Bengt Sæternes (born 1 January 1975) is a Norwegian former professional

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 ...

who played as a

centre forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

from 1991 until 2011. He began his playing career at local clubs

Egersund Egersund is a town in Eigersund municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The town is located along the southwestern coast of Norway, about south of the city of Stavanger. The town is situated along a strait which separates the mainland from t ...

and

Eiger The Eiger () is a mountain of the Bernese Alps, overlooking Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland, just north of the main watershed and border with Valais. It is the easternmost peak of a ridge crest that exte ...

, whilst he had spells at

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and s ...

, Odd Grenland, Bodø/Glimt, Club Brugge, Brann, OB, and Vålerenga. Sæternes was capped seven times for

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. Before the

2012–13 Tercera División The 2012–13 Tercera División was the fourth tier of football in Spain. Play started on 24 August 2012 and the season ended on 30 June 2013 with the promotion play-off finals. Overview There were 359 clubs competing in Tercera División (Third ...

, Sæternes joined UD Vecindario as assistant coach on a one-year contract. He rejected offers from Norway in order to "learn everything I can of Spanish football."

Club career

Bengt Sæternes had short stints in both

and Odd Grenland until his career boosted in Bodø/Glimt. He was the club's top scorer in a number of seasons before he was sold to the Belgian First Division club Club Brugge. His stay in Belgium was ruined by multiple injuries, and he decided to return to

in the summer of 2004. Despite the general public believed that he would transfer to the champions Rosenborg, Bengt chose Brann instead. He made an instant impact in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

by demonstrating great goal scoring abilities clearly proven in the 2004 cup final, when he scored 3 goals. After a great 2004 season, the 2005 and the beginning of the 2006 season was a disappointment, mainly due to a long lasting injury. Sæternes never managed to copy the success from his first season in Brann. Since then he has played both in OB, Vålerenga and before he returned to Viking. Ahead of the 2012 season, Viking terminated Sæternes' contract, after only one season at the club.

International career

Sæternes played three matches for

Norway U-21 Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and th ...

in 1996 and 1997, and was later capped seven times for

between 2002 and 2007.

Career statistics

Honours

Club Brugge * Belgian First Division: 2002–03 * Belgian Cup: 2003–04 * Belgian Supercup: 2002, 2003 Brann *

Tippeligaen Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotio ...

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

Norwegian Cup The Norwegian Football Cup ( no, Norgesmesterskapet i fotball for herrer) 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 footbal ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

Vålerenga *Norwegian Cup:

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

Individual * Kniksen Striker of the Year: 2002

References

External links

Vålerenga profile

SK Brann profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saeternes, Bengt 1975 births Living people People from Egersund Association football forwards Norwegian footballers Norway international footballers Norway under-21 international footballers Viking FK players Odds BK players FK Bodø/Glimt players Club Brugge KV players SK Brann players Odense Boldklub players Vålerenga Fotball players Eliteserien players Norwegian First Division players Belgian Pro League players Danish Superliga players Norwegian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Denmark Kniksen Award winners Norwegian football managers Egersunds IK managers Sandnes Ulf managers Sportspeople from Rogaland