Marcus Pedersen (born 8 June 1990) 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

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for

HamKam Hamarkameratene (literally ''the Hamar Comrades''), often abbreviated to HamKam or Ham-Kam, is a Norwegian football club based in the town of Hamar. The club was founded in 1918, originally under the name Freidig. HamKam were most recently pro ...

Club career

HamKam

Pedersen was born in

Hamar Hamar is a List of cities in Norway, town in Hamar Municipality in Innlandet Counties of Norway, county, Norway. Hamar is the administrative centre of Hamar Municipality. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Hedmarken. ...

, Norway. He grew up in the nearby

Stange is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Hedemarken. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Stangebye ...

, where he played youth football until he joined

at age 11. He played in his first senior match for HamKam at the age of 14, in a friendly game. In the spring of 2006, he was invited to a trial with

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, but failed to impress, which Pedersen later attributed to an attack of

mononucleosis Infectious mononucleosis (IM, mono), also known as glandular fever, is an infection usually caused by the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV). Most people are infected by the virus as children, when the disease produces few or no symptoms. In young adult ...

that was identified after he returned home. In 2007, he was part of the HamKam squad that was promoted to

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 ...

. He made his debut for HamKam against

Skeid Skeid is a Norwegian alliance sports club from Nordre Åsen, Oslo. It has sections for association football (one for elite and one for grassroots football), Nordic skiing and bandy. General history The club was founded as ''IK Skeid'' on 5 De ...

on 9 April 2007, and featured in three other matches that season. He made his Tippeliga debut, and scored his first professional goal in the 2–1 victory against Rosenborg on 9 July 2008, making him the match winner. Injuries prevented him of getting more than five games in his second senior season.

Strømsgodset

On 1 January 2009 Pedersen signed for Strømsgodset on a free transfer, after his contract with HamKam ended. He cited the need for a change in surroundings as part of why he signed for a new club. He played his first match in Tippeligaen for Strømsgodset on 15 March 2009 against

Start Start can refer to multiple topics: *Takeoff, the phase of flight where an aircraft transitions from moving along the ground to flying through the air * Starting lineup in sports *Standing start, and rolling start, in an auto race Acronyms *St ...

. The match ended 3–3 in with Pedersen scoring two of the goals. He scored another two goals on 2 June 2009 in a 2–1 victory against Brann. Altogether, he scored 10 goals in 24 matches in the 2009 season, making him the top goal scorer for his club that year. The 2010 season started very well for Pedersen. Playing alongside another young talent,

Jo Inge Berget Jo Inge Berget (born 11 September 1990) is a Norwegian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward. He has played professionally in his homeland, Italy, Wales, Scotland, Sweden and the Uni ...

helped Pedersen to score seven goals 16 matches in 2010, and was second on the top-scorer list in Tippeligaen. He suffered an injury during a game a few weeks before the transfer-windows closed, and a transfer seemed unlikely, until Vitesse showed concrete interest in him.

Vitesse

On 30 August 2010, he was sold from Strømsgodset to

Vitesse Arnhem Vitesse may refer to: * Vitesse Models, a diecast model car company * Vitesse (band), Dutch rock band * Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse, a car * Rover 216 Vitesse, a car * Rover 3500 Vitesse, a car * Rover 800 Vitesse, a car * Triumph Vites ...

for about 12 million

NOK Nok is a village in Jaba Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Nigeria. The village is an archeological site. Archaeology The discovery of terracotta figurines at this location caused its name to be used for the Nok culture, of which these ...

, and signed a 4-year contract with the club. Only six weeks later, Vitesse manager

Theo Bos Theo Bos (born 22 August 1983) is a Dutch former professional road and track cyclist. An Olympic silver medalist and five-time world champion, he is the brother of Olympic medalist in speed skating Jan Bos. On 29 November 2021, he announced hi ...

was sacked, and was replaced by

Albert Ferrer Albert Ferrer Llopis (; born 6 June 1970) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a right back, and was also a coach. Having represented local team Barcelona for almost a decade, he went on to appear for England's Chelsea until his retir ...

. Pedersen made his debut for the club on 24 October 2010, in the 4–1 defeat against Utrect. He scored his first goal only two minutes after coming on as a substitute. In the next match, on 14 November 2010, he scored two goals for Vitesse in a 5–1 victory over

Venlo Venlo () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeastern Netherlands, close to the border with Germany. It is situated in the province of Limburg (Netherland ...

. He played a total of 16 league matches and scored five goals for the club in his first season, but featured only five times in the starting lineup. Vitesse barely avoided relegation in the

2010–11 Eredivisie The 2010–11 Eredivisie is the 55th season of Eredivisie since its establishment in 1955. It began on 6 August 2010 with the first matches of the season and ended on 29 May 2011 with the last matches of the European competition and relegation pl ...

and manager

was replaced by

John van den Brom Joseph Anthonius ''John ''van den Brom (born 4 October 1966) is a Dutch former professional footballer and the current manager of Ekstraklasa side Lech Poznań. As a player, he played for Vitesse, Ajax, De Graafschap and Istanbulspor. After h ...

. The new manager did not give Pedersen many chances in the

2011–12 Eredivisie The 2011–12 Eredivisie is the 56th season of Eredivisie since its establishment in 1955. It began in August 2011 with the first matches of the season and ended in June with the last matches of the European competition and relegation playoffs. ...

. While Vitesse secured a UEFA Europa League, Pedersen only played four matches from the start, and came on as a substitute five times. He failed to score any goals.

Vålerenga

Having struggled with various injuries, Pedersen found it difficult to hold down a spot in Vitesse's starting eleven. He was subsequently sent on loan to Norwegian club

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 ...

on 22 February 2012, and managed 8 goals in 15 league appearances until the loan-deal ended on 1 August. On 21 August 2012, he was fined by the

Football Association of Norway The Norwegian Football Federation ( nb, Norges Fotballforbund, nn, Noregs Fotballforbund; NFF) is the governing body of football in Norway. It was formed in 1902 and organises the men's and women's national teams, as well as the league systems f ...

for making homophobic remarks towards Stabæk supporters 22 July 2012.

Odense

On 31 August 2012, Pedersen was loaned out to

Odense Boldklub Odense Boldklub (; also known as Odense BK or the more commonly used OB) is a Danish professional football club based in the city Odense. The club has won three Danish championships and five Danish Cup trophies. OB play in the Danish Superliga ...

on a season-long loan deal, with OB having an option to buy. He made his debut against

F.C. Copenhagen Football Club Copenhagen ( da, Football Club København, ), commonly known as FC København, FC Copenhagen, Copenhagen or simply FCK, is a professional Danish football club in Copenhagen, Denmark. FCK was founded in 1992 as a superstructure on ...

on 2 September 2012.

Barnsley

On 21 August 2013, Pedersen joined English

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club

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

on a season-long loan.

Brann

On 11 August 2014, Pedersen was sold to Brann for an undisclosed sum, partly financed by investor

Trond Mohn Trond Mohn (born 3 April 1943) is a Norwegian billionaire businessman and philanthropist. He is the owner and chief executive officer (CEO) of the family-owned company Frank Mohn AS. Early life Trond Mohn is the son of Frank Mohn (1916–2002) ...

. He scored three goals in ten league matches for the club, but was unable to save them from relegation. Pedersen had a

gentleman's agreement A gentlemen's agreement, or gentleman's agreement, is an informal and legally non-binding agreement between two or more parties. It is typically oral, but it may be written or simply understood as part of an unspoken agreement by convention or th ...

with the former sports director of Brann, Roald Bruun-Hansen, that he would be sold if the club was relegated. However, the interim director Rune Soltvedt informed the striker that he was to be part of the club's plans for winning promotion the next season. During pre-season, on 4 February 2015, Pedersen tore his

posterior cruciate ligament The posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) is a ligament in each knee of humans and various other animals. It works as a counterpart to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). It connects the posterior intercondylar area of the tibia to the medial cond ...

, and was injured for over three months, not playing again until 26 May 2015. He then went on to score three goals in his final eight league matches for the club.

Strømsgodset

On 13 August 2015, Brann sold Pedersen to Strømsgodset for 2 million NOK. He made his comeback debut for the club in the 2–1 away defeat against Aalesund on 14 August 2015. He scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

against local rivals

Mjøndalen IF Mjøndalen IF is a Norwegian sports club located in Mjøndalen, Viken, Norway. Of the different athletic endeavours that the club supports, it may be best known in Norway for its bandy national championship teams and internationally for its asso ...

in a 4–2 away win on 30 August 2015. He finished his first season having scored 11 goals in ten matches, helping his team secure the runner-up position in the

2015 Tippeligaen The 2015 Tippeligaen was the 71st completed season of top-tier football in Norway. The competition began on 6 April 2015, one week later than in the previous season. A short summer-break in June was scheduled between the rounds played on 12 Ju ...

. On 3 June 2020, Pedersen returned to former club

. After a spell in Turkish clubs

Ankaraspor Ankaraspor Kulübü (), formerly known as Osmanlıspor (), is a Turkish professional football club based in the country's capital Ankara. Founded in 1978, the club competes in the TFF Second League. History Ankaraspor was founded as "Ankara Bele ...

and

Tuzlaspor Tuzlaspor is a Turkish professional Association football, football club based in Tuzla, Istanbul. They play in the TFF First League. The club plays in white and blue kits, and have done so since their formation in 1954. League participations ...

, Pedersen returned again to former club

on 11 August 2022.

International career

Pedersen represented Norway at youth level from U15 to U23. He played his first match for the U21 side in August 2009, and he scored two goals for Norway U21 in the match against Hungary U21 on 28 May 2010. Pedersen made his debut 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 ...

in the friendly match against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

on 8 January 2013, and started the match against

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

four days later. He returned to the national team on 12 November 2015, coming on as a substitute in the 61st minute in Norway's 1–0 defeat to Hungary in the first leg of the

UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying play-offs The play-offs of the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying tournament decided the final four teams which qualified for the UEFA Euro 2016 final tournament. Eight teams, each of which finished third in their qualifying group were paired and contested in four ti ...

Career statistics

Club

International goals

:''Scores and results list Norway's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Pedersen goal.''

References

External links

*
Marcus Pedersen profile
at Altomfotball.no {{DEFAULTSORT:Pedersen, Marcus 1990 births Living people Sportspeople from Hamar Norwegian footballers Association football forwards Norway youth international footballers Norway under-21 international footballers Norway international footballers Hamarkameratene players Strømsgodset Toppfotball players SBV Vitesse players Vålerenga Fotball players Odense Boldklub players Barnsley F.C. players SK Brann players Ankaraspor footballers Tuzlaspor players Eliteserien players Eredivisie players Danish Superliga players Norwegian First Division players TFF First League players Norwegian expatriate footballers Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Denmark Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate footballers in Turkey Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate footballers in England