COLOSSEUM KINO (Dagbladet): Egil “Drillo” Olsen (80) is positive about what is happening with the national football team under Ståle Solbakken. But one thing is absolutely certain:
The 80-year-old does not believe current or future coaches will manage what he has achieved in the FIFA rankings.
In both September 1993 and October 1995, Norway took second place in the standings of all national teams in the world. Only Brazil was at the fore.
I don’t think we will be second in the FIFA rankings again. At least not as long as I lived, says Drillo, who turned 80 on Friday.
Premiere: “Everything for Norway” premiered at the Colosseum Cinema in Oslo on Friday. Eagle “Drillo” Olsen came with his wife Sigrun Wiedelden and daughter Ken. Photo: Tori Ulrich Bratland
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He is currently working on the movie “Everything for Norway”, which deals with his success as a coach for the national team in the 1990s. Norway has reached the World Cup finals twice, in 1994 and 1998.
Since 2000, Norway has not participated in any playoff matches. Today, the team is ranked 41 in the FIFA rankings.
Solbakken is proud of the fact that Norway will reach the finals of the European Championship in 2024. If that does not happen, it is likely that he and the FA will separate the two teams.
The man at the players level: Ståle Solbakken will try to create new and unforgettable moments with the national football team. Photo: Stian Lysberg Solum / NTB
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“I have recorded that many do not know how good we got in the end,” Drillo says of his age.
– I usually use an example from 1991. We lost three games in a row at the Olival Stadium. But after that, we did not lose a single match in Olival in 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998. The next match we lost was at home with Dreilos in 2010.
– Make rocking horses
The “gap” is due to the fact that he coached Norway for two periods – from 1990 to 1998 and from 2009 to 2013. The second period was not as successful as the first.
But:
– I have a good record. It feels good to relive the movie, which is now showing in cinemas, Drilo says.
The film also shows the slowdown, disappointments, and all the criticism that came after the 1994 World Cup in the United States, he said.
The 2-1 win over Brazil at the 1998 World Cup was for many a highlight under Drilo. Norway rocked a magical summer evening 24 years ago.
Drillo himself says:
The highlight was when we qualified for the World Cup in the United States. We had Holland, England, Turkey and Poland in the group. We won it, which is unrealistic.
Drillo is a leading voice around the national team even today. TV 2 editor Vegard Jansen Hagen recently told Dagbladet that he can be an expert for as long as he wants.
The League of Nations begins in June. Norway meets with Serbia, Sweden and Slovenia.
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