For the record: Kristoffer Løkberg is a Viking player and teammate with Markus Solbakken. When, as a young and keen footballer, I spent most of my free time at “Myra”, it happened that I observed a Strindheim boy three years younger playing with the ball and his friends. Left-footed, not the greatest at the time, but even then very good at shielding the ball and not giving it away. As cheated out of the nose of his father, the world’s best attacking striker, Gøran Sørloth. The man from Rissa moved to the city and started his brilliant career precisely at our club, Strindheim. We were all curious as to whether the son could follow in his father’s footsteps, given that he had the right genes. Kristoffer Løkberg is an news expert and Viking player. Photo: Nicolai Eid Trondal / news In his youth, Alexander moved on from Strindheim and to Rosenborg’s youth department. In step with the physics, the expectations from the outside world for Gøran’s son grew. Could Rosenborg get a new Sørloth as tank centre, play-up point and goalscorer? The breakthrough in Rosenborg never came, they instead prioritized a striker named Tomas Malec, but a very successful loan spell in Bodø/Glimt accelerated young Alexander’s career. Almost ten years later, the Strindheim boy has played for clubs in Denmark, the Netherlands, England, Germany, Turkey and Spain. There have been 49 international matches so far. Gøran stopped at 55. The roles have now reversed. Alexander is no longer referred to as the son of his father. When Gøran now takes the trip and sees young promising Strindheim boys playing on Myra, they whisper: “Look there, there is the father of Alexander Sørloth”. Sorry, Gøran! – How patient could we be? Another person who has had the label “son of his father” is my teammate Markus Solbakken. Throughout his life, Markus has had to deal with expectations from those around him due to his father Ståle’s solid playing career and fantastic coaching career. Ever since he made his debut as a 16-year-old for HamKam, he has had many eyes on him. And the critics have probably been at least as numerous as the supporters. Is he trusted because he is Ståle’s son? Is he prioritized over others, because he is the son of the national team manager? PROFILE: Markus Solbakken has had a tremendous season so far for Viking. Photo: NTB He really had his eyes on him when he had to replace one of the Eliteserien’s best players, Joe Bell, when he joined us in Viking in the winter of 2022. His first season, like the rest of the team, was characterized by high peaks and deep valleys, and those around him wondered if he really had what it took. Inside we saw a young player with enormous potential, but who needed time and experience. Curious, willing to learn and dedicated, but how patient could we be? Will Norway make it to the European Championships in 2024? – The transformation is total One and a half seasons later, many would say the transformation is total. The fact is that it is a young player who has worked well over time, gained a lot of experience and stabilized his performances. The top level has always been there, but now we see it almost every weekend. And this is of course not accidental. Already last winter, we saw that something was afoot. In February, we played a training match in Portugal, against FC Copenhagen. Against dad’s former employer, Markus Solbakken was the best player on the pitch. Stronger, tougher and safer. Simply a more mature footballer. U21: Markus Solbakken got little playing time during this summer’s U21 EC. Now there is talk of the A national team for the young and reliable midfielder. Photo: Nikola Krstic / NTB Between the 2022 and 2023 seasons, Markus deliberately worked to put on a few kilos of muscle. This is to be able to take steps in a part of the game that was previously not at a high enough level; the defensive. The melee, the duels, call it the war in the center of the midfield, Markus has come out victorious from to a much greater extent than before. This has also raised the bottom level considerably. In addition, together with the coaching team at Viking, he has countless hours behind him with video analysis. Ever since Markus came to the club, they have jointly used many hours in front of the screen to watch and discuss action choices from both training and matches. This has of course also produced results, especially in the passing game. The sixteen-year-old HamKam player has now turned 23 and a key player for a Viking with ten straight victories in the Eliteserien. The heart of the team from his central midfield position, simply one of the Eliteserien’s best players so far this season. – Ståle has a luxury problem With such achievements, of course, the national team discussion also comes. Papa Ståle has now been served a luxury problem that I am not sure if he himself would have come just a little over a year ago. Should he take his own son to the national team? MUST MAKE A CHOICE: Ståle Solbakken probably knows better than most how good his son actually is. Photo: Geir Olsen / NTB The arguments for this speak for themselves with the weekly performances in the Eliteserien. In his regime, Ståle Solbakken has made it very clear that in-form players from our own league have good opportunities to be selected. Most recently shown at the withdrawal of Bård Finne in June. In addition, we have seen a development in the national team’s playing style in the past year. In addition to his well-organized zone play defensively, Solbakken senior wants to a greater extent a midfield trio that can ensure that Norway can keep the ball in the team and take pressure off opponents with their skills with the ball. That job description suits son Solbakken very well. The arguments against can be found in the already strong competitive situation in the midfield for Norway. His colleague in the Eliteserien, Patrick Berg, was among Norway’s very best players at the gathering in June. The trio he has formed together with Ødegaard and Aursnes has worked well. Sander Berge is making himself more relevant in the center of the field with his club change to Burnley, as well as the fact that a player who occasionally played big for Norway U21 in this summer’s championship, Joshua Kitolano, must undoubtedly be part of the discussion as a potential new player in the squad. We can also mention that Genoa’s Morten Thorsby was not in the squad in June. – Totally disagree with Solbakken In the past, both father and son Solbakken have insisted that this is certainly not unproblematic. Personally, I completely disagree. If Ståle, together with the rest of his coaching team, finds out that the son deserves a place in the national team based on completely objective football professional assessments, it will go just fine. I am absolutely sure that the national team manager’s reputation within the group is so good that he has one hundred percent trust from the rest of the playing group that that choice is the right one in that case. In that case, the person who has it the hardest is probably the boy himself. I can promise that he doesn’t get anything free from his father when it comes to the requirements during training or matches. On the contrary. The squad for the matches against Jordan and Georgia is just around the corner. Then we get the answer. Markus Solbakken can be in the national team squad, with his father as coach. If so, it’s not because of. But despite. The A national team squad for the matches against Jordan and Georgia will be drawn on Tuesday 29 August at 13:00.
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I completely disagree with Ståle Solbakken – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
