Egil Olsen
Encyclopedia
Egil Roger Olsen nicknamed Drillo, is a Norwegian
Norwegians
Norwegians constitute both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegian people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in United States, Canada and Brazil.-History:Towards the end of the 3rd...

 association football manager
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...

 and former Norwegian
Norwegians
Norwegians constitute both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegian people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in United States, Canada and Brazil.-History:Towards the end of the 3rd...

 football player. He is best known as a highly successful coach of the Norwegian national football team
Norway national football team
The Norway national football team represents Norway in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Norway, the governing body for football in Norway. Norway's home ground is Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo and their head coach is Egil Olsen...

. He has since been coach of the Iraqi national football team
Iraq national football team
The Iraqi national football team represents Iraq in international football and is controlled by the Iraq Football Association. They won the 2007 Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup tournament.-The Golden Generation:...

, his departure from which caused considerable attention. In January
January
January is the first month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and one of seven months with the length of 31 days. The first day of the month is known as New Year's Day...

 2009 he made a comeback as manager for the Norwegian national football team. Since then, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 has risen from rank 59 in 2009 to rank 11 in 2011 on the FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...

 rankings.

Career

Olsen was a successful player with 16 caps for the national team, earning the nickname "Drillo" from his dribbling skills and technical ability. According to close friend Nils Arne Eggen
Nils Arne Eggen
Nils Arne Eggen is the most successful coach in the history of Norwegian football. He is best known as the manager for Rosenborg in the period 1988–97 and 1999–2002...

, Olsen would have been awarded with more caps as a player had it not been for the current Norway manager Willie Kment who did not approve of Olsen's long hair, obsession with "Robin's Nest
Robin's Nest
Robin's Nest is a British sitcom starring Richard O'Sullivan as Robin Tripp, one of the lead characters in the sitcom Man About the House, which had ended in 1976. Robin's Nest aired for six series from 1977 to 1981, and co-starred Tessa Wyatt as Robin's girlfriend and later wife and Tony Britton...

" and generally scruffy appearance as well as his personal political views. Olsen was also a formidable bandy
Bandy
Bandy is a team winter sport played on ice, in which skaters use sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal.The rules of the game have many similarities to those of association football: the game is played on a rectangle of ice the same size as a football field. Each team has 11 players,...

 player while playing football.

He coached the Norwegian team from 1990 to 1998, guiding them to World Cup final tournaments in 1994 and 1998, Norway peaking as number two on the FIFA ranking
FIFA World Rankings
The FIFA World Rankings is a ranking system for men's national teams in association football, currently led by Spain. The teams of the member nations of FIFA , football's world governing body, are ranked based on their game results with the most successful teams being ranked highest...

. He worked from 2005 to 2007 as an analyst for Vålerengens IF
Vålerengens IF
Vålerengens Idrettsforening is a Norwegian multi-sports club from the neighborhood Vålerenga in Oslo, founded on 29 July 1913.It has sections for football, ice hockey, american football, handball, floorball and skiing...

 before joining Expekt.com
Expekt.com
Expekt.com Ltd is a pan-European online gaming company with more than 1.8 million registered customers. The main office is in Gzira, Malta and employs 150 people. It offers sports betting, poker, casino games and bingo, as well as pool betting on Supertoto and Superscore...

.

In 1995 as Norway manager Egil Olsen used one of his three votes to nominate Norwegian women's football star Hege Riise as the FIFA World Player of the Year. The first time a woman player had been nominated in what is seen as a men's football award.

In June 1999, the then 57-year-old Olsen made his appearance in English football when he was named as manager of Wimbledon F.C.
Wimbledon F.C.
Wimbledon Football Club was an English professional association football club from Wimbledon, south-west London. Founded in 1889 as Wimbledon Old Central Football Club, the club spent most of its history in amateur and semi-professional non-League football before being elected to the Football...

 He reportedly turned down an approach from Glasgow Celtic to take charge of the London club. Olsen has stated that his favorite player at the club was Welsh international Ben Thatcher
Ben Thatcher
Benjamin David "Ben" Thatcher is a professional association football player, who is currently a free agent...

. He remained in charge for less than a year, and was sacked just before the club slipped out of the Premiership, having been top division members since 1986. Robbie Earle
Robbie Earle
Robert Fitzgerald "Robbie" Earle MBE is an English-born Jamaican former international footballer who played as a midfielder. He played 578 league games in senior club football, scoring 136 goals....

 said that "Olsen just didn't know how to get the best out of us". He has since returned to Norway.

On 19 May 2007, Olsen rejected an offer to coach the Iraq national football team
Iraq national football team
The Iraqi national football team represents Iraq in international football and is controlled by the Iraq Football Association. They won the 2007 Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup tournament.-The Golden Generation:...

 citing a busy schedule.
However, the Iraqi football president vowed not to give up on his signature and on 17 September Olsen signed a three-year contract. In February 2008, the Iraqis fired Olsen without telling him. He had tried to contact them by several means, but got the message when a new manager was installed, this action on the Iraqis part was very unexpected and their reason was said to be that they did not believe Olsen was strict enough.

On 14 January 2009, it was announced that Olsen would once again manage the Norway national football team
Norway national football team
The Norway national football team represents Norway in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Norway, the governing body for football in Norway. Norway's home ground is Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo and their head coach is Egil Olsen...

 in an interim period until a successor for Åge Hareide
Åge Hareide
Åge Fridtjof Hareide is a Norwegian football manager and former player. He is currently the manager of Viking FK.-Playing career:During his playing career, Hareide played for Hødd, Molde, Manchester City and Norwich City....

 can be found.

In their first game under his management they beat Germany 0-1 in a friendly away game in Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...

. It is the first time Norway has won against Germany since the 1936 Summer Olympics
1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was held in 1936 in Berlin, Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona, Spain on April 26, 1931, at the 29th IOC Session in Barcelona...

 in Berlin.

Football philosophy

Olsen has sometimes been called a "football professor" for his scientific approach to the game, and was arguably one of the first managers to use video analysis of matches. He has collected statistical data to find out which playing styles are the most efficient. As Norway manager, he argued that as Norway didn't have the players to beat the best teams, they needed a smarter playing style than them, and one that fit Norway's skills. Ironically, his preferred style of football has historically often been called primitive.

He has found that breakaways played an important role immediately prior to many goals, and that counter-attacks after breakaways should be carried out as fast and directly as possible before the opponent can organise their defense. According to Olsen, only few goals are scored against what he calls an "established defense". As a large number of transverse passes or trying to play out an established defense with short passes and combinations increases the chance of a breakdown against, often in dangerous positions, his strategy was to make long passes against an established defense when no direct path forwards could be found. More precisely, defenders should in these cases play high, long passes towards attackers or flank players. His use of a player with good heading abilities as a target man on the flank, such as Jostein Flo
Jostein Flo
Jostein Flo is a Norwegian former football player, famous for his physical playing style and aerial dominance.-Biography:...

, was a major break with the established idea that all flank players should be small, quick and good dribblers.

He is opposed to stationary offensive players, and argues that offensive runs (also for players that do not possess the ball) should be carried out as often as possible when one's team has the ball, as multiple simultaneous runs are very difficult to defend against. He also holds the idea that breakthrough passes to the area behind the opponent's defensive line should be sought out very often, and that frequent offensive runs towards this area is important. He also coined the phrase "å være best uten ball" (roughly "to be best at off-the-ball running", lit. "to be best without the ball") which gained some fame in Norway. It was originally said about Øyvind Leonhardsen
Øyvind Leonhardsen
Øyvind Leonhardsen is a Norwegian former footballer. He retired after the 2007 season, and at that moment he was captain of Strømsgodset IF in the Norwegian Premier Division, ending a career with nine years in English football with clubs like Wimbledon, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa...

, a player doing an exceptional number of runs during games.

Olsen is also an ardent supporter of zone defense
Zone defense
Zone defense is a type of defense, used in team sports, which is the alternative to man-to-man defense; instead of each player guarding a corresponding player on the other team, each defensive player is given an area known as a "zone" to cover....

, as opposed to man-to-man marking. He also argues that players with extreme skills (extremely fast, extremely good headers, extremely good dribblers, extremely good passers etc.), as opposed to players with only good all-round skills, are important in football.

His long-ball philosophy, use of the 4-5-1 system and his teams' often extremely successful defending earned him a bad reputation of boring football, even during the period when his results as Norway manager were astonishing. However, later in his first tenure, Norway showed signs of moving away from this philosophy- notably in their wins against Brazil
Brazil national football team
The Brazil national football team represents Brazil in international men's football and is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation , the governing body for football in Brazil. They are a member of the International Federation of Association Football since 1923 and also a member of the...

 in 1997 and 1998.

His thoughts, together with those of Nils Arne Eggen
Nils Arne Eggen
Nils Arne Eggen is the most successful coach in the history of Norwegian football. He is best known as the manager for Rosenborg in the period 1988–97 and 1999–2002...

, have had a strong impact on Norwegian football. Norwegian club sides generally make many runs without ball, play zone defense and are very focused on fast counter-attacks. The idea of playing long balls against an established defense, however, has become increasingly unfashionable in Norway in later years.

Personal life

Olsen was a member of the Norwegian Workers' Communist Party
Workers' Communist Party (Norway)
The Workers' Communist Party was a Norwegian communist party . AKP was a maoist party and one of two communist parties in Norway; the other was the older Communist Party of Norway which has remained pro-Soviet. The relationship between the two parties was characterized by strong hostility.AKP was...

 (known as AKP (m-l)). He is also known for his immense knowledge of geographical trivia, proven by his 2002 published factbook "Drillos Verden" (English: "Drillo's World") published by Erling Kagge
Erling Kagge
Erling Kagge is a Norwegian explorer/adventurer, lawyer, art collector and publisher.-Biography:Kagge is among Norway's most acclaimed polar explorers and one of the greatest adventurers of our time. He is the first person to accomplish the "three pole challenge" of reaching the North Pole, the...

's publishing house Kagge Forlag (ISBN 9788248902447 Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

).

Managerial career

  • Frigg
    Frigg Oslo FK
    Frigg Oslo Fotballklubb is a Norwegian sports club from Majorstua in Oslo. It has sections for association football and bandy.It was founded on 17 May 1904 as SK Frigg, named after Frigg of Norse mythology. It was merged on 21 April 1954 with SK Varg. It took the name Frigg Oslo FK in 1990. The...

     (1972–74, 1978–79, 1981–83)
  • Hasle-Løren
    Hasle-Løren IL
    Hasle-Løren Idrettslag is a Norwegian sports club from the neighborhoods Hasle and Løren in Oslo. It was founded in 1911, and has sections for association football, ice hockey, skiing and cycling.-Ice hockey:...

     (1975)
  • Østsiden
    Østsiden IL
    Østsiden Idrettslag Fredrikstad is a Norwegian sports club, based in the city of Fredrikstad.The club was formed as Østsiden IL in 1935, and includes football and handball branches...

     (1976–78)
  • Norway U21
    Norway national under-21 football team
    The Norwegian national under-21 football team, controlled by the Football Association of Norway, is the national football team of Norway for players of 21 years of age or under at the start of a UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship campaign...

     (1979–85)
  • Fossum
    Fossum IF
    Fossum Idrettsforening is a Norwegian sports club from Fossum, Grini, Østerås and Eiksmarka in Bærum. It has sections for cross-country skiing, biathlon, ski jumping, alpine skiing, Nordic combined, orienteering and football, and was founded on 7 December 1918...

     (1983–84)
  • Lyn (1985–88)
  • Aalesund (1989)
  • Norway U23 (1990)
  • Norway
    Norway national football team
    The Norway national football team represents Norway in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Norway, the governing body for football in Norway. Norway's home ground is Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo and their head coach is Egil Olsen...

     (1990–98)
  • Vålerenga
    Vålerengens IF
    Vålerengens Idrettsforening is a Norwegian multi-sports club from the neighborhood Vålerenga in Oslo, founded on 29 July 1913.It has sections for football, ice hockey, american football, handball, floorball and skiing...

     (1998–99)
  • Wimbledon
    Wimbledon F.C.
    Wimbledon Football Club was an English professional association football club from Wimbledon, south-west London. Founded in 1889 as Wimbledon Old Central Football Club, the club spent most of its history in amateur and semi-professional non-League football before being elected to the Football...

     (1999–2000)
  • Norway U19
    Norway national under-19 football team
    The Norwegian national under-19 football team, controlled by the Football Association of Norway, is the national football team of Norway for players of 19 years of age or under at the start of a UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship campaign....

     (2003–04)
  • Fredrikstad (2004–2005)
  • Vålerenga
    Vålerengens IF
    Vålerengens Idrettsforening is a Norwegian multi-sports club from the neighborhood Vålerenga in Oslo, founded on 29 July 1913.It has sections for football, ice hockey, american football, handball, floorball and skiing...

     (2005–2007) (analyst)
  • Iraq
    Iraq national football team
    The Iraqi national football team represents Iraq in international football and is controlled by the Iraq Football Association. They won the 2007 Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup tournament.-The Golden Generation:...

     (2007–2008)
  • Norway
    Norway national football team
    The Norway national football team represents Norway in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Norway, the governing body for football in Norway. Norway's home ground is Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo and their head coach is Egil Olsen...

    (2009–)

International managerial statistics

Team From To Record
GamesWinsDrawsLossesGoals ForGoals AgainstWin %
1990 1998 91 51 26 14 181 63
2007 2008 6 2 3 1 11 6
2009 2011 21 14 2 5 30 18
Total
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