Gro Espeseth

Gro Espeseth
Personal information
Full nameGro Espeseth[1]
Date of birth30 October 1972
Place of birthStord, Norway
Height172 cm (5 ft 7 12 in)
Playing positionCentre-back
Youth career
Ådnamarka
1989–1990IL Bjørnar
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1991–1998IL Sandviken
1999–2000Trondheims-Ørn8(0)
2001New York Power20(1)
2007IL Sandviken1(0)
National team
1991–2000Norway105(9)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14:16, 20 September 2014 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 14:16, 20 September 2014 (UTC)

Gro Espeseth (born October 30, 1972) is a former Norwegian footballer, world champion and olympic champion.

She played for the clubs Sandviken and Trondheims-Ørn, debuted for the Norwegian national team in 1991, and played 105 matches for the national team.

She received a bronze medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, and a gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.[2]

Club Career

With Sandviken Espeseth won the 1995 Norwegian Women's Cup, scoring twice in the 3–2 final win over Trondheims-Ørn, including the extra time winner. She had an offer to join Japanese L. League club Suzuyo Shimizu F.C. Lovely Ladies, but the transfer fell through when she failed the medical.

Espeseth signed for the professional Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) ahead of the inaugural season in 2001. She was allocated to New York Power alongside compatriot Ann Kristin Aarønes. Knee damage meant that she was only able to play for one season before retiring.[3]

In 2007 Espeseth returned to football as an assistant coach with her former club Sandviken. Due to the unavailability of several players, she made a guest appearance as a player in July 2007, six years after her retirement.[4] She was substituted after 40 minutes of Sandviken's Toppserien 9–0 defeat by Røa IL.

Honours

Olympics

FIFA Women's World Cup

Personal life

Espeseth gave birth to son Brage in 2002.[5]

References

  1. "Gro Espeseth". Sports Reference. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  2. "2000 Summer Olympics Melbourne, Australia Soccer" (Retrieved on May 15, 2008)
  3. "Norway duo announce retirement". UEFA. 15 October 2001. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  4. Langeland, Knut (6 July 2007). "- En ren gjesteopptreden" (in Norwegian). Bergens Tidende. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  5. Jørstad, Atle (10 February 2014). "Gro Espeseth: Derfor er tiden med fotball forbi" (in Norwegian). Verdens Gang. Retrieved 20 September 2014.

External links