Oliver Hanjorge Risser (born 17 September 1980) is a former 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 ...

who played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. He represented

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

internationally as well as having spells playing in Norway, Finland, England and Belgium.

Club career

Born in

Windhoek Windhoek (, , ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek in 202 ...

, Risser started his senior career with

SpVgg EGC Wirges SpVgg EGC Wirges is a German association football club from the city of Wirges, Rhineland-Palatinate. __TOC__ History ''Spielvereinigung Eintracht Glas-Chemie Wirges'' was formed 1 July 1972 through the merger of ''Sport Club Wirges'' (1924), ...

in 1999 and moved to Borussia Dortmund's reserve team in 2003, spending two seasons with the club in the German third division. He spent most of the 2005–06 season with SV Sandhausen in Oberliga Baden-Württemberg, one of the leagues in the fourth tier of German football. In April 2006, he moved to Icelandic first-division side

Breidablik } and ang, fācenstafas respectively). In Beowulf, the lack of refers to the absence of crimes being committed, and therefore both halls have been proposed to be sanctuaries. In popular culture * Breidablik is a sacred weapon in ''Fire Emblem H ...

for three months, before returning to fourth-division football in Germany and signing with

Bonner SC Bonner SC is a German association football club based in Bonn. The club was formed in 1965 through the merger of ''Bonner FV'' and ''Tura Bonn''. Its former women's football department won the German national championship in 1975. History ''B ...

of Oberliga Nordrhein, where spent the entire 2006–07 season. He moved to

Hannover 96 II Hannover 96 II is a German association football team from the city of Hannover, Lower Saxony. It is the reserve team of Hannover 96. The team's greatest success has been winning the now defunct German amateur football championship on three occa ...

in January 2008 after a few months without a club, but left the club at the end of the season. After another eight months without a club, Risser moved to Norway, joining

Manglerud Star Idrettslaget Manglerud Star is a Norwegian alliance sports club from Manglerud, Oslo. It has sections for association football (one for elite and one for grassroots football) and ice hockey. General history The club was founded in 1964 as a merge ...

in March 2009. On 21 August 2009, Lyn agreed a loan deal for him from Manglerud Star. In June 2011, Risser went on a one-week trial with English

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

side

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...

, and after three days, manager

Paolo Di Canio Paolo Di Canio (born 9 July 1968) is an Italian former professional footballer and manager. During his playing career he made over 500 league appearances and scored over one hundred goals as a forward. He primarily played as a deep-lying forward ...

announced that Risser was to be offered a contract. He signed a two-year deal along with

Ibrahim Atiku Ibrahim Mahama Atiku (born 20 May 1986) is a Ghanaian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Club career Atiku was a member of a Ghana U17 squad that also featured Michael Essien, and after their performances at the 1999 FIF ...

on the same day, 10 July. Ten days later, on 20 July, he was named Swindon captain for the 2011–12 season. He made a goalscoring debut for Swindon, netting the club's second goal with a 30-yard strike against

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...

in a 3–0 win at The County Ground on the opening day of the season. In October 2011, Risser was replaced by

Paul Caddis Paul McLean Caddis (born 19 April 1988) is a Scottish football coach and former professional footballer who played in more than 350 professional matches at club level and represented his country at youth and senior levels. Having predominantly ...

as club captain after losing his place in the side due to a groin injury. He scored his second goal for the club in a 1–1 draw against AFC Wimbledon in the

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...

on 8 November 2011, a game in which Swindon went on to win 3–1 on penalties. Risser received the first red card of his Swindon career in a 2–1 away win against

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

, receiving a straight red card for a tackle on Northampton's John Johnson. He went on to score two further goals during the campaign, in 2–0 victories against

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

and

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) * Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...

respectively. Risser made 40 appearances during the season, scoring four goals, as Swindon were promoted to

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

as champions. In August 2012, Risser joined League One side Stevenage on loan until January 2013, with a view to a permanent move. He made his Stevenage debut in the club's 3–2 loss to Dagenham & Redbridge in the

on 4 September 2012. Risser scored his first goal for Stevenage in a 1–1 draw against

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...

at the

Keepmoat Stadium The Eco-Power Stadium (formerly known as Keepmoat Stadium) is a multi-purpose stadium in Doncaster, England, with a capacity of 15,231. It cost approximately £20 million to construct, as part of the wider Lakeside Sports Complex that i ...

on 22 September; netting with a glancing header from a

Filipe Morais Filipe Alexandre Major Morais (born 21 November 1985) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a winger. Morais began his career at Chelsea, progressing through the youth system before signing a professional deal in 2005. H ...

cross. He went on to make 13 appearances during the loan spell, although Stevenage turned down the option to make the move permanent, and Risser returned to his parent club in January 2013. Shortly after returning to Swindon, it was announced that Risser had left the club after his contract was terminated by mutual consent. He subsequently signed for League Two side

Aldershot Town Aldershot Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Aldershot, Hampshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in the spring ...

on a free transfer on 6 January. Under manager Dean Holdsworth, he was a regular fixture in the side but after the arrival of new manager Andy Scott he was limited to appearances on the bench. By the end of the season he had made 15 appearances for Aldershot, scoring no goals. Risser was then believed to be one of the thirteen players made redundant as a result of the club going to administration.

International career

Risser earned 31 caps for the Namibia national team and represented Namibia at the

2008 African Cup of Nations The 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the MTN Africa Cup of Nations due to the competition's sponsorship by MTN, was the 26th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial football tournament for nations affiliated to the Confederat ...

Personal life

Risser's younger brother, Wilko, is also a footballer.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Swindon Town *

Football League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

: 2011–12

References

External links

* * *
Oliver Risser Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Risser, Oliver 1980 births Living people Namibian people of German descent White Namibian people Footballers from Windhoek Namibia men's international footballers 2008 Africa Cup of Nations players Borussia Dortmund II players SV Sandhausen players

Oliver Risser Oliver Hanjorge Risser (born 17 September 1980) is a former professional association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. He represented Namibia national football team, Namibia internationally as well as having spells playing in Nor ...

Bonner SC players Namibian expatriate sportspeople in Iceland Hannover 96 II players Kuopion Palloseura players Manglerud Star Toppfotball players Ramblers F.C. players Aldershot Town F.C. players Swindon Town F.C. players Stevenage F.C. players English Football League players Expatriate men's footballers in Norway Namibian expatriate sportspeople in Norway Citizens of Germany through descent Expatriate men's footballers in Finland Expatriate men's footballers in England Namibian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Eliteserien players Expatriate men's footballers in Iceland Men's association football midfielders Lierse Kempenzonen players Veikkausliiga players

Namibian expatriate men's footballers Namibian men's footballers Namibian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Namibian expatriate sportspeople in Finland