Sander Gard Bolin Berge (born 14 February 1998) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for EFL Championship club Burnley and the Norway national team. Berge is a product of Asker's youth academy.
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 | 37 | (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 | 46 | (1) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 08:37, 25 May 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:45, 8 June 2024 (UTC) | |||
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 1–0 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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | 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[c] | 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[c] | 2 | — | 40 | 2 | |||
| 2019–20[4] | Belgian Pro League | 23 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | 6[d] | 0 | 1[e] | 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[f] | 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 | 37 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 40 | 2 | ||
| Career total | 288 | 18 | 21 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 22 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 340 | 24 | ||
| 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 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 46 | 1 | |
| 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] |
Genk
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