Mari Karoline Knudsen (born 17 February 1984) is a Norwegian former international
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 le ...
who played at club level for
LSK Kvinner FK
LSK Kvinner Fotballklubb is a Norwegian women's football club from Lillestrøm. They currently play in Toppserien, the top division of Norwegian football. The club was founded as Setskog/Høland Fotballklubb on 10 October 1989.
History
The cl ...
of the Norwegian
Toppserien
The Toppserien is the top level of women's association football in Norway. It was founded in 1984.
History
Women's league football was introduced on a county basis in 1977. These leagues acted as qualification for the regional (South) league in 1 ...
.
Club career
Knudsen signed for
Toppserien
The Toppserien is the top level of women's association football in Norway. It was founded in 1984.
History
Women's league football was introduced on a county basis in 1977. These leagues acted as qualification for the regional (South) league in 1 ...
club
Team Strømmen
LSK Kvinner Fotballklubb is a Norwegian women's football club from Lillestrøm. They currently play in Toppserien, the top division of Norwegian football. The club was founded as Setskog/Høland Fotballklubb on 10 October 1989.
History
The cl ...
in 2008, after spending a decade with Skjetten SK. She made an immediate impact with a goal against SK Trondheims-Ørn and was praised by assistant
coach
Coach may refer to:
Guidance/instruction
* Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities
* Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process
** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers
Transportation
* Co ...
Monica Knudsen
Monica Knudsen (born 25 March 1975) is a Norwegian football coach and former player who managed Toppserien club LSK Kvinner. As a player, Knudsen was a midfielder who won 87 caps for the Norway women's national football team between 1996 and 20 ...
(no relation) for her ability to play in midfield or attack. In her first season with her new club, Knudsen played in the
Norwegian Women's Cup
The Norwegian Women's Cup ( no, Norgesmesterskapet i fotball for kvinner) is a knockout cup competition in Norwegian women's football. It has been organised annually since 1978. The final is usually played on a Saturday, the day before the men's ...
final. This emulated her older
brother
A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...
Jon Knudsen
Jon Knudsen (born 20 November 1974) is a Norwegian former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is from August 2022, the goalkeeping coach for the Norway women's national team.
Knudsen spent most of his playing career with Stabæk, where h ...
who played in the
2008 Norwegian Football Cup Final
The 2008 Norwegian Football Cup Final was the final match of the 2008 Norwegian Football Cup, the 103rd season of the Norwegian Football Cup, the premier Norwegian football cup competition organized by the Football Association of Norway (NFF). The ...
for Stabæk Fotball. She was unable to match Jon's winner's medal as Strømmen lost 3–1 to
Røa IL
Røa IL is a Norwegian sports club from Røa in the borough of Vestre Aker, Oslo. It was founded on 11 November 1900, and has sections for football, gymnastics, bandy, and cross-country skiing. Football, bandy, and Nordic skiing have been domina ...
.
Knudsen remained with the club after it was taken over by Lillestrøm SK and became LSK Kvinner FK in 2010. She contributed to the team's
2012 Toppserien
The 2012 Toppserien was the twenty-sixth season of top-tier women's football in Norway since its establishment in 1987. A total of 12 teams contested the league, ten returning from the 2011 season and the two teams promoted from the First Divis ...
title win, describing it as "a dream come true".
International career
In June 2012 Knudsen made her senior international debut 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 ...
against
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
. She scored a goal in Norway's 11–0
UEFA Women's Euro 2013 qualifying
The Qualifying rounds for the UEFA Women's Euro 2013 determined which 11 teams joined Sweden women's national football team, Sweden, the hosts of the 2013 tournament, to play for the UEFA Women's Championship.
Tie breakers
If two or more teams are ...
win in
Sarpsborg
Sarpsborg ( or ), historically Borg, is a city and municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Sarpsborg.
Sarpsborg is part of the fifth largest urban area in Norway when paired with neigh ...
.
Personal life
Knudsen's brother
Jon
Jon is a shortened form of the common given name Jonathan, derived from "YHWH has given", and an alternate spelling of John, derived from "YHWH has pardoned".Atle is a
film director
A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...