Svein Erling "Matta" Mathisen (30 September 1952 – 27 January 2011) was a

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 ...

from Norway. With the exception of a short spell with Scottish club Hibernian in 1978, "Matta" played for

IK Start Idrettsklubben Start (or simply IK Start, translates to The sports club Start ) is a Norwegian football club from the city of Kristiansand that currently plays in the 1. divisjon, the second tier of the Norwegian football league system. The c ...

throughout his career, where he won the Norwegian league title in 1978 and 1980. Mathisen was capped 25 times 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 the ...

, scoring twice. Playing

attacking 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 ...

or striker, Mathisen played 327 top-tier league matches, and scored 106 goals. Both numbers are club records, and when he retired in 1989 he also held the domestic "matches played" record. It has later been beaten by Ola By Rise,

Roar Strand Roar Strand (born 2 February 1970) is a Norwegian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder, mostly for Rosenborg. Strand was capped 42 times for the Norway national team. He is the player with the fourth-highest number of appe ...

Christer Basma Christer Basma (born 1 August 1972) is a Norwegian former footballer who played as a defender. He played 16 consecutive seasons Tippeligaen, for Kongsvinger, Stabæk and Rosenborg. With 350 top division appearances, Basma has made the eighth- ...

, Erik Hoftun and Bjørn Johansen. In 2010, Mathisen was diagnosed with stomach cancer, and began treatment for it, but he continued to play football and appear on television. In an interview with

Verdens Gang ''Verdens Gang'' ("The course of the world"), generally known under the abbreviation ''VG'', is a Norwegian tabloid newspaper. In 2016, circulation numbers stood at 93,883, having declined from a peak circulation of 390,510 in 2002. ''VG'' is n ...

, Mathisen said the sickness had taught him to love the little things in life, and that he was optimistic about his recovery. Svein Mathisen died in his sleep from cancer in the early hours of 27 January 2011, nearly six months after being diagnosed. His last public appearance had been at a local football tournament just a few days prior. Several football personalities expressed grief over his death, and his old club IK Start cancelled all activities for the day. Mathisen's son Jesper is also a footballer, who plays as a central defender or defensive midfielder for IK Start. He is also a former under-21 international for Norway.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mathisen, Svein 1952 births 2011 deaths Footballers from Kristiansand Men's association football midfielders Norwegian footballers Norway men's international footballers Eliteserien players IK Start players Hibernian F.C. players Scottish Football League players Norwegian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Scotland IK Start non-playing staff People from Sauda