 Braaten in 2012 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Daniel Omoya Braaten[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1982-05-25)25 May 1982 (age 43)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Oslo, Norway | ||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Winger | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1988–2000 | Skeid | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2000–2004 | Skeid | 102 | (22) |
| 2004–2007 | Rosenborg | 58 | (10) |
| 2007–2008 | Bolton Wanderers | 6 | (1) |
| 2008–2013 | Toulouse | 157 | (13) |
| 2013–2014 | Copenhagen | 23 | (1) |
| 2015–2016 | Vålerenga | 22 | (1) |
| 2016–2018 | Brann | 51 | (3) |
| 2019 | Stabæk | 18 | (2) |
| 2020 | Skeid | 18 | (1) |
| Total | 455 | (54) | |
| International career | |||
| 2000 | Norway U18 | 4 | (0) |
| 2003 | Norway U21 | 2 | (0) |
| 2004–2014 | Norway | 52 | (4) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 20 August 2021 | |||
Daniel Omoya Braaten (born 25 May 1982) is a Norwegian former professionalfootballer who played as awinger. He has previously played forSkeid,Rosenborg,Bolton Wanderers,Toulouse,Brann andStabæk. Of Nigerian descent, he was capped 52 times for theNorway national team, scoring 4 goals.
Braaten was born inOslo, Norway.[3] He started his career in theSkeid youth academy at the age of six. He later won the Norwegian Junior Cup with the team in 1999, aged 17. The following year he was promoted to the first team, where he played for four years before joining giantsRosenborg BK in 2004, after 102 caps and 22 goals for Skeid. Before signing for Rosenborg, Braaten had attracted interest from various clubs in Norway and abroad, and had a trial with French sideRC Lens in late 2003 withDaniel Fredheim Holm.[4] Braaten had however trained with Rosenborg as early as autumn 2002, but was still in contract with Skeid, before signing in 2004 for approximately £250,000.
Braaten had become one of the most profiled players of theNorwegian Premier League, through his colourful, untraditional and artistic playing style. He had become known especially for his individual technical skills and physical strength, and as a player who did unexpected things on the field, surprising both opposing players and the audience. He was famous not only for his pace, but also for his mastery of theseal dribble, an incredibly difficult trick involving running while bouncing (and controlling) the ball on top of the head.
On 3 August 2007, Braaten signed forBolton Wanderers for a reported fee of £450,000. He scored his first goal in English football just over three weeks later, netting the final goal in Bolton's 3–0 win overReading.[5] He failed to secure a permanent spot on the team, however, and after a tough season in England, Braaten signed a three-year contract with French side Toulouse on 25 June 2008.[6] He was included as part of the deal which sawJohan Elmander move to Bolton. He scored his first league goal in Toulouse's 4–1 victory overParis Saint-Germain.[7] He performed a unique celebration by spinning on his back while spinning upwards at the same time after scoring his first goal for the club. He was released from his contract in July 2013.
Two months later, in September, Braaten signed a one-year-long deal with Danish sideCopenhagen, where he was given shirt no. 22. During his time in the Danish capital, he scored one goal in the league and a back-heel goal in theUEFA Champions League to secure a 1–0 victory overGalatasaray. At the end of the season Braaten left Copenhagen without a new contract and returned to Norway.
On 9 February 2015, Braaten signed a one-year deal withKjetil Rekdal andVålerenga in the NorwegianTippeliga after almost eight months as a free agent. He scored his first, and only, goal for his new club away versusSandefjord on his birthday, 25 May. On 3 December 2015, it was announced that his contract would not be renewed, something that surprised many critics as he had performed well in the previous season.[8] After training withSK Brann during the winter, he signed a one-year contract with the club on 21 February 2016, his fourth club in just as many years.[9] After 55 games for Brann, he left the club at the end of the 2018 season.[10]
After playing four matches for Norway U18 in 2000, and two matches forNorway U21 in 2003,[11] Braaten made his debut forNorway on 22 January 2004 in afriendly match againstSweden, when playing for Skeid inAdeccoligaen, thesecond-tier league in Norway. His first international goal came againstEstonia, in aFriendly match on 20 April 2005, a game Norway won 2–1. As of May 2018, he has beencapped 52 times forNorway, scoring four goals.[12]
| Club | Season | Division | League | Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Skeid | 2000[13] | 1. divisjon | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 0 | ||
| 2001[13] | 28 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 3 | ||||
| 2002[13] | 25 | 4 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 29 | 5 | ||||
| 2003[13] | 22 | 6 | 5 | 1 | — | — | 27 | 7 | ||||
| 2004[13] | 14 | 9 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 9 | ||||
| Total | 102 | 22 | 16 | 2 | — | — | 110 | 24 | ||||
| Rosenborg | 2004[13] | Tippeligaen | 10 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | — | 19 | 5 | |
| 2005[13] | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | — | 22 | 2 | |||
| 2006[13] | 19 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 25 | 3 | |||
| 2007[13] | 15 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 19 | 2 | |||
| Total | 58 | 10 | 9 | 0 | 18 | 2 | — | 85 | 12 | |||
| Bolton | 2007–08[14] | Premier League | 6 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 |
| Toulouse | 2008–09[13] | Ligue 1 | 30 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 2 |
| 2009–10[13] | 32 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 5 | ||
| 2010–11[13] | 32 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 5 | ||
| 2011–12[13] | 31 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 1 | ||
| 2012–13[13] | 32 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 2 | ||
| Total | 157 | 13 | 12 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 176 | 15 | ||
| Copenhagen | 2013–14[13] | Superliga | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 2 |
| Vålerenga | 2015[13] | Tippeligaen | 22 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 1 | ||
| Brann | 2016[13] | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 0 | |||
| 2017[13] | Eliteserien | 15 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 17 | 3 | ||
| 2018[13] | 11 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 1 | ||
| Total | 51 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 57 | 4 | ||
| Stabæk | 2019[13] | Eliteserien | 18 | 2 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 22 | 3 | ||
| Skeid | 2020[13] | PostNord-ligaen | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 18 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 455 | 54 | 51 | 5 | 34 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 541 | 63 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norway | 2004 | 2 | 0 |
| 2005 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2006 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2007 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2009 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2011 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 8 | 2 | |
| 2014 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 52 | 4 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 April 2005 | A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia |  Estonia | 1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 2 | 6 June 2007 | Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway |  Hungary | 2–0 | 4–0 | UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying |
| 3 | 11 June 2013 | Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway |  North Macedonia | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 4 | 15 October 2013 | Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway |  Iceland | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Rosenborg
