Egil Olsen facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Egil Olsen

Olsen in 2010
Personal information
Full name	Egil Roger Olsen
Date of birth	(1942-04-22) 22 April 1942 (age 83)
Place of birth	Fredrikstad, Norway
Position(s)	Winger
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1958–1965	Østsiden
1964	Vålerenga
1966–1967	Vålerenga
1968–1971	Sarpsborg
1972–1974	Frigg
1975	Hasle-Løren
International career
1964–1971	Norway	16	(0)
Managerial career
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
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Egil Roger Olsen (born 22 April 1942), often called Drillo, is a famous Norwegian former football manager and player. He is most known for being a very successful manager of the Norway national team. He also managed the Iraq national team. In January 2009, he returned to manage the Norway national team again, staying until 2013.

Playing Career: Egil Olsen as a Player

Egil Olsen was a good football player. He played as a winger, which is a player who plays on the sides of the field. He played 16 games for the Norwegian national team. He got the nickname "Drillo" because he was very good at dribbling the ball and had great technical skills. Besides football, Olsen was also a strong bandy player, which is a sport similar to ice hockey.

Managerial Career: Leading Football Teams

First Time Managing Norway

Egil Olsen speaking to the press after a match in 2012.

Egil Olsen managed the Norway national team from 1990 to 1998. During this time, he led them to play in the World Cup tournaments in 1994 and 1998. Under his leadership, Norway reached its highest ever position, number two, in the FIFA ranking. This was a huge achievement for the team.

Managing in England: Wimbledon F.C.

In June 1999, Olsen started managing Wimbledon, an English football club. He was the first Norwegian person 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 from the Premier League.

Managing Iraq's National Team

On 17 September 2007, Egil Olsen signed a three-year contract to manage the Iraq national team. However, in February 2008, Iraq decided to let him go without telling him directly. He found out when a new manager was put in charge.

Second Time Managing Norway

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 the first time Norway had won against Germany since the 1936 Summer Olympics.

With Olsen as manager, Norway's ranking in the FIFA rankings improved a lot. They went from being number 59 in 2009 to number 11 in 2011. On 27 September 2013, Olsen decided to step down as coach after Norway lost a World Cup qualifying game at home.

Football Philosophy: Drillo's Smart Approach

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 to analyze matches. He collected information and numbers to find out which ways of playing football were the most effective.

Strategies for Success

As Norway's manager, he believed that since Norway didn't have the best players to beat top teams, they needed a smarter way to play. He found that quick attacks, called "breakaways" or "counter-attacks," were very important for scoring goals because they surprised the other team.

Olsen thought that sending the ball quickly through the air to attackers or players on the sides of the field made it harder to lose the ball. He also used a "target man," which is a player who is good at heading the ball, on the side of the field. This was a new idea because most people thought side players should be small and fast.

Off-the-Ball Movement and Defense

He believed that players should always be running and moving when their team has the ball, even if they don't have the ball themselves. This is called "off-the-ball running" and it makes it very hard for the other team to defend. He also liked to pass the ball into the space behind the opponent's defenders.

Olsen strongly supported "zone defense," where players defend a specific area of the field, instead of "man-to-man marking," where each player guards 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.

His ideas, along with those of another coach named Nils Arne Eggen, had a big impact on how football is played in Norway.

Personal Life: Beyond the Field

Egil Olsen is known for his amazing knowledge of geography. In 2002, he published a book called Drillos Verden (which means Drillo's World), full of interesting facts about places around the world. He was also involved in politics during his life.

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