Dan Eggen

Dan Eggen had a somewhat unusual career. For starters, he is one of only six players who has played for the Norwegian national team without ever having played in the domestic top flight. Having only played senior-level football for fourth division side Ready, he moved to Denmark in 1990 with no ambition of becoming a professional footballer. Eggen joined Copenhagen side Frem, and played so well that within a couple of years, the previously completely unknown player was signed by Brøndby. Eggen continued to make a name for himself in Danish football, but was still relatively unknown back home when he was surprisingly included in Egil Olsen's squad for the 1993 friendly against the Faroe Isles. Though he played a fine game against the minnows, and continued to play well for Brøndby, he faded from the national team discussion until the eve of the 1994 World Cup, when he - to everyone's surprise - was included in Norway's World Cup squad.

Eggen remained on the bench at the World Cup, and after the tournament he soon faded back into obscurity in the eyes of the Norwegian public, and wasn't recalled to the national team for another two-and-a-half years. Eggen's recall came in January 1997, when what was essentially a Norwegian "B" side played three friendlies in Australia. He played well enough to become Norway's third-choice central defender behind Henning Berg and Ronny Johnsen for the rest of the year, despite some media criticism about his awkward-looking style of play. He got his first taste of competitive international football in the World Cup qualifier against Finland, and was later that year signed by Spanish Primera Liga side Celta Vigo.

Eggen remained one of Egil Olsen's favorites in 1998, and he was again named in Norway's World Cup squad - and with Henning Berg being moved to right-back, Eggen played all four of Norway's games in the 1998 finals, and even got on the scoresheet in the opener against Morocco. Some believe Eggen was to blame for Italy's goal that knocked Norway out in the second round. Whether or not this was the reason, Eggen was subsequently dropped by new national team coach Nils Johan Semb after the World Cup, and spent two more years in the international wilderness only to resurface just in time for another major tournament.

In-between the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship, Eggen had been transferred from Celta to Primera Liga newcomers Alavés, where he became a regular first-team player. Norway had qualified for Euro 2000 without Eggen, but when central defenders Ronny Johnsen and Erik Hoftun both went down with injuries before the finals, Eggen was once again recalled to the national side - and when Henning Berg too got injured in the tournament opener, Eggen took his spot and did a fine job. Despite being down the pecking order and having limited international experience, Eggen and Bjørn Otto Bragstad did a fine job defensively at Euro 2000, and if the rest of the team had played equally well at the offensive end, Norway might have made it past the first round.

With Berg, Johnsen and Hoftun fit again, Eggen was once again relegated to reserve status after Euro 2000, and he would play only one more competitive match for Norway. Things went better at club level, where the unfancied Alavés side made it all the way to the UEFA Cup final in 2001, where they lost 5-4 in a classic match against Liverpool. The next season, Eggen was injured for most of the year, and when he finally did get back, he was no longer first-choice at Alavés. He moved to French side Le Mans in 2003, where he spent about 18 months before retiring from the game in late 2004.

Like his good friend Erik Mykland, Dan Eggen was always a somewhat unconventional footballer. Since retiring from football, Eggen, who was always a big rock music fan, has taken the somewhat unusual career choice of entering the music business. He is now the manager of Norwegian heavy metal band El Caco.

National Team Appearances

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Goals	Competition
Brøndby (Denmark)
1	18.08.1993	Toftir	Faroe Islands	7-0
2	05.06.1994	Stockholm	Sweden	0-2
3	18.01.1997	Melbourne	South Korea	0-1
4	22.01.1997	Brisbane	New Zealand	3-0
5	25.01.1997	Sydney	Australia	0-1
6	29.03.1997	Dubai	United Arab Emirates	4-1
7	30.04.1997	Oslo	Finland	1-1		World Cup Qualifier
8	20.07.1997	Reykjavik	Iceland	1-0
Celta Vigo (Spain)
9	20.08.1997	Helsinki	Finland	4-0		World Cup Qualifier
10	06.09.1997	Baku	Azerbaijan	1-0		World Cup Qualifier
11	10.09.1997	Oslo	Switzerland	5-0		World Cup Qualifier
12	22.04.1998	Copenhagen	Denmark	2-0
13	27.05.1998	Molde	Saudi Arabia	6-0
14	10.06.1998	Montpellier	Morocco	2-2		World Cup
15	16.06.1998	Bordeaux	Scotland	1-1		World Cup
16	23.06.1998	Marseille	Brazil	2-1		World Cup
17	27.06.1998	Marseille	Italy	0-1		World Cup
Alavés (Spain)
18	03.06.2000	Oslo	Italy	1-0
19	13.06.2000	Rotterdam	Spain	1-0		European Championship
20	18.06.2000	Liège	Yugoslavia	0-1		European Championship
21	21.06.2000	Arnhem	Slovenia	0-0		European Championship
22	16.08.2000	Helsinki	Finland	1-3
23	28.02.2001	Belfast	Northern Ireland	4-0
24	28.03.2001	Minsk	Belarus	1-2		World Cup Qualifier
25	25.04.2001	Oslo	Bulgaria	2-1

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