Ragnvald Soma

Ragnvald Soma (born 10 November 1979) is a Norwegian footballer who plays as a defender for his childhood club Frøyland Idrettslag. He signed for them 02.02.2014 effectively retiring from professional football.

Ragnvald Soma
Personal information
Full name Ragnvald Soma
Date of birth (1979-11-10) 10 November 1979
Place of birth Kvernaland, Norway
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Defender
Club information
Current team
Frøyland Idrettslag
Youth career
Frøyland
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1997–2000 Bryne 99 (5)
2001–2002 West Ham United 7 (0)
2002–2003 Bryne 36 (2)
2004–2005 Brann[1] 52 (1)
2006–2009 Viking[2] 88 (4)
2009–2012 Rapid Vienna 65 (2)
2012–2013 Nordsjælland 1 (0)
2013 Lyngby 8 (1)
2013 Førde
National team
1998–2001 Norway U21 22 (0)
2004–2005 Norway 5 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 31 July 2013

Position

He is primarily a central defender, although he has been both a left back and a defensive midfielder earlier in his career.[3]

Club career

Early career

Soma started his professional career in Bryne FK, amassing 99 league games.

West Ham United

In January 2001 he moved to English Premier League club West Ham United for £800,000. His stay there lasted just over one and a half years, during which Soma made only seven league appearances before returning to Bryne on a free transfer. Whilst at West Ham he played in their 1–0 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford in the 2000–01 FA Cup,[4] coming on as a late substitute for his debut.

Norwegian football

With Bryne relegated at the end of the 2003 season, Soma moved to SK Brann. He became an instant hit, being voted player of the year by several newspapers and becoming a regular in the Norway national team squad. In March 2006 he transferred to Viking for an undisclosed fee believed to be around £500,000, with Brann also getting right back Bjørn Dahl as a part-exchange.

Austria and Denmark

After over three years at Viking, Soma signed for Rapid Vienna on 14 August 2009.[5]

After a spell with the Danish Superliga side Nordsjælland, Soma joined the Danish 1st Division side Lyngby. After his contract with Lyngby expired, he was training with his old club Viking.[6] He played the second half of 2013 for Førde IL.[7]

International career

Soma played 22 matches for the Norwegian under-21 team before he was capped five times while playing for Norway between 2004 and 2005.[8]

Career statistics

Season Club Division League Cup Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
1997 Bryne Adeccoligaen 25000250
1998 24000240
1999 25033283
2000 25510265
2000–01 West Ham Premier League 401050
2001–02 302050
2002 Bryne Tippeligaen 11110121
2003 25130281
2004 Brann 26070330
2005 26140301
2006 Viking 24040280
2007 26150311
2008 18030210
2009 20331234
2009–10 Rapid Wien Bundesliga 33100331
2010–11 32100321
2011–12 14000140
2012–13 Nordsjælland Danish Superliga 100010
2012–13 Lyngby Danish 1st Division 810081
Career Total 3701537440719

References

  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 3 June 2009.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "NIFS – Norsk & Internasjonal Fotballstatistikk". Nifs.no. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
  3. Soma-Zeit in Hütteldorf Archived 28 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  4. "Manchester United 0 West Ham 1". Sporting Life. 28 January 2001. Retrieved 14 August 2009.
  5. "Soma signerte toårskontrakt med Rapid | Aftenbladet.no". Fotball.aftenbladet.no. 14 August 2009. Archived from the original on 25 February 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
  6. Fornes, Fredrik (12 August 2013). "Ragnvald Soma trener med Viking" (in Norwegian). Stavanger Aftenblad. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  7. Iversen, Espen (11 October 2013). "Ingen planer om å gi seg". Rogalands Avis (in Norwegian). p. 21.
  8. "Ragnvald Soma's profil". fotball.no (in Norwegian). Football Association of Norway. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
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