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Bjørn Borgen

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Bjørn Borgen
Personal information
Date of birth (1937-09-22)22 September 1937
Place of birth Fredrikstad, Norway
Date of death 18 November 2015(2015-11-18) (aged 78)
Position(s) Right winger
Youth career
Ørn Fjeldberg
1948–1955 Fredrikstad
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1956–1958 Fredrikstad
1959 Lyn
1960–1968 Fredrikstad
International career
1957–1966 Norway 35 (6)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Bjørn Borgen (22 September 1937 – 18 November 2015) was a Norwegian footballer who played for Fredrikstad and Lyn, as well as the national team, as a right winger. He later became a coach active in the lower leagues.

Early career

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Born in Fredrikstad, Borgen began his career with local team Ørn Fjeldberg before joining Fredrikstad in 1948 at the age of 11, alongside Per Kristoffersen.[1] He won the 1955 Norwegian Junior Cup with the team.[1] He made his debut for the first-team the next year.[1]

Debut with the Norway national team

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By 1957 he was a first-team regular, and had also made his debut for the national team.[1] He suffered from behavioural problems in 1958, and eventually left the club in January 1959 to work in a clothes shop in Oslo and play for Lyn.[1] He returned to Fredrikstad in October 1959, and in 1960 became the youngest Norwegian international to collect 25 caps.[1] That same year he also turned down a professional contract offer from Italian club Fiorentina.[1]

Later career

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Borgen spent a significant part of the 1962 season injured.[1] He retired from playing in 1968, alongside Kristoffersen.[1] With Fredrikstad he won the league championship three times, and also the national cup three times.[1] He scored 6 goals in 35 senior international appearances for Norway,[2] and also represented them at youth level.[1]

He later became a coach of lower-league teams, including Rapid, Moss, Trosvik and Rolvsøy.[1] He also played for Rolvsøy in a Cup match in 1972, against Fredrikstad.[1]

Death and legacy

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Borgen died on 18 November 2015 following a long illness.[3] Kristoffersen subsequently described him as the best right winger Norway has ever produced.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Profile" (in Norwegian). FFK Supporter. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  2. ^ "Bjørn Borgen". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  3. ^ a b Vidar Henriksen (18 November 2015). "FFK-legenden Bjørn Borgen er død" [FKK legend Bjørn Borgen is dead] (in Norwegian). Fredrikstad Blad. Retrieved 18 November 2015.