Markus Solbakken

Markus Solbakken

Personal information
Date of birth	(2000-07-25) 25 July 2000 (age 24)
Place of birth	Hamar, Norway [1]
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) [1]
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Pisa (on loan from Sparta Prague)
Number	21
Youth career
0000–2015	HamKam
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2016–2020	HamKam	110	(3)
2021–2022	Stabæk	26	(1)
2022–2024	Viking	54	(3)
2024–	Sparta Prague	25	(1)
2025–	→ Pisa (loan)	1	(0)
International career‡
2016	Norway U16	4	(0)
2017	Norway U17	2	(0)
2018	Norway U18	13	(0)
2019	Norway U19	7	(2)
2018–2023	Norway U21	8	(0)
2023–	Norway	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17 February 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 29 August 2024

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]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

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

1. Includes Norwegian Cup, Czech Cup
2. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
4. Appearances in UEFA Champions League

International

As of 7 September 2023

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Norway	2023	1	0
Total		1	0

Honours

Club

Sparta Prague

• Czech First League: 2023–24 ^[10]
• Czech Cup: 2023–24 ^[11]

References

1. Markus Solbakken at WorldFootball.net
2. "Markus Solbakken (20): Jeg vil helst ikke spille under pappa". TV 2 . 5 December 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
3. Markus Solbakken at the Norwegian Football Federation (in Norwegian)
4. "Solbakken: Landet tidlig på at Stabæk var det rette valget". Stabæk Fotball (in Norwegian). 16 December 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
5. "Her er Vikings nye midtbanesjef: Dette er noe jeg virkelig vil". Stavanger Aftenblad (in Norwegian). 7 February 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
6. "Spartu posílí Markus Solbakken". AC Sparta Prague (in Czech). 9 January 2024. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
7. 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.
8. "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.
9. Cederblad, Christian August (12 September 2023). "Pappa-beskjed: "La på litt"". Dagbladet (in Norwegian).
10. "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.
11. Neumann, Robert (22 May 2024). "Sparta slaví double! Triumf v nervózním finále trefil Birmančevič". Sport.cz (in Czech). Borgis. Retrieved 23 May 2024.