Roger Albertsen
Encyclopedia
Roger Albertsen was a Norwegian football midfielder
.
, KFC Winterslag
and Olympiakos, before he returned to Norway in 1985, making his debut in the Norwegian Premier League
for Rosenborg.
and Odda
. He was regarded as a promising talent, and represented Norway several times at youth level. Nonetheless, it came as something of a shock when he left the country at age 17 to try his luck in the Netherlands
, joining his compatriot Harald Berg
's old club Den Haag. Albertsen made his debut for the club in 1975, and soon became a regular in the Den Haag lineup, earning praise for his tireless running and no-nonsense physical play. His performance in the Eredivisie
at Den Haag didn't go unnoticed back home and he made his debut for Norway in 1976.
In the summer of 1979, Albertsen was transferred to Feyenoord, where he became a valuable player in the side that finished fourth in the league and won the cup
. However, at the end of the season, after just one year in Rotterdam
, he returned to Den Haag.
giants Olympiakos, where he won a league championship medal. He spent three years at the club, doing the dirty work in midfield, before his old friend Arne Dokken persuaded him to return home and play for Rosenborg B.K.
game in the Norwegian league. He was a member of the Rosenborg side that won the title in dramatic fashion in 1985, and played two more years at the Trondheim
club before hanging up his boots because of injury at the end of the 1987 season
.
, having debuted in 1976. Many remember him from the famous match against England
in 1981, where he was awarded the 1-1 goal, despite that television replays have later shown that Albertsen did in fact not touch the ball, and Tom Lund
's cross went straight into the net.
He made his international debut in a World Cup qualifier
against Switzerland
in 1976
. He is perhaps best remembered for scoring the equaliser (or did he?) in Norway's famous win over England in 1981
.
Nobody gave Norway a chance before the England game, and when Bryan Robson gave the visitors the lead after 15 minutes, everyone believed the match was over. However, Norway held on, and in the 35th minute, Albertsen went after a cross from Tom Lund and the ball went into the net. So, who scored the goal? Albertsen was credited with the goal, but television replays seem to indicate that Albertsen did in fact not make contact with the ball before it crossed the line. But it really doesn't matter who scored the goal. The fact remains that Norway had equalised against England, and if Albertsen come running to reach the cross, England keeper Ray Clemence
would probably have saved it. And when Hallvar Thoresen
scored Norway's second four minutes before half-time, the unthinkable had happened. Norway had taken the lead against England, and went on to win the game.
Albertsen now got an extended run in the national side, and scored two more goals in a pair of summer friendlies. This time there was no doubt about Albertsen being the scorer. He was also a member of the team that defeated Yugoslavia
3-1 in a Euro 84 qualifier
. Shortly after that match, he was on the move again.
Roger Albertsen was a hard-working and hard-tackling midfielder who never truly established himself as a first-choice in the Norway lineup, but he was a dependable player who did a fine job whenever he got the chance. He wasn't a finesse player, but his work-rate and determination made him a fan favorite at every club he played.
, and he died from the disease in March 2003.
Olympiacos F.C.
Rosenborg BK
Midfielder
A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...
.
Club career
At the age of 17 he travelled abroad, playing professionally for Dutch team FC Den Haag. He later played for Feyenoord RotterdamFeyenoord Rotterdam
Feyenoord is a Dutch professional football club located in Rotterdam. Along with Ajax and PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord is one of the "big three" clubs in the Netherlands. These three clubs and Utrecht and Roda JC are the only clubs never to have been relegated from the Dutch first division...
, KFC Winterslag
K.R.C. Genk
Koninklijke Racing Club Genk , usually referred to as Racing Genk or simply Genk, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Genk in Belgian Limburg. Racing Genk plays in the Belgian Pro League and they have won 3 Belgian champion titles in 1998–99, in 2001–02 and in 2010–11 as...
and Olympiakos, before he returned to Norway in 1985, making his debut in the Norwegian Premier League
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...
for Rosenborg.
Netherlands
Albertsen began his career with local lower-division sides TyssedalTyssedal
Tyssedal is a village in Odda municipality in Norway with about 700 inhabitants and is situated 6 km north of Odda center. Tyssedal is located in a charming environment between fjords and mountains, in the fjord arm Sørfjorden and at the edge of the Hardangervidda mountain plateau.Tyssedal is...
and Odda
Odda
is a municipality and town in the county of Hordaland, Norway. Odda was separated from Ullensvang on 1 July 1913 and on 1 January 1964 Røldal was merged with Odda. The town of Odda is the centre of the landscape of Hardanger, located at the end of the Hardangerfjord.In 1927, Erling Johnson,...
. He was regarded as a promising talent, and represented Norway several times at youth level. Nonetheless, it came as something of a shock when he left the country at age 17 to try his luck in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, joining his compatriot Harald Berg
Harald Berg
Harald Johan «Dutte» Berg is a former Norwegian playmaker and midfielder, nickname "Dutte". He is the brother of Knut Berg and father of Runar Berg, Ørjan Berg and Arild Berg all top players in the Norwegian Premier League....
's old club Den Haag. Albertsen made his debut for the club in 1975, and soon became a regular in the Den Haag lineup, earning praise for his tireless running and no-nonsense physical play. His performance in the Eredivisie
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....
at Den Haag didn't go unnoticed back home and he made his debut for Norway in 1976.
In the summer of 1979, Albertsen was transferred to Feyenoord, where he became a valuable player in the side that finished fourth in the league and won the cup
KNVB Cup
The KNVB Cup is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association since 1899. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside of the Netherlands, it is often referred to as the Dutch Cup...
. However, at the end of the season, after just one year in Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
, he returned to Den Haag.
Winterslag
He played one more season for Den Haag, and then he was on the move again - this time to Belgian side Winterslag (now known as Racing Genk following a 1988 merger). Albertsen quickly became a fan favorite at the Belgian club, and his performances earned him a recall to the national team for the World Cup qualifier against England - the game that would provide Albertsen's finest moment in a Norway shirt.Olympiakos
Midway through the 1982/83 season, Albertsen was signed by GreekGreece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
giants Olympiakos, where he won a league championship medal. He spent three years at the club, doing the dirty work in midfield, before his old friend Arne Dokken persuaded him to return home and play for Rosenborg B.K.
Rosenborg B.K.
Rosenborg Ballklub is a Norwegian football club from the city of Trondheim, currently playing in the Norwegian Premier League. With 22 league titles and nine Norwegian Cup titles, the club is the most successful in Norway and has dominated Norwegian football since the start of the 1990s...
Rosenborg
So, in the summer of 1985, after a decade abroad, Albertsen played his first-ever top divisionNorwegian 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...
game in the Norwegian league. He was a member of the Rosenborg side that won the title in dramatic fashion in 1985, and played two more years at the Trondheim
Trondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
club before hanging up his boots because of injury at the end of the 1987 season
Norwegian First Division 1987
The 1987 season of the Norwegian First Division , the highest football league in Norway, began on 2 May 1987 and ended on 10 October 1987.22 rounds were played. Number eleven and twelve were relegated...
.
International career
He was capped 25 times for NorwayNorway 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...
, having debuted in 1976. Many remember him from the famous match against England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
in 1981, where he was awarded the 1-1 goal, despite that television replays have later shown that Albertsen did in fact not touch the ball, and Tom Lund
Tom Lund
Tom Lund is a former Norwegian football coach and striker, he is considered as perhaps Norway's greatest football player of all time....
's cross went straight into the net.
He made his international debut in a World Cup qualifier
FIFA World Cup qualification
The FIFA World Cup qualification is the process that a national association football team goes through to qualify for the FIFA World Cup Finals. The FIFA World Cup is a global event, so qualification is required to reduce the large field of participants from about 200 to 32.Qualifying tournaments...
against Switzerland
Switzerland national football team
The Swiss national football team is the national football team of Switzerland...
in 1976
1978 FIFA World Cup qualification
A total of 107 teams entered the 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, competing for a total of 16 spots in the final tournament. , as the hosts, and , as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 14 spots open for competition....
. He is perhaps best remembered for scoring the equaliser (or did he?) in Norway's famous win over England in 1981
1982 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)
Listed below are the dates and results for the 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the European zone . For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification....
.
Nobody gave Norway a chance before the England game, and when Bryan Robson gave the visitors the lead after 15 minutes, everyone believed the match was over. However, Norway held on, and in the 35th minute, Albertsen went after a cross from Tom Lund and the ball went into the net. So, who scored the goal? Albertsen was credited with the goal, but television replays seem to indicate that Albertsen did in fact not make contact with the ball before it crossed the line. But it really doesn't matter who scored the goal. The fact remains that Norway had equalised against England, and if Albertsen come running to reach the cross, England keeper Ray Clemence
Ray Clemence
Raymond Neal "Ray" Clemence, MBE is one of English and European football's most decorated goalkeepers ever and was part of the Liverpool team of the 1970s.-Scunthorpe United:...
would probably have saved it. And when Hallvar Thoresen
Hallvar Thoresen
Hallvar Thoresen is a former Norwegian footballer. The son of former Norwegian international Gunnar Thoresen, Hallvar Thoresen was central in 1980s Norwegian football....
scored Norway's second four minutes before half-time, the unthinkable had happened. Norway had taken the lead against England, and went on to win the game.
Albertsen now got an extended run in the national side, and scored two more goals in a pair of summer friendlies. This time there was no doubt about Albertsen being the scorer. He was also a member of the team that defeated Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia national football team
The Yugoslavia national football team represented the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in association football. It enjoyed a modicum of success in international competition. In 1992, during the Yugoslav wars, the team was suspended from international...
3-1 in a Euro 84 qualifier
1984 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying
The qualifying round for the 1984 European Football Championship consisted of 32 teams divided into seven groups; three of four teams and four of five teams. The qualifying round was played at various times between May 1982 and December 1983, with some groups concluding earlier than...
. Shortly after that match, he was on the move again.
Roger Albertsen was a hard-working and hard-tackling midfielder who never truly established himself as a first-choice in the Norway lineup, but he was a dependable player who did a fine job whenever he got the chance. He wasn't a finesse player, but his work-rate and determination made him a fan favorite at every club he played.
Retirement and death
After retiring from the game, Albertsen worked in the computer business, and also held coaching jobs for lower-division sides Orkanger, Sokna and Kongsberg. In late 2002, he was diagnosed with cancerCancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
, and he died from the disease in March 2003.
Club
Feyenoord- KNVB CupKNVB CupThe KNVB Cup is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association since 1899. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside of the Netherlands, it is often referred to as the Dutch Cup...
: 1979-80
Olympiacos F.C.
- Super League GreeceSuper League GreeceThe Superleague Greece is the highest professional football league in Greece. It was formed on July 16, 2006 and replaced Alpha Ethniki at the top of the Greek football league system. The league consists of 16 teams and runs from August to May, with teams playing 30 games each...
: 1982-83Alpha Ethniki 1982-83-Standings:Pts = Points Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference;-Match table:Match changes:-Play out:...
Rosenborg BK
- Norwegian Premier League ChampionshipNorwegian Premier LeagueTippeligaen 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...
: 1985Norwegian First Division 1985The 1985 season of the Norwegian First Division , the highest football league in Norway, began on 27 April 1985 and ended on 13 October 1986....