Marte Bjelde Hjelmhaug’s SMS led to a transfer – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule

– I am quite proud. If you had said this to me four years ago, I would probably have laughed a little, says Hjelmhaug to news at a training session in Marbella. There she is part of the LSK Women’s squad after the winter transfer from Arna-Bjørnar. A transfer to a club he has long looked up to. – It’s cool to have this logo on the chest. Admire LSK Despite a troubled season last year, the 23-year-old LSK Kvinner is in high spirits. – It is a club with proud traditions. I have been in the Toppserien for almost seven years, and each time you felt a little less than LSK, she says. LSK: This year Hjelmhaug and Thea Kyvåg (right) will both represent LSK Kvinner. Photo: Ørn E. Borgen / NTB And it is a situation she remembers especially well when it comes to meeting LSK. While she was playing in Sandviken, they had just lost heavily against the yellow and black, and were quite far down, she says. – Then their whole team started running intervals after the match. Then you won’t be particularly high in the hat. I stood and watched, and thought: “Will I ever get there, or will I forever just be a notch below?”. The message that started it all A few years later, she can dress in the same colors as the players who ran intervals in front of her at the time. And that transition began in a way the sporting director of LSK Kvinner had never experienced before. Because after what Hjelmhaug describes as a turbulent year in Arna-Bjørnar, her contract expired, and the search for a new club began. But few were aware that she was without a contract, and no one contacted Hjelmhaug. Then she thought she had to take matters into her own hands. – The first thing I thought then was: “LSK. What’s the worst that can happen?”, she says. Thus, she herself sent a text message to the then sports manager at the club, Ranveig Karlsen, to ask if they could have a chat. This announcement led to Hjelmhaug’s transfer to LSK Kvinner. Photo: Screenshot – I have never experienced it before, that a player contacts me in that way. It usually happens through agents or others. But it says something about Marte as a person, says Karlsen about the message. – I’m guessing she’ll think about me for the rest of her life, laughs Hjelmhaug. Romerikes Blad wrote about this first. Their conversation led to a more formal meeting, and thus the ball started rolling. And now she faces a new season in the Toppserien, in new colours. And thank you for being a text message. – It may be a little unconventional, but I am perhaps a little unconventional, too. On Saturday, Marte Bjelde meets Hjelmhaug and LSK Kvinner Stabæk. You can watch the match on news 1 and news TV from 16.30.



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