Steffen Iversen

Iversen joined Rosenborg for the third time in his career on 15 February 2012. He signed a performance-based one-year contract, with an option for one more year, and stated that he had returned to win the league. In November 2012 he decided to retire from football.

He was linked to a number of English Championship clubs in the summer of 2010; including Crystal Palace, Norwich City and Ipswich Town, before provisionally signing for Crystal Palace on 1 January 2011. In his debut match for Crystal Palace, he scored against Preston after 58 minutes, giving Palace their first win in five matches. He scored two goals in 19 matches during the 13 months he played for the Eagles, before he was released by the club on 31 January 2012.

The UEFA Euro 2012 qualifier match against Denmark on 26 March 2011 was to be his last match for Norway. In total he achieved 79 caps – scoring 21 goals.

Iversen played regularly for the national team, until he in August 2008 overslept to a meeting with the squad that was to play a friendly match against Republic of Ireland on 20 August 2008 and was sent home by the national team coach Åge Hareide. Nevertheless, Iversen was called up for the next squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Iceland where he scored Norway's two goals.

In 2004, he moved back to Norway to play for Vålerenga where he played a crucial role during the 2005 season and won his third Tippeligaen, ten years after his first. His contract ended on 31 October 2005, and for months he was a free agent. Rumours abounded of several clubs showing their interest, including Mallorca, Everton and his previous club Vålerenga. On 10 February 2006 it was, a bit surprisingly, announced that he wanted to return to his old club Rosenborg, where his joining was officially announced on 13 February 2006. In Rosenborg Iversen was the star player and Rosenborg's topscorer (18 goals) of the 2006/07 season and helped his team win the title, Iversen's fourth medal.

Iversen was capped 79 times for the national team, scoring 21 goals. He scored Norway's only goal in a UEFA European Football Championship when he scored the match-winning goal against Spain in the group stage of UEFA Euro 2000.

Later the same year, he made his debut for the senior team in the UEFA Euro 2000 qualifier against Albania. He scored his first international goal on 20 May 1999 in the friendly match against Jamaica, a game Norway won 6–0.

Iversen was a regular for the Norway U-21 and was a major contributor for the team that earned a third place in the 1998 UEFA U-21 Championship, by scoring Norway's all three goals during the championship, including two goals in the third-place match against Netherlands U-21. In total, he played 23 matches for the U-21 team, and scored 17 goals, a record.

Iversen began his career as an 18-year-old at Rosenborg where he won two consecutive Norwegian league championships. He moved to Tottenham Hotspur in December 1996, where he scored 64 goals in seven years, and won the League Cup. After a brief spell at Wolverhampton Wanderers, he moved back to his native Norway where he spent two years at Vålerenga and was a contributing factor to Vålerenga's first league championship in 21 years. In 2006, he moved back to Rosenborg, where he won his second consecutive league title, and after another league victory in 2010, Iversen spent 13 months at Crystal Palace, before he signed for Rosenborg for the third time in February 2012.

In December 1996, he joined Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of £2.3 million, and made his Premier League debut against Coventry City, four days after his last match for Rosenborg. He spent seven years at White Hart Lane – collecting a League Cup winners' medal in 1999, assisting Allan Nielsen's stoppage time winner. He also scored the winning goal in the semi-final against Wimbledon. He became the top scorer for the club in the 1998–99 and 1999–2000 season with 13 and 17 goals respectively. Ahead of the 2003–04 season, he signed a one-year contract with Wolverhampton Wanderers, after a long time with injury problems.

He joined Rosenborg's first team squad in 1995, and made his debut in the first match of the season against Kongsvinger at Lerkendal on 21 April 1995. During the two season he first played at Rosenborg, he scored 18 goals in 50 matches, won two consecutive league championship and played in the Champions League. His last match in his first period for Rosenborg was the famous win against Milan at San Siro.

Steffen Iversen was born in Oslo, when his father, Odd Iversen, was playing for Vålerenga. His family moved back to Trondheim when he was three years old, and the first club that Iversen played for was his father's club Rosenborg. He signed for Nationalkameratene at the age of seven, and the contract, dated 16 February 1984, included a clause that stated that Steffen Iversen any time could move back to Rosenborg free of charge, and was signed by his father. He later moved on to Astor before he joined Rosenborg's youth department in 1994, where he scored six goals in his debut for the reserve team.

Steffen Iversen (born 10 November 1976) is a Norwegian footballer who is currently player-manager for Norwegian 4th division side Trygg/Lade as a striker. He is the son of former Norway international Odd Iversen, one of Norway's most prolific goalscorers of all time.