Bjarne Berntsen

Football player infobox
playername = Bjarne Berntsen
fullname = Bjarne Berntsen
nickname =


dateofbirth = birth date and age|1956|12|21|df=y
cityofbirth =
countryofbirth = Norway
height =
currentclub = retired
clubnumber =
position = defender
youthyears =
youthclubs = Figgjo IL
years = 1977-1982
clubs = Viking
caps(goals) = 120 (13) [ [http://www.viking-fk.no/newsread/news.asp?DOCID=11037&N=5093 Viking stats] ]
nationalyears = 1978-1982
nationalteam = Norway
nationalcaps(goals) = 33 (0)
pcupdate = 30 December 2007
ntupdate = 30 December 2007

Bjarne Berntsen (born 21 December 1956) is a Norwegian football coach and former player.

He currently coaches the Norwegian women's national team.

Playing career

Bjarne Berntsen began his football career in local club Figgjo IL, and went to Norwegian Premier League club Viking in 1977. He played for Viking until 1982, and during this period played 33 matches for the Norway national football team, [ [http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/noo-recintlp.html Norway - Record International Players] - RSSSF] including the famous September 1981 win over England when he played at right-back.

Manager years

After retiring as a player Berntsen coached Figgjo, Bryne and Viking, as well as being an assistant coach for the men's national team between 1986 and 1987. Between 1999 and 2004 Berntsen was the CEO for Viking Fotball ASA. In late 2004 he, quite surprisingly, was offered the job as head coach for the Norway women's national football team, and he took over on 1 January 2005.

International trainer

Berntsen's first tournament with the national women's team was the 2005 UEFA Women's Championship which took place in June 2005 in England. He courted controversy by including in the squad 16-year-old Isabell Herlovsen, the daughter of a former colleague in the Norway national team - but twice she scored vital goals to keep Norway in the tournament. After mixed fortunes in the group stage, Norway played a memorable semifinal against Sweden which they won by 3-2 after extra time with a goal from Solveig Gulbrandsen. In the final against Germany Norway lost 3-1.

Berntsen led the national women's team through qualification to the FIFA Women's World Cup 2007 tournament in China, where they won their group by beating Canada and Ghana and drawing against Australia. In the quarter final against the hosts China, in front of 50,000 spectators, Norway won 1-0, the only goal being scored by Herlovsen. In the semifinal the team lost to Germany by 3-0, and they then lost the third-place playoff 4-1 against the USA to finish in fourth place. By virtue of their performance at the World Cup, Norway qualified for the 2008 Olympics.

2008 began with Berntsen attending the UEFA Pro Licence course and he then plans to take Norway's women through several qualification matches for the 2009 European Cup. The year's high point for him will be the Beijing Olympics in August.

Apart from Norway and Viking, Berntsen is a keen supporter of England and Liverpool.

References