Roger Nilsen

Roger Nilsen

Roger Nilsen during a show game against Liverpool
Personal information
Date of birth8 August 1969
Place of birthTromsø, Norway
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing positionDefender
Youth career
Kvaløysletta
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1987–1988Tromsø3(0)
1989–1993Viking90(11)
1993→ 1. FC Köln (loan)10(0)
1993–1999Sheffield United166(0)
1999Tottenham Hotspur3(0)
1999–2000Grazer AK13(0)
2000–2001Molde20(2)
2002–2003Bryne24(0)
National team
1989–1992Norway U2119(2)
1990–2000Norway32(3)
Teams managed
2006Stavanger
2007–2010Viking (assistant)
2014–Fløya (women)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Roger Nilsen (born 8 August 1969 in Tromsø) is a Norwegian football coach and former defender. He played 32 matches and scored three goals for Norway.

Nilsen played for the Norwegian clubs Tromsø, Viking, Molde and Bryne, and spent time abroad at 1. FC Köln, Sheffield United, Tottenham Hotspur and Grazer AK. He has later worked as assistant coach at Viking.

Club career

His career began in Tromsø, and he moved on to Viking where he became won the Norwegian Premier League in 1991.[1] He was loaned to 1. FC Köln, and soon got a permanent move to Sheffield United in England.[1] Nilsen is best remembered for his period there. Later he had short spells with Tottenham Hotspur and Grazer AK before he returned home to play for Molde and Bryne.[1] He left Bryne in 2003, but continued his career in the Norwegian third division with Stavanger IF.[2]

International career

Nilsen represented Norway at youth international level and played for the under-20 team in the 1989 FIFA World Youth Championship.[3] He played 19 matches and scored two goals for Norway U21.[4]

Nilsen made his debut for the senior team in the friendly match against Cameroon on 31 October 1990. He scored his first goal for Norway against Sweden on 26 August 1992, and scored two goals in the 10–0 win against San Marino two weeks later. Nilsen was a part of the 1994 FIFA World Cup squad, but did not play any matches in the tournament. He played his last match for Norway against Sweden on 4 February 2000. Nilsen was capped a total of 32 times, and scored three goals.[5]

Coaching career

In 2006, he retired and took over as head coach for Stavanger IF, guiding the club to promotion to the second division. At the end of the season, Nilsen left the club to take up the assistant coach position at the Norwegian Premier League side Viking.[6] After manager Uwe Rösler left in November 2009 he was briefly caretaker manager.[7] He was downsized from his assistant job after the 2010 season.[8]

In 2014 he succeeded Odd-Karl Stangnes as manager of IF Fløya's women's team, combined with a teaching job at the Norwegian College of Elite Sports in Tromsø.[9]

Personal life

Roger Nilsen is the brother of the former player and coach Steinar Nilsen.[10]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Norske fotballspillere i utlandet" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 18 May 2009.
  2. ↑ "Profil: Roger Nilsen" (in Norwegian). Tromsø IL. Retrieved 18 May 2009.
  3. ↑ "Norway squad, 1989 FIFA U-20 World Cup". FIFA. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
  4. ↑ "Roger Nilsen's profil". fotball.no (in Norwegian). Football Association of Norway. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
  5. ↑ "Roger Nilsen". home.no. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  6. ↑ Grøndal, Kjell-Ivar (18 April 2008). "Nilsen holder ambisjonene for seg selv" (in Norwegian). Stavanger Aftenblad. Retrieved 18 May 2009.
  7. ↑ "Roger Nilsen overtar". Bladet Tromsø (in Norwegian). 7 October 2010. p. 31.
  8. ↑ Fisketjøn, Lars (7 October 2010). "Ber Viking-ledelsen kutte millioner". Rogalands Avis (in Norwegian). pp. 18–19.
  9. ↑ Hanssen, Anders Mo (4 June 2014). "Vil rykke opp i løpet av to år". Nordlys (in Norwegian). p. 27.
  10. ↑ Sonstad, Trym Oust (17 June 2007). "Fotball foran søskenkjærlighet" (in Norwegian). Dagbladet. Retrieved 18 May 2009.