Marie Lindebø Knutsen (born 31 August 1982) is a Norwegian former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

who played for

Røa Røa () is a neighbourhood and a former administrative borough of the city of Oslo, Norway. In 2004 the borough of Røa was merged with neighbouring Vinderen to become Vestre Aker borough. Røa is a suburb of Oslo, located approximately 7 kilome ...

of Norway's

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 ...

league and represented the Norwegian national team from 2005 to 2009.

Club career

Aside from Røa IL, Knutsen has also played for

Kattem IL Kattem IL is a Norwegian sports club from the neighborhood Kattem in Heimdal borough, Trondheim. It has sections for football, handball, ice hockey and skiing. The women's football team has been in ''Toppserien'', the highest tier of women's ...

, Flatås,

Byåsen Byåsen is a large neighborhood area in the city of Trondheim in Trøndelag county, Norway. It constitutes a large part of the city in the borough of Midtbyen in Trondheim Municipality. It encompasses a number of areas southwest of the main cit ...

and

Trondheims-Ørn Rosenborg Ballklub Kvinner (previously known as Sportsklubben Trondheims-Ørn) is a Norwegian women's professional football club in Trondheim, Trøndelag. History The club was founded as a multi-sports club on May 18, 1917, and became a mem ...

. She was named as part of the NISO Women's Team of the Year in 2007. After missing 2010 and 2011 through giving birth and moving away to America, Knutsen returned to Røa in 2012. She retired from football ahead of the club's 2013 Toppserien campaign.

National team

Knutsen made her debut for the senior national team on 19 February 2005 in a match against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Her first goal came on 20 January 2006 in a match against

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. She was part of the squad for the

2007 Women's World Cup The 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, the fifth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, was an international football competition for women held in China from 10 to 30 September 2007. Originally, China was to host the 2003 edition, but the outbreak o ...

, playing in five matches, as well as the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

held in Beijing, China, where she appeared in three matches. Knutsen also played in the 2005 European Championships, winning the silver medal after Norway lost 3–1 to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in the final at

Ewood Park Ewood Park () is a Association football, football stadium in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, and the home of Blackburn Rovers F.C., founding members of the English Football League, Football League and Premier League, who have played there since ...

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the River Ribble, Ribble Valley, east of Preston ...

. On 21 October 2008 Marie Knutsen and four other Røa players—

Lene Mykjåland Lene Mykjåland (born 20 February 1987) is a Norwegian former footballer who played as a forward and midfielder. Having made her debut for the senior team on 7 March 2007, in a 1–2 loss against Germany. Career Mykjåland started her career in ...

Guro Knutsen Guro Knutsen Mienna (born Guro Knutsen on 10 January 1985) is a Norwegian former footballer who played for Røa IL of the Toppserien league and for the Norway women's national football team. Biography Knutsen Mienna played alongside her older s ...

, Marit Fiane Christensen and

Siri Nordby Siri Kristine Nordby (born 4 August 1978) is a Norwegian football defender who played over fifteen years for Røa in Norway's Toppserien league. She also played for the Norway women's national football team. Career Nordby started her career at ...

—made headlines when they announced in a press release that they would not be returning to the national team due to issues the five had with the national team leadership. While the press statement never mentioned

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 * Coac ...

Bjarne Berntsen Bjarne Berntsen (born 21 December 1956) is a Norwegian football coach and former player who is the manager of Sandnes Ulf. He is the elder brother of fellow football coach Alf Ingve Berntsen. Playing career Bjarne Berntsen began his football c ...

's name, it was assumed that he was instrumental in their decision to retire from the team. The retirement, construed in many newspapers as a boycott, created widespread media attention. Berntsen's successor

Eli Landsem Eli Landsem (born 22 March 1962) is a Norwegian former international footballer who was the coach of the Norway women's national football team between 2009 and 2012. Career As a player, Landsem won 15 caps for Norway, scoring one goal. She made ...

reintegrated the Røa players and Knutsen won her 55th and final

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

in a 1–0 win over

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

in October 2009.

International goals

Personal

Knutsen studied psychology and was married in the summer of 2008. In January 2010 she announced she was expecting her first child and would not play football during 2010. She and her husband Patrick Johansen then moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, USA where they lived with their son Jasper. Knutsen played amateur football for Rovers in the New York Metropolitan Women's Soccer League. Her younger sister,

continued to play for Røa IL. Both sisters are members of the

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

sports organization ''

Kristen Idrettskontakt KRIK (Kristen Idrettskontakt, meaning Christian Sports Contact) is a Norwegian Christian youth and sports organisationt. KRIK was founded in 1981 on initiative by the Norwegian priest Kjell Markset. The nationwide administration is currently loc ...

'' (KRIK).

Honors

Club

**League champion

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 ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

**Cup champion 2006, 2008, 2009 *

** League champion

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Knutsen, Marie 1982 births Living people Norwegian women's footballers 21st-century Norwegian sportswomen Norwegian Christians Norway women's international footballers Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers for Norway Footballers from Trondheim Røa IL players Toppserien players SK Trondheims-Ørn players Expatriate women's soccer players in the United States Norwegian expatriate women's footballers 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup players Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Women's association football midfielders