Odd Inge Olsen ended his football career by playing the last two minutes against Arsenal. The veteran player, who will be 34 this Christmas, probably hoped for a happier end than a 1-5 defeat.

Profile: Odd Inge Olsen (In Norwegian)


In the late summer of 2001 Molde made a phonecall to RBK and enquired as to wether they would be interested in purchasing Olsen. Nils Arne Eggen, who at the time was on the lookout for a new rightback, accepted, provided that Olsen would accept filling the defensive gap. Olsen himself, who had always played as a winger or outside midfielder, remained skeptical but could not let himself miss the chance to play for RBK; as any other native of Trøndelag, he too had dreams of playing in black and white.

It soon became apparent however, that Odd Inge Olsen was not a great back and the player himself was very relieved when in 2002 he was pushed forward on the field. During that spring he often held the right wing position, before getting pushed down to an outside midfield position halfway through the season, following the return of Dagfinn Enerly from injury.

Olsen performed extremely well in this position and scored several important goals. He became, amongst other things, the matchwinner in the early league final versus FC Lyn at Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo. The native of the island of Hitra, on the Trøndelag coast, also featured prominently in the collecting of points that season, which meant he was able to celebrate his first ever league championship.

2003 however, was a big disappointment. Olsen lost all of the spring season when he broke his big toe against the staircase in his home, whilst packing for the training camp in Tenerife. Åge Hareide never gave Olsen his full confidence after he returned from his injury, but at least he got enough time on the pitch to collect another league championship. He also got the national championship, after defeating Bodø/Glimt in the finals.

But Olsen remained a substitute, so it didn’t really come as a surprise when Rosenborg in early 2004 decided not to renew his contract.

This year Odd Inge Olsen only got to play a single game from start, an away game against Brann. However, six further games played as a substitute was more than sufficient for the new, lowered qualifications necessary to receive the league championship. Olsen could therefore proudly collect his fourth gold medal, following the final thriller versus FC Lyn in October.

Olsen aggregated 187 games played and 45 goals scored in the ‘Tippeligaen’ national league. Of these, 44 games and 4 goals were for RBK, the rest in the blue Molde jersey.

PS! There is a certain degree of uncertainty as to what Lars Blixt will do when his contract ends around new year. He is also thought to be contemplating shelving his career.