Mons Ivar Mjelde (born 17 November 1967) is a Norwegian

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 ...

coach and former player who works as head coach for the Norwegian club

Øygarden Øygarden is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is an island municipality located in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Midhordland, stretching along the west coast of the coun ...

. He is notable for having led Brann to the

Norwegian top division 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 ...

championship in 2007, breaking the widely supported team's notorious spell of 44 years without a league title. As a player, he was a prolific goalscorer both in the

and the

Austrian Bundesliga The Bundesliga ( , "Federal League"), also known as Admiral Bundesliga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Austria and the highest level of the Austrian football league system. The competition decides the A ...

. He also won three caps for

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, scoring two goals. Mjelde has won the

Kniksen award The Kniksen Award (), established in 1990, honors the best players in the Norwegian football premiership. The award is named after the legendary Norwegian football player Roald Jensen, nicknamed "Kniksen". Categories Category A A jury comp ...

both as a player and as a head coach.

Playing career

Mjelde was born in

Osterøy Osterøy is an List of islands of Norway, island Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Nordhordland. The municipality encompasses ...

. During his active career, He spent two seasons at

Austria Wien Fußballklub Austria Wien AG (), known in English as Austria Vienna, and Austria Wien in German-speaking countries, is an Austrian professional association football club from the capital city of Vienna. It has won the most trophies of any Aust ...

, two and a half seasons at

Lillestrøm Lillestrøm is a municipality in Akershus county. It is located in the traditional district of Romerike. With a population of 85,757 inhabitants, it is the fourth most populated municipality in Viken. It was founded on 1 January 2020 as a merger ...

and a total of seven seasons at Brann. He also played one season in

Bryne Bryne (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Time, Norway, Time municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The town is the administrative centre of the municipality of Time and it is also List of urban areas in Norway by population ...

– before he went to Lillestrøm. Towards the end of his career, he was loaned out to

Sogndal Sogndal is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Sogn. The village of Hermansv ...

in 2001. Mjelde scored 72 goals in 160 matches for Brann, earning himself and the team silver medals in 1997 and 2000, bronze medals and a cup silver as losing finalists in 1999 and an advancement to the quarter final in the

Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renamed the UEFA Cup Winne ...

in 1997, in which they were eliminated by

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. After returning to Brann from Austria in 1996, Mjelde scored 19 goals in 15 league appearances, earning him the

as "striker of the year". Mons Ivar played three games and scored two goals for

Coaching career

His first four years as a head coach saw Mjelde win both the league and the cup in Norway. Retiring as a player after the 2001 season, Mjelde became the new coach for Brann's reserve team in the

Norwegian Second Division The Norwegian Second Division, also called 2. divisjon and often referred to as PostNord-ligaen for sponsorship reasons, is the third-highest level of the Norwegian football league system. There are 28 teams divided into two groups, and at the ...

. The year after, Brann's head coach,

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 ...

left the club. In January 2003, after only one year's experience as a coach, Mons Ivar Mjelde was appointed head coach in SK Brann. The season resulted in Brann finishing 6th, a major improvement from the previous year. The following year he guided Brann to a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

in the premiership. They also won the cup, the first trophy in 22 years. In the 2005 season, Brann finished 6th.

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 ...

was a better season for Mjelde and Brann, who finished as runners-up to Rosenborg. In

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 ...

, his coaching career hit new heights as he took Brann to their first league title in 44 years, six points ahead of Stabæk. On 7 October 2008, Mons Ivar Mjelde announced that the 2008 season would conclude his spell in Brann. Mjelde was officially appointed as head coach for

on 1 June 2009. In 2011, he coached Valestrand Hjellvik for two games before being snapped up by

Start Start can refer to multiple topics: * Takeoff, the phase of flight where an aircraft transitions from moving along the ground to flying through the air * Starting lineup in sports * Track and field#Starts use in race, Starts use in sport race * S ...

. He was hired as head coach of Start halfway through the 2011 season, but could not save the team from relegation. The next season, Start won the

Adeccoligaen The Norwegian First Division, also called 1. divisjon () and OBOS-ligaen (due to sponsoring ties with OBOS), is the second-highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Each year, the top finishing teams in the 1. divisjon are promo ...

and consequently promotion to the top flight in the 2012 season. In December 2016, Mjelde was appointed as head coach for Åsane IL, a Norwegian First Division team from Bergen. The parts separate ways, after the club was relegated in 2018. In September 2020, Mjelde was appointed as head coach for Øygarden FK.

Career statistics

Managerial statistics

All competitive league games (league and domestic cup) and international matches (including friendlies) are included.

Honours

Player

Individual * Norwegian top division top scorer:

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

Kniksen Award The Kniksen Award (), established in 1990, honors the best players in the Norwegian football premiership. The award is named after the legendary Norwegian football player Roald Jensen, nicknamed "Kniksen". Categories Category A A jury comp ...

: Striker of the Year in 1996

Head coach

Brann *

Norwegian Cup The Norwegian Football Cup () is the main knockout cup competition in Norwegian football. It is run by the Football Association of Norway and has been contested since 1902, making it the oldest football tournament in the country. The tournament ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

Tippeligaen 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 ...

: Coach of the Year in 2007

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mjelde, Mons Ivar 1967 births Living people People from Osterøy Norwegian men's footballers Men's association football forwards Norway men's international footballers Bryne FK players Lillestrøm SK players FK Austria Wien players SK Brann players Sogndal Fotball players Eliteserien players Austrian Football Bundesliga players Kniksen Award winners Norwegian football managers SK Brann managers Bryne FK managers IK Start managers Fredrikstad FK managers Åsane Fotball managers Norwegian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Austria Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Austria Footballers from Vestland 20th-century Norwegian sportsmen Eliteserien managers