Even Hovland (born 14 February 1989) is a Norwegian 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 ...

who plays 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 ...

for

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; en, the All-Swedish, also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan, en, the Football All-Swedish) is a Swedish professional league for men's association football clubs. It was founded in 1924 and is the top tier of the Swedish football lea ...

club

BK Häcken Bollklubben Häcken, more commonly known as BK Häcken or simply Häcken (), is a Swedish professional association football, football club based in Gothenburg. It currently plays in Allsvenskan, the top tier of Swedish football. Formed on 2 Augu ...

and the Norway national team.

Club career

In his youth, Hovland played for the local clubs Vadheim IL and IL Høyang, before joining

Sogndal Sogndal is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The village of Hermansverk is the administrative center of Sogndal municipality. Other villages i ...

in 2007. During the warm-up to the opening match of the 2009 season against

Hønefoss __NOTOC__ Hønefoss is a town and the administrative center of the municipality of Ringerike in Buskerud county, Norway. Hønefoss is an industrial center of inner Østlandet, containing several factories and other industry. As of 1 January 2008, ...

, Hovland broke his foot, and missed almost the entire season. In 2009–2010, Hovland was on trial at

Manchester United 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 City of Salford, Salford to ...

, but was not offered a contract. Hovland joined

Molde FK Molde Fotballklubb () is a professional football club based in Molde, Norway, that competes in Eliteserien, the top flight of Norwegian football. Founded on 19 June 1911, the club was originally known as International and changed its name to ...

ahead of the 2012-season. In the

2012–13 UEFA Champions League The 2012–13 UEFA Champions League was the 58th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 21st season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. The final was p ...

qualifying match against

FC Basel Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel, FCB, or just Basel, is a Swiss football club based in Basel, in the Canton of Basel-Stadt. Formed in 1893, the club has been Swiss national champions 20 times, Swiss Cup winners 13 times, and ...

, Hovland was injured and had to leave the pitch after 25 minutes. The knee-injury kept him out of play for the rest of the 2012-season. On 14 June 2014, Molde announced that Hovland had signed a three-year deal with German club 1. FC Nürnberg. On 11 September 2017, Sogndal announced that Hovland had returned to the club after having been released from Nürnberg. He had signed a deal keeping him at Sogndal until 2020. On 4 April 2018, Rosenborg announced that Hovland had signed a three and a half years with the club. On 28 December 2021, Hovland signe a two-year contract with Häcken. He established himself as a consistent performer, and by the end of the season, he had played for BK Häcken 33 times in all competitions, scoring six goals, helping them to their first ever Allsvenskan title. He was voted Allsvenskan Defender of the Season at the end of the season.

International career

Hovland was named in

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 ...

's squad for the EURO 2012 qualification match against

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

on 11 October 2011, because

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 ...

was suspended due to yellow cards. Hovland made his debut for the senior team in a 1–1 friendly draw against

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

on 15 January 2012. The day before Norway's friendly against

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

on 29 February 2012, Hovland was again called up for Norway as a replacement for Brede Hangeland, but because Hovland had played a pre-season match with Molde in Spain the same day he withdrew from the national team squad.

Personal life

Hovland's sister Stine is also an international footballer. The siblings were teammates in their local youth team. Hovland's cousin

Viktor The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

is an international professional golfer.

Career statistics

Honours

Molde *

Tippeligaen 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 ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

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 ...

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 ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

Rosenborg *

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 ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

*Norwegian Cup:

BK Häcken *

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

Individual * Tippeligaen Defender of the Year:

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

* Allsvenskan Defender of the Year:

References

External links

Profile at Sogndal Fotball
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hovland, Even Living people 1989 births People from Høyanger Norwegian footballers Association football central defenders Norway international footballers Norwegian First Division players Eliteserien players 2. Bundesliga players Sogndal Fotball players Molde FK players 1. FC Nürnberg players Rosenborg BK players BK Häcken players Norwegian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Germany Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate footballers in Sweden Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Sweden Sportspeople from Vestland