.jpg) Berg as a coach ofLegia Warsaw in 2014 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Henning Stille Berg[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1969-09-01)1 September 1969 (age 56) | ||
| Place of birth | Eidsvoll, Norway | ||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | |||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Omonia (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1978–1986 | KFUM | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1986–1988 | KFUM | 100 | (0) |
| 1988–1991 | Vålerenga | 66 | (0) |
| 1992–1993 | Lillestrøm | 20 | (1) |
| 1993–1997 | Blackburn Rovers | 159 | (4) |
| 1997–2000 | Manchester United | 66 | (2) |
| 2000 | →Blackburn Rovers (loan) | 17 | (0) |
| 2000–2003 | Blackburn Rovers | 74 | (3) |
| 2003–2004 | Rangers | 20 | (0) |
| Total | 422 | (10) | |
| International career | |||
| 1992–2004 | Norway | 100 | (9) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2005–2008 | Lyn | ||
| 2008–2011 | Lillestrøm | ||
| 2012 | Blackburn Rovers | ||
| 2014–2015 | Legia Warsaw | ||
| 2016–2017 | Videoton | ||
| 2018–2019 | Stabæk | ||
| 2019–2022 | Omonia | ||
| 2022–2023 | Pafos | ||
| 2023–2024 | AIK | ||
| 2024–2025 | AEK Larnaca | ||
| 2025– | Omonia | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Henning Stille Berg (Norwegian pronunciation:[ˈhɛ̂nːɪŋˈstɪ̂lːəˈbærɡ]); born on September 1, 1969, is a Norwegianfootballmanager and former player.[2] He is currently the manager ofOmonia.
His career lasted from 1988 to 2004, most notably in thePremier League where he won titles with bothBlackburn Rovers andManchester United, becoming the first player to win the Premier League with two clubs.[3] He also played in his native land forVålerenga andLillestrøm before finishing his career in theScottish Premier League withRangers. He was capped100 times byNorway, scoring nine goals.
Berg became a manager in 2005 withLyn and then Lillestrøm. He returned to Blackburn as manager in 2012, but was sacked after just 57 days in the post. In January 2014, he became the new coach ofLegia Warsaw, with whom he won theEkstraklasa and thePolish Cup. He then managedVideoton andStabæk, before moving to Cyprus, where he managedOmonia, and led them to their first championship in over a decade.
Born inEidsvoll, Berg played for Vålerenga and Lillestrøm before coming to England.Blackburn Rovers managerKenny Dalglish attended a match betweenEngland andNorway atWembley on 14 October 1992 to scoutTore Pedersen, but Pedersen was injured during the match and replaced by Berg. Dalglish was so impressed with Berg that he later offered him a contract.[4] Berg joined Blackburn in January 1993 for £400,000.[5]
Berg made his debut for Blackburn on 2 February 1993, coming on as a substitute in a 2–1 Premier League home defeat toCrystal Palace.[6] He soon made the right-back position his own in the Rovers side and played a vital role in Blackburn's successful title-winning season under manager Kenny Dalglish in1994–95, missing only two games throughout the season. Also a competent centre-back, Berg's versatility and consistent performances for Blackburn earned him a move to Manchester United in 1997 for a fee of £5 million – at the time the joint-highest fee ever paid for a defender by a British club.[7][8]
Berg had supported Manchester United as a boy and managerAlex Ferguson had first wanted to sign Berg for United nine years earlier when he was a teenager, but the move fell through because United could not obtain a work permit.[9] Berg was a regular choice in the Manchester United line-up during the1997–98 season, but the arrival ofJaap Stam in July 1998 meant he was restricted to just 16Premier League appearances in1998–99 as the team won theTreble of the Premier League, theFA Cup and theUEFA Champions League. Berg missed the1999 FA Cup Final and the1999 UEFA Champions League Final through injury,[8] but still picked up a medal for both, having been involved in most of the team's matches on the way to the final. With the league title in 1999, Berg became the first player to win the Premier League with two clubs,[10] a feat he would be alone with until 2010, when it was matched byAshley Cole andNicolas Anelka.Gael Clichy,Kolo Touré,Carlos Tevez,Robert Huth,James Milner,N'Golo Kanté andRiyad Mahrez have all since matched the feat as well.[11] Berg regained his place in the side during the1999–2000 season, whenRonny Johnsen was injured.
Berg rejoined Blackburn Rovers in September 2000, initially onloan for three months, before securing a permanent transfer under managerGraeme Souness. Rovers were promoted back to the Premier League in2000–01. Further success followed for Berg in the following season, when Blackburn won theLeague Cup, beatingTottenham Hotspur 2–1 at theMillennium Stadium in Cardiff, with Berg lifting the trophy as captain.[12]
Berg later moved on from Blackburn and had a season at theScottish clubRangers in2003–04, where he played his last game professionally.
At international level, Berg was part of theNorwegian national team at the1994 and1998 FIFA World Cups, as well asEuro 2000. He made his debut forNorway in a friendly against theFaroe Islands in May 1992 and earned a total of 100caps over a period of 12 years, scoring nine goals.[13] His final international match was a friendly againstWales in May 2004, in which he was substituted early on byClaus Lundekvam to mark the end of his Norway career.
On 22 April 2005, Berg was appointed manager of Lyn at the age of 35, signing a four-year contract with theOslo side. His first game with Lyn was againstStart two days later, getting a 1–1 draw, followed by a 6–1 win againstMolde the next week. Lyn finished third that season.
On 19 August 2008, Lyn announced that Berg had accepted an offer from Lillestrøm, where he had last played in 1992. He signed a five-year contract and took over as head coach on 21 October 2008. On 27 October 2011, Berg was sacked three matches before the end of the season as investor Per Berg promised fresh funds for acquiring quality players after the season.
While working as a pundit for Norwegian TV, Berg had made a withering assessment of Blackburn Rovers' owners,Venky's. He said: "There are no real managers with credibility who would accept a job like that."[14] On 31 October 2012, Blackburn Rovers announced that Berg had accepted an offer for a three-year contract to manage the club.[3] He became Blackburn's first foreign manager. Berg said of his previous comments about the club's owners, Venky's: "That was me looking at it from the outside without knowing really what was going on in the inside. I think this club at the moment is going in the right direction."[14]
Berg's first match in charge of Blackburn came on 3 November 2012, a 2–0 defeat away toCrystal Palace.[15] His first and only win was on 17 November 2012, a 4–1 victory away toPeterborough.[16] That was to prove to be his only win as Blackburn manager, as Berg was sacked on 27 December, after just 57 days in the post.[17]
On 14 February 2013, the LMA lodged legal proceedings to the high court against Blackburn Rovers for non-payment of wages to Berg.
After leaving Blackburn Rovers, Berg has worked as a scout on an informal basis forNorwich City, looking at matches in both England and Germany.[18]
On 19 December 2013, it was announced that he will be new manager ofLegia Warsaw starting from 1 January 2014.[19] In his first full season as coach, he led the team to the Polish Ekstraklasa title. On 5 October 2015, he was sacked while sitting second in the league, following a 2–2 draw againstGórnik Zabrze.[20]
On 5 May 2016, Berg signed a two-year contract withSzékesfehérvár-basedHungarian League clubVideoton.[21][22] He was sacked at the end of the season despite having been a contender for the title until the last matchday.[23]
On 6 June 2019, Berg signed a two-year contract withOmonia in Cyprus, which he would later renew for another year.[24][25]
Berg was responsible forOmonia's return to theChampions League, as they were ranked first in the domestic league when the2019–20 season was abandoned due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[26] The following year, he ledOmonia to win the2020–21 Cypriot First Division, their first in 11 years, as well as theSuper Cup. Although he ledOmonia to the2020–21 UEFA Europa League group stage (the first time the club had made it to a European group stage) and the2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League group stage, a dismal 2021–22 league campaign that saw the club out of the top six meant he was released on 28 February 2022.[27]
Berg's work atOmonia was widely praised by pundits, fans and even other managers in the league, not only for restoring success to the club, but for his tactics, the team's exceptional defense, and most importantly, for trusting the local talent in a league notorious for its high percentage of foreign players.[28][29] Several Cypriot players broke through under Berg, includingLoizos Loizou,Marinos Tzionis andIoannis Kousoulos.[30][31]
On 12 June 2022, Berg joined Cypriot clubPafos as their new head coach,[32] and his team started the season off with a 13-match long undefeated streak. Despite making expensive transfers in the January transfer window, Pafos' form worsened over time, and Berg was sacked in early April 2023 when his team went seven consecutive games without a win, just three days before theirCypriot Cup semi-final clash. The last game he oversaw was a 2–0 loss to his previous club,Omonia.[33]
On 14 August 2024, Berg returned to Cyprus and signed a one-season contract withAEK Larnaca.[34] He led AEK totheir third Cypriot Cup before leaving the club at the end of the 2024–25 season.[35]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Continental[a] | Other[b] | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Blackburn Rovers | 1992–93 | Premier League | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0 | ||
| 1993–94 | Premier League | 40 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 47 | 1 | |||
| 1994–95 | Premier League | 42 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 51 | 1 | |
| 1995–96 | Premier League | 37 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 0 | |
| 1996–97 | Premier League | 36 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 41 | 2 | |||
| Total | 159 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 194 | 4 | ||
| Manchester United | 1997–98 | Premier League | 27 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 2 |
| 1998–99 | Premier League | 16 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 0 | |
| 1999–2000 | Premier League | 22 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 37 | 1 | ||
| 2000–01 | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 66 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 23 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 103 | 3 | ||
| Blackburn Rovers (loan) | 2000–01 | Division One | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 18 | 0 | ||
| Blackburn Rovers | 2000–01 | Division One | 24 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 27 | 1 | ||
| 2001–02 | Premier League | 34 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 38 | 1 | |||
| 2002–03 | Premier League | 16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 19 | 1 | ||
| Total | 91 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 102 | 3 | |||
| Rangers | 2003–04 | Scottish Premier League | 20 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | 30 | 0 | |
| Career total | 336 | 9 | 26 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 40 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 429 | 10 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norway | 1992 | 5 | 0 |
| 1993 | 5 | 0 | |
| 1994 | 13 | 2 | |
| 1995 | 10 | 2 | |
| 1996 | 7 | 0 | |
| 1997 | 7 | 0 | |
| 1998 | 13 | 2 | |
| 1999 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2000 | 11 | 2 | |
| 2001 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2002 | 9 | 1 | |
| 2003 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2004 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 100 | 9 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 June 1994 | Ullevaal Stadion,Oslo, Norway |  Denmark | 2–1 | 2–1 | Friendly | [37] |
| 2 | 16 November 1994 | Dinamo Stadium,Minsk, Belarus |  Belarus | 1–0 | 4–0 | UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying | [38] |
| 3 | 26 April 1995 | Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway |  Luxembourg | 4–0 | 5–0 | UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying | [39] |
| 4 | 16 August 1995 | Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway |  Czech Republic | 1–0 | 1–1 | UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying | [40] |
| 5 | 20 May 1998 | Bislett Stadium, Oslo, Norway |  Mexico | 4–1 | 5–2 | Friendly | [41] |
| 6 | 14 October 1998 | Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway |  Albania | 2–2 | 2–2 | UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying | [42] |
| 7 | 2 February 2000 | La Manga Club Football Stadium,Cartagena, Spain | Denmark | 1–1 | 4–2 | Friendly | [43] |
| 8 | 3–2 | ||||||
| 9 | 14 May 2002 | Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway |  Japan | 1–0 | 3–0 | Friendly | [44] |
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Lyn |  | 22 April 2005 | 9 September 2008 | 122 | 55 | 25 | 42 | 045.08 |
| Lillestrøm | | 21 October 2008 | 26 October 2011 | 100 | 35 | 30 | 35 | 035.00 |
| Blackburn Rovers |  | 31 October 2012 | 27 December 2012 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 010.00 |
| Legia Warsaw |  | 1 January 2014 | 4 October 2015 | 97 | 60 | 16 | 21 | 061.86 |
| Videoton |  | 5 May 2016 | 3 June 2017 | 42 | 22 | 10 | 10 | 052.38 |
| Stabæk | | 4 July 2018 | 6 June 2019 | 27 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 029.63 |
| Omonia |  | 6 June 2019 | 28 February 2022 | 113 | 58 | 29 | 26 | 051.33 |
| Pafos | | 1 July 2022 | 3 April 2023 | 33 | 17 | 11 | 5 | 051.52 |
| AIK |  | 2 July 2023 | 14 June 2024 | 35 | 16 | 8 | 11 | 045.71 |
| AEK Larnaca | | 14 August 2024 | 30 June 2025 | 42 | 24 | 12 | 6 | 057.14 |
| Omonia | | 1 July 2025 | 36 | 25 | 5 | 6 | 069.44 | |
| Total | 657 | 321 | 157 | 179 | 048.86 | |||
Blackburn Rovers
Manchester United
Individual
Legia Warsaw
Omonia Nicosia
AEK Larnaca
Individual
Norway squads | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
