Kjetil Rekdal
Born: 06.11.1968 in Molde
Position: Central Midfielder
Caps: 83
Goals: 17
Profile
Kjetil Rekdal was arguably the single-most important player in Norway's rise from perennial also-rans to one of Europe's top teams in the 1990s. Rekdal was the midfield general who dictated the pace of the game and was an important player in both the defensive and offensive part of the game. Rekdal was also cool as ice under pressure and scored a number of vital goals, including the spectacular equaliser at Wembley in 1992, and the famous game-winning penalty against Brazil in the 1998 World Cup. He always seemed to play at his best in the big games, when the stakes were highest, and he was also a very reliable penalty taker.
Rekdal began his career at Molde, where he made his first-team debut as a 16-year-old. It soon became clear that Rekdal, then a support man between midfield and attack, was a very talented player, and he would make his international debut against Italy aged 18 years and 203 days, making him the second-youngest player to appear for Norway in the last 30 years. He continued to be outstanding for Molde, and spent the next year alternating between the U21 and full international squads, while being monitored by the big clubs on the continent.
At the end of the 1988 season, Rekdal decided it was time to try his luck abroad, and signed for Borussia Mönchengladbach in the Bundesliga. The move turned out to be a disaster, and for the first time in his young career, Rekdal faced adversity. In his two years at the German side, Rekdal played only seven times, and became a forgotten man both in Mönchengladbach and at home. When he moved to Belgian side Lierse in the summer of 1990, the story was barely mentioned in the Norwegian media, and it was starting to look as if Rekdal's career would become similar to that of Arve Seland - a young player who moved abroad too early in his career and eventually faded into obscurity. However, Rekdal would prove his critics wrong. He established himself as a star in the Belgian side, averaging nearly a goal in every two games. Nonetheless, it still came as a bit of a surprise when he was recalled to the national side by Egil Olsen in late 1991. Rekdal made the most of his opportunity in the game against Hungary, earning Man of the Match honors in most newspapers, and from then on he was hardly ever out of the side.
In the autumn of 1992, Rekdal scored his first two international goals in the 10-0 demolition of San Marino, and followed that up with the opening goal (a penalty) in the surprise victory against Holland, and then of course, he scored that goal against England - a spectacular 30-yard bullet of a shot that has to be one of the finest goals ever scored at Wembley. Rekdal played every minute of the successful World Cup qualifying campaign, and was top scorer with six goals. And in the finals, he would write himself into the history books.
Rekdal did not enjoy his best form in the run-up to the 1994 World Cup finals, and was dropped from the starting lineup shortly before the tournament. Olsen decided to use the more creative Erik Mykland in the central midfield role, so Rekdal began Norway's first World Cup match in 58 years on the bench. The game against Mexico was a somewhat dour affair. Norway managed to produce quite a few chances, but were unable to break the deadlock. Then, with ten minutes remaining, Rekdal entered the match as a substitute. Within minutes, he went on a run and received a pass from Jan Åge Fjørtoft and fired the ball past the Mexican keeper. It was Norway's first World Cup goal since Arne Brustad scored against Italy in 1938, and gave Norway its first-ever victory in the World Cup finals.
Despite the goal, Rekdal was back on the bench in the second game against Italy, but he was back in the starting lineup in the final group match against Ireland. It was to no avail, however, as Norway could only manage a 0-0 draw and were knocked out by the slimmest of margins. In the following Euro 96 qualifying campaign, Rekdal was once again back to his best both at club and national level, and missed only one match in the qualifying tournament, but Norway failed to qualify. In 1996, the Lierse hero moved to France and Rennes. It was not a good move. Rekdal was bothered by injuries and never managed to establish himself at the French side, and after only one season in France, he moved back to the Bundesliga, this time to Hertha Berlin. He remained first-choice for Norway and missed only one game as Norway qualified for the 1998 World Cup.
At the World Cup finals, Rekdal would once again write himself into the history books. When Tore André Flo was fouled in the area with minutes remaining against Brazil, Rekdal stepped up and was, as always, cool as ice from the penalty spot, and scored the goal that gave Norway a historic win against the Brazilians and secured advancement to the second round. He is the only Norwegian to have scored twice in the World Cup.
After the World Cup, under new manager Nils Johan Semb, Rekdal's role in the national team was starting to diminish. He was still an important member of the team, but the central midfield role was more and more often given to Bent Skammelsrud or Ståle Solbakken. He was also no longer a regular at Hertha, and in the spring of 2000, he returned to Norway after nearly 12 years abroad, to play for Vålerenga. He was named in Norway's Euro 2000 squad, but didn't play at the tournament, and although he never officially announced his international retirement, he was never selected since. In 2002, Rekdal became player-coach at Vålerenga, and guided the team to second place in 2004. He retired as a player following that season and in 2005, his first year as full-time head coach, he managed to guide Vålerenga to their first league title since 1984, breaking Rosenborg's 13-year stranglehold of the league title in the process.
Following a string of poor results, Rekdal resigned as Vålerenga coach in August 2006. Three months later, he went back to Belgium where he was given the momentous task of saving his old club Lierse from relegation. He almost pulled off a miracle escape, but not quite. In 2007, Rekdal was named head coach of fallen German giants Kaiserslautern, but was sacked after only seven months in charge. He then returned home, where he spent most of the 2008 season as a media pundit before taking the vacant coaching job at strugglers Aalesund near the end of the season. He managed to save Aalesund from relegation, and is still head coach at the club today. Whether he can turn around the fortunes of the perennial strugglers remains to be seen.
National Team Appearances
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Goals | Competition |
| Molde | ||||||
| 1 | 28.05.1987 | Oslo | Italy | 0-0 | ||
| 2 | 18.11.1987 | Ankara | Turkey | 0-0 | Olympic Games Qual. | |
| 3 | 26.04.1988 | Katrineholm | Sweden (Olympic) | 0-0 | ||
| Borussia Mönchengladbach (Germany) | ||||||
| 4 | 19.10.1988 | Pescara | Italy | 1-2 | ||
| 5 | 04.11.1988 | Bratislava | Czechoslovakia | 2-3 | ||
| 6 | 02.05.1989 | Oslo | Poland | 0-3 | ||
| Lierse (Belgium) | ||||||
| 7 | 30.10.1991 | Szombathely | Hungary | 0-0 | European Champ. Qual. | |
| 8 | 13.11.1991 | Genova | Italy | 1-1 | European Champ. Qual. | |
| 9 | 07.01.1992 | Cairo | Egypt | 0-0 | ||
| 10 | 29.04.1992 | Aarhus | Denmark | 0-1 | ||
| 11 | 13.05.1992 | Oslo | Faroe Islands | 2-0 | ||
| 12 | 03.06.1992 | Oslo | Scotland | 0-0 | ||
| 13 | 26.08.1992 | Oslo | Sweden | 2-2 | ||
| 14 | 09.09.1992 | Oslo | San Marino | 10-0 |
|
World Cup Qualifier |
| 15 | 23.09.1992 | Oslo | Netherlands | 2-1 |
|
World Cup Qualifier |
| 16 | 07.10.1992 | Serravalle | San Marino | 2-0 | World Cup Qualifier | |
| 17 | 14.10.1992 | London | England | 1-1 |
|
World Cup Qualifier |
| 18 | 10.02.1993 | Faro | Portugal | 1-1 | ||
| 19 | 30.03.1993 | Doha | Qatar | 6-1 | ||
| 20 | 28.04.1993 | Oslo | Turkey | 3-1 |
|
World Cup Qualifier |
| 21 | 02.06.1993 | Oslo | England | 2-0 | World Cup Qualifier | |
| 22 | 09.06.1993 | Rotterdam | Netherlands | 0-0 | World Cup Qualifier | |
| 23 | 08.09.1993 | Oslo | United States | 1-0 | ||
| 24 | 22.09.1993 | Oslo | Poland | 1-0 | World Cup Qualifier | |
| 25 | 13.10.1993 | Poznan | Poland | 3-0 | World Cup Qualifier | |
| 26 | 10.11.1993 | Istanbul | Turkey | 1-2 | World Cup Qualifier | |
| 27 | 15.01.1994 | Phoenix | United States | 1-2 | ||
| 28 | 19.01.1994 | San Diego | Costa Rica | 0-0 | ||
| 29 | 09.03.1994 | Cardiff | Wales | 3-1 | ||
| 30 | 20.04.1994 | Oslo | Portugal | 0-0 | ||
| 31 | 22.05.1994 | London | England | 0-0 | ||
| 32 | 05.06.1994 | Stockholm | Sweden | 0-2 | ||
| 33 | 19.06.1994 | Washington | Mexico | 1-0 |
|
World Cup |
| 34 | 23.06.1994 | New York | Italy | 0-1 | World Cup | |
| 35 | 28.06.1994 | New York | Republic of Ireland | 0-0 | World Cup | |
| 36 | 07.09.1994 | Oslo | Belarus | 1-0 | European Champ. Qual. | |
| 37 | 12.10.1994 | Oslo | Netherlands | 1-1 |
|
European Champ. Qual. |
| 38 | 16.11.1994 | Minsk | Belarus | 4-0 |
|
European Champ. Qual. |
| 39 | 14.12.1994 | Valetta | Malta | 1-0 | European Champ. Qual. | |
| 40 | 29.03.1995 | Luxembourg | Luxembourg | 2-0 | European Champ. Qual. | |
| 41 | 29.04.1995 | Oslo | Luxembourg | 5-0 |
|
European Champ. Qual. |
| 42 | 25.05.1995 | Oslo | Ghana | 3-2 |
|
|
| 43 | 07.06.1995 | Oslo | Malta | 2-0 | European Champ. Qual. | |
| 44 | 22.07.1995 | Oslo | France | 0-0 | ||
| 45 | 06.09.1995 | Prague | Czech Republic | 0-2 | European Champ. Qual. | |
| 46 | 11.10.1995 | Oslo | England | 0-0 | ||
| 47 | 15.11.1995 | Rotterdam | Netherlands | 0-3 | European Champ. Qual. | |
| 48 | 07.02.1996 | Las Palmas | Spain | 0-1 | ||
| 49 | 27.03.1996 | Belfast | Northern Ireland | 2-0 | ||
| 50 | 24.04.1996 | Oslo | Spain | 0-0 | ||
| 51 | 02.06.1996 | Oslo | Azerbaijan | 5-0 | World Cup Qualifier | |
| Rennes (France) | ||||||
| 52 | 01.09.1996 | Oslo | Georgia | 1-0 | World Cup Qualifier | |
| 53 | 09.10.1996 | Oslo | Hungary | 3-0 |
|
World Cup Qualifier |
| 54 | 10.11.1996 | Bern | Switzerland | 1-0 | World Cup Qualifier | |
| 55 | 29.03.1997 | Dubai | United Arab Emirates | 4-1 | ||
| 56 | 30.04.1997 | Oslo | Finland | 1-1 | World Cup Qualifier | |
| 57 | 30.05.1997 | Oslo | Brazil | 4-2 | ||
| 58 | 08.06.1997 | Budapest | Hungary | 1-1 | World Cup Qualifier | |
| Hertha Berlin (Germany) | ||||||
| 59 | 20.07.1997 | Reykjavik | Iceland | 1-0 | ||
| 60 | 20.08.1997 | Helsinki | Finland | 4-0 | World Cup Qualifier | |
| 61 | 06.09.1997 | Baku | Azerbaijan | 1-0 | World Cup Qualifier | |
| 62 | 10.09.1997 | Oslo | Switzerland | 5-0 | World Cup Qualifier | |
| 63 | 08.10.1997 | Oslo | Colombia | 0-0 | ||
| 64 | 22.04.1998 | Copenhagen | Denmark | 2-0 | ||
| 65 | 20.05.1998 | Oslo | Mexico | 5-2 | ||
| 66 | 27.05.1998 | Molde | Saudi Arabia | 6-0 |
|
|
| 67 | 10.06.1998 | Montpellier | Morocco | 2-2 | World Cup | |
| 68 | 16.06.1998 | Bordeaux | Scotland | 1-1 | World Cup | |
| 69 | 23.06.1998 | Marseille | Brazil | 2-1 |
|
World Cup |
| 70 | 27.06.1998 | Marseille | Italy | 0-1 | World Cup | |
| 71 | 19.08.1998 | Oslo | Romania | 0-0 | ||
| 72 | 06.09.1998 | Oslo | Latvia | 1-3 | European Champ. Qual. | |
| 73 | 10.10.1998 | Ljubljana | Slovenia | 2-1 |
|
European Champ. Qual. |
| 74 | 14.10.1998 | Oslo | Albania | 2-2 |
|
European Champ. Qual. |
| 75 | 18.11.1998 | Cairo | Egypt | 1-1 | ||
| 76 | 10.02.1999 | Pisa | Italy | 0-0 | ||
| 77 | 20.05.1999 | Oslo | Jamaica | 6-0 | ||
| 78 | 30.05.1999 | Oslo | Georgia | 1-0 | European Champ. Qual. | |
| 79 | 05.06.1999 | Tirana | Albania | 2-1 | European Champ. Qual. | |
| 80 | 14.11.1999 | Oslo | Germany | 0-1 | ||
| 81 | 23.02.2000 | Istanbul | Turkey | 2-0 | ||
| Vålerenga | ||||||
| 82 | 26.04.2000 | Oslo | Belgium | 0-2 | ||
| 83 | 27.05.2000 | Oslo | Slovakia | 2-0 | ||
NOTE: Matches in red are not recognized as full internationals by FIFA.