.JPG) | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1941-09-17)17 September 1941 | ||
| Place of birth | Orkdal Municipality, Norway | ||
| Date of death | 19 January 2022(2022-01-19) (aged 80) | ||
| Place of death | Orkdal, Norway | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Orkdal | |||
| 1960–1963 | Rosenborg | ||
| 1964–1966 | Vålerengen | ||
| 1966–1969 | Rosenborg | ||
| International career | |||
| 1963–1969 | Norway | 29 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1971–1972 | Rosenborg | ||
| 1973–1974 | Norway U21 | ||
| 1974–1977 | Norway | ||
| 1976 | Rosenborg | ||
| 1978–1982 | Rosenborg | ||
| 1983–1985 | Orkdal | ||
| 1986–1987 | Moss | ||
| 1986–1987 | Norway U23 | ||
| 1988–1997 | Rosenborg | ||
| 1999–2002 | Rosenborg | ||
| 2010 | Rosenborg | ||
| 2011–2016 | Orkla | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Nils Arne Eggen (17 September 1941 – 19 January 2022) was a Norwegianfootballer, manager and teacher fromOrkdal Municipality. Eggen was closely tied toRosenborg, the club he managed for 23 years between 1970 and 2010. He is Norway's most successful club manager throughout history, having won theNorwegian top division fifteen times and theNorwegian Football Cup six times as a manager. Eggen's tactical emphasis was on playing 4-3-3 and attacking football and his way of playing football has frequently been cited as an inspiration among players, coaches and clubs alike, both domestically and abroad.[1][2] In his nativeTrøndelag, Eggen is revered and widely regarded as the greatest and most influential sports person in the region, even eclipsing Olympic champions such asHjalmar Andersen andPetter Northug.[3]
His playing career started withOrkdal; he then played forRosenborg from 1960 to 1963 and 1966 to 1969, and forVålerengen between 1964 and 1966. He was capped 29 times forNorway between 1963 and 1969. He won the Norwegian top division once with Vålerengen and twice with Rosenborg, and the Norwegian Football Cup once with Rosenborg.
In 1971, Eggen became manager of Rosenborg, winning the league in his inaugural season. He left to take overNorway U21 in 1973. He then became national team manager for Norway jointly withKjell Schou-Andreassen until 1977. He then returned to Rosenborg where he remained until 1982. He then coached Orkdal until 1985. In 1986, he was hired as manager forMoss, where he won the Second Division in the first season and then the top league the following. During this period he was also manager of Norway U23. He started managing Rosenborg in 1988, where he remained until 2002, except for a sabbatical in 1998. This was the team's golden age, resulting in 11 consecutive league titles and the participation in eight consecutive seasons inChampions League. Eggen returned as manager for the single 2010 season, again winning the league.[4]
Eggen began his active football career when he was 15 years old as adefender atOrkdal's senior team. Later on he moved toTrondheim to study, and joinedRosenborg. He played with them in winning the Norwegian Football Cup in 1960.
In 1963 he moved toOslo where he joinedVålerenga. They won the Norwegian top division in1965, before he moved back to Trondheim where he played an important role forRosenborg when they won the league twice – and he himself won the "Player of the Year" in 1968 – before retiring as a player.
Eggen was appointedRosenborg's coach, together withTor Røste Fossen, and in his first season (1971) they won"the double" for the first time ever in the club's history. In middle of the 1970s he was the coach for the Norwegian U21 national team, and later for the senior national team. In the1978 World Cup qualifiers, home wins overSweden andSwitzerland put Norway in contention for qualification. A loss in their final game in Switzerland meant they missed out, and it was not until 1994 that they again came close to qualification.
In 1978, he returned as coach inRosenborg – the team struggling in Norway's second division at that time. Two years later the team once again was among the top teams in the first division. He returned to Rosenborg after being the coach ofMoss in 1986–87. In his two years at Moss he first achieved promotion to the first division in 1986, and followed up by leading the club to their first and only league championship in 1987.
Eggen resigned as manager for Rosenborg in 2002. Two of Eggen's last achievements were winning theNorwegian top division (11th time in a row), and qualifying for the EuropeanUEFA Champions League (8th time in a row). During his spell as manager Rosenborg also won theNorwegian football cup a number of times.
He was again appointed by the club in November 2004 – this time as assistant manager/counsellor, a position he later stepped down from in 2005, when he admitted that his role hadn't worked as planned. In May 2010 he again took over as manager of Rosenborg afterErik Hamrén took over as manager ofSweden men's national football team. As a caretaker manager untilJan Jönsson was available to take over, Eggen led Rosenborg to their 22ndNorwegian top flight victory.
On 1 November 2011, he once again returned to coaching, this time forOrkla (former Orkdal) at the fifth level of Norwegian football. In only his first season as a coach, he had Orkla promoted to fourth tier, Third Division.
In 2003, he was awarded theRoyal Norwegian Order of St. Olav for his contributions to Norwegian football.
Eggen mentioned the inspiration of Dutchtotal football andRinus Michels for his own work. A fundamental point was the subordination of individuals (the parts) to the whole, so that the whole could outperform the sum of talents of all its players. Often he used the metaphor of the Rosenborg rhythm to get his message across. He had a focus on quick and massive counter-attacks and the building of an offensive attitude in the team. The4–3–3 system played vital parts in Eggen's philosophy as a coach.
He was the father of Norway international footballer and managerKnut Torbjørn Eggen, who committed suicide in 2012.[5] His grandsonChristian Eggen Rismark played professionally forBrann Bergen.
Eggen died on 19 January 2022, at the age of 80.[6][7]
Vålerengen
Rosenborg
Individual
Rosenborg
Moss
Individual
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
