Einar Jan Aas (born 12 October 1955) is a Norwegian former footballer who played as a
central defender
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
. He was the first Norwegian to play professionally in England and Germany.
Club career
Aas started his career in
Moss FK
Moss Fotballklubb is a Norwegian football club, founded on 28 August 1906. They play in the 2. divisjon, the third highest division in the Norwegian football league system. They played in the Norwegian top flight between 1937-1939, 1953-1954, 1 ...
in 1973. In 1976, they were promoted to the
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 ...
, and ''
Verdens Gang
''Verdens Gang'' ("The course of the world"), generally known under the abbreviation ''VG'', is a Norwegian tabloid newspaper. In 2016, circulation numbers stood at 93,883, having declined from a peak circulation of 390,510 in 2002. ''VG'' is n ...
'' named him ''central defender of the year'' in 1977 and 1979.
His professional career started at
Bayern Munich
Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...
, where he stayed for the 1979–80 season. Midway through the following season, he was transferred to
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
, at the time managed by
Brian Clough
Brian Howard Clough ( ; 21 March 1935 – 20 September 2004) was an English football player and manager, primarily known for his successes as a manager with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. He is one of four managers to have won the Englis ...
. A broken leg put a premature end to his stay at the City Ground. He returned to Moss in 1984, and helped the club win its first and to date only League title in 1987, before retiring as a player.
International career
Aas debuted in the
national team
A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport.
The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exam ...
in 1978, and played 35 international matches in total, scoring three goals.
Personal
He has his education from the
Norwegian School of Sport Sciences
The Norwegian School of Sport Sciences ( no, Norges idrettshøgskole, NIH) is a public university located at Sognsvann in Oslo, Norway. It has the national responsibility for education and research related within sport sciences. It provides educa ...
.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aas, Einar Jan
1955 births
Living people
People from Moss, Norway
Expatriate footballers in England
Expatriate footballers in Germany
FC Bayern Munich footballers
Bundesliga players
Association football defenders
Moss FK players
Norway international footballers
Norwegian expatriate footballers
Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Germany
Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in England
Norwegian footballers
Nottingham Forest F.C. players
English Football League players
Norwegian School of Sport Sciences alumni
Sportspeople from Viken (county)