Norwegian football player, born November 6, 1943 in Trondheim, Norway.
He was perhaps the greatest Rosenborg BK player of all times. Between 1967 and 1982 he scored 158 goals in the Norwegian premier division (123 for Rosenborg), a record that still stands1. Throughout his entire career he was a relentless attacker and goalscorer, often tackling opponents inside their own 16-metre box.
In the 1968 season (April through October) he scored 30 goals in just 18 matches, another record that no other player has come close to beating. That's 1.67 goals per match! He became top scorer in 1967 and 1969 as well, scoring 17 and 26 goals respectively.
Odd Iversen paired with teammate Harald Sunde to form a lethal striking duo with Rosenborg, the Norwegian national side and as professional players in Belgium. Together they frustrated whatever opposition they got, scoring goal after goal.
Because of several lasting injuries he got on the pitch, his quality as a player suffered. After a three year stint as a professional player (1970-1973) with Raching Mechelen in Belgium, he returned a worse player to Rosenborg. Performance on the field was below par, his marriage fell apart and he was rumoured to "floor it" when it came to partying. The Rosenborg management was naturally not very happy about this and tried to babysit their famous player. He would have none of it and left in 1975 for Vålerenga, the Oslo club then known for its less than conformist players.
In 1980 he transfered back to Rosenborg for the then record sum of NOK 50,000 (about €7,000). Two years later he was the first Norwegian player to get a testimonial game to help him off into retirement. He continued drinking though, and soon found himself unemployed and in bad company. In 1992 he was given a job in Rosenborg, and this time he managed to keep out of trouble. Although he no longer is employed by them, he is very much a part of the famous Rosenborg locale. You can in fact walk right into their clubhouse, have yourself a coffee and a biscuit and talk shop with one of the players or coaches. That's not bad for a team that regularly plays international matches and have taken home the premiership for 11 consecutive years (15 in total) since 1991.
His son - Steffen Iversen (b. 1976) - plays for Tottenham Hotspur, England.
Statistics
- Nicknames: Ivers, Rauen ("the red one")
- Premier division matches (1967-1982): 225
- Premier division goals: 158
- Caps: 45. 19 goals
- Top scorer: 1967 (17 goals), 1968 (30 goals), 1969 (26 goals)
- Attacker of the year: 1968
Clubs
He played his last match for Rosenborg October 10, 1982, scoring his premier division goals number 157 and 158.
1Update May 11, 2003:
Lillestrøm SK forward
Petter Belsvik scored his premier league goal number 159 today. With that, a 21 year old Norwegian football record have finally been beaten.
Sources:
http://www.rbkweb.com
http://www.adressa.no