Frode Fermann (born 29 January 1975) is a retired Norwegian

football midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. Except for a few years as a young child in Krokelvdalen IL, Fermann spent his entire youth career in

Tromsø IL Tromsø Idrettslag () is a Norwegian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Tromsø. They play their home games at the Romssa Arena which has a seating capacity of 6,801. Tromsø play in the Eliteserien. Despi ...

. He first gained attention when the U11 team beat an Italian club in the

Norway Cup The Norway Cup is an international youth football tournament in Oslo, Norway. It has been held annually since 1972, with the exception of 1976 (due to a conflicting arrangement), 2020 and 2021 (due to the COVID-19 Pandemic). It is the world's l ...

. In 1993 he was invited to train with Norway U18, but was injured in the first training session. In 1996 and 1997, he was capped 12 times for Norway U21. When Fermann became a senior player in 1995, Tromsø IL did not desire to draft him into the senior squad. They instead loaned him out to third-tier side Silsand OIL. His debut went well with two goals against Lyngen/Karnes. It was later revealed that Tromsø demanded that Fermann improved his maturity and attitudes towards football. After performing well in Silsand, he was given the chance by Tromsø in 1996. Fermann had taken vocational training as a chef, worked as a

mailman A mail carrier, also referred to as a mailman, mailwoman, mailperson, postal carrier, postman, postwoman, postperson, person of post, letter carrier (in American English), or colloquially postie (in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Unite ...

and clothing shop clerk when he suddenly got the chance play football professionally. Having played in the 1996 Eliteserien during the spring and early summer of 1996, Fermann was bought by

Cercle Brugge Cercle Brugge Koninklijke Sportvereniging () is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges. They compete in the Belgian Pro League, the top flight of Belgian football. Their matricule number is 12. The club plays home games at the 29 ...

, having been scouted while playing for Norway U21. Tore Rismo from Tromsø contacted a Belgian agent who previously had shown interest in

Sigurd Rushfeldt Sigurd Rushfeldt (born 11 December 1972) is a Norwegian football coach and former player who works as an assistant coach for Tromsø. During his playing career, he played for Tromsø, Birmingham City, Rosenborg, Racing de Santander, and Austria ...

, and made a tip about Fermann. The transfer fee was . In the 1996-97 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, Fermann played both Cercle Brugge's matches as they were unexpectedly eliminated by Norwegian club Brann. In the 1997-98 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, Fermann played both legs against

NK Zagreb Nogometni klub Zagreb (''Zagreb Football Club''), commonly known as NK Zagreb or simply Zagreb (), is a Croatian football club based in the capital city of Zagreb. It currently competes in the fifth tier league competition of Croatian footbal ...

who Tromsø eliminated. In the second round, he scored one of the goals in Tromsø's legendary 3–2 victory at home against Chelsea. Tromsø lost the away leg 7–1. Fermann was later on a fruitless trial at

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

. Fermann was purchased back by Tromsø, this time at the behest of external investors. Fermann signed a 5-year contract expiring in 2001. After three years in

IF Skarp Idrettsforeningen Skarp is a Norwegian association football club from Tromsø, which currently plays in the Third Division, the fourth tier of Norwegian football. The club was founded 30 June 1919 and its colors are black and white. It is the t ...

, he left in 2005, only to make a comeback in the summer. He rounded off his career in Kvaløysletta IL.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fermann, Frode 1975 births Living people Footballers from Tromsø Norwegian men's footballers Tromsø IL players Cercle Brugge K.S.V. players IF Skarp players Men's association football midfielders Norwegian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Eliteserien players Norwegian First Division players Belgian Pro League players Norway men's under-21 international footballers