Jan Åge Fjørtoft
Encyclopedia
Jan Aage Fjørtoft is a former Norwegian
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...

 footballer. A powerful centre forward with netting ability (scoring 307 goals in 620 official games), he played professionally in 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...

, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. He appeared in 71 international matches (15 as the captain) and scoring 20 goals 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...

.

Fjörtoft is most famous and remembered in England for his goal celebration which saw him stretch out both of his arms and run around the pitch like an aeroplane. "The Airplane Celebration"

Playing career

After starting in Norway with Hamarkameratene and Lillestrøm S.K.
Lillestrøm S.K.
Lillestrøm Sportsklubb is a Norwegian football club from the city of Lillestrøm. It was founded in 1917, after the merger of two local football clubs. Their home ground is Åråsen Stadion, while the principal training ground is Lillestrøm stadion, or the indoor arena, LSK-Hallen...

 and spending four seasons in the Austrian Bundesliga
Austrian Bundesliga
The Austrian Football Bundesliga is the highest-ranking national league club competition in Austrian football. It is the competition which decides the Austrian national football champions, as well the country's entrants for the various European cups run by UEFA.The Austrian Bundesliga, which began...

 with SK Rapid Wien
SK Rapid Wien
The Sportklub Rapid Wien is an Austrian football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid is the most popular club in Austria and also record title holder having won the Austrian national football title 32 times...

 – where he became only the second foreigner to be Player of the Year in 1990, Fjørtoft spent several seasons in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 during the 1990s. He joined Swindon Town
Swindon Town F.C.
Swindon Town Football Club are a team based in Swindon, Wiltshire. Currently in League Two, Swindon have been managed by Paolo Di Canio since 23 May 2011...

 in the summer of 1993 following their promotion to the Premiership
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...

, costing the Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...

 club a record £500,000. He had a slow start to his career at Swindon endured a terrible start to their first ever top division campaign, failing to win any of their first 16 games. Fjørtoft failed to find the net until after Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

, but scored 13 goals from his final 17 games. However, it was not enough to prevent Swindon from going down in bottom place with a mere five league wins having conceded 100 league goals.

Fjørtoft continued to score frequently during 1994–95 and helped Swindon reach the League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...

 semi-finals, but their league form was disastrous once more and he transferred
Transfer (football)
In professional association football, a transfer is the action taken whenever a player under contract moves between professional clubs. It refers to the transferring of a player's registration from one professional association football club to another. In general, the players can only be...

 to Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough F.C.
Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...

 on transfer deadline day for £1.3million. By this stage, he had scored 25 goals in all competitions for the Robins and was one of the highest scorers in the English league that season. Fjörtoft was 2010 named in the "All Time Swindon Team"

His departure did nothing to help Swindon's league form and they were again relegated in the antepenultimate game of the season.

Meanwhile, Fjørtoft was a regular player for Middlesbrough as soon as he joined the club, and helped them finish the season as Division One
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....

 champions. Due to a restructuring of the league, they were the only team to gain automatic promotion to the Premiership in 1995. He was a regular player throughout the 1995–96 campaign and, as the Norwegian partnered Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

ian playmaker
Playmaker
In association football, a playmaker is a player who controls the flow of the team's offensive play, and is often involved in passing moves which lead to goals....

 Juninho
Juninho Paulista
Osvaldo Giroldo Júnior , better known as Juninho Paulista or simply Juninho, is a former Brazilian footballer...

, Boro finished in a respectable 12th place; although they had occupied fourth place in late autumn, a disastrous run of form coinciding with an injury crisis during mid season sabotaged their hopes of European qualification or a title challenge. Fjørtoft had scored six goals from 26 Premier League games.

But the arrival of Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 striker
Striker
Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...

 Fabrizio Ravanelli
Fabrizio Ravanelli
Fabrizio Ravanelli is a former international Italian football player, who won five titles with Juventus, including a Serie A championship in 1995 and a Champions League title in 1996....

 pushed him down the pecking order for 1996–97, and he was sold to Division One promotion chasers Sheffield United
Sheffield United F.C.
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...

 for £700,000 on 31 January 1997. In his final game for Middlesbrough Fjørtoft scored a crucial goal against Hednesford Town
Hednesford Town F.C.
Hednesford Town Football Club are an association football team based in Hednesford, Staffordshire, England. They play at Keys Park.-History:...

 in the fourth round of the FA Cup. Boro would go on to reach the final after his departure.

After the Blades lost to Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace F.C.
Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...

 in the playoff
Football League Play-Offs
The Football League play-offs are an annual series of football matches to determine some of the promotion places within the Football League. Essentially, each division of the league offers a certain number of automatic promotion places to the top two or three clubs. A further promotion place is...

 final, he played at United for most of the new season, but at the end he joined newly promoted Barnsley
Barnsley F.C.
Barnsley Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Nicknamed the Tykes, they were founded in 1887 under the name Barnsley St. Peter's...

 to have another crack at the Premiership for the 11 games left of the season. But he was unable to prevent Barnsley's only season at this level ending in relegation, although scoring six goals in 11 Premiership games. At the end of 1997–98 season, he left the club, calling time on his five-year spell in England.

Fjørtoft's next stop came in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 with Eintracht Frankfurt
Eintracht Frankfurt
Eintracht Frankfurt is a German sports club, based in Frankfurt, Hesse that is best known for its association football club.- Club origins :...

, where he spent three years (November 1998–2001). He became a cult hero for the club, scoring a decisive 89th minute goal in the final game of the 1998–99 season, keeping Eintracht up. He returned home to Norway with Stabæk I.F., and finished his career with Lillestrøm in 2002, retiring at the age of 35.

International career

Between 1986 and 1996, Fjørtoft collected 71 caps 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...

, being part of the nation's squad in 1994 FIFA World Cup
1994 FIFA World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in nine cities across the United States from June 17 to July 17, 1994. The United States was chosen as the host by FIFA on July 4, 1988...

, where he appeared as a starter against Mexico
Mexico national football team
The Mexican national football team represents Mexico in association football and is governed by the Mexican Football Federation , the governing body for football in Mexico. Mexico's home stadium is the Estadio Azteca and their head coach is José Manuel de la Torre...

 (1–0) and Italy
Italy national football team
The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...

 (0–1).

Club statistics

|-
|1986||rowspan="2"|Ham-Kam||rowspan="4"|1. divisjon
Tippeligaen
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...

||20||7||?||?||?||?||?||?
|-
|1987||22||10||?||?||?||?||?||?
|-
|1988||rowspan="2"|Lillestrøm||24||14||?||?||?||?||?||?
|-
|1989||11||6||?||?||?||?||?||?
|-

|-
|1989–90||rowspan="4"|Rapid Vienna||rowspan="4"|Austrian Bundesliga||33||17||?||?||?||?||?||?
|-
|1990–91||33||16||?||?||?||?||?||?
|-
|1991–92||34||16||?||?||?||?||?||?
|-
|1992–93||28||13||?||?||?||?||?||?
|-

|-
|1993–94||rowspan="2"|Swindon
Swindon Town F.C.
Swindon Town Football Club are a team based in Swindon, Wiltshire. Currently in League Two, Swindon have been managed by Paolo Di Canio since 23 May 2011...

||rowspan="1"|Premier League||36||12||?||?||||||?||?
|-
|1994–95||rowspan="2"|Division One||36||16||?||?||||||?||?
|-
|1994–95||rowspan="3"|Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough F.C.
Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...

||8||3||?||?||||||?||?
|-
|1995–96||rowspan="2"|Premier League||28||6||?||?||||||?||?
|-
|1996–97||5||0||?||?||||||?||?
|-
|1996–97||rowspan="2"|Sheffield United||rowspan="2"|Division One||17||10||?||?||||||?||?
|-
|1997–98||17||9||?||?||||||?||?
|-
|1997–98||rowspan="2"|Barnsley
Barnsley F.C.
Barnsley Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Nicknamed the Tykes, they were founded in 1887 under the name Barnsley St. Peter's...

||rowspan="1"|Premier League||15||6||?||?||||||?||?
|-
|1998–99||rowspan="1"|Division One||19||3||?||?||||||?||?
|-

|-
|1998–99||rowspan="3"|Eintracht Frankfurt
Eintracht Frankfurt
Eintracht Frankfurt is a German sports club, based in Frankfurt, Hesse that is best known for its association football club.- Club origins :...

||rowspan="3"|Bundesliga
Fußball-Bundesliga
The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...

||17||6||?||?||?||?||?||?
|-
|1999-00||21||5||?||?||?||?||?||?
|-
|2000–01||14||3||?||?||?||?||?||?
|-

|-
|2001||rowspan="1"|Stabæk||rowspan="2"|Tippeligaen
Tippeligaen
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...

||15||6||3||2||||||18||8
|-
|2002||rowspan="1"|Lillestrøm||5||0||3||0||||||8||0
|-
97||43||?||?||?||?||?||?
128||62||?||?||?||?||?||?
181||65||8||5||||||214*||86*
52||14||?||?||?||?||?||?
458||184||?||?||?||?||?||?
  • * = English League Cup (1993–99): 25/16

Retirement

After his retirement, Fjørtoft worked as a football commentator for NRK and did his coaching badges, but resigned when he took over the Director of Football role at Lillestrøm (LSK). After four and a half years as the director of football, he quit his job at LSK at the end of the 2008 season.

Since 2004 he has also worked at Viasat (Modern Times Group – MTG) as an anchor for the Champions League, the English FA cup, national games and the European League. He also runs his own "Strategic Consultant – company" with customers in Norway and internationally.
He is the chairman of MTG's foundation "MTG United for Peace". A foundation that in October 2010 and 2011 successfully ran "MTG World Peace Cup" in Oslo in association with the Nobel Peace Center and Norwegian Red Cross. More than 150 kids from 12 countries participated. The charity is involved in 12 different countries doing local tournaments.

He is also a "busy" twitter on @janaagefjortoft. Giving his strong -views on international football.
Since august 2011 he also works as an footballexpert on Sky Germany. Doing their TopSpiel every weekend.

External links

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