Svein Mathisen
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Svein "Matta" Mathisen (born September 30, 1952) is a retired footballer from Norway. Except for a short and less successful spell with Scottish club Hibs, "Matta" played for I.K. Start throughout his career. Here he won the Norwegian league title in 1978 and 1980. Mathisen was capped 25 times for Norway, but many claim that he never reached his full potential for the national team.
Playing attacking midfielder or striker, Mathisen was a creative player popular among the fans in Kristiansand, although there was a widespread feeling that he maybe paid too little attention to defensive play. In total he played 327 top-tier league matches, and scored 106 goals. Both numbers are club records, and when he retired in 1989 he also held the national "matches played" record. It has later been beaten by Ola By Rise, Roar Strand, Erik Hoftun and Bjørn Johansen.
Today Mathisen works with match commentary in TV 2. He has also worked in NRK Radio. His son, Jesper Mathisen, is a Norwegian youth international footballer, playing for I.K. Start in Kristiansand.
