Tommy Berntsen (born 18 December 1973) is a Norwegian 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 defender. He played the majority of his career at Lillestrøm S.K. and

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 ...

in the

Norwegian Premier League 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 ...

. Since 2010, Berntsen is involved with a youth coach role at

Club career

Berntsen began his playing career at

Vålerenga Vålerenga () is a neighbourhood in the city of Oslo, Norway, belonging to the borough of Gamle Oslo. Vålerenga is located between the neighbourhoods of Gamlebyen, Jordal, Ensjø, Etterstad and Lodalen. Vålerenga is in particular known for i ...

, but failed to make the first team. He spent the next few years in the lower divisions, playing for local clubs

Lørenskog IF Lørenskog Idrettsforening is a Norwegian football club from Lørenskog, founded in 1929 as a merger between ''Lørenskogkameratene'' and ''Solheim IF''. Most of the time the club has played in the Norwegian Second Division, with a short spell in ...

and Skjetten SK. His breakthrough came in 1998 when he signed for

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 ...

, where he and his teammate Torgeir Bjarmann made up one of the best central defences in the Norwegian

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 ...

(Premier Division). In January 2001, Berntsen left Norway for Germany and

Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a German professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The club currently plays in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German footb ...

. His stay, however, was not a success and he only played three matches for the first team. He returned to Norway for a fresh start in December 2001 and was signed by

, where he played since. He acted briefly as a player-coach of the team in 2003. Together with

Steven Lustü Steven Lustü (born 13 April 1971) is a Danish former football player. He played as a central defender. He is currently the head coach of Viborg FF U17. Lustü spent most of his professional club career in Denmark, only moving abroad for five ye ...

he once again formed part of a formidable defense. In the 2005 season, no club conceded fewer goals than Lyn. Berntsen has struggled with injuries over several periods, but always remained the captain and featured regularly in the Lyn side the last seasons of his career.

International career

Berntsen was capped twice for the Norwegian national team. He last appeared in a friendly against

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

in 2004.

References

External links

Profile at lynfotball.net
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Berntsen, Tommy 1973 births Living people Footballers from Lørenskog Men's association football defenders Norwegian men's footballers Norway men's international footballers Kniksen Award winners Vålerenga Fotball players Lørenskog IF players Skjetten SK players Lillestrøm SK players Portsmouth F.C. players Eintracht Frankfurt players Lyn Fotball players Bundesliga players Norwegian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in England Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Norwegian football managers Lyn Fotball managers English Football League players Eliteserien managers