Egil Østenstad
Encyclopedia
Egil Johan Østenstad nicknamed "Østen", is a Norwegian director of football
at Viking, where he is also a former player. His playing career also included spells at Southampton
and Blackburn
, among others.
, Østenstad started his career with local club Torvastad IL
. He arrived at Viking in 1990, and helped the club to win the Norwegian Premier League
title in 1991, when he featured in 10 out of the 22 league games. He played a total of 280 games for the club, scoring 88 goals, before moving to Southampton
in the FA Premier League
in October 1996.
for £800,000 on 3 October 1996 and made his debut at Coventry City
on 13 October 1996. In only his third game for the Saints he opened his goal-scoring account in spectacular fashion with a hat-trick in the 6–3 win against Manchester United
on 26 October 1996. Subsequently the "dubious goals" panel credited his third goal to an own goal by Phil Neville, who touched the ball last in a vain attempt to prevent it from crossing the goal-line, although Østenstad retained the match ball.
In his first season at The Dell
he led the line well linking up superbly with Matthew Le Tissier
and Eyal Berkovic
scoring nine goals from 30 league appearances and was voted the Fans' player of the season. During the 1997 close season, Ostenstad was a transfer target for Liverpool
and Newcastle United
, but Ostenstad remained at The Dell as neither club was willing to match Southampton's £7million asking price.http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football-liverpool-join-newcastle-in-hunt-for-ostenstad-1252320.html
By the start of the following season, Souness had departed to be replaced by Dave Jones from Stockport County
. Unfortunately, Eyal Berkovic also departed thus breaking up what had looked like becoming a successful partnership. Østenstad was now paired with Kevin Davies
in attack but failed to score until a substitute appearance against West Ham United
on 4 October 1997. Following the signing of David Hirst
he was dropped from the team, making only the occasional substitute appearance. After coming off the bench to score in a 3–2 victory over Liverpool
on 7 February 1998, he started the remaining 13 league games, scoring eight goals as the Saints finished the 1997–98 season in 11th place.
Østenstad was part of the Norway
squad for the 1998 World Cup
held in France, but was given little chance to make any impact.
In the 1998 close season, Kevin Davies departed for Blackburn Rovers
, with James Beattie
joining the Saints as part of the deal. Østenstad was now paired up front with veteran striker Mark Hughes
. The 1998–99 season saw Saints struggle to score goals and they were never out of the relegation zone until the last two weeks of the season. Despite only scoring seven goals, Østenstad was Saints top goal-scorer for the season (jointly with Matthew Le Tissier
), but by the end of the season he had lost his starting place in the team to Marian Pahars
.
Østenstad started the 1999–00 season brightly, scoring the only goal at Coventry City
in the opening game on 7 August 1999. 11 days later, Dave Jones decided to move him on and arranged an exchange deal with Blackburn Rovers
with Kevin Davies
returning to The Dell. This move saw him drop down a division, as Rovers had just been relegated to Division One.
In his three years at the Saints, Østenstad scored 28 goals in 96 league appearances, plus a further five goals in 13 cup games. He was always a popular figure, but sometimes infuriated fans by seeming to miss as many "easy" goals as he scored difficult ones.
and dropping down a division, Østenstad struggled to make an impact at Ewood Park
. He started well, scoring a brace in his second game, in a 2–0 victory at Norwich City
on 28 August 1999 and completed the 1999–00 season with eight league goals from 28 appearances, playing alongside Ashley Ward
and Lee Carsley
.
The goals then started to dry up and the following season he only made 13 appearances for Blackburn with three goals. By now, Blackburn were relying on goals from Matt Jansen
and David Dunn
to see them to promotion. He spent the end of the 2000–01 season
on loan at Manchester City
(where he made four appearances with no goals).
In the 2001–02 season Østenstad only made four appearances in the Premier League. In the following season, he appeared more regularly and, despite only one league goal in 17 appearances, he did score in a UEFA Cup game against CSKA Sofia
.
In his four seasons at Blackburn, he made a total of 62 league appearances scoring 12 goals.
in the summer of 2003. However, he made next to no impact during a very unproductive spell and wound up having his contract terminated before the end of the season. His only two goals at Rangers came in the League Cup in games against Forfar Athletic and St Johnstone.
at Rangers
, he made a long-awaited return to Viking midway through the 2004 season.
He was an instant hit at his old club, scoring 3 goals in 9 games to help save the club from relegation. Although he continued to be a regular starter and a prolific goalscorer, Østenstad retired at the end of the 2005 season. An internet petition for him to stay on for another season collected close to 2500 signatures. http://www.opprop.no/opprop.php?id=folkeaksjonenfo
in 1993, coming on as a substitute to score twice against the Faroe Islands
. He was capped 17 times between 1993 and 1999, mostly as a substitute, and he played in the 1998 World Cup in France. Østenstad scored 6 times for Norway
, making him the most efficient marksman in the history of the Norwegian national team
with one goal in every 94 minutes played. On 7 September 2005, more than six years after his last appearance, he made his comeback with the national team, starting in the 1–2 defeat to Scotland
.
for Viking. Østenstad was also the inspiration for the character "Yngve" in the book Mannen som elsket Yngve
(The Man Who Loved Yngve) by Tore Renberg
. The author and Østenstad went to the same high-school. http://www.dagbladet.no/sport/2005/09/10/442912.html
Director of football
"Director of football" is a term describing a senior management figure at a football club, most commonly used in Europe. The exact nature of the role is often unclear and extremely variable and causes much debate in the sports media...
at Viking, where he is also a former player. His playing career also included spells at Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
and Blackburn
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....
, among others.
Norway
Born in HaugesundHaugesund
is a town and municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway.-Location:Haugesund was separated from Torvastad as a town and municipality of its own in 1855. The rural municipality of Skåre was merged with Haugesund on January 1, 1958. Haugesund is a small municipality, only 73 km²...
, Østenstad started his career with local club Torvastad IL
Torvastad IL
Torvastad IL is a Norwegian sports club from the district Torvastad in Karmøy. It has sections for association football, orienteering and athletics, and was founded on 6 August 1945....
. He arrived at Viking in 1990, and helped the club to win the Norwegian Premier League
Norwegian Premier League
Tippeligaen is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. The league is also unofficially known under its neutral name Eliteserien , although the name has never been official...
title in 1991, when he featured in 10 out of the 22 league games. He played a total of 280 games for the club, scoring 88 goals, before moving to Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
in the FA Premier League
FA Premier League
The Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier...
in October 1996.
Southampton
Østenstad was signed by manager Graeme SounessGraeme Souness
Graeme James Souness is a Scottish former professional football player and manager.Souness was the captain of the successful Liverpool team of the early 1980s and player-manager of Rangers in the late 1980s as well as captain of the Scottish national team. He also played for Tottenham Hotspur,...
for £800,000 on 3 October 1996 and made his debut at Coventry City
Coventry City F.C.
Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry...
on 13 October 1996. In only his third game for the Saints he opened his goal-scoring account in spectacular fashion with a hat-trick in the 6–3 win against Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
on 26 October 1996. Subsequently the "dubious goals" panel credited his third goal to an own goal by Phil Neville, who touched the ball last in a vain attempt to prevent it from crossing the goal-line, although Østenstad retained the match ball.
In his first season at The Dell
The Dell (Southampton F.C.)
The Dell in Milton Road, Southampton, England was the home ground of Southampton Football Club, between 1898 and 2001.-New stadium:Since 1896, Southampton had been tenants of Hampshire County Cricket Club at the County Ground, having vacated the Antelope Ground in the summer of 1896...
he led the line well linking up superbly with Matthew Le Tissier
Matthew Le Tissier
Matthew "Matt" Le Tissier is a retired English footballer who played for Southampton and England.An attacking midfielder with exceptional technical skills, Le Tissier is the second-highest ever scorer for Southampton behind Mick Channon and was voted PFA Young Player of the Year in 1990. He was...
and Eyal Berkovic
Eyal Berkovic
Eyal Berkovic is an Israeli former footballer. He played as a midfielder.He is known in Israel by the nickname Ha-Kosem ....
scoring nine goals from 30 league appearances and was voted the Fans' player of the season. During the 1997 close season, Ostenstad was a transfer target for Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
and Newcastle United
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
, but Ostenstad remained at The Dell as neither club was willing to match Southampton's £7million asking price.http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football-liverpool-join-newcastle-in-hunt-for-ostenstad-1252320.html
By the start of the following season, Souness had departed to be replaced by Dave Jones from Stockport County
Stockport County F.C.
Stockport County Football Club is an English football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester. The club formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, shortly afterwards merging with Heaton Norris F.C., and adopted the current name on 24 May 1890 on the creation of the County Borough of Stockport...
. Unfortunately, Eyal Berkovic also departed thus breaking up what had looked like becoming a successful partnership. Østenstad was now paired with Kevin Davies
Kevin Davies
Kevin Cyril Davies is an English footballer who currently plays for Bolton Wanderers and the England national football team as a striker. He was made Bolton team captain in January 2009....
in attack but failed to score until a substitute appearance against West Ham United
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
on 4 October 1997. Following the signing of David Hirst
David Hirst (footballer)
David Eric Hirst is an English former professional footballer, an exciting but injury prone striker who played for Sheffield Wednesday for much of his career.-Playing career:...
he was dropped from the team, making only the occasional substitute appearance. After coming off the bench to score in a 3–2 victory over Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
on 7 February 1998, he started the remaining 13 league games, scoring eight goals as the Saints finished the 1997–98 season in 11th place.
Østenstad was part of the 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...
squad for the 1998 World Cup
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...
held in France, but was given little chance to make any impact.
In the 1998 close season, Kevin Davies departed for Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....
, with James Beattie
James Beattie (footballer)
James Scott Beattie is an English footballer who currently plays for Sheffield United as a striker.Born in Lancaster, Lancashire he came through the ranks at Blackburn Rovers eventually signing professionally for them in 1995...
joining the Saints as part of the deal. Østenstad was now paired up front with veteran striker Mark Hughes
Mark Hughes
Leslie Mark Hughes, OBE , is a former Welsh international footballer. As an international footballer, he made 72 appearances and scored 16 goals....
. The 1998–99 season saw Saints struggle to score goals and they were never out of the relegation zone until the last two weeks of the season. Despite only scoring seven goals, Østenstad was Saints top goal-scorer for the season (jointly with Matthew Le Tissier
Matthew Le Tissier
Matthew "Matt" Le Tissier is a retired English footballer who played for Southampton and England.An attacking midfielder with exceptional technical skills, Le Tissier is the second-highest ever scorer for Southampton behind Mick Channon and was voted PFA Young Player of the Year in 1990. He was...
), but by the end of the season he had lost his starting place in the team to Marian Pahars
Marian Pahars
Marians Pahars is a Latvian former footballer, currently the manager of Skonto FC. He spent most of his career as a striker at Southampton in the Premier League and with Skonto in Latvia....
.
Østenstad started the 1999–00 season brightly, scoring the only goal at Coventry City
Coventry City F.C.
Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry...
in the opening game on 7 August 1999. 11 days later, Dave Jones decided to move him on and arranged an exchange deal with Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....
with Kevin Davies
Kevin Davies
Kevin Cyril Davies is an English footballer who currently plays for Bolton Wanderers and the England national football team as a striker. He was made Bolton team captain in January 2009....
returning to The Dell. This move saw him drop down a division, as Rovers had just been relegated to Division One.
In his three years at the Saints, Østenstad scored 28 goals in 96 league appearances, plus a further five goals in 13 cup games. He was always a popular figure, but sometimes infuriated fans by seeming to miss as many "easy" goals as he scored difficult ones.
Blackburn Rovers
Despite being re-united with manager Graeme SounessGraeme Souness
Graeme James Souness is a Scottish former professional football player and manager.Souness was the captain of the successful Liverpool team of the early 1980s and player-manager of Rangers in the late 1980s as well as captain of the Scottish national team. He also played for Tottenham Hotspur,...
and dropping down a division, Østenstad struggled to make an impact at Ewood Park
Ewood Park
Ewood Park is a football stadium in the English town of Blackburn, Lancashire, and is the home of Blackburn Rovers Football Club — one of the founder members of the Football League and Premier League. Rovers have played there since they moved from Leamington Street in the summer of 1890. The...
. He started well, scoring a brace in his second game, in a 2–0 victory at Norwich City
Norwich City F.C.
Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The...
on 28 August 1999 and completed the 1999–00 season with eight league goals from 28 appearances, playing alongside Ashley Ward
Ashley Ward
Ashley Ward is an English retired footballer. He was a centre forward.-Biography:Ward was born in Middleton, Lancashire, the son of a coal mining engineer...
and Lee Carsley
Lee Carsley
Lee Kevin Carsley is a former professional footballer who played in the Football League and Premier League for Derby County, Blackburn Rovers, Coventry City, Everton and Birmingham City. Although English by birth, he represented the Republic of Ireland internationally...
.
The goals then started to dry up and the following season he only made 13 appearances for Blackburn with three goals. By now, Blackburn were relying on goals from Matt Jansen
Matt Jansen
Matthew Brooke "Matt" Jansen is an English footballer, who plays as a striker and currently plays for Chorley. He started his career with hometown club Carlisle United, and also played for Crystal Palace, Blackburn Rovers and Bolton Wanderers as well as a loan spell with Coventry City. He won six...
and David Dunn
David Dunn
David John Ian Dunn is an English footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Premier League club Blackburn Rovers.-Blackburn Rovers:...
to see them to promotion. He spent the end of the 2000–01 season
2000-01 in English football
The 2000–01 season was the 121st season of competitive football in England.-Overview:Manchester United secured their 3rd Premiership title in succession and their 7th title in just nine seasons...
on loan at Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
(where he made four appearances with no goals).
In the 2001–02 season Østenstad only made four appearances in the Premier League. In the following season, he appeared more regularly and, despite only one league goal in 17 appearances, he did score in a UEFA Cup game against CSKA Sofia
PFC CSKA Sofia
PFC CSKA Sofia , commonly known as CSKA or CSKA Sofia is a professional football club based in Sofia, Bulgaria. The club was officially founded on May 5, 1948. CSKA's abbreviation stands for Central Sports Club of the Army...
.
In his four seasons at Blackburn, he made a total of 62 league appearances scoring 12 goals.
Rangers
Ostenstad signed for Rangers on a free transfer by Alex McLeishAlex McLeish
Alexander "Alex" McLeish , is a Scottish former professional footballer and manager, who is currently managing English Premier League club Aston Villa...
in the summer of 2003. However, he made next to no impact during a very unproductive spell and wound up having his contract terminated before the end of the season. His only two goals at Rangers came in the League Cup in games against Forfar Athletic and St Johnstone.
Return to Norway
After his disappointing season2003-04 in Scottish football
The 2003–04 season was the 107th season of competitive football in Scotland.-Scottish Premier League:The 2003–04 Scottish Premier League season was won by Celtic with 98 points, 17 points ahead of closest challengers Rangers. Both Rangers and Celtic therefore gained the two UEFA...
at Rangers
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
, he made a long-awaited return to Viking midway through the 2004 season.
He was an instant hit at his old club, scoring 3 goals in 9 games to help save the club from relegation. Although he continued to be a regular starter and a prolific goalscorer, Østenstad retired at the end of the 2005 season. An internet petition for him to stay on for another season collected close to 2500 signatures. http://www.opprop.no/opprop.php?id=folkeaksjonenfo
National team
Østenstad made his debut for the Norwegian national teamNorway 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 1993, coming on as a substitute to score twice against the Faroe Islands
Faroe Islands national football team
The Faroe Islands national football team represents the Faroe Islands in association football and is controlled by the Faroe Islands Football Association, the governing body for football in the Faroe Islands. The Faroe Islands became a member of FIFA in 1988 and UEFA in 1990 and are the third...
. He was capped 17 times between 1993 and 1999, mostly as a substitute, and he played in the 1998 World Cup in France. Østenstad scored 6 times for 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...
, making him the most efficient marksman in the history of the Norwegian national 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...
with one goal in every 94 minutes played. On 7 September 2005, more than six years after his last appearance, he made his comeback with the national team, starting in the 1–2 defeat to Scotland
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
.
Career outside football
He retired after the 2005 season. He is now the director of footballDirector of football
"Director of football" is a term describing a senior management figure at a football club, most commonly used in Europe. The exact nature of the role is often unclear and extremely variable and causes much debate in the sports media...
for Viking. Østenstad was also the inspiration for the character "Yngve" in the book Mannen som elsket Yngve
Mannen som elsket Yngve
Mannen som elsket Yngve is a Norwegian film released on 15 February 2008. It is based on a book of the same name by Stavanger author Tore Renberg. It received critical acclaim as one of the best Norwegian movies of the year....
(The Man Who Loved Yngve) by Tore Renberg
Tore Renberg
Tore Renberg made his literary debut in 1995 with the collection of short prose Sovende floke for which he won the prestigious Tarjei Vesaas' Debutant Prize. Since then he has written several novels and children's books, one collection of prose and made one book of collages...
. The author and Østenstad went to the same high-school. http://www.dagbladet.no/sport/2005/09/10/442912.html