.jpg) Deila in 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ronny Deila[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1975-09-21)21 September 1975 (age 50) | ||
| Place of birth | Porsgrunn, Norway | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position | Centre-back[2] | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Urædd | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1992–1993 | Urædd | 16 | (0) |
| 1993–2004 | Odd | 240 | (22) |
| 2004–2005 | Viking | 23 | (0) |
| 2006–2008 | Strømsgodset | 43 | (6) |
| 2009–2011 | Sparta Bragerøen | 30 | (4) |
| Total | 352 | (32) | |
| International career | |||
| 1992–1993 | Norway U17 | 9 | (0) |
| 1994 | Norway U18 | 3 | (0) |
| 1996 | Norway U21 | 2 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2005 | Brodd | ||
| 2008–2014 | Strømsgodset | ||
| 2014–2016 | Celtic | ||
| 2017–2020 | Vålerenga | ||
| 2020–2022 | New York City | ||
| 2022–2023 | Standard Liège | ||
| 2023–2024 | Club Brugge | ||
| 2024 | Al Wahda | ||
| 2024–2025 | Atlanta United | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Ronny Deila (born 21 September 1975) is a Norwegianfootball manager and formerplayer, most recently coachedAtlanta United inMajor League Soccer.
He spent most of his playing career atOdd before becoming head coach atStrømsgodset, winning the Norwegian Cup in 2010 and the Norwegian League title in 2013.[3] In two seasons managingCeltic, in 2014–15 and 2015–16, he won theScottish Premiership twice and theScottish League Cup in 2014–15. Deila won theMLS Cup 2021 withNew York City.
Deila began his playing career with lower league club,Urædd.[4] He then joinedOdd, where he became a mainstay in their defence.[4] In 2000, he played in the side that defeatedViking 2–1 in theNorwegian Cup Final, his only major honour as a player.[4] He joined Viking in 2004, before moving on to joinStrømsgodset as player/assistant coach in2006.
Although by 2009 he was coaching Strømsgodset, he combined these duties for a couple of years with playing part-time atlower league Sparta Bragerøen until 2011.[5][6]
He was capped nine times for theNorwegian under-17 side and then made two appearances for theunder-21s in 1996. Deila never represented his country at senior level.[4]
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After leaving Viking, Deila coached Norwegian fourth-tier clubBrodd briefly in 2005.[7] He then joinedStrømsgodset in 2006 as player/assistant coach, working under head coachDag-Eilev Fagermo until the end of the2007 season, when Fagermo decided to move to Odd.[3]
Sporting directorJostein Flo then promoted Deila to head coach of Strømsgodset.[3][4] At this time, Deila retired as a player.[4]
His first two seasons as head coach saw the club struggle against relegation,[3][4] but his attacking philosophy began to bear fruit as Strømsgodset started to record higher finishes in the Norwegian league.[3] In 2010, he won theNorwegian Cup,[4] and in 2013 he wonTippeligaen with Strømsgodset, their first title in 43 years.[4] The same year, Deila was also awarded theKniksen Award for Coach of the Year.[8]
Deila showed a keenness to take on board coaching ideas at foreign clubs. Having previously visitedManchester City,Barcelona andAjax to acquire further knowledge, he then after the end of the season in 2013 travelled toBorussia Dortmund andLiverpool to study their coaching and training methods.[9]
In the 2014 season, Deila's Strømsgodset were second in the league by the end of May after eleven games.[10] The club had continued their impressive home record under Deila, having gone 44 league games unbeaten at theirMarienlyst Stadium since June 2011; just one short of the all-time Norwegian record held byRosenborg.[4] However, Deila was beginning to attract foreign attention, and Strømsgodset had given him a new contract to run until 2016 in order to head off interest fromSwedish championsMalmö who had unsuccessfully attempted to poach him in January.[4] Despite this new contract, various media reports surfaced in the first week of June linking Deila to the vacant managerial post at Scottish championsCeltic.[11]
Deila was appointed manager ofScottish Premiership clubCeltic on 6 June 2014.[12][13][3][4] He signed a 12-month rolling contract with the club, describing his appointment as a "magnificent honour" before stating his desire to deliver "attacking, exciting and entertaining football."[13] Eleven days later, former Celtic andScotland midfielderJohn Collins was appointed assistant manager. Deila described Collins as a "first-class coach" and stated that he "has ideas on football which are very similar to mine so I am sure he will be a great addition to my team."[14]
After going unbeaten on a pre-season tour in Austria,[15] Deila's first competitive match as manager of Celtic, aChampions League qualifying tie away againstKR Reykjavik on 15 July 2014, ended in a 1–0 win for the Scottish club.[16] The second leg of the tie ended in a 4–0 win for Celtic, securing a 5–0 aggregate win.[17] The following qualifying round saw Celtic lose 6–1 on aggregate toLegia Warsaw.[18] Despite this, Celtic were given a reprieve when it was discovered that Legia had fielded an ineligible player in the second leg.UEFA punished the Polish club by awarding the game 3–0 to Celtic, levelling the aggregate score at 4–4 and seeing the Scottish champions progress on away goals.[19] Celtic went on to faceMaribor in the next qualifying round. After an 1–1 draw away in the first leg, Celtic lost 1–0 in the return match at Celtic Park and went out on aggregate; dropping down to theEuropa League.[20]
On 13 August, Ronny Deila won his openingScottish Premiership game, beatingSt Johnstone 3–0.[21] Deila's second league match, and his first game atParkhead, saw Celtic defeatDundee United 6–1 in a performance thatBBC Sport described as being "full of drive, skill, belief and… goals."[22] Generally though, Celtic were unconvincing in the early stages of the league,[23] but improved as the season progressed and also qualified from their Europa League group.[24] These improved performances saw Deila win the Manager of the Month award for November 2014.[25] By February 2015, Celtic had won 15 of their last 17 domestic games[citation needed] and defeatedRangers 2–0 in the semi-final of theScottish League Cup.[26] Celtic playedInter Milan in the last 32 stage of the Europa League, rallying to draw 3–3 at Parkhead from an early 0–2 deficit,[27] then losing 1–0 in Milan to go out on aggregate 3–4.[28] In the league, Celtic beat second placedAberdeen 4–0 on 1 March to go six points clear with a game in hand and a vastly superior goal difference.[29] It was Celtic's eighth consecutive win in the league, and the turn around in form saw previous critics of Deila review their opinion of him. Former Celtic strikerJohn Hartson had branded Deila as "clueless" in October, but stated four months later that Deila had "turned it round", praising his Celtic side for playing "brilliant football."[30]
Deila won his first trophy at Celtic on 15 March; Celtic defeatingDundee United 2–0 in theLeague Cup Final.Kris Commons andJames Forrest were Celtic's goalscorers, whilstStefan Johansen won the Man of the Match award.[31]
Deila's Celtic team won the Scottish Premiership on 2 May 2015, with three games to spare, following their rivals Aberdeen's loss to Dundee United. Celtic finished the season in style, as Ronny's Celtic side beatInverness 5–0 on 24 May 2015.[32]
In August 2015, Celtic failed to progress from the UEFA Champions League playoffs, having failed to overcome Malmö, and were consigned to playing in the Europa League that season.[33] In November, Celtic exited the Europa league, having finished bottom of their group.[34] On 17 April 2016 Celtic played Rangers, in a Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden. The match went to extra time before Celtic lost the match on penalties. The way in which Celtic lost the match was also subject to criticism from the media and the Celtic support as Rangers dominated large portions of the game. Three days after the defeat and following intense speculation, Deila announced that he would step down at the end of the season.[35] Celtic clinched theScottish Premiership title following a win over nearest challengersAberdeen on 8 May 2016.
On 13 July 2016, Deila signed a four-year contract withVålerenga, starting 1 January 2017.[36] Vålerenga spent most of Deila's first season struggling just above the relegation places in the league. His predecessor,Kjetil Rekdal, described the team's season as a "failure" and expressed concern they may be relegated. Football analyst and former playerBernt Hulsker described the team as being "exceptionally weak".[37] The side eventually finished mid-table, in eighth place, still far below Deila's expressed aim at the start of the season of a top-three place.[38]
Vålerenga continued to perform poorly into Deila's second season, and a run of only one win in seven games saw them languishing in eighth place at the end of October 2018.[39] Deila admitted to considering his position at the club, stating "I am going to take time and reflect on this. Something has gone very wrong".[39] A 2–1 win overRanheim on the last day of the season saw Vålerenga finish in sixth place.[40]
On 6 January 2020, Deila was appointed head coach ofNew York City ofMajor League Soccer on a three-year deal.[41] He made his debut on 21 February in the last 16 first leg of theCONCACAF Champions League away toSan Carlos in Costa Rica, a 5–3 win.[42] The team finished the season by qualifying for theMLS Cup Playoffs, and lost on penalties in the first round atOrlando City.[43]
Under Deila's guidance, NYCFC wonMLS Cup 2021, as they defeatedPortland Timbers in the final match with a 4–2 win on penalties, after a 1–1 scoreline in extra time.[44]
On 13 June 2022, Deila was officially appointed as the head coach of BelgianPro League clubStandard Liège.[45] In his first game on 22 July, the team scored a late equaliser to draw 2–2 at home toGent, having been down to ten men since the 15th-minute dismissal ofAlexandro Calut.[46]
On 25 May 2023, Deila was announced as the new head coach of clubClub Brugge.[47] In August, he led them to defeatOsasuna 4–3 on aggregate to reach theUEFA Conference League group stage.[48] The club announced his departure on 18 March 2024 ahead of the Champions' play-offs in the2023–24 league season, despite reaching the quarter-finals in the Conference League.[49]
Deila was named head coach ofMajor League Soccer clubAtlanta United on December 20th, 2024.[50]
Delia was dismissed as Atlanta's head coach on October 19th, 2025 after the worst season in Atlanta United's history.[51]
Deila's twin daughters –Thale Rushfeldt Deila andLive Rushfeldt Deila – arehandball players.[52]
Odd
Strømsgodset
Celtic
New York City
Individual
| Team | From | To | Record | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Brodd | 1 June 2005 | 6 October 2005 | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 058.33 | |
| Strømsgodset | 1 January 2008 | 6 June 2014 | 206 | 95 | 41 | 70 | 046.12 | |
| Celtic | 6 June 2014[12] | 15 May 2016 | 118 | 76 | 22 | 20 | 064.41 | |
| Vålerenga | 1 January 2017 | 6 January 2020 | 107 | 43 | 26 | 38 | 040.19 | |
| New York City | 6 January 2020 | 13 June 2022 | 90 | 46 | 15 | 29 | 051.11 | |
| Standard Liège | 13 June 2022 | 24 May 2023 | 40 | 17 | 9 | 14 | 042.50 | |
| Club Brugge | 1 July 2023 | 18 March 2024 | 49 | 28 | 11 | 10 | 057.14 | |
| Al Wahda | 5 July 2024 | 18 December 2024 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 036.36 | |
| Atlanta United | 20 December 2024 | 19 October 2025 | 37 | 6 | 13 | 18 | 016.22 | |
| Total | 670 | 322 | 142 | 206 | 048.06 | |||
1Includes UEFA Champions League qualifier match againstLegia Warsaw which Celtic lost 2–0 on the night, but was later awarded as a 3–0 win to Celtic due to Legia fielding a suspended player.[19]
