Nils Arne Eggen

Nils Arne Eggen (17 September 1941 – 19 January 2022) was a Norwegian footballer, manager and teacher from Orkdal. Eggen was closely tied to Rosenborg, the club he managed for 23 years between 1970 and 2010. He is Norway's most successful club manager throughout history, having won the Norwegian top division fifteen times and the Norwegian Football Cup six times as a manager. Eggen's tactical emphasis was on playing 4-3-3 and attacking football and his way of playing football has frequently been cited as an inspiration among players, coaches and clubs alike, both domestically and abroad. In his native Trøndelag, Eggen is revered and widely regarded as the greatest and most influential sports person in the region, even eclipsing Olympic champions such as Hjalmar Andersen and Petter Northug.His playing career started with Orkdal; he then played for Rosenborg from 1960 to 1963 and 1966 to 1969, and for Vålerengen between 1964 and 1966. He was capped 29 times for Norway between 1963 and 1969. He won the Norwegian top division once with Vålerengen and twice with Rosenborg, and the Norwegian Football Cup once with Rosenborg.

In 1971, Eggen became manager of Rosenborg, winning the league in his inaugural season. He left to take over Norway U21 in 1973. He then became national team manager for Norway jointly with Kjell Schou-Andreassen until 1977. He then returned to Rosenborg where he remained until 1982. He then coached Orkdal until 1985. In 1986, he was hired as manager for Moss, where he won the Second Division in the first season and then the top league the following. During this period he was also manager of Norway U23. He started managing Rosenborg in 1988, where he remained until 2002, except for a sabbatical in 1998. This was the team's golden age, resulting in 11 consecutive league titles and the participation in eight consecutive seasons in Champions League. Eggen returned as manager for the single 2010 season, again winning the league.