Tore André Flo

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tore André Flo
Personal information
Full name Tore André Flo
Date of birth 15 June 1973 (1973-06-15) (age 34)
Place of birth    Stryn, Norway
Height 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Playing position Striker (Retired)
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1993-1994
1995
1996-1997
1997-2000
2000-2002
2002-2003
2003-2005
2005-2006
2007-2008		 Sogndal
Tromsø
Brann
Chelsea
Rangers
Sunderland
Siena
Vålerenga
Leeds United
Total		 044 0(21)
026 0(18)
040 0(28)
169 0(50)
053 0(29)
029 00(4)
063 0(13)
024 00(4)
023 00(4)
471 (138)   
National team2
1995-2004 Norway 076 0(23)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 11:14, 12 March 2008 (UTC).
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of 11:14, 12 March 2008 (UTC).
* Appearances (Goals)

Tore André Flo (born 15 June 1973 in Stryn) is a former Norwegian footballer, who retired from football at the age of 34. He used to play as a striker. His brothers Jostein Flo and Jarle Flo, and cousin Håvard Flo are also professional footballers.

Contents

[edit] Playing career

[edit] Early years

Flo started his career with his local amateur club Stryn. In 1993, he moved to Sogndal, playing with his brothers Jostein and Jarle. When Sogndal was relegated from the Norwegian Premier League in 1994, Flo was transferred to Tromsø.

In Tromsø, Flo became a success: he scored 18 goals in the 1995-season, and was the club's top goalscorer. His performances in that season culminated in Flo making his debut for the Norwegian national team.

Flo moved to Bergen in 1996 to play for Brann. He continued to play well, and scored 28 goals during his stay there. During his years in Brann, Flo arguably became one of Norway's best attackers.

In the first half of the 1997 season, however, he was not considered a great success by most of the Brann fans, perhaps because his mind was already in Chelsea, which he signed for under disputed circumstances. He did, however, score a hat-trick in his last game for Brann before leaving for Chelsea.

[edit] Chelsea

Flo was bought for the relatively small fee of £300,000 ($540,000) by the English Premier League team Chelsea in the summer of 1997. Flo would have become a Bosman player at the end of the year, which influenced the small transfer fee. This being one of the first Bosman incidents in Norway, Flo was looked upon as a traitor by the Bergen fans, who felt the fee was far too small, compared to the player's real value[citation needed]. Everton had made a bid of around tenfold, but then Everton manager Joe Royle fell out with his boardroom over the proposed transfer and shortly afterwards resigned. Also, the leaders of economically struggling S.K. Brann claimed to have a gentlemen's agreement with Flo that he should not exploit his Bosman status in a transfer, although it is rare that exploiting one's Bosman status in this manner raises controversy in more recent times[citation needed].

Flo made his debut for Chelsea against Coventry City, and scored in a 2-1 loss for his side. He scored 15 goals in his debut season for Chelsea, including a hat-trick in a 6-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane and two in a 6-2 win over Crystal Palace as Chelsea finished 4th in the FA Premier League and won the League Cup and the Cup Winners' Cup. Flo made a particularly important contribution in the latter tournament, hitting two away goals against Real Betis in the quarter-finals.

A year later, as Chelsea challenged for the title, Flo hit ten league goals, but constantly found his playing opportunities limited by manager Gianluca Vialli's squad rotation policy and the signing of Italian striker Pierluigi Casiraghi. The Blues eventually finished 3rd, high enough for their first ever UEFA Champions League qualification. Flo scored 19 goals in the 1999-00 season, making him Chelsea's top scorer and helping the club win the FA Cup and reach the Champions League quarter-finals, where he scored twice in a 3-1 win over FC Barcelona at Stamford Bridge. He scored another at the Camp Nou in the return game against Barca, though the team ultimately lost 5-1. By the start of the 2000-01 season, Chelsea had signed strikers Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Eiður Guðjohnsen, again forcing Flo onto the substitutes' bench, and he requested a move away. He made 163 appearances for Chelsea (69 of which were as a substitute) and scored 50 goals.

[edit] Rangers

In November 2000 Flo was sold to Scottish Premier team Glasgow Rangers, in a record £12 million deal ($21 million US dollars), making Flo the most expensive Norwegian player ever, the most expensive SPL signing ever and Chelsea's most expensive sale[1] before the sale of Arjen Robben in 2007.

Flo scored on his debut in a 5-1 thrashing of Rangers' arch rival Celtic, and hit 18 goals in 30 SPL games, but in general Flo was not considered a success in Scotland mainly due to the price tag and his goals to games ratio.

[edit] Sunderland

He was sold to Sunderland on transfer deadline day at the beginning of the 2002-03 season. Flo's arrival was announced alongside fellow striker Marcus Stewart, and the total cost of the transfers were declared as £10m. The individual prices were not made clear by Sunderland, although a figure of £8.2 million for Flo was widely quoted by the media[2]. Sunderland have sinced confirmed that he was bought for £12.5 million,[3] making him Sunderland's second most expensive purchase. Sunderland's manager Peter Reid had been under-fire throughout pre-season for his failure to buy a big-name striker to replace Niall Quinn. The relatively high price-tag for a player who was struggling in Scotland, and the late hour of his signing led many fans[4], and pundits including former legend Jimmy Montgomery [5] to believe that Flo was a deadline-day panic buy. Once again he scored in his debut match, a 1-1 draw with Manchester United.

It was clear by Sunderland's tactics that Reid expected Flo to slot into Quinn's role as a tall target-man for long-balls. It was not a role he was comfortable with, and he struggled to form a partnership with fellow striker Kevin Phillips. When Reid was sacked in November and replaced by Howard Wilkinson, Flo immediately fell out of favour - failing to make the bench for Wilkinson's first game - as Wilkinson publicly called into question the Norwegian's fitness[6]. Flo managed to work his way back into the first-team until Wilkinson's dismissal in March. His successor, Mick McCarthy failed to give Flo 90 minutes of football in any of the remaining nine games of the season.

In 33 appearances for Sunderland Flo scored only 6 times (4 in the league), finishing only 11 of the 23 league games he started. Sunderland were relegated to the First Division, and with massive debts were forced to sell or release most players on high wages. Flo played one League Cup game in the 2003-04 season, but soon after he was released by Sunderland, after only one disastrous season.

[edit] Siena

Flo then tried his luck in Italy, joining newly-promoted Serie A team Siena in 2003. Flo played for Siena for two seasons, becoming a success in Italian football and helping the club establish themselves in the top division for the first time. He was ever-present and scored eight goals in 2003/04. He score five goals from 17 starts, and 5 appearances as substitute in 2004/5.

 Please help improve this section by expanding it.
Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion.


[edit] Return to Norway

Flo's wife and children found it difficult living in Southern Europe, and wanted him to return to the United Kingdom. Flo was close to signing for QPR, but decided to go back to Norway.

Flo signed for the ambitious club Vålerenga from Oslo in July 2005. He was contracted to the club until the end of the 2006 season. His stay at Vålerenga was hampered by numerous injuries that prevented him of making a serious impact. Vålerenga did not offer him a new contract at the end of the season, leaving Flo free to sign with other clubs.

[edit] Leeds United

Tore André Flo's goal against Brazil in the 1998 World Cup
Tore André Flo's goal against Brazil in the 1998 World Cup

On 3 January 2007, Leeds United confirmed their signing of Flo, with a contract lasting till the end of the 2006-07 Championship season. The contract had the option of extending further into the future. He will be paid £6,000 per week, with a £1,000 bonus for every goal scored[7]. It was manager Dennis Wise that was one of the main influences of attracting Flo to Leeds United as they were once team mates at Chelsea. Flo made his away debut as a substitute for the Yorkshire outfit in Leeds' 3-1 defeat to West Bromwich Albion in the FA Cup. A week later Flo scored his first goal for Leeds against the same opposition after 8 minutes with a towering header in a league match which ended in a 3-2 defeat. Subsequent injury prevented Flo from playing any significant part during the rest of the season. Flo was believed to be set to leave Leeds due to a clause in his contract[8], but Leeds have now signed Flo with an initial one year contract to help their 2007-08 League One campaign. He only managed to score a disappointing 3 times in the League during the season(2007-2008) all in sub appearances.[9]. Flo was sponsored by famous Leeds fans the Kaiser Chiefs. Flo had previously admitted that Leeds would probably be his last club before retirement. He turned into somewhat of a fans favorite without playing that much for Leeds.[10]

[edit] Norway national team

Flo made 76 appearances for the Norwegian national team and made his debut in a 0-0 draw with England. He scored 23 goals, making him Norway's joint-4th highest goalscorer, along with Ole Gunnar Solskjær[11]. He gained the nickname Flonaldo (an obvious pun on Ronaldo, one of the world's best strikers) when Norway beat Brazil 4-2 in a friendly match[12]. Flo played for Norway at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, scoring a goal in a 2-1 win over holders Brazil as they reached the second round. Flo chose to retire from international football in 2004, deciding to prioritise his family.

[edit] Retirement

On the 11th March 2008, Flo announced his retirement from football.[13]

[edit] Career statistics

Club Performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Norway League Norwegian Football Cup League Cup Europe Total
1993 Sogndal First Division 22 16
1994 Premier League 22 5
1995 Tromsø Premier League 26 18
1996 Brann Premier League 24 19
1997 16 9
England League FA Cup Football League Cup Europe Total
1997-98 Chelsea Premier League 34 11
1998-99 30 10
1999-00 34 10
2000-01 14 3
Scotland League Scottish Cup Scottish League Cup Europe Total
2000-01 Rangers Premier League 19 11
2001-02 30 18
2002-03 4 0
England League FA Cup Football League Cup Europe Total
2002-03 Sunderland Premier League 29 4
Italy League Coppa Italia League Cup Europe Total
2003-04 Siena Serie A 33 8
2004-05 30 5
Norway League Norwegian Football Cup League Cup Europe Total
2005 Vålerenga Premier League 8 0
2006 16 4
England League FA Cup Football League Cup Europe Total
2006-07 Leeds United Championship 1 1
2007-08 League One 22 3
Total Norway 134 71
England 164 42
Scotland 53 29
Italy 63 13
Career Total 414 155

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ "Flo goes to Rangers", BBC, 2000-11-23. Retrieved on 2007-01-04. 
  2. ^ Guy Hodgson. "Keane faces wrath of FA", The Independent, 2002-09-01. Retrieved on 2007-01-04. 
  3. ^ Past Players (D-G). safc.com. Retrieved on 2007-01-04.
  4. ^ Road to Perdition. A Love Supreme SAFC fanzine. Retrieved on 2007-01-04.
  5. ^ "McCarthy confident despite relegation", RTÉ Sport, 2003-04-14. Retrieved on 2007-01-07. 
  6. ^ "Wilkinson warns Flo", BBC Sport, 2002-10-20. Retrieved on 2007-01-04. 
  7. ^ Andy Bull. "Wednesday's rumours", The Guardian, 2007-01-03. Retrieved on 2007-01-04. 
  8. ^ Kent Hedlundh. "Flo set for Leeds exit", Sky Sports, 2007-05-01. Retrieved on 2007-06-22. 
  9. ^ Mark Buckingham. "Whites plan to keep Flo", Sky Sports, 2007-06-10. Retrieved on 2007-06-22. 
  10. ^ Mark Buckingham. "Flo out to repay Leeds", Sky Sports, 2007-08-20. Retrieved on 2007-08-20. 
  11. ^ Norway - Record International Players. RSSSF. Retrieved on 2007-01-04.
  12. ^ Christopher Davies. "Lone striker Flo earns praise for eclipsing Ronaldo", The Daily Telegraph, 1998-06-25. Retrieved on 2007-01-04. 
  13. ^ "- Det føles veldig riktig å gi seg nå", Dagbladet, 2008-03-11. Retrieved on 2008-03-12. 

[edit] References

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Norway squad - 1998 FIFA World Cup
1 Grodås • 2 Halle • 3 Johnsen • 4 Berg • 5 Bjørnebye • 6 Solbakken • 7 Mykland • 8 Leonhardsen • 9 T. Flo • 10 Rekdal • 11 Jakobsen • 12 Myhre • 13 Baardsen • 14 Heggem • 15 Eggen • 16 J. Flo • 17 H. Flo • 18 Østenstad • 19 Hoftun • 20 Solskjær • 21 Riseth • 22 Strand • Coach: Olsen
 Flag of Norway
v • d • e
Norway squad - UEFA Euro 2000
1 Myhre • 2 Bergdølmo • 3 Bragstad • 4 Berg • 5 Andersen • 6 Strand • 7 Mykland • 8 Solbakken • 9 T. Flo • 10 Rekdal • 11 Skammelsrud • 12 Olsen • 13 M. Bakke • 14 Heggem • 15 Riise • 16 Eggen • 17 Carew • 18 Iversen • 19 E. Bakke • 20 Solskjær • 21 Riseth • 22 Bjørnebye • Coach: Semb
 Flag of Norway


Persondata
NAME Flo, Tore André
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Flo, Tore André
SHORT DESCRIPTION footballer
DATE OF BIRTH 1973-6-15
PLACE OF BIRTH Stryn, Norway
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH