Rune Lange (born 24 June 1977) is a Norwegian 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 le ...

who played as a striker.

Career

Lange hails from the city of

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 ...

and joined the club Fløya at the age of five. As a 17-year-old, he became top scorer in the

3. divisjon The Norwegian Third Division, also called 3. divisjon, is the fourth highest division of the men's football league in Norway. Like the rest of the Norwegian football league system, the season runs from spring to autumn, running approximately from ...

(fourth tier) with 33 goals in 22 matches, and then moved on to play for

Tromsdalen Tromsdalen ( sme, Romssavággi Sálašvággi) is an urban neighborhood in the city of Tromsø which is in Tromsø Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is located just to the east of the city centre on the mainland along the coas ...

in the 1. divisjon (2nd tier). Lange stayed with the club for three seasons, during which he experienced a relegation and a season in the

2. divisjon The Norwegian Second Division, also called 2. divisjon and often referred to as PostNord-ligaen for sponsorship reasons, is the third-highest level of the Norwegian football league system. There are 28 teams divided into two groups, and at the ...

(3rd tier). During the summer of 1997, Lange signed for

, which played in the

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 ...

(first tier). He scored seven goals in 11 matches for Tromsø during his first season, and nearly experienced another relegation, but Tromsø survived after having to play qualification matches. Lange also debuted for the Norway under-20 football team. In 1998, Lange scored 20 goals in 26 matches, and was almost sold to

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...

. Lange stayed at Tromsø, however, as he could not come to an agreement with Coventry on the contract details. In 1999, Lange become top scorer of the Norwegian top division, scoring 23 goals. Lange also made his debut for the Norway U21s that season. In 2000, Lange started as a player for Tromsø, but was sold to the Turkish side

Trabzonspor Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish sports club located in the city of Trabzon. Formed in 1967 through a merger of several local clubs, the men's football team has won seven Süper Lig championships. Trabzonspor also have a women's football team, ...

in July. Lange only played 14 matches and scored seven goals in Turkey. In April 2001 he moved to Belgian side

Club Brugge (), known simply as Club Brugge (in English also: ''Club Bruges''), is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges, Belgium. It was founded in 1891 and its home ground is the Jan Breydel Stadium, which has a capacity of 29,062.

, the team where he played until 2006. In 2004, Lange debuted for the Norway national team, playing against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. In February 2009, Lange signed for

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded in 1908 as Hartle ...

on a contract until the end of the 2008-09 season. In his third game for Hartlepool, his shoulder was dislocated. On 13 March 2009, Lange had surgery on his injured shoulder and was scheduled not to return to training for at least six weeks. In September 2009 he signed for Kvik Halden (in the fourth tier of Norwegian football) until the remainder of the season, making four appearances (two league games and both play-off games). As of March 2011 he was working as a scout for his former employer, Club Brugge.

Career statistics

Honours

Club Brugge *

Belgian First Division The Belgian Pro League,(officially the Jupiler Pro League due to sponsorship reasons with Jupiler), is the top league competition for association football clubs in Belgium. Contested by 18 clubs since the 2020–21 season and reduced to 16 team ...

: 2002–03, 2004–05 *

Belgian Cup The Belgian Cup (french: link=no, Coupe de Belgique; nl, Beker van België []; german: link=no, Belgischer Fußballpokal) is the main Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in Belgium, run by the Belgia ...

: 2001–02, 2003–04 *

Belgian Supercup The Belgian Super Cup ( nl, Belgische Supercup, ; french: Supercoupe de Belgique; german: Belgischer Fußball-Super Cup), ''Pro League Supercup'', is a Belgian club competition played as a single match between the Belgian First Division A champion ...

: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lange, Rune Living people 1977 births Kniksen Award winners Norwegian footballers Association football forwards Norway international footballers Norway under-21 international footballers Norway youth international footballers Eliteserien players Norwegian First Division players Belgian Pro League players Süper Lig players English Football League players Tromsdalen UIL players Tromsø IL players Club Brugge KV players Trabzonspor footballers Sportspeople from Tromsø Vålerenga Fotball players Hartlepool United F.C. players Kvik Halden FK players Norwegian Second Division players Norwegian Third Division players Norwegian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Turkey Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate footballers in England Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate footballers in Belgium Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium