Svein Fjælberg (born 12 January 1959) is a Norwegian former football defender. He played 11 seasons for the Norwegian club

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and s ...

, where he won the league twice as well as two

cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, c ...

titles. Fjælberg was capped 33 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 t ...

. After his retirement he served as the assistant coach of Viking on three occasions.

Player career

Club career

Fjælberg was born in

Sola Sola is a municipality and a Seaside resort in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Jæren. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Solakrossen. Other villages include Tananger, Hålan ...

, and started playing football for Sola FK. As a 17-year-old,

Anbjørn Ekeland Anbjørn Ekeland (born 8 August 1947) is a Norwegian footballer. He played in three matches for the Norway national football team The Norway national football team ( no, Norges herrelandslag i fotball, or informally ''Landslaget'') represen ...

and

wanted his services, but he stayed at Sola a couple more years until he moved to Viking in 1979. Viking paid Sola 45,000 for the transfer, which was Viking's most expensive transfer at the time. Fjælberg played in every match during his first season at Viking when they won the

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

, and his good performances at the club made him a candidate for the national team. Viking and Fjælberg again won the Norwegian league in

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C., Un ...

, and in 1983 Fjælberg was awarded "Norwegian Player of the Year". Fjælberg also won the award "Viking Player of the Year" in 1983 and 1985. Fjælberg was the captain of Viking later in his career, and played for the club in the second tier after they got relegated in 1986. He was still with the club when they were promoted to the First Division again in 1988, and he lifted the trophy when the club won the

Norwegian Cup The Norwegian Football Cup ( no, Norgesmesterskapet i fotball for herrer) 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 footbal ...

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker ru ...

by beating

Molde Molde () is a town and List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Møre og Romsdal Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Pen ...

in the final. Fjælberg retired after the 1989 season, and in total he played 128 league matches for the club, scoring two goals.

International career

On 26 September 1979 he made his debut for

in an Olympic qualifying match against

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

, and three years later he played his first non-Olympic national match in the

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against Sweden on 11 August 1982. Fjælberg also competed for Norway in the football tournament of the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984. In total he was capped 33 times for Norway, and his last international match was the

UEFA Euro 1988 The 1988 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in West Germany from 10 to 25 June 1988. It was the eighth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and supported by UEFA. The tournament crowned the Nethe ...

qualifying Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...

match against

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

on 24 September 1989.

Coaching career

After he retired Fjælberg started to work as assistant coach under head coach Benny Lennartsson, a position he had from 1990 to 1991. This makes him the last assistant coach to win the league with Viking as they won in

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the ...

. When Lennartsson returned to Viking as head coach in 2000, he again wanted Fjælberg as assistant coach. On 9 August 2007, Fjælberg was unveiled as Viking's new "youth development coach" while

Kjell Inge Olsen Kjell Inge Olsen (born 26 September 1961 in Stavanger) is a former head scout and manager at Viking FK. In 2003, Kjell Inge Olsen took over as manager of Viking, and that season finished fifth in the league. During Olsen's time in charge, the team ...

was presented as the new head scout. In 2009, he was again hired as assistant coach, this time under head coach Åge Hareide. Following the changes in Viking's coaching staff ahead of the 2012 season, Fjælberg was given a new position as "administrative leader" of the first team.

Career statistics

Source:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fjaelberg, Svein 1959 births Living people People from Sola Norwegian footballers Norway international footballers Association football defenders Olympic footballers of Norway Footballers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Sola FK players Viking FK players Eliteserien players Viking FK non-playing staff Sportspeople from Rogaland