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 Harald BERG 1968-1973 
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Joined: Fri Sep 15, 2017 8:43 pm
Posts: 1534
Name: Harald Johan Berg

Nickname: "Dutte"


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Country: :NOR: Norway
Clubs: Lyn Oslo (1965-1969), ADO Den Haag (1969-1973)
Position: *AMF, CMF, SS, WF, CF
Side: RF/BS
Age: 27-32 years (09/11/1941)

Height: 173 cm
Weight: 72 kg

Attack: 83
Defense: 51
Balance: 79
Stamina: 82
Top Speed: 81
Acceleration: 79
Response: 78
Agility: 82
Dribble Accuracy: 86
Dribble Speed: 77
Short Pass Accuracy: 85
Short Pass Speed: 80
Long Pass Accuracy: 82
Long Pass Speed: 77
Shot Accuracy: 82
Shot Power: 84
Shot Technique: 83
Free Kick Accuracy: 73
Curling: 76
Header: 75
Jump: 77
Technique: 85
Aggression: 81
Mentality: 79
Goalkeeper Skills: 50
Team Work: 83

Injury Tolerance: B
Condition: 6
Weak Foot Accuracy: 6
Weak Foot Frequency: 6
Consistency: 6
Growth Type: Standard/Lasting

CARDS:
P18: Talisman
S02: Passer
S05: 1 Touch Play

SPECIAL ABILITIES: Dribbling - Playmaking - Passing - 1 Touch Pass

Attack/Defense awareness card: Attack Minded


INFO:

Strong, technically gifted and a lethal goalscorer, Harald "Dutte" Berg was the first, and probably the best, player from Northern Norway to ever play for the national team. He had an impressive career that lasted more than 20 years, including five seasons as a professional in Holland, and was one of Norway's biggest stars throughout the 60s and 70s.

He began his career with his hometown club Bodø/Glimt, where he made his debut as a 16-year-old in 1958. He soon became a regular at the club, and was in a class of his own when he helped the club win the North Norwegian championship on several occations in the early 1960s (the northern clubs were not allowed to enter the "national" League until 1971), and in 1964, he was rewarded with a call-up to the national team as the first-ever player from the region. He did not disappoint when he got the opportunity to play with the flag on his chest, and soon became an irreplacable member of the national team. His impressive displays for the national team also made him a target for the big clubs in the south, and in 1965, he moved to the capital to play for defending champions Lyn. He immediately made an impact at the club, and finished the season as the League's top scorer with 19 goals. However, Lyn had to settle for second place, behind city rivals Vålerenga. At the national team, Berg was now a regular, and was the star player in the sensational 3-0 win against Yugoslavia, where he scored one of the goals. In late 1967, little over three years after his debut, Berg was awarded the Gold Watch for playing his 25th international, and he marked the occation by scoring against Sweden.

After three years of near misses, Lyn won the elusive league title in 1968, with Berg once again the star of the team, forming a deadly strike partnership with fellow international Ola Dybwad-Olsen. Lyn also successfully defended the cup title they had won the year before, making them the second team in the history of Norwegian football to win The Double. However, Lyn's best performance came in January 1969, when they gave what would be the best performance by a Norwegian team in Europe for several decades. Having defeated Turkish side Altay Izmir and IFK Norrköping of Sweden in the first two rounds of the Cup Winners' Cup (a remarkable performance in itself those days), Lyn were drawn against Spanish giants Barcelona in the quarter-finals. Nobody gave Lyn a chance, but Berg and his teammates had other ideas. Berg scored both goals in home leg, which ended with a narrow 2-3 defeat, and was one of the best players on the pitch in the return leg at the Nou Camp, where Lyn was able to draw 2-2, and actually came close to defeating the mighty Catalans. It would be more than 20 years until the next time a Norwegian club side made similar impact in Europe.

Now firmly established as one of the best players in Norway, and having made his name in Europe, Berg was given the chance to play professional football on the continent when he was signed by Dutch club FC Den Haag. He played five seasons in Holland, and became a crowd favorite at the club, scoring a total of 47 goals in 127 matches for Den Haag. He also played in the Dutch Cup Final in 1972, where Den Haag eventually lost 2-3 to Ajax. At the national team, he was dropped after a string of defeats in 1969. Maybe it was because national coach Øivind Johannessen wanted to build a new team, and maybe because it was hard to get the foreign-based players released by their clubs. Either way, Berg did not play again for Norway until 1972, when he played four matches.

In 1974, the 32-year-old Berg, now playing in midfield, returned home to Bodø to wind down his career. However, he was far from done yet. In his second spell at Bodø/Glimt, he would add another chapter to his impressive career, and write Norwegian football history. In his first season back at the club, Bodø/Glimt reached the semi-finals of the Cup and narrowly missed out on promotion to the top flight. The next season, Glimt went all the way and won the Cup, becoming the first team from Northern Norway to achieve that feat. A year later, in 1976, Glimt were finally promoted to the top division, and in 1977, they finished second in the League and lost against Lillestrøm in the Cup Final. Throughout this period, Berg remained one of the best players in the country. He played two more seasons at Bodø/Glimt, before finally hanging up his boots in 1979.

In addition to being one of Norway's greatest players of all time, Harald Berg has also passed on his excellent football genes to the next generation. His sons Ørjan and Runar have both played for Norway, and are currently star players at Rosenborg and Bodø/Glimt respectively, while a third son, Arild Berg, might have been an international if it hadn't been for various injuries and illnesses that ended his career prematurely.


Thu Jul 10, 2014 12:11 pm
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Joined: Fri Sep 15, 2017 8:43 pm
Posts: 1534
Updated. He was a very good player, with a complete range of talents. Great technician, scorer and playmaker, but he was also more hard working than you would expect and he was versatile enough that he was often used as a winger or central midfielder for ADO. Probably one of the most talented Norwegian footballers.


Tue Nov 15, 2022 12:59 am
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