Bjørn Helge Semundseth Riise (born 21 June 1983) is a Norwegian former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

. Riise played either a

central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

or a

right winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

, and has earned 35 international caps for

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 t ...

. He played for

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

of the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

from July 2009 to August 2012. He is the younger brother of former Liverpool and Fulham player

John Arne Riise John Arne Semundseth Riise (born 24 September 1980) is a Norwegian professional football manager and former player who played as a left back and a left midfielder. He is currently the manager of Toppserien club Avaldsnes. With 110 caps, Riise is ...

, also a Norwegian international.

Club career

Aalesund

Early in his career, Riise was linked with several clubs, including

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

and

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

, but deals failed to materialize. Riise threatened to retire after the Cardiff deal fell through due to complications with Aalesund, his club at the time, stating "I don't understand what Aalesund want from me. I almost want to quit football because it's not fun anymore".

Standard Liège

In January 2003, Riise signed a three-year deal with

Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège (; nl, Standard Luik ; german: Standard Lüttich ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège. They are one of the most ...

, after impressing on a trial that included two

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

appearances. He became teammates with fellow Norwegian

Ole Martin Årst Ole Martin Årst (born 19 July 1974) is a Norwegian retired professional footballer who played as a forward. He is a former top scorer in both Belgium's and Norway's top leagues. Club career Born in Bergen, Årst grew up in Tromsø. He made hi ...

Brussels

After playing only 17 matches for Standard Liège, he was

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...

ed out to

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. When his contract expired, Brussels would have a

call option In finance, a call option, often simply labeled a "call", is a contract between the buyer and the seller of the call option to exchange a security at a set price. The buyer of the call option has the right, but not the obligation, to buy an ...

on him. However, there were transfer talks between Brussels and Brann, according to Belgian newspaper ''

Het Nieuwsblad ''Het Nieuwsblad'' (; en, The Newspaper) is a Flemish newspaper that mainly focusses on "a broad view" regarding politics, culture, economics, lifestyle, society and sports. History and profile In 1929, ''Het Nieuwsblad'' was published by ...

''.

Lillestrøm

Riise returned to Norway with

Lillestrøm Lillestrøm is a municipality in Viken county. It is located in the traditional district of Romerike. With a population of 85,757 inhabitants, it is the fourth most populated municipality in Viken. It was founded on 1 January 2020 as a merger be ...

in the summer of 2005, where he signed a three-and-a-half-year deal. He made his debut for Lillestrøm on 3 July against

Molde Molde () is a town and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Peninsula, surrounding the Fannefjord and Moldefjord. The administrative centre of the m ...

Fulham

In July 2009, Norwegian media reported that Riise was to join international teammates

Brede Hangeland Brede Paulsen Hangeland (born 20 June 1981) is a Norwegian former professional footballer who played as a central defender. He began his career with Viking, where he won the Norwegian Cup in 2001. In 2006, he moved to Copenhagen, and went on to ...

and

Erik Nevland Erik Nevland (born 10 November 1977) is a Norwegian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is currently the sporting director of Viking FK. He played for clubs in Norway, England, Sweden and the Netherlands, and earned eight c ...

, for a fee believed to be around £2 million. Riise subsequently signed a three-year deal with for an undisclosed fee. He made his Fulham début in a

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

tie against

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coming on as a 78th-minute substitute for Zoltan Gera. Fulham won the match 3–0, winning the tie 6–0 on aggregate. He played regularly throughout the season under

Roy Hodgson Roy Hodgson (born 9 August 1947) is a former English football manager and player. He managed 22 different teams in eight countries, beginning in Sweden with Halmstads BK in the 1976 season. He later guided the Switzerland national team to th ...

, especially in the Europa League. His contract at Fulham was not extended in the summer of 2012, and was free to leave the club. Riise left during May/June.

On loan to Sheffield United

The following season however he found first team football much harder to come by under new boss

Mark Hughes Leslie Mark Hughes (born 1 November 1963) is a Welsh football coach and former player who is the manager of Bradford City. During his playing career he usually operated as a forward or midfielder. He had two spells at Manchester United, and a ...

and by February 2011 he opted to move on loan to

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

for the remainder of the season. Whilst at

Bramall Lane Bramall Lane is a association football, football stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which is the home of Sheffield United F.C., Sheffield United. The stadium was originally a cricket ground, built on a road named after the Bramal ...

he scored his first goal in English football, in a 2–0 win over Leeds United. With the Blades struggling he could not help to prevent them from being relegated at the end of the season and returned to Craven Cottage having played thirteen times for the Yorkshire club.

Loan to Portsmouth

Riise joined Portsmouth on a short-term loan on 26 September 2011.

Return to Lillestrøm

On 28 July 2012, Riise was presented as a new Lillestrøm player during half time in their home game with Molde.

Return to Aalesund

After three years at

he signed a contract for Aalesund, the club of his hometown and where he started his career.

Sogndal

On 16 August he signed for Norwegian club

Sogndal Fotball Sogndal Fotball is the association football department of Norwegian sports club Sogndal IL from Sogndal in Vestland. The club was founded in 1926. The men's team currently plays in 1. divisjon, the second tier of the Norwegian football league sy ...

only one day after his contract in Aalesund expired. Riise retired after the 2018 season.

International career

He earned his first cap for

in a Euro 2008 qualifying match against

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

which Norway won 4–0. He provided three assists in the game which saw his brother

score a goal. Riise earned his first goal for Norway in another qualifying match against

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

. Norway won 2–0, with Riise scoring the second goal of the game.

Personal life

Riise is married to long-term partner, Lena Jenssen – like his brother, he married in the summer of 2010. The couple have three sons, Noah, Filip and Levi.

Career statistics

Club

International goal

:''Scores and results list. Norway's goal tally first.''

Honours

Fulham *

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

runner-up: 2009–10

Individual

Eliteserien 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 ...

Top assist provider:

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Riise, Bjorn Helge 1983 births Living people Sportspeople from Ålesund Norwegian footballers Norway under-21 international footballers Norway international footballers Association football midfielders Aalesunds FK players Viking FK players Standard Liège players R.W.D.M. Brussels F.C. players Lillestrøm SK players Fulham F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Portsmouth F.C. players Norwegian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Belgium Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Expatriate footballers in England Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in England Eliteserien players Norwegian First Division players Belgian Pro League players Premier League players English Football League players