Reidar Brede Olsen (20 September 1910 – 1 September 1997) was 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 played as a

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 ...

for

Fredrikstad Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a List of cities in Norway, city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Østfold Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipal ...

. He was

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the e ...

twice 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 ...

. Olsen had two spells in Fredrikstad first-team squad, once in 1931 and another between 1938 and 1946, and won two Norwegian league titles and two

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 ...

while playing for the club. He also played

bandy Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two team sport, teams wearing Ice skates#Bandy skates, ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The playin ...

for Fredrikstad.

Career

Olsen was born in

, and made his debut for

Fredrikstad FK Fredrikstad Fotballklubb (also known as Fredrikstad or FFK) is a Norwegian professional association football, football club from the town of Fredrikstad. With nine league championships and twelve Norwegian Football Cup, Norwegian Cup wins, FFK ...

in 1931. After an injury sidelined him, he started to play for Fredrikstad FK's

team. He scored two goals in the first ever bandy match played in Fredrikstad in 1935 and was a part of the Fredrikstad-team that won the district championship () in bandy in 1936. In 1938, Olsen was back in the first-team squad of Fredrikstad's football department, and won both the

1937–38 League of Norway The 1937–38 Norgesserien was the 1st season of top division football in Norway. League tables District I District II, Group A District II, Group B District III District IV, Group A District IV, Group B District V, Group A District ...

and the 1938 Norwegian Football Cup. Olsen was also a part of the team that won the Norwegian league during the 1938–39 season and the

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, events related to World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *Janu ...

. In the 1940 Norwegian Cup Final against Skeid, Olsen was named as one of Fredrikstad's best players along with

Gunnar Andreassen Gunnar Andreassen (5 January 1913 – 23 July 2002) was a Norwegian football player and manager. He played on Fredrikstad FK from 1933 to 1950, except during the World War II German occupation of Norway. He appeared twice on the Norway national ...

by ''

Fredriksstad Blad is the biggest local daily newspaper in Fredrikstad, 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 an ...

''. No organized football was played between 1940 and 1945, because of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Olsen was at that time involved in the

Norwegian resistance movement The Norwegian resistance (Norwegian language, Norwegian: ''Motstandsbevegelsen'') to the German occupation of Norway, occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany began after Operation Weserübung in 1940 and ended in 1945. It took several forms: *As ...

Milorg Milorg (abbreviation of militær organisasjon – military organization) was the main Norwegian resistance movement during World War II. Resistance work included intelligence gathering, sabotage, supply-missions, raids, espionage, transport of ...

. After the war was over, the Norwegian national team was meeting

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

in a friendly match, which was dubbed "the independence match". The

Football Association of Norway The Norwegian Football Federation (, ; NFF) is the governing body of football (soccer), football in Norway. It was formed in 1902 and organises the Norway national football team, men's and Norway women's national football team, women's national te ...

decided to primarily call-up players from the reigning Norwegian Cup champions, Fredrikstad. Six Fredrikstad-players started the match, and Thorleif Larsen,

Bjørn Spydevold Bjørn Spydevold (8 September 1918 – 30 March 2002) was a Norwegian football player. He was born in Sarpsborg, and played for the sports club Fredrikstad FK. He played for the Norwegian national team at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsink ...

Kjell Moe Kjell Moe (27 October 1909 – 8 December 1999) was a Norwegian footballer who played for Fredrikstad between 1938 and 1945. He won two Norwegian league titles and one Norwegian Cup. He was capped twice and scored one goal for Norway in 1945; ...

and Olsen made their international debut. Aged 34 years, 11 months, Olsen is the second oldest player ever to have made the debut for the Norwegian national time; Kjell Moe who was almost one year his senior and played in the same match being the oldest. Olsen made another appearances for the national team in the 10–0 loss against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

in October 1945. Olsen played all three matches against

Lyn Lyn or LYN may refer to: People * Lyn (singer), South Korean singer * Lyn (gamer), South Korean ''Warcraft III'' player * Lyn (given name) * Lyn (surname) In science and technology * Lynx (constellation), standard abbreviation * Lyn (locomotive ...

, when Fredrikstad lost the

1945 Norwegian Football Cup The 1945 Norwegian Football Cup was the 40th season of the Norway, Norwegian annual knockout association football, football tournament. This was the first cup in five years, due to the World War II, Second World War. The tournament was open for al ...

Final. After his retirement, Olsen was head coach of

Østsiden IL Østsiden Idrettslag Fredrikstad is a Norwegian sports club, based in the city of Fredrikstad. The men's football team currently plays in the Norwegian second division. The club was formed as Østsiden IL on 14 June 1935, and includes football ...

between 1948 and 1951, and in 1954. He was also head coach of Fredrikstad in 1963.

Personal life

Olsen's brother, Ivar, was playing as a goalkeeper when Fredrikstad won their first-ever Norwegian Cup in

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

. Reidar Olsen died in 1997.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olsen, Reidar 1910 births 1997 deaths Footballers from Fredrikstad Norwegian bandy players Norwegian men's footballers Norway men's international footballers Fredrikstad FK players Norwegian football managers Fredrikstad FK managers Norwegian resistance members Men's association football midfielders 20th-century Norwegian sportsmen