Bjarte Flem
Encyclopedia
Bjarte Flem is a former Norwegian
football
goalkeeper. He played for the Norwegian football club Tromsø I.L.
.
He was immortalized for his mistake during a match against Sogndal I.L. in 1988, which was shown (unfortunately for Flem) on live television. As Flem was about to throw the ball to a defender on his own team, he threw the ball into his own goal
instead. While he was swinging his arm to throw the ball, he changed his mind when he figured out that his teammate was man-marked, resulting in that he let the ball go when he was aiming towards his own goal. The incident made the front pages of national newspapers the next day, and was shown on television in countries across the globe. In Norway, the name Bjarte Flem has become eponym
ous for a goalkeeper making a huge mistake.
Even though Bjarte Flem mainly will be remembered for his huge mistake, he was also a good goalkeeper, who enjoyed many good seasons in Tromsø before he retired. Two years before the incident, Tromsø played in the Norwegian Cup
Final and won their second Norwegian Cup Championship, with Flem as their goalkeeper.
Before his footballing career he worked as a fisherman, and returned to this job later.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
goalkeeper. He played for the Norwegian football club Tromsø I.L.
Tromsø I.L.
Tromsø Idrettslag is a Norwegian professional football team founded in 1920, and based in Tromsø. They play their home games at Alfheim Stadium. Tromsø I.L...
.
He was immortalized for his mistake during a match against Sogndal I.L. in 1988, which was shown (unfortunately for Flem) on live television. As Flem was about to throw the ball to a defender on his own team, he threw the ball into his own goal
Own goal
An own net occurs in goal-scoring games when a player scores a goal that is registered against his or her own team. It is usually accidental, and may be a result of an attempt at defensive play that failed or was spoiled by opponents....
instead. While he was swinging his arm to throw the ball, he changed his mind when he figured out that his teammate was man-marked, resulting in that he let the ball go when he was aiming towards his own goal. The incident made the front pages of national newspapers the next day, and was shown on television in countries across the globe. In Norway, the name Bjarte Flem has become eponym
Eponym
An eponym is the name of a person or thing, whether real or fictitious, after which a particular place, tribe, era, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named...
ous for a goalkeeper making a huge mistake.
Even though Bjarte Flem mainly will be remembered for his huge mistake, he was also a good goalkeeper, who enjoyed many good seasons in Tromsø before he retired. Two years before the incident, Tromsø played in the Norwegian Cup
Norwegian football cup
The Norwegian Football Cup is the main knockout cup competition in Norwegian football. It is run by the Football Association of Norway and has been contested since 1902, making it the oldest football tournament in the country. The tournament is commonly known as Cupen or NM, an acronym formed...
Final and won their second Norwegian Cup Championship, with Flem as their goalkeeper.
Before his footballing career he worked as a fisherman, and returned to this job later.
External links
- Profile at www.playerhistory.com (Registration required)
- Video of Flem's famous own goal