Erik Hagen (born 20 July 1975) is a retired Norwegian

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 ...

who played as a

centre-back 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 ...

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 ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, as well as for the Norwegian national team, earning 28 caps.

Career

Club

During his time with

Vålerenga Vålerenga () is a neighbourhood in the city of Oslo, Norway, belonging to the borough of Gamle Oslo. Vålerenga is located between the neighbourhoods of Gamlebyen, Jordal, Ensjø, Etterstad and Lodalen. Vålerenga is in particular known for it ...

, Hagen received the nickname "Panzer" from the club's fans. Amongst other things he created a "hate list" of Norwegian footballers in the club magazine Vål'enga Magasin, containing the likes of

Vidar Riseth Vidar Riseth (born 21 April 1972) is a Norwegian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back or midfielder. He played for Neset, Rosenborg, Kongsvinger, Lillestrøm and Strømsgodset in Norway, and Luton Town, LASK Linz, Celti ...

. Hagen won the Kniksen Award as Defender of the Year, and as Kniksen of the Year in 2004. The Kniksen award is the highest individual award for a Norwegian footballer. In December 2004 Hagen was sold to Zenit Saint Petersburg, becoming the first Norwegian footballer to play in Russia. In 2005, he played 28 league matches for Zenit, receiving 12 cautions. In January 2006 he was elected vice-captain by the team. On 31 January 2008, it was announced that Hagen would be joining

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 ...

club

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

, signing on loan until the end of the English season. However, he only made one appearance for the team, in the away defeat at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

. On 28 July 2008, Hagen appeared at the Vålerenga home game against

Tromsø Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Tromsø (city), city of Tromsø. Tromsø lies ...

, where it was announced he had re-signed for the club until the end of the 2010 season. The return of one of Vålerenga's most popular players was well received with supporters. During an interview in April 2014, Hagen admitted to bribing a referee in a European match during his time with Zenit Saint Petersburg.

International career

Hagen made his debut, aged 29, for the Norwegian national team away to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

on 9 October 2004. Norway won 1–0.

Personal life

Hagen has a twin brother, Rune Hagen, who also plays professional football. He signed for Vålerenga at the same time as his brother.

Career statistics

Club

:Source:

International

:Source:

International goals

References

External links

Club profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hagen, Erik 1975 births Living people People from Ringerike (municipality) Norwegian footballers Norway international footballers Jevnaker IF players Hønefoss BK players Vålerenga Fotball players FC Zenit Saint Petersburg players Wigan Athletic F.C. players Eliteserien players Premier League players Russian Premier League players Kniksen Award winners Norwegian twins Expatriate footballers in Russia Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Russia Expatriate footballers in England Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in England Norwegian expatriate footballers Twin sportspeople Association football defenders Sportspeople from Viken (county)