Asbjørn Halvorsen
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Asbjørn Halvorsen (3 December 1898 – 16 January 1955), nicknamed Assi, was a Norwegian
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...
, who played as a centre-half for
Sarpsborg FK Sarpsborg Fotballklubb is a Norwegian football club from Sarpsborg, Østfold. It was founded on 8 May 1903. Sarpsborg is one of the most successful teams in the Norwegian Football Cup, with six titles and twelve finals in total. In 2007, the cl ...
and
Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), or HSV (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its Association football, football department. Though the current HSV was founde ...
. He was capped 19 times playing for
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
, and was a part of the Norwegian team who competed in the
1920 Summer Olympics The 1920 Summer Olympics (; ; ), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (; ; ) and commonly known as Antwerp 1920 (; Dutch language, Dutch and German language, German: ''Antwerpen 1920''), were an international multi-sport event held i ...
. He was later Secretary general of the
Norwegian Football Association The Norwegian Football Federation (, ; NFF) is the governing body of football in Norway. It was formed in 1902 and organises the men's and women's national teams, as well as the league systems for men and women (whose top levels are respectively ...
, and acted as head coach of the Norwegian national team. He is regarded as the architect behind the Norwegian "Bronze Team" that finished third in the 1936 Olympics.


Personal life

Halvorsen was born in
Sarpsborg Sarpsborg ( or ), historically Borg, is a List of cities in Norway, city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Østfold Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Sarpsborg. Sarpsbor ...
, the son of baker Christian Halvorsen and Jakobine Dorthea Thronsen. He established himself as a ship broker in
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
, and his first marriage was with a German citizen. He married for a second time in 1951 with Sigrid Helga Willadsen.


Playing career

Halvorsen was a centre-half who played 19 times for the Norwegian national team, and won the
Norwegian Cup The Norwegian Football Cup () is the main knockout cup competition in Norwegian football. It is run by the Football Association of Norway and has been contested since 1902, making it the oldest football tournament in the country. The tournament ...
in
1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's ...
as captain of
Sarpsborg FK Sarpsborg Fotballklubb is a Norwegian football club from Sarpsborg, Østfold. It was founded on 8 May 1903. Sarpsborg is one of the most successful teams in the Norwegian Football Cup, with six titles and twelve finals in total. In 2007, the cl ...
. Aged 18 years and 318 days, he is the youngest captain in a Norwegian Cup final. He made his debut for the national team in 1918, in a match against
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
, and played four matches for the national team in 1918, and four matches in 1919. He represented Norway at the
1920 Summer Olympics The 1920 Summer Olympics (; ; ), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (; ; ) and commonly known as Antwerp 1920 (; Dutch language, Dutch and German language, German: ''Antwerpen 1920''), were an international multi-sport event held i ...
in
Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
, where the Norwegian team reached the quarter-finals. Between 1922 and 1934, Halvorsen played in
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
for
Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), or HSV (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its Association football, football department. Though the current HSV was founde ...
, where he won the German championships in 1923 and 1928. He played his last match for the national team against
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
in
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
in 1923, his nineteenth game for the national selection.


Manager career

He returned to his home country in 1934, and was hired as secretary of the
Norwegian Football Association The Norwegian Football Federation (, ; NFF) is the governing body of football in Norway. It was formed in 1902 and organises the men's and women's national teams, as well as the league systems for men and women (whose top levels are respectively ...
, NFF. This job also made him head of the national team's selection committee, and in the years before
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, he also acted as national team coach. With Halvorsen at the helm, Norway won the bronze medals at the 1936 Olympics, and qualified for the 1938 World Cup. This was Norway's first and only appearance in the World Cup finals until the 1990s.


World War II

During the war, Halvorsen was one of the figureheads of the Norwegian sports boycott. Practically all organized sport ceased its operations during the German occupation, and as a result, Halvorsen was arrested and placed in a
concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...
. He was imprisoned at
Møllergata 19 Møllergata 19 is an address in Oslo, Norway, where the city's main police station and jail was located. The address gained notoriety during the German occupation from 1940 to 1945, when the Nazi security police kept its headquarters here. This ...
for one day, then in
Grini concentration camp Grini prison camp (, ) was a Nazi concentration camp in Bærum, Norway, which operated between 1941 and May 1945. Ila Detention and Security Prison is now located here. History Grini was originally built as a women's prison, near an old croft ...
from August 1942 to July 1943, then in
Natzweiler-Struthof Natzweiler-Struthof was a Nazi concentration camp located in the Vosges Mountains close to the villages of Natzweiler and Struthof in the Gau Baden-Alsace of Germany, on territory annexed from France on a basis in 1940. It operated from 21 Ma ...
, Neckarelz and Vaihingen an der Enz concentration camps.


Post war

After the war, Halvorsen continued working for the NFF, with the title of Secretary General, until his death in 1955. He was a board member of Norsk Tipping from 1946, and was decorated Knight of the Swedish
Order of Vasa The Royal Order of Vasa () is a Swedish order of chivalry founded on 29 May 1772 by Gustav III, King Gustav III. It is awarded to Swedish citizens for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. His ...
. He died in
Narvik () is the third-largest List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway, by population. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Narvik (town), town of Narvik. Some of the notable villag ...
in 1955, as his health was permanently weakened by the
typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposu ...
which he caught at concentration camps.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Halvorsen, Asbjorn 1898 births 1955 deaths Norwegian men's footballers Norway men's international footballers Norwegian football managers Norwegian expatriate football managers Olympic footballers for Norway Footballers at the 1920 Summer Olympics Sarpsborg FK players Hamburger SV players 1938 FIFA World Cup managers Norwegian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in West Germany Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in West Germany Grini concentration camp survivors Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp survivors Vaihingen an der Enz concentration camp survivors Hamburger SV managers Norway national football team managers Knights of the Order of Vasa Men's association football midfielders Footballers from Sarpsborg