Brazil vs Norway | The Nordic Ghost

Some teams have a knack to face certain opponents who, although are stronger in theory, can’t seem to break down that opponent. It happens everywhere, and international football is not an exception.

Growing up, Brazil was THE team to beat in world football, they were always filled with giants of the game, and they did one thing better than everyone else, win trophies. Naturally, facing them was always a daunting task for any national team, except for one.

Norway is not a powerhouse in world football, and even in terms of Nordic football nations, they fall behind their neighbours. Since 1938 the Scandinavian nation has only qualified for three World Cups and one European Championship, demonstrating just how difficult life has been for Norwegian supporters. Historically, Norway has struggled against the top nations. Just to reinforce that point, Norway played 113 games against Belgium/Portugal/Spain/Germany/Italy/France/Netherlands/England and won just 18 of those, equating to a measly 15% win ratio.

The previous paragraph is very clear, and it makes what I am about to write all the more astounding..

"Norway is the only team that has faced Brazil at least 4 games and never lose." 

Yes I know, it sounds untrue but it’s 100% real and just shows how insane football can be sometimes.

Norway played against Brazil for the time in 1988, with a 1-1 draw in a game where players Romario, Valdo, Taffarel, Jorginho, Ricardo Gomes, Careca fielded for the Brazil side, while on the Nordic side, we had Thorstvedt, Bratseth, Erland Johnsen, Fjortoft and Goran Sorloth (Alexander Sorloth’s father). This team won only one game in 1988, against Cyprus, which shows how far Norway was from being a top team.

The 2 teams faced again in 1997, and Norway beat Brazil 4-2 (the last team to score 4 goals against Brazil – Chile in a game in 1987). This score is still one of the most unbelievable results in football history, given the difference in skill and options available for the two sides. For the Brazilian side, we had Ronaldo, Romario, Dunga, Leonardo, Roberto Carlos, Cafu to name just 6 superstars of the selecao. For Norway, although decent club-level players like Henning Berg, Ronny Johnsen, Alf-Inge Haaland (Erling Haaland’s father), Tore Andre Flo and Leonhardsen lined up - the gap in quality was massive.

The match would be defined by Norway's star forward, Tore Andre Flo. With 2 goals and 1 assist, in a game he ran riot amongst the Brazilian defense, they just couldn’t stop him. Still one of the worst losses for Brazil (although many years later, in an infamous game at home, they managed to do a lot worse).

Destiny wanted this fixture to be played again, this time in the 1998 World Cup group stage. Incredibly, Norway would emerge victorious once again, this time by a more ‘feasible’ 2-1. The players involved were largely the same ones that faced each other the previous year. Brazil scored first, on the 78th minute with a Bebeto goal, but once again, Tore Andre Flo decided to show that against Brazil, he was the ‘best player alive’, scoring 1 goal and assisting for the other. Some players are like that, they save their best for a specific opponent, and in this case, it was Tore against Brazil.

The fourth and last game between these two teams happened in 2006, in another friendly match, that ended with a 1-1 draw. This game saw players like Carew, Solskjaer, Hangeland, Riise, Gamst Pedersen field for Norway, while Brazil had Elano, Robinho, Julio Baptista, Gilberto Silva, Edmilson, Lucio, Cicinho and Fred. Maybe the most balanced game in terms of the quality available, but still clearly favourable for the Brazilian side. Once again Norway managed to keep their record against Brazil free from defeat.

These games are not exactly highlights in Brazil’s history, nor will their supporters think much about them, but for a country like Norway, where footballing success is rare, having this record against the top national team in the world is at least worth an honour badge. Tore Andre Flo made his fame in these games and endeared himself to many fans who like me, love to see ‘David’ winning against ‘Goliath’ and ‘Goliath’ doesn’t get much bigger than Brazil.

Although the main focus of this article is the Norway vs Brazil history, I wanted to drop this gem on you before I finish. Norway played against Argentina twice and yes, you’ve guessed it, and they never lost against them either, actually winning both games. Those Argentinian sides had legends like Maradona, Burruchaga, Sergio Batista, Passarella, Ruggeri in 1986, and years later in 2007, it fielded players like Messi, Mascherano, Zanetti, Diego Milito.

Norway might never win a World Cup or a European Championship, but when facing two of the most successful teams in history, they can hold their own and that’s all we can hope for when ‘smaller’ teams face the giants of our game.

Norway now has Haaland, Odegaard and others, so these surprises, these legendary games might continue to happen and this football fan will be keeping tabs on it.

Brazil has no reasons to fear any team, but they should know the Nordic Ghost is still alive!

 This piece was kindly written for @TFHBs by Jonee Joao. You can follow him on Twitter @Jonee13

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