Renate Køppen Blindheim (born 17 March 1994) is a Norwegian football manager and former footballer who is currently manager of Norwegian 2. divisjon club Sotra. In June 2020, Blindheim gained attention for being the first female manager to manage a professional Norwegian men's football team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Renate Køppen Blindheim[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 17 March 1994 | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Sotra (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Sandviken | |||
| International career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2009 | Norway U15 | 2 | (0) |
| 2010 | Norway U16 | 1 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2020– | Sotra | ||
Early life
editBlindheim grew up in Bergen and aspired to be a professional footballer from a young age. She represented Norway 3 times at youth level, featuring alongside future Norway senior international players such as Guro Reiten and Caroline Graham Hansen.[2][3] Blindheim struggled with injuries and, at the age of 17, retired from football after a serious foot injury. After this, she decided to focus on coaching her younger sister. Her father was a football manager at the time.[4]
Managerial career
editBlindheim first worked as a youth coach for Gneist and then later for Olsvik. After her spell at Olsvik, she worked as a player development coach at Åsane.[4] It was during this time that she decided to aspire to be a manager in the Eliteserien, the top tier of Norwegian men's football.[2]
On 19 June 2020, it was announced that Blindheim would be the manager of 2. divisjon club Sotra, meaning that she would be the first female manager to take charge of a professional Norwegian men's football team.[5] The news of her appointment led to significant international media coverage of both her and the club.[6][7] After six league games, Sotra were undefeated and at the top of the league table with five victories.[8] Following that spell, however, the team's form worsened and they had one draw and seven losses, meaning that they were seventh in the league.[9]
References
edit- ^ "Renate Blindheim". PlaymakerStats. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
- ^ a b Bløndal, Thomas; Becker, Mia (10 March 2020). "Blindheim (25) vil bli den første kvinnelige treneren i Eliteserien" (in Norwegian). NRK. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
- ^ Renate Blindheim at the Norwegian Football Federation (in Norwegian)
- ^ a b Parzonka, Aleksandra. "Renate Blindheim – "przypadkowa" trenerka z norweskiej wyspy" (in Polish). TVP Sport. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
- ^ Binner, Andrew (21 July 2020). "Renate Blindheim breaks new ground for female football coaches in Norway". Olympic Channel. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
- ^ "Renate Blindheim og Sotra blir omtalt verden over: – Det har vært intenst". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). 31 July 2020. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
- ^ "Blindheim etter historisk kamp: – Det har vært mye oppmerksomhet". Bergens Tidende (in Norwegian). 22 June 2020. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
- ^ Duesund, Tommy (21 August 2020). "Oppturen fortsetter for den historiske kvinnetreneren". Nettavisen (in Norwegian). Retrieved 19 February 2021.
- ^ Tørre, Michael. "Renate Blindheim (26) ble historisk og fikk en drømmestart i Sotra. Nå sliter laget tungt: - Satser på at jeg ikke mister jobben". Nettavisen (in Norwegian). Retrieved 19 February 2021.
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