Henning_Berg

Henning Berg

Henning Stille Berg (born 1 September 1969 in Eidsvoll) is a former Norwegian football player. He played as a central defender or right-back. He is currently the manager of FC Lyn Oslo, but in 2009 he will join Lillestrøm SK.

Club career

Before coming to England, he played at Vålerenga IF and Lillestrøm SK. He had a trial at Manchester United in 1987, but was unable to sign a contract with the club after failing to obtain a work permit.

He moved to Blackburn Rovers for £400,000 in the first Premier League season (1992-93) and soon made the right-back position his own in the Rovers side. Berg played a vital role in Blackburn's successful title-winning season in 1994-95 missing only two games throughout the season. His versatility (he was also a competent centre-back0 and consistent performances earned him a move to Manchester United in 1997 for a fee of £5 million - at the time the joint highest fee ever paid for a defender by a British club.

While at Manchester United, he helped the club two league titles (1999 and 2000), one FA Cup in 1999 and one UEFA Champions League title in 1999; part of the famous Treble winning 1999 side. He scored three goals while at the club and is particularly fondly remembered for an outstanding display against Inter Milan in the quarter-finals of United's Champions League winning season.

Berg was a regular choice in the United line-up in season 1997-98. He was restricted to just 16 Premier League games in 1998-99 following the arrival of Jaap Stam, only to regain his place in the side during 1999-2000 when Ronny Johnsen was injured.

He re-joined Blackburn in September 2000, initially on loan for 3 months, before securing a permanent transfer. Further success followed for Berg, with Rovers being promoted back to the Premier League in 2001. The following season, Blackburn won the League Cup with Berg lifting the trophy as captain.

Berg later moved on from Blackburn and had a season at the Scottish club Rangers in 2003-04 where he helped them to second place in the Scottish Premier League behind runaway champions Celtic.

He is the only player to have won the English Premier League with two different clubs, Blackburn in 1995 and Manchester United in 1999 and 2000.

International career

At international level, Berg was part of the Norwegian national team at the 1994 and 1998 FIFA World Cups, as well as Euro 2000. He made his debut for Norway in a May 1992 friendly match against the Faroe Islands and earned a total of 100 caps, scoring 9 goals. His final international match was a May 2004 friendly game against Wales in which he was substituted early on by Claus Lundekvam to mark the end of his Norway career.

Management career

Football Club Lyn Oslo

22 April 2005, Berg was appointed manager of FC Lyn, at the age of 35. Berg signed a four-year contract with the Oslo side. Berg made his debut for Lyn against Start two days later, getting a 1-1 draw, followed up by winning 6-1 against Molde the next week. Lyn finished 3rd that season.

On 19 August 2008, Lyn announced that Berg had accepted an offer from Lillestrøm, where he played during the 1992 season of Tippeligaen. Henning Berg signed a five-year contract with Lillestrøm, and will start his new job on 1 January 2009.