National football (soccer) coach Egil “Drillo” Olsen has selected his line-up for Norway’s next match against Ireland, and it contains a few surprises.
Two top players, Steffen Iversen and Daniel Braaten, were left out, and Drillo made it clear why:
“You can say they were dumped,” the veteran coach told newspaper Aftenposten. “Iversen had to compete against the two others at the top (John Carew, who plays for Aston Villa in the UK, and Mohammed “Moa” Abdellaoue, who plays for Hannover in Germany) and Braaten with a Huseklepp (Erik Huseklepp, who plays for Brann in Bergen).”
Drillo clearly thought Carew, Moa and Huseklepp have played better ball of late. “They (Iversen and Braaten) have to show more, to come in again,” Drillo said.
That’s raised speculation over whether Iversen, the soon-to-be-34-year-old veteran of professional football who now plays for Rosenborg, will get another chance. He wants to keep playing for the national team (landslaget) and has had a good season with Rosenborg, but is vulnerable to injury, reports Aftenposten, and not Drillo’s favorite.
Drillo will take 18 players to Dublin for the so-called “friendly” match against Ireland on November 17. The next Euro 2012 qualifier won’t be played until well after New Year.
Views and News staff
