Thomas Harald Myhre (born 16 October 1973) is a Norwegian football manager and former professional

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

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

. He is the manager of

Moss Mosses are small, non-vascular plant, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic phylum, division Bryophyta (, ) ''sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Wilhelm Philippe Schimper, Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryo ...

. The last club he played for before his retirement was

Kongsvinger Kongsvinger () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Glåmdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kongsvinger. Other settlements in the municipality include Aust ...

, having returned to Norwegian football in July 2007. Myhre earned 56

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

for the Norwegian national team, and was a part of the Norwegian squad at the

1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 1 ...

and 2000 European Championship tournaments.

Club career

Early career

Myhre was born in

Sarpsborg Sarpsborg ( or ), historically Borg, 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 municipality is the city of Sarpsborg. Sarpsbor ...

Østfold Østfold () is a county in Eastern Norway, which from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2023 was part of Viken. Østfold borders Akershus and southwestern Sweden (Västra Götaland County and Värmland), while Buskerud and Vestfold are on the other ...

. He started his career with Moss F.K. in the

Norwegian First Division The Norwegian First Division, also called 1. divisjon () and OBOS-ligaen (due to sponsoring ties with :no:OBOS, OBOS), is the second-highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Each year, the top finishing teams in the 1. divisjon ...

, but arrived at

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

in 1993. The 19-year-old replaced Lars Gaute Bø, who retired at the end of the 1992 season, and immediately established himself as the first-choice goalkeeper, playing in every match that season. Myhre was also the number one goalkeeper for the Norway national under-21 team, for whom he reached 27 caps. After missing the entire 1996 season through injury, Myhre returned to form in 1997. He was noticed by English club Everton, who bought him for £800,000 in November 1997.

Move abroad

Myhre instantly established himself as Everton's first choice goalkeeper at the expense of an aging

Neville Southall Neville Southall (born 16 September 1958) is a Welsh Manager (association football), football manager and former international association football, footballer. He has been described as one of the best Goalkeeper (association football), goalk ...

. On 22 April 1998, he made his debut for the Norway national team, keeping a clean sheet in the 2–0 victory over

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 ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

. Myhre was subsequently selected to represent Norway at the

, where he was an unused substitute for

Frode Grodås Frode Grodås (born 24 October 1964) is a Norwegian association football, football coach and former Norway national football team, national team Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. Capped 50 times for his country, he participated at th ...

. Following an ankle injury, he was replaced by

Paul Gerrard Paul William Gerrard (born 22 January 1973) is an English football goalkeeping coach and former player. He is the goalkeeping coach EFL League One side Peterborough United. Gerrard started his career in the Premier League with Oldham Athleti ...

as Everton's starting goalkeeper in the summer of 1999 and failed to reclaim his place. Acting as stand-in for

in the FA-Cup tie against

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

on 20 February 2000, Myhre was at fault for Villa's opening goal. Everton were knocked out of the FA-Cup and Myhre's days at the club were practically numbered.

1997–2001: loans

In the next two years he played for four different teams. He was first loaned out on an emergency basis to

Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in November 1999. In 2000, he was loaned from Everton to

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

to ensure an additional fee would not be incurred for reaching a set number of appearances for Everton. He started well for Birmingham, saving a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

from

Keith Curle Keith Curle (born 14 November 1963) is an English football manager and former professional player, who was most recently the manager of National League side Hartlepool United. He played as a centre back from 1981 to 2005, notably in the Prem ...

against

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

on his debut. He played well for Birmingham, and returned to the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

in the spring of 2000, to play at the

Euro 2000 The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament was ...

. After Euro 2000, Everton loaned him out to

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...

, as well as Danish club

FC Copenhagen Football Club Copenhagen (, ), commonly known as F.C. København, F.C. Copenhagen, Copenhagen, or simply FCK, is a Danish professional football club based in Copenhagen. FCK was founded in 1992 as a superstructure on top of Kjøbenhavns Boldklu ...

with whom he won the Danish superliga. In November 2001, Myhre permanently left Everton, as he was sold to Turkish club

Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 18 km2 and its population is 175,190 (2022). It is located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and ...

for £375,000. After one season at Beşiktaş, he moved back to England to play for

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

in July 2002. At Sunderland, Myhre was second choice goalkeeper behind

Thomas Sørensen Thomas Løvendahl Sørensen (; born 12 June 1976) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Sørensen started his career with his local side Odense BK. After impressing on loan at Vejle Boldklub and Svendborg he wa ...

, and was loaned out to Crystal Palace in October 2003. His stay at Sunderland was plagued by injuries, and he played only one of the

Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. Th ...

qualifiers 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 ...

. However, he returned as first-choice goalkeeper in Sunderland after the departure of Sørensen, playing 31 league games in the 2004–05 season, as the club won promotion to the

. He also returned to the national team, playing 11 of the 12 qualifiers for the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to FIFA World Cup hosts ...

. However, Myhre's contract with Sunderland ran out in June 2005, and he chose not to prolong it. On 21 July 2005, he moved back to Norway and joined Fredrikstad F.K. on a free transfer, where he played on a match-by-match basis. He played three matches for Fredrikstad, including an emotional encounter with his former club

, before English club

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...

signed him on a two-year deal on 8 August 2005 following an injury to their goalkeeper Dean Kiely. Initially second choice goalkeeper behind

Stephan Andersen Stephan Maigaard Andersen (born 26 November 1981) is a Danish former professional association football, football player, who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. He was a full international for the Denmark national football ...

, Myhre established himself as Charlton's starting goalkeeper in December 2005. Through the rest of the season, Myhre kept 10 clean sheets, and he played more than ten hours without conceding a home goal at The Valley. However, following the departure of manager

Alan Curbishley Llewellyn Charles "Alan" Curbishley (born 8 November 1957) is an English former football player and manager. He played as a midfielder for West Ham United, Birmingham City, Aston Villa, Charlton Athletic and Brighton & Hove Albion. He became ma ...

, he once again found himself second choice goalkeeper at the start of the 2006–07 season, this time in favour of the loaned-in Scott Carson.

Return to Viking

In 2007, he moved back to former club Viking. He did not play as much as he would have wanted with a back injury keeping him out most of 2008. He started the 2009 pre-season well, and played most of the season for the Stavanger-team. His contract with Viking allegedly ended after a late night out in February 2010. Myhre later claimed that Viking was only looking to get rid of him, using it as an excuse. Later revelations are that he was drugged in Marbella.

Kongsvinger

On 5 March 2010, Myhre signed for

. On 11 March 2011, Myhre announced that he would retire from the game.

International career

Myhre was selected to represent Norway at the

, where he was an unused substitute for

. At the 2000 European Championship (Euro 2000) in June, he played all three games for Norway. Myhre kept clean sheets against

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

, and conceded only one goal in the tournament –

Savo Milošević Savo Milošević ( sr-Cyrl, Саво Милошевић, ; born 2 September 1973) is a Serbian professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player. A former Forward (association football), forward, he ...

's winner in the match against

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

. In a

Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...

qualifier against

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

on 28 March 2007, Norway were leading 2–0 at half time. In the second half, Myhre could not hold a free kick from

Hamit Altıntop Hamit Altıntop (; born 8 December 1982) is a Turkish people, Turkish former professional association football, footballer and current board member of the Turkish Football Federation. He was a versatile midfielder who could play either in a Midfi ...

, and fumbled the ball into his own net. Minutes before full-time, another Altıntop shot went straight through Myhre's legs, and the game ended 2–2. Although his Norwegian teammates were consoling him, Myhre proclaimed the match his "worst day on the field". The game against Turkey was Myhre's last game for Norway.

Managerial career

In December 2020, he was appointed as sports director for his boyhood club, Moss. In September 2021, Myhre was appointed manager of Moss. In the 2022 season, Myhre led Moss to promotion and was awarded Manager of the Year.
"Moss Fotballklubb rykket opp til OBOS-ligaen"] (in Norwegian). Nettavisen, nettavisen.no22 October 2022. Retrieved 28 March 2023.

Career statistics

International

References

External links

* *
FCK profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Myhre, Thomas 1973 births Living people Footballers from Sarpsborg Norwegian men's footballers Norway men's youth international footballers Norway men's under-21 international footballers Norway men's international footballers 1998 FIFA World Cup players Beşiktaş J.K. footballers Birmingham City F.C. players Charlton Athletic F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players Everton F.C. players Rangers F.C. players F.C. Copenhagen players Fredrikstad FK players Moss FK players Viking FK players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Kongsvinger IL Toppfotball players Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Men's association football goalkeepers Kniksen Award winners Norwegian expatriate men's footballers Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Denmark Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in England Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Premier League players Scottish Premier League players Süper Lig players Eliteserien players Danish Superliga players UEFA Euro 2000 players Norwegian football managers Moss FK managers English Football League players