Martin Ødegaard (born 17 December 1998) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Real Madrid and the Norway national team. He made his debut for Strømsgodset Toppfotball on 13 April 2014, becoming the youngest player to feature in Tippeligaen. He was signed by Real Madrid in January 2015. On 23 May 2015, he became the youngest players to represent Real Madrid. He is also the youngest ever player to play for the Norwegian national team, at the age of 15 years and 253 days. His father, Hans Erik, is a former footballer, and co-founded a football section in the club, and became the coach of his son’s team.
About Martin Ødegaard in brief
Martin Ødegaard (born 17 December 1998) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Real Madrid and the Norway national team. He made his debut for Strømsgodset Toppfotball on 13 April 2014, becoming the youngest player to feature in Tippeligaen. In January 2017, he was loaned to SC Heerenveen for 18 months, then to Vitesse and Real Sociedad for a season each. He was signed by Real Madrid in January 2015. On 23 May 2015, he became the youngest players to represent Real Madrid. He is also the youngest ever player to play for the Norwegian national team, at the age of 15 years and 253 days. His father, Hans Erik, is a former footballer, and co-founded a football section in the club, and became the coach of his son’s team. In 2005, his parents and others each invested 50,000 kroner so that the local club could refit their gravel field, Kjappen, with artificial turf. This has been cited as crucial for his development, as he spent countless hours on the field. In 2011, at age 12, he impressed former football manager Lars Tjærnås during a nationwide tournament for under-16s: The best 15-year-olds in the country were gathered for a tournament between the top clubs. It was definitely not the first time he had astonished his opponents or the spectators. He was three or four years younger than the others.
It was impossible not to realize that we were witnessing something out of the ordinary. In January 2014, it was agreed that 15- year-old Ø Degaard would be part of Strø msgodset’s first team for 2014, but no professional contract was signed. The competition rules state that players must have a professional contract to be eligible to play. However, the club included him on the ‘B-list’ for amateur players, which made him eligible for three matches per season. He also had short training visits to Bayern Munich and Manchester United. In 2013, at 14, he played for the club’s third team at the Norwegian third tier of Norwegian football. He became its youngest goalscorer on 16 May. In 2014, he made his first team debut the same year, in a mid-season friendly against local rivals Mjøndalen IF. He trained with this team weekly for the next three years. He mostly played left back, as the coaches felt this would give him a positive experience with many ball touches while still playing against physically much stronger players. The other players on the team, and opponents, were 2–3 years older. The coach noted: ‘Handles things brilliantly. Good touch, smart in position game’. In 2015, Drammen Strong received 250,000kroner, equivalent to approximately €29,000, as a gift from Real Madrid when he was sold.
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