Frank Strandli (born 16 May 1972) 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 lea ...

who played as a

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Club career

Strandli was recognised as a fast and physically strong striker. After success in

IK Start Idrettsklubben Start (or simply IK Start) is a Norwegian Association football, football club from the city of Kristiansand that currently plays in the Norwegian First Division, the second tier of the Norwegian football league system. The club was ...

, he signed for league champions

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

in early 1993 and scored on his debut, coming off the bench against

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

. However, he would score just one more goal and make just 15 further appearances for the

Elland Road Elland Road, or Elland Road Stadium, is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the Home (sports), home of Leeds United F.C., Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the List of foot ...

club. Within months of arriving in England, he returned to his native Norway to play for IK Start on loan from May to July 1993, and in 1994 he was loaned to

SK Brann Sportsklubben Brann is a Norwegian professional football club based in Bergen. Founded on 26 September 1908, Brann has played in the first tier of Norwegian football for 67 out of 80 seasons, the second most of any club. They play their hom ...

, signing a permanent deal ahead of the 1995 season. After this earned success in

Lillestrøm SK Lillestrøm Sportsklubb is a Norwegian professional football club based in the city of Lillestrøm, just outside of the capital Oslo. Lillestrøm SK is a Norwegian football club based in Lillestrøm, playing in Eliteserien. The club was founde ...

, scoring 15 times in 38 league games. This earned him a move to the Greek top club Panathinaikos. His last professional club was AaB before he was forced to retire due to a groin injury. During his injury spell he received guidance from mental coach Christian M. Larsen. The coaching techniques Strandli learned at this stage of his career is believed to have helped him come back from injury. He made a return in 2009 with fellow footballer

Andreas Lund Torkjell Andreas Lund (born 7 May 1975), known as Andreas Lund, is a Norwegian former footballer who played as a striker. Club career Lund had a successful career in Norway and scoring 55 league goals in 96 matches for IK Start and Molde FK. F ...

when both joined FC Lund, a club in the Norwegian sixth tier as a central defender.

International career

Strandli played 24 matches for the Norway national team, thus being one cap away from earning the

Norwegian Football Association Gold Watch The Norwegian Football Association Gold Watch () is an honorary proof that's awarded to all Norwegian footballers who reaches 25 caps for the Norway national football team. The watch is awarded by the Norges Fotballforbund. Gunnar Andersen was the ...

International goals

:''Scores and results list Norway's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Strandli goal.''

References

External links

* Living people 1972 births Footballers from Kristiansand Norwegian men's footballers Men's association football forwards Norway men's international footballers Norway men's youth international footballers Norway men's under-21 international footballers IK Start players Leeds United F.C. players SK Brann players Lillestrøm SK players Panathinaikos F.C. players AaB Fodbold players Premier League players Danish Superliga players Eliteserien players Super League Greece players Norwegian expatriate men's footballers Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Denmark Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark {{norway-footy-forward-stub