Erik Solér

Erik Francisco Solér (born 6 August 1960 in Lillestrøm) is a former Norwegian football player, a former football agent, and former General Manager and Sporting Director of New York Red Bulls as well as a football commentator for Champions League and national team games on Norwegian TV on a part-time basis. He is educated as a psychologist.

Erik Solér
Personal information
Full name Erik Francisco Solér
Date of birth (1960-08-06) 6 August 1960
Place of birth Lillestrøm, Norway
Height 1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)
Position(s) Right Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1979–1983 Lillestrøm SK 97 (9)
1984 Eik-Tønsberg 8 (2)
1984–1985 Hamburger SV 25 (0)
1986–1987 SK Brann 21 (0)
1987–1988 AGF Aarhus ? (?)
1989–1990 Lillestrøm SK 16 (0)
National team‡
1982–1988 Norway 39 (4)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 4 March 2008
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 4 March 2008

Career

Club

Solér started his career in Lillestrøm, playing as a midfielder the first few years and later as a right back. He left the club for a short stay in Eik-Tønsberg, until he was transferred to the German club Hamburger SV. After one and a half season in HSV, he returned to Norway, signing for SK Brann. In 1988, he became Danish Cup winner playing for AGF Aarhus, scoring a decisive goal in the final against Brøndby IF and Peter Schmeichel. His short stay in Denmark was followed by a second stay in Lillestrøm. Upon his return to Lillestrøm SK he helped the side capture the Norwegian First Division title in 1989, before retiring in 1990.

International

Solér has 39 caps for the Norway national football team. He made his debut with Norway in 1982. He earned his last cap for his country on July 28, 1988 in a famous 1-1 draw in Oslo against Brazil.[1]

Management

In the late 1990s, after ending his career as a player, Erik co-founded International Sports Management (ISM) with Christian Eidem, who he had played with at AGF in Denmark. The company fast became one of Europe´s leading Football Management agencies. he was one of Norway's most important football agents, having Erik Mykland and Steffen Iversen, among others, as clients. He was a co-owner and the board-leader of the Norwegian football club IK Start from 2002 to 2008. During his tenure at IK Start the club won the Norwegian First Division in 2004 and were thus promoted to the Norwegian Premier League. The following season they ended the season with a surprising second place in Norwegian Premier League, just one season after being promoted. For this, Start earned a place in the 2006 UEFA Cup. Despite having several national team players Start was relegated in 2007. Start ran into financial problems and Soler left the club. The local government saved the club from bankruptcy.

On 25 November 2009 Solèr announced that he would be the next General Manager/Sporting Director of the Major League Soccer club New York Red Bulls, it was confirmed by the club on 7 December 2009. During his first year in charge of New York, Solér helped transform the club from a last place team to a title contender, signing players like Roy Miller, Joel Lindpere, Thierry Henry, and Rafael Márquez.

In October 2012, Solèr was relieved of his duties.[2]

Honours

References
  1. http://www.home.no/greenriver/players/soler.html
  2. http://goal.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/02/red-bulls-shake-up-front-office-again-by-ousting-soler
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