Per Bredesen

Per Bredesen (22 December 1930 – 3 October 2022) was a Norwegian footballer. He played as an inside forward for a number of Italian clubs, and was one of the first Norwegian footballers to achieve success in a foreign league.

Club career

Bredesen began his career at his hometown team Ørn Horten in 1947 – only 16 years old, and quickly established himself as one of the league's most talented players.

In 1952, Bredesen became a professional when he was signed by Italian side Lazio. Because the Norwegian FA at the time allowed only amateur players to play for the national team, this move also ended Bredesen's international career.

Bredesen played three years at Lazio, and later played for Udinese, AC Milan, Bari and Messina. In 1957, as a member of Milan, he became the first – and to this date, the only – Norwegian to win the Scudetto. Overall, Bredesen played 214 matches in Italian football and scored 50 goals. In 1961 he left Italy and moved back to Norway, where he rejoined Ørn Horten. He played his last match for Ørn-Horten in 1969.

International career

Bredesen made his international debut against Yugoslavia as an 18-year-old in 1949, and marked the event by scoring a fine goal. Overall, Bredesen won 18 caps and scored seven goals for Norway. He was not selected for Norway after moving abroad, since the Norwegian FA had a strict rule of only using amateur footballers.

Personal life and death

Bredesen died on 3 October 2022, at the age of 91.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			CupTemplate:Efn		ContinentalTemplate:Efn		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Ørn Horten	1947–48	Norgesserien					—
	1948–49	Hovedserien	14	2			—		14	2
	1949–50		14	2			—		14	2
	1950–51		14	9			—		14	9
	1951–52		7	3			—		7	3
Lazio	1952–53	Serie A	32	6	—		—		32	6
	1953–54		32	6	—		—		32	6
	1954–55		29	7	—		—		29	7
	Total		93	19	0	0	0	0	39	19
Udinese	1955–56	Serie B	34	15	—		—		34	15
Milan	1956–57	Serie A	27	6	—		2	1	29	7
	1957–58		0	0	4	1	2	0	6	1
	Total		27	6	4	1	4	1	35	8
Bari	1958–59	Serie A	21	5			—		21	5
Messina	1959–60	Serie B	14	2			—		14	2
	1960–61		25	3			—		25	3
	Total		39	5			0	0	39	5
Ørn-Horten	1961–62	Hovedserien	13	9			—		13	9
Career total			276	75	4	1	4	1	284	77

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Norway	1949	4	3
	1950	6	2
	1951	8	2
Total		18	7

Scores and results list Norway's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bredesen goal.

List of international goals scored by Per Bredesen

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	19 June 1949	Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway	Yugoslavia	1–0	1–3	Friendly
2	2 October 1949	Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden	Sweden	1–0	3–3	1948–51 Nordic Football Championship
3				3–3
4	10 September 1950	Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway	Finland	1–0	4–1	1948–51 Nordic Football Championship
5	26 November 1950	Dalymount Park, Dublin, Ireland	Republic of Ireland	1–0	2–2	Friendly
6	16 August 1951	Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland	Finland	1–1	1–1	1948–51 Nordic Football Championship
7	30 September 1951	Gamla Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden	Sweden	3–3	4–3	1948–51 Nordic Football Championship