Morten Thorsby

Morten Thorsby (born 5 May 1996) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays for Serie A side Sampdoria and the Norway national team as a midfielder.

Morten Thorsby
Personal information
Date of birth (1996-05-05) 5 May 1996
Place of birth Oslo, Norway[1]
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Sampdoria
Number 2
Youth career
0000–2009 Heming
2010–2011 Lyn
2012–2013 Stabæk
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2014 Stabæk 14 (1)
2014–2019 SC Heerenveen 115 (12)
2019– Sampdoria 84 (6)
National team‡
2012 Norway U16 14 (0)
2013 Norway U17 13 (2)
2014 Norway U18 6 (2)
2014–2015 Norway U19 4 (1)
2014–2018 Norway U21 28 (6)
2017– Norway 12 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20 March 2022
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 16 November 2021

Club career

Stabæk

Thorsby started his youth career in IL Heming but joined FK Lyn in 2009.[2] While playing in Lyn he was drafted into the boys-15 national team.[3] In 2012, he joined the youth ranks of Stabæk.[4]

He made his first team debut in the 2013 1. Divisjon, as a substitute in four matches.[1] Stabæk was promoted, and he made his first-tier debut in April 2014 against Molde.

SC Heerenveen

On 2 June 2014, Thorsby signed a five-year contract with Eredivisie side SC Heerenveen.[5][6]

Sampdoria

On 11 January 2019, Thorsby signed a four-year pre-contract with Serie A side Sampdoria. The contract will run through the 2023 season. He joined the club on 1 July 2019.[7][8] He made his debut on 4 November in the 1–0 away win against SPAL, in which he played the full match.[9] After that game he slowly rose in the team's hierarchy,[10] becoming a starter in midfield alongside Albin Ekdal.[11] On 21 June 2020, he scored his first goal for Sampdoria scoring the 2–1 consolation goal in the away defeat to Inter Milan.[12][13]

The following year, he was confirmed as a starter alongside Ekdal,[11] and he scored 3 goals in 35 total appearances.[14]

The day before the start of the 2021–22 season, Thorsby decided to change his jersey number from 18 to 2 to raise awareness about the Paris Agreement – the number 2 signifying the first aim of the agreement to hold "the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 °C".[15][16]

Personal life

On 13 March 2020, Thorsby tested positive for COVID-19, amid its pandemic in Italy.[17]

Thorsby is known for his commitment to environmentalism and is an advocate for stronger actions on climate change. He established the We Play Green foundation to encourage the football community to adopt environmentally friendly initiatives, and has met with municipal and national leaders in Italy while at Sampdoria in support of improved climate policy.[18][19] In August 2021, he switched his shirt number to 2 to raise awareness of climate change. The digit represents the target of the internationally-adopted Paris Agreement of keeping global warming "well below" 2 °C above pre-industrial times, in order to avoid dangerous levels of climate change.[20]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 20 March 2022
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Other Total Ref.
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Stabæk 2013 1. divisjon 40000040 [21]
2014 Tippeligaen 1012100122 [21]
Total 1412100162 –
Heerenveen 2014–15 Eredivisie 1601110181 [14]
2015–16 2512000271 [14]
2016–17 2303020280 [14]
2017–18 3162020356 [14]
2018–19 2052000225 [14]
Total 115121015013013 –
Sampdoria 2019–20 Serie A 2411000251 [14]
2020–21 3332000353 [14]
2021–22 2723100303 [14]
Total 8466100887 –
Career total 213191835023622 –

International
As of match played 16 November 2021
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Norway 201710
201800
201900
202020
202190
Total120

References
  1. Stabæk Fotball profile
  2. Mellingsæter, Hanne (9 June 2010). "Solskjærs mann". Aftenposten Aften (in Norwegian). p. 12.
  3. "Uttak talentleir fotball" (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 30 May 2011.
  4. "G16-uttak fotball" (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 23 March 2012.
  5. "Heerenveen haalt met Thorsby voetbalintelligentie in huis". Voetbal International (in Dutch). 20 June 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  6. Hellerud, Lars Peter Karset (20 June 2014). "Thorsby klar for Heerenveen". Budstikka (in Norwegian). Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  7. "Morten Thorsby set to join Sampdoria next season". U.C. Sampdoria. 11 January 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  8. Baardsen, Joachim (11 January 2019). "Thorsby klar for Sampdoria – mangedobler lønnen sin". VG Nett (in Norwegian). Verdens Gang. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  9. "Spal-Sampdoria, finisce 0-1. Decide Caprari al 91'. I tweet dallo stadio. La cronaca del match". Il Secolo XIX (in Italian). 4 November 2019.
  10. "Thorsby è una boccata d'ossigeno: Porto in Liguria la battaglia per il clima". Il Secolo XIX (in Italian). 29 November 2019.
  11. "Il 2020 di Morten Thorsby alla Sampdoria". Samp News 24 (in Italian). 27 December 2020.
  12. "Sconfitti con onore: Thorsby e il cuore non bastano, il recupero va all'Inter". U.C. Sampdoria (in Italian). 21 June 2020.
  13. "La prima volta di Thorsby: Contento solo per il gol". U.C. Sampdoria (in Italian). 21 June 2020.
  14. "Morten Thorsby » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  15. "Thorsby: Segno per l'ambiente. Coi tifosi è un altro mondo". U.C. Sampdoria (in Italian). 16 August 2021.
  16. "Paris Agreement". United Nations Treaty Collection. Archived from the original on 5 July 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  17. "COVID-19: Sampdoria statement, 13 March 2020". U.C. Sampdoria. 13 March 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  18. "Morten Thorsby Brings Climate Activism from Norwegian to Italian Football". GreenSportsBlog. 6 August 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  19. Thorsby and, Morten [@mortenthorsby] (6 August 2020). "Meeting with the environmental minister of Italy @SergioCosta_min in Rome yesterday. Speaking about football and environment, and how football can contribute with education, engagement and concrete action" (Tweet). Retrieved 13 August 2021 – via Twitter.
  20. "Sampdoria's Morten Thorsby changes shirt number to raise climate awareness". BBC Sport. 13 August 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  21. "NIFS - Norsk & Internasjonal Fotballstatistikk". Norsk & Internasjonal Fotballstatistikk (in Norwegian). Retrieved 7 August 2019.
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