Marie Knutsen

Marie Knutsen

Personal information
Full name	Marie Knutsen
Date of birth	31 August 1982 (1982-08-31) (age 29)
Place of birth	Trondheim, Norway
Height	1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Røa
Number	23
Youth career
	Flatås
–	Byåsen
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
	Kattem	?	(?)
–	Trondheims-Ørn	38	(3)
–	Røa IL	?	(?)
National team‡
1999	Norway U17	4	(0)
2000-2001	Norway U19	11	(6)
2003	Norway U21	7	(1)
2005-2008	Norway	54	(6)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19 January 2009

Marie Knutsen (born 31 August 1982 in Trondheim, Norway) is a Norwegian football midfielder.

She currently plays for Røa in Norway's Toppserien league. She is also a member of the Norwegian Women's National Football Team.

Club career

Aside from Røa IL, Knutsen has also played for Kattem IL, Flatås, Byåsen and Trondheims-Ørn.^[1] She was named as part of the NISO Women's Team of the Year in 2007.

National team

She made her debut for the senior national team on February 19, 2005 in a match against France. Her first goal came on January 20, 2006 in a match against China.^[2]

She was part of the squad for the 2007 Women's World Cup, playing in five matches, as well as the 2008 Summer Olympics held in Beijing, China, appearing in three matches. Knutsen also played in the 2005 European Championships, winning the silver medal after falling 3-1 to Germany in the finals.

On October 21, 2008 Marie Knutsen and four other Røa players -- Lene Mykjåland, Guro Knutsen, Marit Fiane Christensen and Siri Nordby -- made headlines when they announced in a press release that they would not be returning to the national team due to issues the five had with the national team leadership.^[3] While the press statement never mentioned coach Bjarne Berntsen's name, it was assumed that he was instrumental in their decision to retire from the team. The retirement, which came off in many newspapers as a boycott, created widespread media attention.

Personal

Knutsen is a psychology student and was married in the summer of 2008. In January 2010 she announced she was expecting her first child and would not play football during 2010. She and her husband Patrick Johansen then moved to New York, USA where they live with their son Jasper^[4]. Her younger sister, Guro Knutsen still plays for Røa IL. She is a member of the Christian sports organization Kristen Idrettskontakt (KRIK).^[5]

Honors

Club

• Røa
  • League champion 2007, 2008
  • Cup champion 2006, 2008
• Trondheims-Ørn
  • League champion 2003

References

1. ^ Marie Knutsen page on NRK
2. ^ NFF player page
3. ^ Fem Røa-spillere takker nei til landslaget
4. ^ Life in New York by Marie Knutsen
5. ^ "Aftenposten.no - Disse er sterke i troen". http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/sport/article3497425.ece. 

External links

• Røa IL Club site
• NFF player profile page
• Official FIFA competition record

Persondata
Name	Knutsen, Marie
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	31 August 1982
Place of birth	Trondheim, Norway
Date of death
Place of death