Aasmund Bjørkan (born 3 July 1973) 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 lea ...

who was appointed manager at Bodø/Glimt after the 2015 season. He had been the assistant of former manager

Jan Halvor Halvorsen Jan Halvor Halvorsen (born 8 March 1963) is a former Norwegian football player and manager. Club career Halvorsen started his youth career in Pors, debuting at the age of fifteen and a half. He has also played for clubs like Brann, Rosenb ...

since 2013. He has previously been head coach of the

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

sides Alta and

Ranheim Ranheim is a neighbourhood in the city of Trondheim in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the borough of Østbyen in Trondheim Municipality. The neighbourhood is approximately to the east of the centre of Trondheim. It comprises Older ...

. As a player, he played as a winger for Bodø/Glimt and

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 i ...

, and won the

Norwegian Cup The Norwegian Football Cup () is the main knockout cup competition in Norwegian football. It is run by the Football Association of Norway and has been contested since 1902, making it the oldest football tournament in the country. The tournament ...

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

and

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

Playing career

Bjørkan made his debut for Bodø/Glimt in 1991, and helped win promotion ahead of the 1993 season. In his first

Norwegian top division Eliteserien () is a professional association football league in Norway and the highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Norwegian First Division ...

season in

he played all 22 league games. He remained a steadfast first-team player at Bodø/Glimt until changing club to

in the middle of the 2000 season. After some meagre seasons he returned to Bodø/Glimt in August 2002. He started off well, playing all 26 league games in

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, but was eventually struck by problems with

jumper's knee Patellar tendinitis, also known as jumper's knee, is an overuse injury of the tendon that straightens the knee. Symptoms include pain in the front of the knee. Typically the pain and tenderness is at the lower part of the kneecap, though the ...

. He retired as an active player after the 2005 season.

Post-playing career

Ahead of the 2006 season he was offered the job as head coach of Steigen SK. This did not happen; instead he was hired at Bodø/Glimt as a player developer. Ahead of the 2009 season he was hired as the new head coach for second-tier club

Alta IF Alta Idrettsforening is a sports club from the town of Alta in Alta Municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The club is most known for its association football department, which played in the 1. divisjon until 2014. Alta currently plays in 2. d ...

. After two seasons there Bjørkan moved to become the new head coach for

from 1 January 2011, where he replaced

Per Joar Hansen Per Joar Hansen (born 17 August 1965) is a Norwegian football coach. He grew up in the small community of Trofors in Nordland. He played for and managed Rosenborg BK, and he has managed GIF Sundsvall, Aalesunds FK, Ranheim and the Norwegian un ...

who took over the Norwegian under-21 team. Bjørkan led the team to a fourth and a seventh place in the

, and left the club after the 2012 season when his contract expired. Bjørkan was linked to the vacant position as head coach of Bodø/Glimt ahead of the 2013 season, but after the club hired

as head coach, he was hired as his assistant coach. When

left Bodø/Glimt after the 2015 season, Bjørkan was appointed head coach. In his first season in charge, Bodø/Glimt was relegated to the

1. divisjon The Norwegian First Division, also called 1. divisjon () and OBOS-ligaen (due to sponsoring ties with OBOS), is the second-highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Each year, the top finishing teams in the 1. divisjon are promo ...

. Bjørkan stayed at the club, Bodø/Glimt won the 2017 1. divisjon with a 16 point margin, and Bjørkan was named the

manager of the year.

Personal life

Bjørkan's son Fredrik André is also a professional footballer, currently playing for Bodø/Glimt as a left-back.

Career statistics

Managerial statistics

Honours

As a player

Bodø/Glimt *

Vålerenga * Norwegian Cup:

As a manager

Bodø/Glimt *

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

Individual

Manager of the Year: 2017

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bjorkan, Aasmund 1973 births Living people Norwegian men's footballers FK Bodø/Glimt players Vålerenga Fotball players Eliteserien players Norwegian football managers FK Bodø/Glimt managers Ranheim Fotball managers Footballers from Bodø Men's association football midfielders Eliteserien managers