'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAHAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFQABAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABQb/2gAIAQEAAAAAkSP/xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD/9oACAECEAAAAC//xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAF/9oACAEDEAAAAF//xAAhEAACAQMDBQAAAAAAAAAAAAABAgMABBEFBhIhIzFCUf/aAAgBAQABPwC90HUYFuFk29b8kREm7ytxZgR5LZ9RT7RsA7B54kcHqrB8qfhwMV//xAAZEQABBQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAAIDBBL/2gAIAQIBAT8AsOMIGV//xAAbEQABBAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEAAECIQMRQf/aAAgBAwEBPwAYfGVUm1XF/9k='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Norway's claim to fame in international football, a quirky one to say the least, is of them being the unlikely bogey opponents of five-time world champions Brazil. The Brazilians have never in four meetings beaten the Norwegians. While that is certainly impressive, the football-loving Norwegian fans definitely crave more.
Especially since these fans have not had the opportunity to cheer for their country on in a major tournament in over 20 years. It is true that in the past, the Norwegians have produced some solid professionals.
Solid pedigree
Norway's most capped player John Arne Riise was a Champions League winner who played over 300 times for Liverpool. Big John Carew was a La Liga champion who famously had a major hand in eliminating Real Madrid in back-to-back Champions Leagues with Lyon.
Fellow strikers Steffen Iversen and Tore André Flo both strutted their stuff in the Premier League with Tottenham and Chelsea, respectively. And there is, of course, the Manchester United Norwegian contingent of Ronny Johnsen, Henning Berg and, of course, the babyface assassin trusted to now lead the Red Devils as manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjær.
Others ascendant
After the retirement of this group and their peers, Norwegian football has taken the backseat over the last two decades and they have, in envy, watched on as their fellow Scandanavian rivals Denmark, Sweden and even Iceland participated honorably in World Cups and European Championships.
The question always asked, is when is Norway going to produce their Michael Laudrup or Zlatan Ibrahimović? Jørgen Juve's achievements, while impressive, is all but an ancient parable of Norwegian football.
Fresh, new blood
On the horizon, however, is a new school, with the potential to surpass the achievements of all before them. A huge claim, but one even the staunchest of critics will have difficultly disproving with every passing year.
At just 19-years-old leading this crop of emerging Scandinavian starlets is Dortmund hotshot Erling Braut Håland, the son of former Manchester City and Leeds defender Alf-Inge Håland. The Håland family symbolically highlights the difference between the generations.
Afl, an exemplary professional in his own right, never managed to play in the highest stage in club football in is 12-year career, the Champions League. His 19-year-old son has, in his first season in the elite competition, scored a sensational 10 goals in just 8 outings. This included a record-breaking hat-trick on his debut.
Erling seems to enjoy his debuts, in his Bundesliga introduction for Borussia Dortmund he scored a 23rd-minute hattrick off the bench. So far he has only played twice for his national team and no, he did not score on his debut or the following game. But there are clear signals, even with playing so little international football, that Jørgen Juve's all-time national team-leading tally of 33 goals is under serious threat.
Positionally behind Erling is another son of a footballer, 21-year-old Martin Ødegaard. Ødegaard is still the youngest player ever to play for Real Madrid when he made his debut at just 16 years old when he came on for none other than five-time Balon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo. Ødegaard's ease with the ball and overall confidence saw Europe's biggest clubs flock to see him dazzle opponents in the Eliteserien, the Norwegian top flight, as a 15-year-old.
The step up to Madrid was a big one, and one that he struggled with at first, but the prodigy kept his head down, went on loans and continued to develop his game. His patience and his carefully orchestrated career decisions have seen him grown from strength to strength.
The latest move, a two-year loan to fellow La Liga outfit Real Sociedad, has seen him lead La Real in a fight for a Champions League place. Øegaard is the heartbeat of a Sociedad team carefully compiled with potential stars of tomorrow, Alexander Isak, Mikel Oyarzabal and Manchester United academy graduate Adnan Januzaj to name a few.
Possibly alongside Håland, in a traditional Norwegian 4-4-2, is another player coming into his own. Cameo substitute appearances for 6ft5 Alexander Sørloth at Crystal Palace just was not cutting it for the then 23-year-old striker. So Sørloth took the brave decision to go on loan to very unfamiliar territory in Turkey with Trabzonspor.
The risk paid off and Sørloth is now one of the most sought after center-forwards in Europe. At the time of writing the Norwegian has 25 goals this season and is the Turkish League's top goal scorer.
Midfield support
To solidify the midfield of the new generation is Premier League new boy Sander Berge and a player predicted to return to Western Europe soon, Russia-based, Mathias Normann. Berge, although the younger of the two, is already a fixture in the national team and spent the last four seasons learning his trade in Genk, a Belgium club know for developing highly technical players. Sheffield United and Chris Wilder made Berge the club's record signing this past January.
Even behind these two is the highly-rated 20-year-old Håkon Evjen. The midfielder, who can operate as a winger, picked up the Eliteserien Player of the Year and Eliteserien Young Player of the Year before making the switch to AZ Alkmaar in the Dutch Eredivisie.
A player who looks on the cusp of a big transfer move is 21-year-old Kristoffer Ajer. The Celtic center-back has been one of the first names on the Hoops' team sheet for the past few seasons and he looks set to follow former successful Celtic defenders in a move to one of Europe's top leagues. Kieran Tierney recently made the move to Arsenal and Virgil van Dijk did so with much success some seasons before.
This group along with some of the survivors of a rather unsuccessful previous generation, Bournemouth's Josh King and co., could be just what it takes for Norwegian football to get back to were they were and even beyond that.
