Jørn Andersen
Born: 03.02.1963 in Fredrikstad
Position: Forward
Caps: 27
Goals: 5
Profile
Jørn Andersen was never considered a big star, or even a regular in the national team, winning only 27 caps, scoring five goals. However, at club level, he is one of Norway's most successful exports of all time, becoming a star in the German Bundesliga. He went on to settle in Germany after his playing days were up, and is now a German citizen.
Andersen's top flight career began at his home town club Fredrikstad in 1982, having joined FFK from lower-division city rivals Østsiden. He was a member of the Fredrikstad team that won the Norwegian Cup in 1984. However, following the club's relegation the same season, he left to join Vålerenga. He became an instant success at the Oslo club, and was the league's top scorer with 23 goals in 1985. He also made his international debut against East Germany that year. His phenomenal strike rate did not go unnoticed abroad, and at the end of the 1985 season, he was signed by German club Nürnberg.
Andersen quickly became a regular at Nürnberg, where he stayed for three seasons, scoring 28 goals. However, despite his success in the Bundesliga, he was unable to reproduce his club-level form for the national side. He did score one of the goals in Norway's surprise win against France in 1987 (probably Andersen's finest moment for the national team), but more often than not struggled to make an impact for Norway. In 1988, Andersen was transferred to one of Germany's big clubs, Eintracht Frankfurt, where he, after some initial struggles, established himself as one of the top strikers in the Bundesliga. His best performance came in the 1989/90 season, when he finished as top scorer in the Bundesliga with 18 goals, becoming the first foreigner to top the German league's goalscoring chart. He was also recalled by the national team, and was given another extended run for Norway. He did find the net a couple of times, but without truly reproducing his club form.
In the summer of 1990, following his great season at Frankfurt, it was rumoured that Andersen was about to join one of the big clubs in Italy. This never happened, but he did change clubs, joining Fortuna Düsseldorf. This would turn out to be a bad move. Andersen struggled to find the net for his new club, and ended up being dropped by both club and country. In his 18-month spell at Düsseldorf, he scored only five goals, and following a couple of lacklustre performances for Norway in late 1990, he was never selected for the national team again.
In January 1992, he rejoined Frankfurt after the mid-season break, and finally began scoring goals again, but with Fjørtoft and Sørloth in fine form, he remained surplus to requirements for the national team. Realizing that his international career was most likely over, he decided to become a German citizen in 1993, so he wouldn't be counted as a foreign player in the Bundesliga (this was before the Bosman ruling). After two seasons at Frankfurt, Andersen, now in the twilight of his career, joined Hamburg in 1994, where he played for little over a year. He later played for Dynamo Dresden and Swiss teams Lugano and Locarno before retiring from the game in 1999.
Andersen still lives in Germany, where he has held a number of coaching jobs. He has been head coach at Rot-Weiß Oberhausen, Kickers Offenbach and FSV Mainz, as well as assistant coach at Borussia Mönchengladbach. His son, Niklas Andersen, is a defender currently on the books of Werder Bremen, and is a former German youth international.
National Team Appearances
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Goals | Competition |
| Vålerenga | ||||||
| 1 | 17.04.1985 | Frankfurt/Oder | East Germany | 0-1 | ||
| 2 | 14.08.1985 | Oslo | East Germany | 0-1 | ||
| 3 | 10.09.1985 | Oslo | Egypt | 3-0 |
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| 4 | 25.09.1985 | Lecce | Italy | 2-1 | ||
| 5 | 16.10.1985 | Oslo | Denmark | 1-5 | World Cup Qualifier | |
| 6 | 30.10.1985 | Moscow | Soviet Union | 0-1 | World Cup Qualifier | |
| Nürnberg (Germany) | ||||||
| 7 | 13.11.1985 | Luzern | Switzerland | 1-1 | World Cup Qualifier | |
| 8 | 20.04.1986 | Oslo | Argentina | 1-0 | ||
| 9 | 13.05.1986 | Oslo | Denmark | 1-0 | ||
| 10 | 09.09.1986 | Oslo | Hungary | 0-0 | ||
| 11 | 24.03.1987 | Wroclaw | Poland | 1-4 | ||
| 12 | 03.06.1987 | Oslo | Soviet Union | 0-1 | European Champ. Qual. | |
| 13 | 16.06.1987 | Oslo | France | 2-0 |
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European Champ. Qual. |
| 14 | 12.08.1987 | Oslo | Sweden | 0-0 | ||
| 15 | 09.09.1987 | Reykjavik | Iceland | 1-2 |
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European Champ. Qual. |
| 16 | 23.09.1987 | Oslo | Iceland | 0-1 | European Champ. Qual. | |
| 17 | 01.06.1988 | Oslo | Northern Ireland | 0-0 | ||
| Eintracht Frankfurt (Germany) | ||||||
| 18 | 09.08.1988 | Oslo | Bulgaria | 1-1 | ||
| 19 | 05.09.1989 | Oslo | France | 1-1 | World Cup Qualifier | |
| 20 | 11.10.1989 | Sarajevo | Yugoslavia | 0-1 | World Cup Qualifier | |
| 21 | 04.02.1990 | Valetta | South Korea | 3-2 | ||
| 22 | 07.02.1990 | Valetta | Malta | 1-1 | ||
| 23 | 27.03.1990 | Belfast | Northern Ireland | 3-2 |
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| 24 | 08.06.1990 | Trondheim | Denmark | 1-2 |
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| Fortuna Düsseldorf (Germany) | ||||||
| 25 | 22.08.1990 | Stavanger | Sweden | 1-2 | ||
| 26 | 12.09.1990 | Moscow | Soviet Union | 0-2 | European Champ. Qual. | |
| 27 | 10.10.1990 | Bergen | Hungary | 0-0 | European Champ. Qual. | |