Arne Knut Pedersen (1 November 1931 – 16 November 2013) was a Norwegian footballer. He was a deep-lying inside forward, or offensive midfielder by today's terminology, who spent his entire playing career at his hometown club

Fredrikstad FK Fredrikstad Fotballklubb (also known as Fredrikstad or FFK) is a Norwegian football club from the town of Fredrikstad. With nine league championships and eleven Norwegian Cup wins, FFK is one of the most successful clubs in Norwegian footbal ...

, where he was a key player during the club's most successful period in the 1950s and early 1960s. He was also capped 40 times by

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

, and scored 11 international goals.

Club career

Pedersen was born and raised in

Fredrikstad Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a List of cities in Norway, city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Viken (county), Viken Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the ...

, and joined

as a youth player in 1945. His older brother Leif Pedersen (1924–1990) also played for the club at the time. Arne Pedersen made his debut for FFK's first team in 1950, and soon became a regular in the side. During his time with the club, Pedersen won six Norwegian league titles and three

Norwegian Cup The Norwegian Football Cup ( no, Norgesmesterskapet i fotball for herrer) is the main knockout cup competition in Norwegian football. It is run by the Football Association of Norway and has been contested since 1902, making it the oldest football ...

titles, including the

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * ...

in 1957 and 1961 and that makes him the most successful player in the history of Fredrikstad FK. In 1960, Pedersen scored one of the goals when Fredrikstad defeated

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...

4–3 in the European Champions Cup, as well as the return leg in Amsterdam which ended in a goalless draw. In total, Pedersen played 231 matches for Fredrikstad in the Norwegian league, scoring 107 goals, between 1950 and 1966. His final match for the club was the 1966 Cup Final where he scored the winning goal from the penalty spot as FFK defeated Lyn by a score of 3–2. He played a total of 342 matches for Fredrikstad, which is a club record.

International career

Pedersen made his international debut in a

1958 World Cup The 1958 FIFA World Cup was the sixth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Sweden from 8 to 29 June 1958. It was the first FIFA World Cup to be played in a Nordic country. Brazil be ...

qualification match against

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

in November 1957. He scored his first international goal the following year against

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, but it was not until 1962 that he became a regular in the national side. In June 1963, he scored one of the goals in Norway's surprising 4–3 win against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, and he also played in Norway's shock 3–0 victory against

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

in a 1965 World Cup qualifier.

Later life

After his retirement as a player in 1966, Pedersen coached several clubs in the

Østfold Østfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in southeastern Norway. It borders Akershus and southwestern Sweden (Västra Götaland County and Värmland), while Buskerud and Vestfold are on the other side ...

region, including Fredrikstad from 1971 to 1973. He also coached lower-league sides Trosvik, Torp,

Tistedalen Tistedalen is a part of Halden in Østfold Østfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in southeastern Norway. It borders Akershus and southwestern Sweden ( Västra Götaland County and Värmland), wh ...

and Kvik Halden. He died in the early hours of 16 November 2013, at the age of 82.

Honours

Norwegian Premier League Eliteserien () 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. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion ...

(6): 1951, 1952, 1954, 1957, 1960, 1961 *

Norwegian Football Cup The Norwegian Football Cup ( no, Norgesmesterskapet i fotball for herrer) is the main knockout cup competition in Norwegian football. It is run by the Football Association of Norway and has been contested since 1902, making it the oldest footba ...

(3): 1957, 1961, 1966

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pedersen, Arne Norwegian men's footballers Norway men's international footballers Fredrikstad FK players Norwegian football managers Fredrikstad FK managers Footballers from Fredrikstad 1931 births 2013 deaths Men's association football forwards