Hallvar Thoresen is a former Norwegian footballer

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...

. The son of former Norwegian international Gunnar Thoresen, Hallvar Thoresen was central in 1980s Norwegian football.

He played 50 matches for the Norway national football team

Norway national football team

The Norway national football team represents Norway in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Norway, the governing body for football in Norway. Norway's home ground is Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo and their head coach is Egil Olsen...

, and scored 9 goals, one of which secured the historic victory over England

England national football team

The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...

 in 1981. Thoresen is among the six Norwegian internationals who have never played in the Norwegian Premier League

Norwegian Premier League

Tippeligaen is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. The league is also unofficially known under its neutral name Eliteserien , although the name has never been official...

.

Thoresen started his career in Larvik Turn, but travelled abroad at the age of seventeen, and soon became a regular at FC Twente

FC Twente

FC Twente is a Dutch professional football club from the city of Enschede, playing in the Eredivisie. The club was formed in 1965 by the merger of 1926 Eredivisie Champions, Sportclub Enschede and Enschedese Boys...

 in the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

. They won the Dutch Cup in 1977, and Thoresen was bought by giants PSV Eindhoven, where he formed a dynamic tandem with Jurrie Koolhof

Jurrie Koolhof

Jurjen Jacob Koolhof is a former Dutch international football striker and manager.As a player, Koolhof had a long and productive career, with 190 league goals. He played for a number of clubs in the Netherlands including Vitesse Arnhem, F.C. Groningen and PSV Eindhoven...

 in the 1980s. Helping capturing three league titles, Thoresen was a key player for seven years, serving as captain from 1983–1986, until he returned to Norway and played for Frigg

Frigg Oslo FK

Frigg Oslo Fotballklubb is a Norwegian sports club from Majorstua in Oslo. It has sections for association football and bandy.It was founded on 17 May 1904 as SK Frigg, named after Frigg of Norse mythology. It was merged on 21 April 1954 with SK Varg. It took the name Frigg Oslo FK in 1990. The...

 in the lower divisions. Troubled by an injury, he was forced to retire from his playing career shortly thereafter.

He did assume the coaching position at Frigg, later moving on to coach larger clubs like Brann, Strømsgodset, Hønefoss, Skeid

Skeid Fotball

Skeid Fotball is a Norwegian football club and is located in the capital Oslo. Its current home field is Bislett. In past decades it has gained a reputation as a talent factory for the larger clubs in Norwegian football, and it has produced several players for the national team such as Daniel...

, and Lillestrøm (assistant). He is currently in charge of the Norway U21. Odd Grenland announced on October 30, 2006 that Thoresen had agreed to take over as the clubs Director of Football, although it is not yet known when he will leave his post with the Norway U21 team.

Thoresen played Norwegian football (soccer) player and Allied POW Gunnar Hilsson in the 1981 film Escape to Victory

Escape to Victory

Escape to Victory, known simply as Victory in North America, is a 1981 film about Allied prisoners of war who are interned in a German prison camp during World War II...

. He is also a supporter of Arsenal

Arsenal F.C.

Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

, to the point where he opened a pub Oslo

Oslo

Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...

, Norway

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...

called Highbury.