By Michael Geist (Text and photos)
12.07.2008
First of all thank you for the interview and congratulations on winning the Norwegian Cup. Please tell us a little bit about yourself. When did
you start playing football?
I am 27 years old and married to Espen. We have a two-year-old son named Theodor. I think I have played football my whole life. I started to play with
boys, and when I was ten years old, I joined a girls’ team.
How do you manage to find time for both – job and football?
As I work for my club Kolbotn, where football comes first, I can combine it quite well. I can do some work at home and decide about the working
schedule myself.
You take your little son Theodor to the field everytime you play. Do you think Theodor will grow up to be a football player like you?
I hope he will like football and not get tired of it :-) He can start with any sport he likes. But if I should be able to help, he should better chose
football, not dancing :-)
Solveig Gulbrandsen (left) against big rival Roa
What has been the best moment in your career so far?
I think it was the semifinal in the European Championship 2005. I had never dreamt of us being in the final. But we beat Sweden 3-2 in extra time.
I scored to goals and assisted the other one.
After losing the quarterfinals in the World Cup 2003 a lot of Norwegian national players retired and coach Bjarne Berntsen had to build a new team.
Two years later you surprised everyone by going all the way to the final of the EURO. How did you experience this tournament?
It was great! It was a close match against France to get into the quarterfinal. So we were quite exited! Playing was fun, no one expected anything from
us, and the fans where great in England! It was a dream to be in the final and maybe that was our loss: we did not believe we could win… the team’s aim
had already been achieved many matches ago. It was a great tournament for us.
You were chosen EURO’s best player. Never the less during the FIFA “World Player Gala” you were only ranked fourth. Do you whish to make it up to the
top three?
I am not thinking about that. It is
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Solveig Gulbrandsen is one of Norway's most experienced players.
really nice that people like the way I play and see that I have some skills. I was very surprised to be that high up
on the list. I do not have any intentions to get to the top of the list. If you see players like Marta, then I think you can just leave the trophy to her!
She must be from another planet :-) I am not near her skills!
Then in 2007’s World Cup most experts did count on you to make it into the semifinals – but you came in fourth. Was this more of a positive or negative
result for you?
It is getting harder to be in the top three of the world in women’s football. So it’s not a negative result. But when you are one game from being top
two, it does not feel so good being number four.
What do you think which place will the Norwegian womens’ team reach in this year’s Olympics? Who will be your strongest opponents? And who would be
your personal favorite opponent for the final?
I think it is impossible to guess the outcome of these games. There are a lot of good teams and some of the strongest opponents are Brazil, USA and
Germany. But after them there are a lot of outsiders, like us, Sweden, Korea and many more… I like playing against Sweden, so they might be my favorite
opponent for the final.
Who is your best friend on the national team?
I have a lot of good friends on the team, but the best one is Trine Rønning. She has been out this year with injuries, so I had a lot of new roomies.
I really hope she will make it to the Olympics; it will not be the same without her.
Let’s talk about the Toppserien: what are its strengths and weaknesses?
The best thing is that there are almost only Norwegians in the league. That means that a lot of young players have a chance to develop. But this is
also the weakness: We do not have enough international players who give the league a higher quality. There are too many young players, so many teams have
only few players in their squad that have reached a high level.
Before 2007’s World Cup it was a neck-and-neck race between Kolbotn and Røa for the
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Norwegian Championship, but then Kolbotn lost against Klepp and
Trondheim, Røa became champion. Kolbotn also lost in Uefa Cup’s second round. How big was your disappointment?
I knew it would be tough: six days after we had arrived back from China we had an away game against Klepp. And few days after that we had to go to Lyon
to play the Uefa Cup. We suffered from too many players who were tired, and the squad back home had suffered from us being away for almost two month. It
was a disappointment, but the cup gold saved it all! We trained really hard when it became clear that we only had the cup to play for!
Leni Larsen Kaurin was the first Norwegian to play in Germany. Can you imagine your club getting good players from Germany as well?
That would be great! We need more quality players in our league. Just call!!
Are there players who used to play for Kolbotn that you miss?
Of course, I miss a lot of players. I have played here all my life and then you get to know many players who come and go. But I miss Ingvild Stensland a
lot :-)
The season for Kolbotn began in the middle of April – what are your goals for the season?
Our goal is to get a medal. We have a lot of injuries and a new young team, so my goal is that some of the youngsters learn the culture in Kolbotn and
soon carry it on!
Solveig Gulbrandsen (right) on her way to bring Kolbotn and herself back to the top.
Bjarne Berntsen, Melissa Wiik, Kristin Edner and Margunn Haugenes discussed Toppserien 2008 and assume that Kolbotn will be Norwegian champion.
Who do you think will be your strongest opponents in the race for the trophy?
It is definitely Røa and Asker.
What are your personal goals for this season?
To get back to my international level, to become fit and get back my high speed. I think I have already reached parts of these goals. The next step
is to learn my new role on the national team: being a forward!
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