Sander Berge

Sander Berge

Berge training with Genk in 2019
Personal information
Full name	Sander Gard Bolin Berge [1]
Date of birth	(1998-02-14) 14 February 1998 (age 26) [2]
Place of birth	Bærum, Norway
Height	1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) [3]
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team	Burnley
Number	16
Youth career
	Asker
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2013–2014	Asker 2	15	(0)
2013–2014	Asker	8	(0)
2015	Vålerenga 2	11	(0)
2015–2017	Vålerenga	36	(0)
2017–2020	Genk	84	(4)
2020–2023	Sheffield United	97	(13)
2023–	Burnley	28	(1)
International career‡
2013	Norway U15	4	(1)
2014	Norway U16	8	(4)
2015	Norway U17	4	(0)
2015–2016	Norway U18	6	(0)
2016	Norway U19	1	(0)
2016	Norway U21	2	(0)
2017–	Norway	44	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:17, 16 March 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:05, 26 March 2024 (UTC)

Sander Gard Bolin Berge (born 14 February 1998) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Premier League club Burnley and the Norway national team. Berge is a product of Asker's youth academy.

Club career

Early career

Berge was born in Bærum, Viken. ^[4] He started his career playing youth football for Asker Fotball, making his senior debut in the end of the 2013 season for the team then playing in the Norwegian 2. divisjon. He joined top flight team Vålerenga before the 2015 season and made his debut at the age of 17, scoring the opening goal of an 8–0 win over Lokomotiv Oslo in the first round of the Norwegian Cup. ^[5]

Berge made his league debut for Vålerenga as a substitute against Sandefjord on 11 July 2015 and his first league start against Rosenborg on 16 August. ^[6] He became established as a regular starter in the 2016 season and was named as the Norwegian league's young player of the year. ^[7]

On 2 January 2017, he signed a four-year contract with K.R.C. Genk. He made his first team league debut on 21 January as a substitute in the 0–1 win away against Eupen. He earned his first start and full match against Royal Excel Mouscron on 17 February in a 1–0 win at home, becoming an integral part of the team for the remaining season, which included an impressive run in the Europa League, ending in the quarter finals against Celta Vigo. ^[8]

During the 2018–19 season, Berge made 28 appearances as Genk won the Belgian championship. ^[9]

Berge made his UEFA Champions League debut in a 6–2 loss to RB Salzburg on 17 September 2019. ^[10] On 30 December, he was named by UEFA in the Champions League breakthrough team for 2019. ^[11]

Sheffield United

On 30 January 2020, Berge signed for Premier League club Sheffield United, becoming the club's record signing. ^{[12] [13]} He joined on a four-and-a-half year contract. ^[14] On 2 July 2020, Berge scored his first goal for Sheffield United in a 3–1 win against Tottenham Hotspur. ^[15]

On 17 December 2020, Berge suffered an injury in a 3–2 loss to Manchester United ^[16] which led to him missing the majority of the 2020–21 Premier League season as Sheffield United were relegated to the EFL Championship. ^[17]

During the 2022–23 season, Berge contributed six goals as Sheffield United were promoted back to the Premier League. ^[18]

Burnley

On 9 August 2023, Berge signed for Premier League club Burnley. ^[19] Two days later, he made his debut for the team in their 3–0 loss to Manchester City in the opening game of the 2023–24 season. ^[20] His first goal for the club came in a 4–0 EFL Cup win over Salford City on 26 September 2023. ^[21]

Berge scored his first Premier League goal for Burnley in a 2–0 win at Fulham on 23 December 2023. ^[22]

International career

Berge made his debut for Norway when he played for the under-15 team against Canada U15 on 2 May 2013. He has since represented Norway at every level up to the senior national team. He made his senior international debut on 23 March 2017, aged 19, coming on as a substitute in the 76th minute of the Euro-qualifier against Northern Ireland. ^[23]

On 5 September 2019, Berge scored his first senior international goal in the 34th minute of a game against Malta in the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying rounds. ^[24]

Personal life

Berge comes from a basketball-playing family, with his father, Swedish mother and older brother all having played basketball at international level. His brother has also played for top flight teams Centrum Tigers and Asker Aliens. ^{[25] [26]} Berge is also the grandson of Ragnar Berge, who played as a left-back for Vålerenga from 1945 until 1957, and was capped once by Norway (in 1955). ^{[27] [28]}

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 16 March 2024

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup [lower-alpha 1]		League cup [lower-alpha 2]		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Asker 2	2013 [1]	3. divisjon	10	0	—		—		—		—		10	0
	2014 [1]	3. divisjon	5	0	—		—		—		—		5	0
	Total		15	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	15	0
Asker	2013 [1]	2. divisjon	1	0	0	0	—		—		—		1	0
	2014 [1]	2. divisjon	7	0	1	0	—		—		—		8	0
	Total		8	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	0
Vålerenga 2	2015 [1]	2. divisjon	11	0	—		—		—		—		11	0
Vålerenga	2015 [1]	Tippeligaen	11	0	2	1	—		—		—		13	1
	2016 [1]	Tippeligaen	25	0	5	0	—		—		—		30	0
	Total		36	0	7	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	43	1
Genk	2016–17 [4]	Belgian Pro League	19	0	2	0	—		6 [lower-alpha 3]	0	—		27	0
	2017–18 [4]	Belgian Pro League	14	0	1	0	—		—		—		15	0
	2018–19 [4]	Belgian Pro League	28	0	2	0	—		10 [lower-alpha 3]	2	—		40	2
	2019–20 [4]	Belgian Pro League	23	4	1	0	—		6 [lower-alpha 4]	0	1 [lower-alpha 5]	0	30	4
	Total		84	4	6	0	0	0	22	2	1	0	113	6
Sheffield United	2019–20 [29]	Premier League	14	1	2	0	—		—		—		16	1
	2020–21 [30]	Premier League	15	1	0	0	1	0	—		—		16	1
	2021–22 [31]	Championship	31	5	1	0	0	0	—		2 [lower-alpha 6]	1	34	6
	2022–23 [32]	Championship	37	6	5	1	1	0	—		—		43	7
	Total		97	13	8	1	2	0	0	0	2	1	109	15
Burnley	2023–24 [33]	Premier League	28	1	0	0	3	1	—		—		31	2
Career total			279	18	21	2	5	1	22	2	3	1	331	24

1. Includes Norwegian Cup, Belgian Cup, FA Cup
2. Includes EFL Cup
3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
4. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
5. Appearance in Belgian Super Cup
6. Appearance in Championship play-offs

International

As of match played 26 March 2024 ^[34]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Norway	2017	7	0
	2018	5	0
	2019	8	1
	2020	4	0
	2022	8	0
	2023	10	0
	2024	2	0
Total		44	1

As of match played 26 March 2024. Norway score listed first, score column indicates score after each Berge goal. ^[34]

List of international goals scored by Sander Berge

No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1	5 September 2019	Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway	15	Malta	1–0	2–0	UEFA Euro 2020 qualification	[35]

Honours

Genk

• Belgian First Division A: 2018–19 ^[4]
• Belgian Super Cup: 2019 ^[4]

References

1. "Sander Gard Bolin Berge: Klubbstatistikk" [Sander Gard Bolin Berge: Club statistics] (in Norwegian). Norwegian Football Federation. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
2. "Sander Berge: Overview". ESPN. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
3. "Sander Berge: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
4. "S. Berge: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
5. "En kjempetabbe og et supertalent". TV2 (in Norwegian). 3 October 2018.
6. "Rosenborg nådeløse mot Vålerengas ti menn". Aftenspost (in Norwegian). 16 August 2016.
7. "Sander Berge kan havne i Belgia". Dagsavisen (in Norwegian). 23 December 2016.
8. "Sander Berge". Whoscored.com. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
9. "What is Berge's best position and how can Wilder get the best out of him?". The Athletic. 28 April 2020.
10. "Berge om Haaland-ydmykelsen: – Pinlig". Verdens Gang (in Norwegian). 9 October 2019.
11. "Champions League breakthrough team of 2019". UEFA. 30 December 2019.
12. "Twitter". Sheffield United F.C. Retrieved 2020-01-30– via Twitter.
13. "Record signing arrives at the Lane". Sheffield United F.C. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
14. "Sheffield United break club transfer record to sign Sander Berge from Genk". The Guardian. 2020-01-30. Retrieved 2020-02-04.
15. "Sheffield United 3-1 Tottenham: Blades end losing run to strengthen top six bid". BBC Sport. 2020-07-02. Retrieved 2020-07-03.
16. "Sheffield United: Sander Berge injury a 'huge blow' but Lundstram expected to stay". BBC Sport. 24 December 2020. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
17. "Sheffield United would struggle to replace Sander Berge – and that's their dilemma". The Athletic. 15 August 2022.
18. "Adrian Clarke analyses the attributes of a pair of stars who will be vital to the Blades' ambitions this season". Premier League. 1 August 2023.
19. "Clarets secure Berge signing". Burnley F.C. 9 August 2023. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
20. "Burnley 0-3 Manchester City: Premier League – as it happened". The Guardian. 12 August 2023.
21. "BERGE PRAISES SQUAD'S SALFORD PERFORMANCE". Burnley F.C. 27 September 2023.
22. "Fulham 0-2 Burnley: Wilson Odobert and Sander Berge secure third Premier League win for Clarets". BBC Sport. 24 December 2023.
23. "Sander Gard Bolin Berge - Profil". Norwegian Football Federation.
24. "Norway-Malta". UEFA. 5 September 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
25. AS, TV 2 (24 March 2017). "- Til tider har jeg pushet Sander litt for hardt".
26. "Sander Berge og storebroren storspiller i hver sin idrett". Vg.no.
27. I bestefars fotspor Archived 2016-02-01 at the Wayback Machine , Vålerenga Fotball (10 February 2015) (in Norwegian)
28. "Happy Constitution Day Norway! My grandfather played for Norway 65 years ago, proud to follow in the footstep of him and represent this beautiful country today🇧🇻 Stay Safe! #hurra". instagram. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
29. "Games played by Sander Berge in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
30. "Games played by Sander Berge in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
31. "Games played by Sander Berge in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
32. "Games played by Sander Berge in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
33. "Games played by Sander Berge in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
34. "Sander Gard Bolin Berge: Landslagstatistikk" [Sander Gard Bolin Berge: National team statistics] (in Norwegian). Norwegian Football Federation. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
35. "Norway vs. Malta 2–0: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 30 May 2021.

External links

• Sander Berge – UEFA competition record ( archive )