimbru Stadium, Chişinău Flag of Moldova Moldova 1-0 Win Euro 2008 Qualifier
17 21 November 2007 Ta' Qali Stadium, Ta' Qali Flag of Malta Malta 4-1 Win Euro 2008 Qualifier
18
19

[edit] External links

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Rosenborg BK – current squad

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