5'10 "  11st.9lb.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               b.Elverum (Norway) 11 December 1969

Debut  12 August 2000 (30y 244d) Final Game 17 December 2002 (33y 6d)
First Goal 11 November 2000
CAREER: Elverum IL '86;Strommen IF Jan'88;Kongsvinger IL Jan'89 (£12,000);Rosenborg BK Jan'92 (£33,000);Liverpool Dec'92 (£600,000)[132+7-2];Rosenborg BK Mar'94 (loan);Brondby IF (Denmark) Mar'00 (loan);Blackburn Rovers Jun'00 - Mar'03 (£300,000).
INTERNATIONALS    Norway  69 + 6 apps 1 gl
’89 v Aut,Gre,Fra,Yug,Kuw,Sco.’90 v Mlt,Swe,Cam(s),Tun.’91 v Aut,Cyp.’92 v Hun,Egy,Ber,Far(s),Sco.’93 v Swe,Hol,SaM(s), Eng,Chn,Qat,Tur,Eng,Hol.’94 v USA 1gl,Pol,Pol,Tur,Wal,Por,Swe,Mex,Ita,RoI.’95 v Blr,Hol,Blr,Mlt,Cyp,Lux.’96 v Eng,Hol,Spa, NIr,Spa,Aze.’97 v Geo,Hun,UAE,Fin,Hun,’98 v Ice,Fin,Aze,Swi.Col.Fra,Den(s),Mex,Sau,Mor,Sco,Bra,Ita.’99 v Rom,Lat,Svn,Alb.’00 v Ita(s),Cze(s),Svn.’01 v Fin,Wal.
HONOURS  FLCp win (Liverpool) ’95,(Blackburn Rovers)'02.Nor Ch (Rosenberg)’92. Nor Cp win (Rosenberg) ’92.Nor B Ch (Strommen) ’88.
SQUAD NUMBER  5 Jul’00.
 

FL /PL 53 + 3 apps  1 gl     -14 wdn                                               5 ns
FAC      4 + 1 apps               - 1 wdn                                               2 ns
FLC      7 apps                      - 3 wdn
Total  64 + 4 apps  1 gl     -18 wdn   + 222m -578m  et 30m           7 ns

Biography Lǿsrivelse – Aschehoug & Co. 2009 ISBN 9788203195570

The son of Jo Inge Bjornebye, who competed in the ski jump at the Olympics of 1968 and 1972, Bjornebye commenced playing with his local side when still a teenager. His steady, positionally sound play and the attacking options he gave by his delivery of the ball from the wide left convinced newly promoted Strommen that he would bolster their side. Continuing to climb the ladder he arrived at one of the country's top sides, Rosenberg and honours started to accumulate. He was called into the national side, won a championship medal and scored the winning goal in the cup final. A move abroad was inevitable but his choice of Liverpool looked less than ideal for a time. Pushed into a side that was losing defenders rapidly he formed with Torsten Piechnik a central defensive partnership that was much derided. Patience though is one of the player's qualities and he worked diligently until he won a place at left back and won a League Cup winners' medal. After breaking a leg he was never in Gerard Houllier's plans and the chance to link up again with Graeme Souness  brought him to Ewood. Part of the side that won promotion to the Premiership he added another League Cup winners' medal at Cardiff in 2002, returning after a spell out with illness to be one of the top performers on the day. His appearances were restricted by continual injuries (he had a back problem) and illness but they were nothing to the disastrous spell he struck after the final victory. A training injury fractured his eye socket and almost cost him the sight of the eye and then he had to undergo surgery because a condition in his leg might have resulted in amputation. After taking medical advice he retired from the game becoming trainer to SFK Lyn and taking up a role scouting for the Rovers in Norway before he was appointed assistant coach of the national side. He later became coach of FK Start and then sporting director of Rosenborg. A cultured man who explained in his autobiography how shallow most footballers were, he was the subject of a series of paintings by the noted artist Tone Dietrichson.