- Steinar Nilsen
Infobox Football biography
playername = Steinar Nilsen
fullname = Steinar Nilsen
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1972|05|01
cityofbirth =Tromsø
countryofbirth =Norway
dateofdeath =
cityofdeath =
countryofdeath =
height = Height|m=1.80
position = Defender
currentclub =Tromsø I.L.
youthyears =
youthclubs =Kvaløysletta IL
years = 1989–971997–981998–022002–04
clubs = TromsøA.C. Milan S.S.C. Napoli Tromsø
caps(goals) = 112 (10)
005 0(0)
053 0(1)
060 0(2)
nationalyears = 1992–931997–98
nationalteam = Norway U21Norway
nationalcaps(goals) = 009 0(0)002 0(0)
manageryears = 20052006–
managerclubs = TromsøTromsøSteinar Nilsen (
May 1 ,1972 ) is a Norwegian football manager. He also had a long active playing career behind him, mainly as a defender, before he retired in 2004. Nilsen played forTromsø I.L. between 1989 and 1997, before he was sold toAC Milan . Nilsen never managed to make a big impact on the club, however, and thus moved toSSC Napoli , before returning to Tromsø I.L. in 2003.In 2005, after
Per Mathias Høgmo resigned his job as Tromsø I.L.-manager, Nilsen became assistant manager toOtto Ulseth , Høgmo's former assistant. A horrible start to Tromsø I.L.'s season saw Ulseth fired and Nilsen promoted to head manager. This move was criticised by many Norwegian sportscommentator s, with some, especiallyIvar Hoff , claiming it would assuredly mean Tromsø I.L. would be relegated. However, Nilsen was exactly what Tromsø I.L. needed. He turned Tromsø I.L.'s poor form around, and they became, after a good run in the autumn-part of the season, safe from relegation. Nilsen also led Tromsø I.L. to a historicUEFA Cup victory over Galatasaray, making Tromsø I.L. the first Norwegian team (together withViking F.K. ) to reach the UEFA Cup's group stage. At the end of the 2005-campaign, Nilsen stepped down from his position as Tromsø I.L. manager, despite urges from many fans for him to stay longer.In 2006, following another string of bad results, Tromsø I.L.-manager
Ivar Morten Normark was fired and Nilsen once more stepped in as replacement manager for the remainder of the season, in hopes that he could save Tromsø I.L. from relegation. Nilsen's effect was not as noticeable on the team this time, however, and with four matches left of the season Tromsø I.L. looked like they would almost certainly be relegated. However, a string of three consecutive wins at the end of season put Tromsø I.L. in 10th place, meaning Nilsen had once more saved Tromsø I.L. from relegation.In 2007, his first full season as Tromsø-manager, Nilsen led Tromsø to a comfortable 6th place finish, just a few points shy of European qualification.
In December 2007, Nilsen was involved in a bar brawl where the press initially repported that he had allegedly struck a bar guest with a beer glass. However, neither Nilsen nor the other guest confirmed this to the police, and the charges were dropped. Nilsen later stated that the incident had been emotionally hard, because of the big media focus. [http://www.dagbladet.no/sport/2007/12/04/520183.html]
Nilsen has an older brother,
Roger Nilsen , who was also a competent professional footballer.External links
* [http://www.til.no/www/adel/profil/270 Nilsen profile] at www.til.no no icon
* [http://www.fotball.no/histstat.ASP?WCI=wiPerson&personid=81284 Nilsen profile] at Norwegian FA no icon
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
