Bjørn Borgen

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.

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
National team
1957–1966 Norway 35 (6)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Early career

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

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

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

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
  1. "Profile" (in Norwegian). FFK Supporter. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  2. "Bjørn Borgen". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  3. 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.
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