Erik Nevland

Erik Nevland (born 10 November 1977) is a Norwegian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is currently the sporting director of Viking FK. He played for clubs in Norway, England, Sweden and the Netherlands, and earned eight caps for the Norway national football team from his debut in 2001. After retiring, Nevland worked as a car salesman.[3]

Erik Nevland
Nevland playing for Fulham in 2009
Personal information
Full name Erik Nevland[1]
Date of birth (1977-11-10) 10 November 1977[2]
Place of birth Stavanger, Norway
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[2]
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
Viking
Manchester United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1995–1997 Viking 14 (5)
1997–2000 Manchester United 1 (0)
1998 → Viking (loan) 8 (3)
1999 → IFK Göteborg (loan) 4 (0)
2000–2004 Viking 113 (54)
2004–2008 FC Groningen 95 (43)
2008–2010 Fulham 52 (9)
2010–2012 Viking 54 (16)
Total 341 (130)
International career
1996–1997 Norway U20 3 (1)
1997–1999 Norway U21 22 (1)
2002 Norway B 2 (0)
2001–2010 Norway 8 (0)
Managerial career
2021– Viking (sporting director)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

Nevland was born in Stavanger, Rogaland.[4] He started his career at Viking FK, but in 1997 he was sold to Manchester United at the age of 19,[5] before he had played a single first team match for the Norway side. What prompted Manchester United to sign him was a succession of hat-tricks in three games when he was on trial with them.[6] His only goal for the United first team was in a League Cup match against Bury in October 1998.[7] He never managed to establish himself in the United team, with a successful loan spell at Viking and an unsuccessful one at IFK Göteborg. He only ever made one league appearance for United, as a substitute against Southampton on 19 January 1998.

He returned to Viking on a permanent contract in January 2000, winning the Norwegian Cup in 2001 and scoring the two deciding goals in their famous UEFA Cup victory over Chelsea in 2002.[8] He joined FC Groningen on a free transfer in November 2004, and since became a cult hero. In his first half-season for his new club he scored 16 times in 20 matches. Nevland scored the first ever goal in FC Groningen's new Euroborg stadium.

On 27 April 2007, Nevland signed a new three-year contract with FC Groningen. In December 2007, Nevland was voted 'Groninger of the Year' by television viewers in Groningen, although having been born outside the Netherlands.

On 28 January 2008, he signed with Premier League side Fulham[9] for a fee of €2.5 million (£1.85 million), plus a further €0.5 million (£370k) if Fulham retained Premier League status, which they did. On 3 February, he made only his second ever Premier League appearance when Fulham played Aston Villa at Craven Cottage.

After making over 50 league appearances for Fulham, and despite Roy Hodgson's wish to keep him at the club, Nevland once again returned to Viking in June 2010. He was assigned the role as captain.

International career

He has eight international caps for the Norway national football team; his first cap was in 2001.

He also has 22 caps and one international goal to his name with the U-21 side. He participated in the 1998 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship where Norway achieved a third-place finish.[10][11]

Later career

On 5 August 2021, Nevland was appointed sporting director of Viking.[12]

Career statistics
Club performance League Cup Total
SeasonClubLeague AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
Norway League Norwegian Cup Total
1996 Viking Tippeligaen 100010
1997 135351610
England League FA Cup Total
1997–98 Manchester United Premier League 103040
Norway League Norwegian Cup Total
1998 Viking Tippeligaen 831093
Sweden League Svenska Cupen Total
1999 IFK Göteborg Allsvenskan 40
England League FA Cup Total
1999–2000 Manchester United Premier League 000000
Norway League Norwegian Cup Total
2000 Viking Tippeligaen 2013202213
2001 2514633117
2002 2010462416
2003 2511412912
2004 236242510
Netherlands League KNVB Cup Total
2004–05 Groningen Eredivisie 2016002016
2005–06 298523410
2006–07 2713102813
2007–08 12610136
England League FA Cup Total
2007–08 Fulham Premier League 820082
2008–09 21430244
2009–10 23311244
Norway League Norwegian Cup Total
2010 Viking Tippeligaen 12610136
2011 288553313
2012 14211153
Total Norway 189782925218103
England 539716010
Sweden 40
Netherlands 8843729545
Career total 3341304328373158

Honours

Fulham

References
  1. "Erik Nevland" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Football Federation. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  2. "Erik Nevland: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  3. We spraken Erik Nevland over auto’s verkopen, modellenwerk en Luis Suarez vice.com
  4. "Erik Nevland". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  5. Nixon, Alan (31 May 1997). "Football: United snap up Nevland". The Independent. London. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  6. "Erik Nevland". Totally Red. Archived from the original on 26 September 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
  7. Hadfield, Dave (28 October 1998). "Solskjaer provides a little bit extra". The Independent. London. Retrieved 28 December 2009.
  8. "Viking humble Chelsea". BBC Sport. 3 October 2002. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  9. Fulham sign Erik Nevland
  10. Russia and Norway in Euro Under-21 semis; hurriyetdailynews.com, 26 May 1998
  11. Spain beats Norway in extra time in Euro under-21 semis; hurriyetdailynews.com, 29 May 1998
  12. Nilssen, Stig (5 August 2021). "Erik Nevland er ansatt som sportssjef i Viking". Stavanger Aftenblad (in Norwegian). Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  13. McNulty, Phil (12 May 2010). "Atletico Madrid 2–1 Fulham". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Erik Nevland.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.