Egil Olsen facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Egil Olsen

Olsen in 2010
Personal information
Date of birth	(1942-04-22) 22 April 1942 (age 83)
Place of birth	Fredrikstad, Norway
Playing position	Winger
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1958–1965	Østsiden
1964	Vålerenga
1966–1967	Vålerenga
1968–1971	Sarpsborg
1972–1974	Frigg
1975	Hasle-Løren
National team
1964–1971	Norway	16	(0)
Teams managed
1972–1973	Frigg
1974	Frigg
1975	Hasle-Løren
1976	Østsiden
1977	Fossum
1978–1979	Frigg
1979–1985	Norway U21
1981–1983	Frigg
1985–1988	Lyn
1989	Aalesund
1990	Norway U23
1990–1998	Norway
1998–1999	Vålerenga
1999–2000	Wimbledon
2002–2003	Norway U19
2004–2005	Fredrikstad
2007–2008	Iraq
2009–2013	Norway
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Egil Roger Olsen (born 22 April 1942), often called Drillo, is a famous Norwegian former football manager and player. He is best known for his very successful time as manager of the Norway national team. He also managed the Iraq national team and later returned to lead the Norway team again in 2009.

Playing Football: Egil Olsen's Career

Olsen was a skilled football player. He played 16 games for the Norwegian national team. People gave him the nickname "Drillo" because he was very good at dribbling the ball and had great technical skills. Some say he would have played even more for Norway, but the manager at the time didn't like his long hair or his general look. Besides football, Olsen was also a strong bandy player.

Managing Teams: Drillo's Coaching Journey

Olsen speaking to the press after a 2012 friendly match between Norway and England

Egil Olsen managed the Norway national team from 1990 to 1998. During this time, he led them to the World Cup tournaments in 1994 and 1998. Under his leadership, Norway even reached number two in the FIFA World Rankings, which was a huge achievement!

In 1995, while managing Norway, Olsen did something special. He used one of his votes to nominate a female football star, Hege Riise, for the FIFA World Player of the Year award. This was the first time a woman was nominated for what was usually a men's award.

Managing in England: Wimbledon F.C.

In 1999, Olsen became the manager of Wimbledon in England. He was the first Norwegian to manage a team in the Premier League, which is England's top football league. He stayed with the club for less than a year. He left just before the team was moved down to a lower league.

Coaching Iraq and Returning to Norway

In 2007, Olsen took on the challenge of managing the Iraq national team. His time there ended unexpectedly in 2008.

On 14 January 2009, it was announced that Olsen would manage the Norway national team again for a short time. In their very first game with him back as manager, Norway beat Germany 1–0 in a friendly match. This was Norway's first win against Germany since the 1936 Summer Olympics.

With Olsen as manager, Norway's ranking on the FIFA rankings improved a lot. They went from No. 59 in 2009 to No. 11 in 2011. He stepped down as coach in September 2013 after a World Cup qualifying match.

Drillo's Football Ideas: The "Football Professor"

Egil Olsen is sometimes called a "football professor" because he used a very scientific way to understand the game. He was one of the first to use video analysis to study matches. He also collected lots of data to figure out which ways of playing were most effective.

As Norway's manager, he believed that because Norway didn't have the strongest players, they needed a smarter way to play to beat the best teams. He found that quick attacks, called "breakaways" or "counter-attacks," were very important for scoring goals. These quick attacks could surprise opponents before they could set up their defense.

Olsen also thought that sending the ball forward through the air to attackers or players on the sides of the field was a good way to avoid losing the ball. He famously used a player who was good at heading the ball, like Jostein Flo, as a "target man" on the side of the field. This was different from the usual idea that side players should be small and fast dribblers.

He believed that players should always be moving and running, even when they don't have the ball. He called this "å være best uten ball," which means "to be best without the ball." This idea became very famous in Norway. He also liked the idea of making passes into the space behind the opponent's defenders.

Olsen was a strong supporter of "zone defense," where players defend a specific area of the field, instead of "man-to-man marking," where each player follows one opponent. He also thought that players with very special skills (like being extremely fast or very good at heading) were more important than players who were just good at everything.

Some people thought his style of play, which often used long passes and a 4-5-1 formation, was boring. However, when it worked, especially in Norway's wins against Brazil in 1997 and 1998, his direct attacking style was praised. His ideas have had a big impact on Norwegian football.

Personal Life

Egil Olsen is known for knowing a lot about geography. In 2002, he even published a factbook called Drillos Verden (which means Drillo's World).

Managerial statistics

Team	Nat	From	To	Record
				G	W	D	L	GF	GA	+/-	Win %
Lyn		1985	1988
Aalesund		1989	1989
Norway U23		1990	1990
Norway		11 October 1990	30 June 1998	88	46	26	16	168	63	+105	52.27
Vålerenga		1998	1999	20	11	1	8				55
Wimbledon		9 June 1999	1 May 2000	43	11	12	20	55	80	–25	25.58
Norway U19		2002	2003	7	4	2	1	8	6	+2	57.14
Fredrikstad		2004	2005	26	8	7	11	35	44	–9	30.77
Iraq		2007	2008	6	2	3	1	12	5	+7	33.33
Norway		14 January 2009	27 September 2013	50	25	9	16	63	50	+13	50
Total				240	107	60	73	341	248	+93	44.58