Ronny Deila facts for kids
![]() Deila in 2025
|
|||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Ronny Deila | ||
Date of birth | 21 September 1975 | ||
Place of birth | Porsgrunn, Norway | ||
Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
Position(s) | Centre-back | ||
Team information | |||
Current team
|
Atlanta United (head coach) | ||
Youth career | |||
Urædd | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1992–1993 | Urædd | 16 | (0) |
1993–2004 | Odd | 240 | (22) |
2004–2005 | Viking | 23 | (0) |
2006–2008 | Strømsgodset | 43 | (6) |
2009–2011 | Sparta Bragerøen | 30 | (4) |
Total | 352 | (32) | |
International career | |||
1992–1993 | Norway U17 | 9 | (0) |
1994 | Norway U18 | 3 | (0) |
1996 | Norway U21 | 2 | (0) |
Managerial career | |||
2005 | Brodd | ||
2008–2014 | Strømsgodset | ||
2014–2016 | Celtic | ||
2017–2020 | Vålerenga | ||
2020–2022 | New York City | ||
2022–2023 | Standard Liège | ||
2023–2024 | Club Brugge | ||
2024 | Al Wahda | ||
2024– | Atlanta United | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Ronny Deila (born September 21, 1975) is a football manager from Norway. He used to be a player and is now the head coach for Atlanta United in Major League Soccer.
He played most of his career at Odd. Later, he became a coach at Strømsgodset. There, he helped them win the Norwegian Cup in 2010 and the Norwegian League title in 2013. He then managed Celtic for two seasons, from 2014 to 2016. During that time, he won the Scottish Premiership twice and the Scottish League Cup once. Ronny Deila also led New York City to win the MLS Cup 2021.
Contents
Ronny Deila's Playing Career
Ronny Deila started his football journey playing for a smaller club called Urædd. He then joined Odd, where he became a very important defender. In 2000, he helped Odd win the Norwegian Cup Final. This was his only major trophy as a player.
After Odd, he played for Viking in 2004. In 2006, he moved to Strømsgodset. There, he was both a player and an assistant coach. Even after he started coaching Strømsgodset in 2009, he continued to play part-time for Sparta Bragerøen until 2011.
Deila also played for Norway's youth national teams. He played nine games for the under-17 team. Later, he played two games for the under-21 team in 1996. He never played for the senior national team.
Ronny Deila's Coaching Journey
Coaching Strømsgodset
After leaving Viking as a player, Ronny Deila briefly coached a Norwegian club called Brodd in 2005. In 2006, he joined Strømsgodset as a player and assistant coach. He worked under head coach Dag-Eilev Fagermo until the end of 2007.
Then, the club's sporting director, Jostein Flo, made Deila the head coach of Strømsgodset. At this point, Deila stopped playing football professionally. In his first two seasons as head coach, the team struggled. However, his attacking style of play started to work well.
Strømsgodset began to finish higher in the Norwegian league. In 2010, they won the Norwegian Cup. In 2013, Deila led Strømsgodset to win the Tippeligaen title. This was their first league title in 43 years! In the same year, Deila also won the Kniksen Award for Coach of the Year.
Deila was always eager to learn new coaching ideas. He visited big clubs like Manchester City, Barcelona, and Ajax. After the 2013 season, he also traveled to Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool. He wanted to study their coaching and training methods.
By May 2014, Strømsgodset was second in the league. They had an amazing home record under Deila. They went 44 league games unbeaten at their Marienlyst Stadium. This was almost the all-time Norwegian record. Other clubs started to notice Deila's success. Strømsgodset gave him a new contract until 2016 to keep him.
Managing Celtic in Scotland
Ronny Deila became the manager of Scottish Premiership club Celtic on June 6, 2014. He said it was a "magnificent honor" to join the club. He wanted his team to play "attacking, exciting and entertaining football." A few days later, John Collins joined as his assistant manager.
Deila's first game for Celtic was a Champions League qualifying match. Celtic won 1–0 against KR Reykjavik. They won the next game 4–0, moving on in the competition. However, Celtic later lost to Legia Warsaw. But because Legia used a player who wasn't allowed to play, Celtic was given the win and moved forward. They then lost to Maribor and dropped into the Europa League.
In the Scottish Premiership, Celtic started to play better. They beat Dundee United 6–1 in Deila's first home league game. By February 2015, Celtic had won many games. They also beat Rangers 2–0 in the Scottish League Cup semi-final. Deila's team also made it out of their Europa League group.
On March 15, Deila won his first trophy with Celtic. They beat Dundee United 2–0 in the League Cup Final. Celtic then won the Scottish Premiership title on May 2, 2015, with games still left to play. They finished the season strong, beating Inverness 5–0.
In August 2015, Celtic did not make it into the UEFA Champions League. They then played in the Europa League but finished last in their group in November. In April 2016, Celtic lost to Rangers in a Scottish Cup semi-final. After this loss, Deila announced he would leave Celtic at the end of the season. However, Celtic still won the Scottish Premiership title on May 8, 2016.
Coaching Vålerenga
On July 13, 2016, Ronny Deila signed a four-year contract with Vålerenga in Norway. He started coaching them on January 1, 2017. In his first season, Vålerenga struggled in the league. They finished in eighth place, which was not as high as Deila had hoped.
Vålerenga continued to have difficulties in Deila's second season. By October 2018, they were in eighth place again. Deila thought about leaving the club. He said something had "gone very wrong." Vålerenga finished that season in sixth place.
Leading New York City FC
On January 6, 2020, Ronny Deila became the head coach of New York City in Major League Soccer. His first game was a 5–3 win in the CONCACAF Champions League. The team made it to the MLS Cup Playoffs that season.
Under Deila's leadership, NYCFC won the MLS Cup 2021. They beat Portland Timbers in the final game after a penalty shootout. This was a big win for the club.
Coaching in Belgium
On June 13, 2022, Deila became the head coach of Standard Liège, a club in Belgium. In his first game, his team drew 2–2.
Then, on May 25, 2023, Deila was announced as the new head coach of Club Brugge. In August, he helped them reach the UEFA Conference League group stage. Club Brugge announced his departure on March 18, 2024.
Atlanta United FC
Ronny Deila was named head coach of Major League Soccer club Atlanta United on December 20, 2024.
Ronny Deila's Family
Ronny Deila has twin daughters, Thale Rushfeldt Deila and Live Rushfeldt Deila. Both of them are professional handball players.
Ronny Deila's Achievements
As a Player
Odd
- Norwegian Football Cup: 2000
As a Manager
Strømsgodset
- Tippeligaen: 2013
- Norwegian Football Cup: 2010
Celtic
- Scottish Premiership: 2014–15, 2015–16
- Scottish League Cup: 2014–15
New York City
- MLS Cup: 2021
- MLS Eastern Conference: 2021
Individual Awards
- Kniksen Award Coach of the Year: 2013
Managerial Statistics
Team | From | To | Record | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
Brodd | 1 June 2005 | 6 October 2005 | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 58.33 | |
Strømsgodset | 1 January 2008 | 6 June 2014 | 206 | 95 | 41 | 70 | 46.12 | |
Celtic | 6 June 2014 | 15 May 2016 | 118 | 76 | 22 | 20 | 64.41 | |
Vålerenga | 1 January 2017 | 6 January 2020 | 107 | 43 | 26 | 38 | 40.19 | |
New York City | 6 January 2020 | 13 June 2022 | 90 | 46 | 15 | 29 | 51.11 | |
Standard Liège | 13 June 2022 | 24 May 2023 | 40 | 17 | 9 | 14 | 42.50 | |
Club Brugge | 1 July 2023 | 18 March 2024 | 49 | 28 | 11 | 10 | 57.14 | |
Al Wahda | 5 July 2024 | 18 December 2024 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 36.36 | |
Atlanta United | 20 December 2024 | present | 24 | 4 | 9 | 11 | 16.67 | |
Total | 657 | 320 | 138 | 199 | 48.71 |
1Includes UEFA Champions League qualifier match against Legia Warsaw which Celtic lost 2–0 on the night, but was later awarded as a 3–0 win to Celtic due to Legia fielding a suspended player.
See also
In Spanish: Ronny Deila para niños