Odd "Ivers" Iversen (6 November 1945 – 29 December 2014) was a 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 striker; he is notable for his former record of 158 goals in Norwegian top tier football, as well as his still-standing record of 30 goals in a single season.

Career

Iversen began his career in Rosenborg in 1964, and would spend twelve of his eighteen years as a top tier footballer in the club. He is often regarded as one of the greatest Norwegian footballers ever, and was the top goalscorer four times in the Norwegian top division (1967, 1968, 1969 and 1979). Upon retirement in 1982, he became the first Norwegian player in history to get a

testimonial match A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, particularly in association football in the United Kingdom and South America, where a club has a match to honour a player for servic ...

by his club (Rosenborg). At the time of his death he still held the record of most goals scored in one season (30 goals in 18 matches), a record that as of November 2020 still stands. During his career as a footballer he scored 158 goals in the top division, a record that stood for more than 20 years until it was broken by

Petter Belsvik Petter Belsvik (born 2 October 1967) is a Norwegian football coach and former player, who played as a striker. With 159 goals in the Norwegian Premier League he ranks third in the all-time goalscorer statistics, behind Harald Brattbakk. He neve ...

(159) in 2003. Since then,

Harald Martin Brattbakk Harald Martin Brattbakk (born 1 February 1971) is a Norwegian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He was the all-time top scorer in the Norwegian top division with 166 goals in 255 matches, before being surpassed by Sigurd R ...

(166) and

Sigurd Rushfeldt Sigurd Rushfeldt (born 11 December 1972) is a Norwegian football coach and former player who works as an assistant coach for Tromsø. During his playing career, he played for Tromsø, Birmingham City, Rosenborg, Racing de Santander, and Austri ...

(172) have also passed Iversen in the all-time goalscoring chart. In addition to Rosenborg, Iversen also played for

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 ...

and

Racing Mechelen K.R.C. Mechelen is a Belgian association football club from Mechelen in the Antwerp province. It is a long-time rival of KV Mechelen. The club's best position ever is a second place in the first division 1951–52. KRC Mechelen also reached ...

in Belgium. He also got 45 caps and 19 goals for the Norway national team.

Personal life and death

Odd Iversen was born and grew up in Trondheim in the working class neighborhood of Møllenberg. He is the father of former professional footballer Steffen Iversen. He died in Trondheim in the early hours of 29 December 2014 from an unspecified illness, aged 69.

Honours

Rosenborg *

Norwegian top division 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 ...

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

, 1969 Individual * Norwegian top division top scorer: 1967, 1968, 1969, 1979

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Iversen, Odd 1945 births 2014 deaths Norwegian footballers Norway international footballers Rosenborg BK players K.R.C. Mechelen players Vålerenga Fotball players Norwegian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Belgium Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Eliteserien players Footballers from Trondheim Association football forwards Rosenborg BK non-playing staff