POSILA | Markus Solbakken
The native of Hamar, Norway, started his football career at local club Hamarkameratene. He played for the HamKam first team from the age of 16, and in his first season he celebrated promotion to the second highest competition. In five seasons, he played over 100 competitive matches in the green and white colours.
In January 2021, he moved to Stabæk Fotball, where he experienced the top domestic competition for the first time. The defensive midfielder quickly established himself as a stable member of the starting line-up. However, even he was unable to prevent the club's relegation to the lower leagues, and after 26 league games he changed his destination.
In February 2022, he moved from Oslo to Stavanger, where he signed a four-year contract with Viking FK. Yes, it's the Viking we don't have good memories of. They knocked us out in the second round of the Conference League in July 2022. Solbakken played a full complement of minutes in both games and contributed an assist in the rematch to Viking's surprising advancement to the next stage of the competition.
He spent two seasons in a club from Norway's fourth-largest city, where he was the team's second-best player. He appeared in 54 league games, scoring three goals and adding two assists. In his first season with the Vikings, he reached the semi-finals of the domestic cup.
During his two seasons with Viking, Solbakken was among the top players in the Norwegian league in both runs scored (114) and passes attempted and received. Only three players in the entire league have won more balls in the opponent's half. The 23-year-old midfielder also boasted a 92% passing accuracy.
One of Markus' first games in a red jersey will be in Marbella, Spain, against reigning Norwegian champions FK Bodø/Glimt, to whom he scored a goal in the summer and contributed to one of their four defeats this season.
Solbakken has been through all the youth teams of the Norwegian national team. With the U21 squad, he advanced from the qualifying group to the European Championships hosted by Romania and Georgia last summer.
Three months later, he received his first invitation to the national A-team, where he met Erling Haaland and Martin Ødegaard, among others. Solbakken debuted in the preliminary match against Jordan, against whom he came on for the final half hour and was there for the 6-0 victory.
The head coach of the Norwegian national team is Markus' father Ståle. He previously managed F.C. København, where he won nine championship titles. In the 2016/17 season, his former assistant coach - Brian Priske - also enjoyed a triumph with him.
Markus, welcome to Sparta. May you thrive in the most beautiful jersey! Lykke til.
