Steffen Iversen
Born: 10.11.1976 in Oslo
Position: Forward
Caps: 79
Goals: 21
Profile
As the son of Odd Iversen, one of Norway's most prolific goalscorers of all time, Steffen Iversen has always had to face the inevitable comparisons to his father. And although he hasn't quite reached the prolific heights of his dad in the goalscoring department, Steffen has managed to have a fine career of his own. You could even argue that with four league titles, seven seasons in the Premier League and having played in the European Championship finals, Steffen has had the more successful career of the two. Either way, the Iversens' combined total of 124 caps and 40 international goals make them Norway's most-capped and top goalscoring father/son team.
The younger Iversen began his career at Astor, one of Trondheim's smaller clubs. However, when you're the a talented youngster who happens to be the son of a Rosenborg legend, it was only a matter of time before Steffen would join the city's top club. Iversen signed for Rosenborg in late 1994, and made his debut the next year. The next two years, Iversen showed he was a chip off the old block by scoring regularly for Rosenborg in both the domestic championship and the Champions League. In two years, the youngster had scored 21 goals for the team and was a regular for the Norwegian U21's. In December 1996, less than a month after his 20th birthday, Iversen was signed by Tottenham - much to the anger of Rosenborg coach Nils Arne Eggen, who felt the boy was too young to move abroad.
Iversen didn't take long to make an impact at White Hart Lane, and was a regular by the end of the season. However, with Ole Gunnar Solskjær and Tore André Flo ahead of him in the pecking order, Steffen had to wait until late 1998 before making his full international debut - and was at the time usually deployed in midfield or on the wing for the national team. Anyway, despite being played out of position most of the time, Iversen became a regular and scored several important goals for Norway in the qualification campaign for Euro 2000.
Despite having only recently returned from injury, Iversen made his mark at the Euro 2000 finals. Much has been said about Norway's defensive tactics at the tournament, but they did at least get one good result at the tournament, with the 1-0 win against Spain, where Iversen scored the winning goal when he headed in a long ball (what else?). However, aside from good defensive play from the makeshift back four, and Erik Mykland's occational brilliance, Iversen's goal was Norway's lone highlight at Euro 2000.
After getting little playing time at club level in 2002/03, Iversen moved to newly-promoted Wolverhampton (which incidentally is said to be his father's favorite club in England). Steffen scored on his debut at Molineux, but the move soon turned into a nightmare. He got little playing time for the Premiership strugglers, and was released at the end of the season, following Wolves' relegation. On a more positive note, Iversen scored another important goal against Spain in the Euro 2004 qualifying playoff. However, this time it was to no avail as the Spaniards won 5-1 on aggregate, eliminating Norway from the competition.
In the summer of 2004, Steffen returned to Norway and signed a two-year contract with another of his father's old clubs, Vålerenga. In 2005, Iversen somewhat ironically was a key contributor as Vålerenga went on to win the league title, breaking Rosenborg's 13-year stranglehold on the domestic title. The following season, he moved back to Rosenborg, where he helped his old club regain the title. He still plays for Rosenborg today. In November 2007, in the Euro qualifier against Malta, Steffen scored his 19th international goal, equaling his father's goal tally for the national team. The following year, he passed his dad in the goalscoring charts when he scored a brace against Iceland.
National Team Appearances
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Goals | Competition |
| Tottenham (England) | ||||||
| 1 | 14.10.1998 | Oslo | Albania | 2-2 | European Champ. Qual. | |
| 2 | 18.11.1998 | Cairo | Egypt | 1-1 | ||
| 3 | 27.03.1999 | Athens | Greece | 2-0 | European Champ. Qual. | |
| 4 | 28.04.1999 | Tbilisi | Georgia | 4-1 | European Champ. Qual. | |
| 5 | 20.05.1999 | Oslo | Jamaica | 6-0 |
|
|
| 6 | 30.05.1999 | Oslo | Georgia | 1-0 |
|
European Champ. Qual. |
| 7 | 05.06.1999 | Tirana | Albania | 2-1 |
|
European Champ. Qual. |
| 8 | 18.08.1999 | Oslo | Lithuania | 1-0 | ||
| 9 | 04.09.1999 | Oslo | Greece | 1-0 | European Champ. Qual. | |
| 10 | 08.09.1999 | Oslo | Slovenia | 4-0 |
|
European Champ. Qual. |
| 11 | 09.10.1999 | Riga | Latvia | 2-1 | European Champ. Qual. | |
| 12 | 14.11.1999 | Oslo | Germany | 0-1 | ||
| 13 | 29.03.2000 | Lugano | Switzerland | 2-2 | ||
| 14 | 26.04.2000 | Oslo | Belgium | 0-2 | ||
| 15 | 27.05.2000 | Oslo | Slovakia | 2-0 |
|
|
| 16 | 13.06.2000 | Rotterdam | Spain | 1-0 |
|
European Championship |
| 17 | 18.06.2000 | Liège | Yugoslavia | 0-1 | European Championship | |
| 18 | 21.06.2000 | Arnhem | Slovenia | 0-0 | European Championship | |
| 19 | 16.08.2000 | Helsinki | Finland | 1-3 | ||
| 20 | 02.09.2000 | Oslo | Armenia | 0-0 | World Cup Qualifier | |
| 21 | 07.10.2000 | Cardiff | Wales | 1-1 | World Cup Qualifier | |
| 22 | 11.10.2000 | Oslo | Ukraine | 0-1 | World Cup Qualifier | |
| 23 | 24.03.2001 | Oslo | Poland | 2-3 | World Cup Qualifier | |
| 24 | 28.03.2001 | Minsk | Belarus | 1-2 | World Cup Qualifier | |
| 25 | 15.08.2001 | Oslo | Turkey | 1-1 | ||
| 26 | 01.09.2001 | Chorzow | Poland | 0-3 | World Cup Qualifier | |
| 27 | 05.09.2001 | Oslo | Wales | 3-2 | World Cup Qualifier | |
| 28 | 13.02.2002 | Brussels | Belgium | 0-1 | ||
| 29 | 17.04.2002 | Oslo | Sweden | 0-0 | ||
| 30 | 14.05.2002 | Oslo | Japan | 3-0 | ||
| 31 | 22.05.2002 | Bodø | Iceland | 1-1 | ||
| 32 | 07.09.2002 | Oslo | Denmark | 2-2 | European Champ. Qual. | |
| 33 | 12.10.2002 | Bucharest | Romania | 1-0 |
|
European Champ. Qual. |
| 34 | 16.10.2002 | Oslo | Bosnia-Herzegovina | 2-0 | European Champ. Qual. | |
| 35 | 20.11.2002 | Vienna | Austria | 1-0 | ||
| 36 | 30.04.2003 | Dublin | Republic of Ireland | 0-1 | ||
| 37 | 22.05.2003 | Oslo | Finland | 2-0 | ||
| 38 | 07.06.2003 | Copenhagen | Denmark | 0-1 | European Champ. Qual. | |
| 39 | 11.06.2003 | Oslo | Romania | 1-1 | European Champ. Qual. | |
| Wolverhampton (England) | ||||||
| 40 | 20.08.2003 | Oslo | Scotland | 0-0 | ||
| 41 | 06.09.2003 | Zenica | Bosnia-Herzegovina | 0-1 | European Champ. Qual. | |
| 42 | 10.09.2003 | Oslo | Portugal | 0-1 | ||
| 43 | 15.11.2003 | Valencia | Spain | 1-2 |
|
European Champ. Qual. |
| 44 | 19.11.2003 | Oslo | Spain | 0-3 | European Champ. Qual. | |
| 45 | 18.02.2004 | Belfast | Northern Ireland | 4-1 |
|
|
| Vålerenga | ||||||
| 46 | 09.10.2004 | Glasgow | Scotland | 1-0 |
|
World Cup Qualifier |
| 47 | 13.10.2004 | Oslo | Slovenia | 3-0 | World Cup Qualifier | |
| 48 | 16.11.2004 | London | Australia | 2-2 |
|
|
| 49 | 09.02.2005 | Valetta | Malta | 3-0 | ||
| 50 | 30.03.2005 | Chisinau | Moldova | 0-0 | World Cup Qualifier | |
| 51 | 24.05.2005 | Oslo | Costa Rica | 1-0 | ||
| 52 | 04.06.2005 | Oslo | Italy | 0-0 | World Cup Qualifier | |
| 53 | 08.06.2005 | Stockholm | Sweden | 3-2 |
|
|
| 54 | 17.08.2005 | Oslo | Switzerland | 0-2 | ||
| 55 | 03.09.2005 | Celje | Slovenia | 3-2 | World Cup Qualifier | |
| 56 | 08.10.2005 | Oslo | Moldova | 1-0 | World Cup Qualifier | |
| 57 | 12.10.2005 | Minsk | Belarus | 1-0 | World Cup Qualifier | |
| 58 | 12.11.2005 | Oslo | Czech Republic | 0-1 | World Cup Qualifier | |
| 59 | 16.11.2005 | Prague | Czech Republic | 0-1 | World Cup Qualifier | |
| Rosenborg | ||||||
| 60 | 16.08.2006 | Oslo | Brazil | 1-1 | ||
| 61 | 02.09.2006 | Budapest | Hungary | 4-1 | European Champ. Qual. | |
| 62 | 06.09.2006 | Oslo | Moldova | 2-0 |
|
European Champ. Qual. |
| 63 | 07.10.2006 | Athens | Greece | 0-1 | European Champ. Qual. | |
| 64 | 15.11.2006 | Belgrade | Serbia | 1-1 | ||
| 65 | 07.02.2007 | Rijeka | Croatia | 1-2 | ||
| 66 | 24.03.2007 | Oslo | Bosnia-Herzegovina | 1-2 | European Champ. Qual. | |
| 67 | 02.06.2007 | Oslo | Malta | 4-0 |
|
European Champ. Qual. |
| 68 | 06.06.2007 | Oslo | Hungary | 4-0 |
|
European Champ. Qual. |
| 69 | 08.09.2007 | Chisinau | Moldova | 1-0 |
|
European Champ. Qual. |
| 70 | 12.09.2007 | Oslo | Greece | 2-2 | European Champ. Qual. | |
| 71 | 17.11.2007 | Oslo | Turkey | 1-2 | European Champ. Qual. | |
| 72 | 21.11.2007 | Valetta | Malta | 4-1 |
|
European Champ. Qual. |
| 73 | 26.03.2008 | Podgorica | Montenegro | 1-3 | ||
| 74 | 06.09.2008 | Oslo | Iceland | 2-2 |
|
World Cup Qualifier |
| 75 | 11.10.2008 | Glasgow | Scotland | 0-0 | World Cup Qualifier | |
| 76 | 15.10.2008 | Oslo | Netherlands | 0-1 | World Cup Qualifier | |
| 77 | 12.08.2009 | Oslo | Scotland | 4-0 | World Cup Qualifier | |
| 78 | 03.09.2010 | Reykjavik | Iceland | 2-1 | European Champ. Qual. | |
| Crystal Palace (England) | ||||||
| 79 | 26.03.2011 | Oslo | Denmark | 1-1 | European Champ. Qual. | |