Ragnvald_Soma
Ragnvald Soma
Norwegian footballer (born 1979)
Ragnvald Soma (born 10 November 1979) is a Norwegian former footballer who played as a defender for his childhood club Frøyland Idrettslag. He signed for them 02.02.2014 effectively retiring from professional football.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ragnvald Soma | ||
| Date of birth | (1979-11-10) 10 November 1979 (age 44) | ||
| Place of birth | Kvernaland, Norway | ||
| Height | 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Team 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 | ||
| International career | |||
| 1998–2001 | Norway U21 | 22 | (0) |
| 2004–2005 | Norway | 5 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 31 July 2013 | |||
He was primarily a central defender, although he had been both a left back and a defensive midfielder earlier in his career.[3]
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[citation needed] and becoming a regular in the Norway national team. 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]
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]
| Season | Club | Division | League | Cup | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| 1997 | Bryne | Adeccoligaen | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 0 |
| 1998 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 | ||
| 1999 | 25 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 28 | 3 | ||
| 2000 | 25 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 5 | ||
| 2000–01 | West Ham | Premier League | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 2001–02 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 2002 | Bryne | Tippeligaen | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 1 |
| 2003 | 25 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 28 | 1 | ||
| 2004 | Brann | 26 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 33 | 0 | |
| 2005 | 26 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 30 | 1 | ||
| 2006 | Viking | 24 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 28 | 0 | |
| 2007 | 26 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 31 | 1 | ||
| 2008 | 18 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 21 | 0 | ||
| 2009 | 20 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 23 | 4 | ||
| 2009–10 | Rapid Wien | Bundesliga | 33 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 1 |
| 2010–11 | 32 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 1 | ||
| 2011–12 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 | Nordsjælland | Danish Superliga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2012–13 | Lyngby | Danish 1st Division | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
| Career Total | 370 | 15 | 37 | 4 | 407 | 19 | ||
- "Sportsklubben Brann – Ekte lidenskap har et navn". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 3 June 2009.
- "NIFS – Norsk & Internasjonal Fotballstatistikk". Nifs.no. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
- Soma-Zeit in Hütteldorf Archived 28 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- "Manchester United 0 West Ham 1". Sporting Life. 28 January 2001. Retrieved 14 August 2009.
- "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.
- Fornes, Fredrik (12 August 2013). "Ragnvald Soma trener med Viking" (in Norwegian). Stavanger Aftenblad. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
- Iversen, Espen (11 October 2013). "Ingen planer om å gi seg". Rogalands Avis (in Norwegian). p. 21.
- "Ragnvald Soma's profil". fotball.no (in Norwegian). Football Association of Norway. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
- Profile at Viking official webpage at the Wayback Machine (archived 2011-06-10)
- Ragnvald Soma at Soccerbase
- Ragnvald Soma at National-Football-Teams.com
- rogalandsavis.no
