Ken Remi Stefan Strandberg (born 25 July 1990) is a former Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a defender.
Hailing from Lyngdal Municipality, Strandberg started his senior career for Mandalskameratene before he moved to Vålerenga in 2009. After three seasons with the Oslo-based club, he joined Rosenborg ahead of the 2012 season.
Strandberg has represented Norway from under-15 to senior level, and was the captain of the under-21 team that got a bronze medal in the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship. He was also picked for team of the tournament, with the likes of; David de Gea, Alberto Moreno, Marc Bartra, Asier Illarramendi, Isco, Koke, Thiago Alcântara, Marco Verratti, Álvaro Morata, Fabio Borini and Luuk de Jong.
Club career Strandberg was born in Lyngdal Municipality and played for Lyngdal IL until he moved to Mandalskameratene in 2006 where he made his debut for the senior team at the age of 15. He played three seasons for Mandalskameratene, and made eight appearances in the First Division when the club had a spell in the second-tier league in 2007.
Strandberg signed a four-year contract with the Tippeligaen side Vålerenga in January 2009. He was loaned out to Bryne FK in July 2009, as a replacement for the injured Christian Gauseth. Bryne leier VIF-spiller Aftenbladet.no Strandberg played four matches for the First Division side during the summer, before he returned to Vålerenga. He made his Tippeligaen-debut on 12 September 2009 when he replaced Mohammed Fellah 11 minutes before full-time in the match against Fredrikstad. He has previously had trials with clubs such as; Derby, Portsmouth and VfB Stuttgart. Drømmen som går i oppfyllelse VIF-Fotball.no Vålerenga sold Strandberg, who had one year left of his contract, to their rivals Rosenborg ahead of the 2012 season.
On 26 August 2016, he joined Hannover 96 on loan from FC Krasnodar for the rest of the 2016–17 season.
On 17 January 2019, he joined another Russian club FC Ural Yekaterinburg on loan until the end of the 2018–19 season.
On 13 December 2019, he joined Italian Serie B club Trapani until the end of the 2019–20 season.
On 1 September 2020, he returned to Ural Yekaterinburg. He left Ural on 8 June 2021 as his contract expired.
On 23 July 2021, he signed a one-year contract with Italian club Salernitana. If certain performance conditions were met, the contract would be automatically renewed for another year.
International career Strandberg first represented his country at under-15 level, where he played two matches in 2005. The following year, he played three matches for the under-16 team. He scored one goal in the matches for the under-18 team in 2008, before he played four matches for the under-19 team the next year. He made his debut for the under-21 team when he replaced Harmeet Singh after 78 minutes in the match against Hungary U21 on 28 May 2010. He later became a regular on the under-21 team, and was the captain of the team that qualified for the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship.
Strandberg was called up for the Norwegian squad for the 2012 King's Cup, but had to withdraw due to an injury and was replaced by Thomas Drage. Strandberg was also called up for senior squad for the friendly matches against South Africa and Zambia in January 2013, but had to withdraw from the squad due to a surgery in the hip.
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational CupContinentalTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsMandalskameratene20062. Division20230–2322007Adeccoligaen8000–8020082. Division4020–80Total3225000372Vålerenga2009Tippeligaen5020–70201028110–29120112612140322Total5925140683Bryne (loan)2009Adeccoligaen4000–40Rosenborg2012Tippeligaen232311003632013231602031120142012050271201513020–150Total7941311701095Krasnodar2015–16Russian Premier League15000802302016–17100020302017–180000–00Total16000100260Hannover 96 (loan)2016–172. Bundesliga12010–130 Ural (loan)2018–19Russian Premier League10030–130Trapani 2019–20Serie B12000–120Ural 2020–21Russian Premier League17110–181Salernitana 2021–22Serie A11010–120Vålerenga 2022Eliteserien6100–61202320310–214Total2641000274Career total2741333231033515
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsNorway2013102014202015102016602017102018002019002020302021101202260202370Total361
Scores and results list Norway's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Strandberg goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Stefan StrandbergNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 6 June 2021 La Rosaleda Stadium, Málaga, Spain 1–2 1–2 Friendly
Honours Individual UEFA U-21 Championship Team of the Tournament: 2013
References
External links
Profile at VIF-Fotball.no