Erland Johnsen

Erland Johnsen

Personal information
Full name	Erland Johnsen
Date of birth	(1967-04-05) 5 April 1967
Place of birth	Moss, Norway
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Position(s)	Centre back
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1983–1988	Moss	55	(1)
1988–1989	Bayern Munich	21	(0)
1989–1997	Chelsea	136	(1)
1997–1998	Rosenborg	12	(0)
1998–1999	Strømsgodset	14	(0)
International career
1986–1988	Norway U-21	16	(0)
1987–1995	Norway	24	(2)
Managerial career
1999–2002	Strømsgodset (assistant)
2002–2003	Moss
2003–2006	Follo
2008	Lillestrøm
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Erland Johnsen (born 5 April 1967 in Moss) is a Norwegian former professional footballer and current manager.

He played as a defender from 1983 until 1999 notably in the English Premier League for Chelsea and German Bundesliga for Bayern Munich. He also played for Moss, Rosenborg and Strømsgodset and earnt 24 caps for Norway. He moved into management in 1999 with Strømsgodset and later with Moss, Follo and Lillestrøm.

Club career

His playing career began in Moss, and he later joined Bayern Munich as a professional. During his two seasons at the club he was involved in two championships in 1989 and 1990.

However, he did not collect a title winner's medal in the second title winning season, as he left the Bavarian club halfway through the campaign.

In December 1989, he transferred to English team Chelsea, where he played for eight seasons and was voted player of the year for the club in 1995. He scored his only goal for the club against Southampton in April 1994. Whilst at Chelsea he played in the 1994 FA Cup Final. Shortly after winning the 1997 FA Cup, he returned to his native Norway where he played for Rosenborg and finally Strømsgodset before retiring in June 1999.

International career

Johnsen was a central defender who was capped 19 times for the Norwegian national team, participating in the 1994 World Cup. He also won 5 caps during Norway's unsuccessful qualification campaign for 1988 Olympics, although these are not recognized as full internationals by FIFA. He made 16 under-21 appearances for Norway. Perhaps the most famous moment in Johnsen's career came on November 15, 1989, during a match between Norway and Scotland, at Hampden Park, where he scored a goal from the middle of the pitch. The goal went around the world, even making CNN's "Play of the Day". It also caught the interest of Chelsea FC who purchased Johnsen later that same year. Legendary Scottish goalkeeper Jim Leighton said about the shot twenty years later: "I'm never allowed to forget about it in Scotland, it is the furthest I've ever lost a goal from." Johnsen reconstructed the goal together with Leighton in 2009 on the Norwegian sports entertainment show Golden Goal.

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	15 November 1989	Glasgow, Scotland	Scotland	1–1	Draw	1990 FIFA World Cup qualification
2	27 March 1990	Belfast, Northern Ireland	Northern Ireland	3–2	Win	Friendly

Managing career

Johnsen remained with Strømsgodset as a manager for the next 3 years. He had spells with Moss (2002–2003), Follo (2003–2006) and is currently with Lillestrøm as a player developer.

After Tom Nordlie resigned on the 29 May 2008, Johnsen stepped in as caretaker, together with former Chelsea teammate Frode Grodås.