Knut Walde (born 16 June 1981) is 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 currently plays for

Flekkerøy IL Flekkerøy Idrettslag, also called Fløy is a Norway, Norwegian sports club from Flekkerøy in Kristiansand. It has sections for association football and team handball, in addition to cross-country skiing (sport), cross-country skiing and racket ...

. He is the older brother of Arve Walde.

Career

Walde found success on the highest level in his first season as a senior. He played 23 of 26 league matches for

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 ...

and got two caps for the Norwegian U21 national football team in 2002. Though a good season for Walde personally, SK Branns had a catastrophic 2002 season, and were close to being relegated. The club's coach and the man responsible for Walde's push,

Teitur Thordarson Teitur Thordarson (, born 14 January 1952) is an Icelandic football coach. He is the older brother of Ólafur Þórðarson. Playing career Club Íþróttabandalag Akraness Before coaching, Teitur playing as a striker for nearly two decades. H ...

, was sacked and the club's junior coach

Mons Ivar Mjelde Mons Ivar Mjelde (born 17 November 1967) is a Norwegian football coach and former player who works as head coach for the Norwegian club Øygarden. He is notable for having led Brann to the Norwegian top division championship in 2007, breaking ...

took over as head coach. After Mjelder took over, Walde found it hard to gain a regular spot on the team, with only 3 league matches in 2003. He was loaned out to

FK Haugesund Fotballklubben Haugesund (), usually referred to as FK Haugesund or FKH, is a professional association football, football club from the city of Haugesund that plays in the top tier of the Norwegian football league system. FK Haugesund previousl ...

in 2004, but could not help the club from being relegated from the Adeccoliga. He returned to Brann in 2005, only to be loaned out again, this time to the local Adeccoliga club Løv-Ham. The transfer was made permanent the autumn of 2005.

Løv-Ham

Walde impressed both local media and opponents in the Adeccoliga, and was one of the main reasons for Løv-Ham dodging relegation in both

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

and

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

. Despite being one of the smallest team in the league and close to be relegated, Løv-Ham was one of the clubs in the league with the fewest goals scored against them. This was highly attributed to Walde and his partner in the center defense, Kristian Vange. Walde was also made

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

for Løv-Ham before the 2006 seasons. He returned to Løv-Ham on loan again before the 2008-season.

Back in Brann

After the 2006 season, several Tippeliga teams showed an interest in Walde, but he chose to stay in Løv-Ham, due to his studies in

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

. He continued to impress in the Adeccoliga and before the transfer-window opened on 1 July 2007,

Sandefjord Sandefjord () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Vestfold. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Sandefjord ...

once again tried to get Walde's signature. However, an SK Brann with only 3

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

s also signaled an interest in Walde. After Brann's first choice, Per "Pelle" Nilsson showed himself too expensive for Brann, the club turned their focus to Walde. The parts came to an agreement on 2 July, and so Walde was once again a part of the SK Brann squad. He did, however, not reach the expectations, and was, once again, loaned out to Løv-Ham the following season. After the 2009 season, Walde decide to take a break from football to pursuit his studies in physiatrics. He carried out his medical service () at

Stavanger University Hospital Stavanger University Hospital ( Norwegian: ''Stavanger Universitetssjukehus'', SUS) is located in the neighborhood of Våland in Stavanger, Norway. Stavanger University Hospital is one of Norway's largest hospitals with more than 7500 employees. ...

. In the summer of 2010, eight months later, he signed for Second Division team

Honours

Norway

Norwegian Premier League Eliteserien () is a professional association football league in Norway and the highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Norwegian First Division ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walde, Knut 1981 births Living people Footballers from Bergen Norwegian men's footballers SK Brann players Løv-Ham Fotball players FK Haugesund players Flekkerøy IL players Norwegian Christians People from Fergus Falls, Minnesota Men's association football defenders 21st-century Norwegian sportsmen