Markus Solbakken (born 25 July 2000) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Italian Serie B club Pisa on loan from Sparta Prague, and the Norway national team.
Club career
He is a son of Ståle Solbakken. While his father was a football player and later manager, mostly abroad,[2] the family settled in Hamar and Solbakken came through the youth ranks of Hamarkameratene. He made his senior debut in 2016 and was a prolific Norway youth international, making his debut for Norway U21 at the age of 18. In the 2020 1. divisjon he passed the mark of 100 league games for Hamkam.[3]
Ahead of the 2021 season he was bought by Stabæk.[4] He made his Eliteserien debut in May 2021 against Haugesund.[3] After Stabæk were relegated, Solbakken transferred to Viking in February 2022. He signed a four-year contract with the club.[5]
On 9 January 2024, Solbakken signed a multi-year contract with Czech First League club Sparta Prague.[6]
On 22 January 2025, Solbakken joined Serie B club Pisa on a half-year loan deal with option to make transfer permanent.[7]
International career
In August 2023, Solbakken received his first call-up to the Norway senior national team by his father and head coach Ståle Solbakken, for a friendly match against Jordan and a UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying match against Georgia.[8] He debuted during the former match on 12 September, coming on as a substitute in the 61st minute.[9]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 15 December 2024[3]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| HamKam | 2016 | 2. divisjon | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 2. divisjon | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 24 | 0 | ||
| 2018 | 1. divisjon | 25 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 28 | 0 | ||
| 2019 | 1. divisjon | 27 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 29 | 1 | ||
| 2020 | 1. divisjon | 26 | 2 | — | — | 26 | 2 | |||
| Total | 110 | 3 | 6 | 0 | — | 116 | 3 | |||
| Stabæk | 2021 | Eliteserien | 26 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 28 | 1 | |
| Viking | 2022 | Eliteserien | 27 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 6[b] | 0 | 38 | 1 |
| 2023 | Eliteserien | 27 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | 30 | 2 | ||
| Total | 54 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 68 | 3 | ||
| Sparta Prague | 2023–24 | Czech First League | 12 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3[c] | 0 | 18 | 0 |
| 2024–25 | Czech First League | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7[d] | 0 | 21 | 1 | |
| Total | 25 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 39 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 215 | 8 | 20 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 251 | 8 | ||
- ^ Includes Norwegian Cup, Czech Cup
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
International
- As of 7 September 2023
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norway | 2023 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 1 | 0 | |
Honours
Club
Sparta Prague
References
- ^ a b Markus Solbakken at WorldFootball.net
- ^ "Markus Solbakken (20): Jeg vil helst ikke spille under pappa". TV 2. 5 December 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
- ^ a b c Markus Solbakken at the Norwegian Football Federation (in Norwegian)
- ^ "Solbakken: Landet tidlig på at Stabæk var det rette valget". Stabæk Fotball (in Norwegian). 16 December 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
- ^ "Her er Vikings nye midtbanesjef: Dette er noe jeg virkelig vil". Stavanger Aftenblad (in Norwegian). 7 February 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
- ^ "Spartu posílí Markus Solbakken". AC Sparta Prague (in Czech). 9 January 2024. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
- ^ Novák, Miloslav (22 January 2025). "Rok a ciao. Sparťan Solbakken odešel do Itálie, v Pise bude zatím hostovat". iDNES.cz (in Czech). Mafra. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
- ^ "Norges tropp mot Jordan og Georgia" [Norway's squad against Jordan and Georgia]. Norwegian Football Federation (in Norwegian). 29 August 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
- ^ Cederblad, Christian August (12 September 2023). "Pappa-beskjed: "La på litt"". Dagbladet (in Norwegian).
- ^ "SESTŘIH: Boleslav - Sparta 0:5. Titul pro Letenské! Kuchta dal čtyři góly". Blesk (in Czech). Czech News Center. Czech News Agency. 18 May 2024. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ^ Neumann, Robert (22 May 2024). "Sparta slaví double! Triumf v nervózním finále trefil Birmančevič". Sport.cz (in Czech). Borgis. Retrieved 23 May 2024.