Norway - England 2-1 in 1981 (Lillelien commentary)

The goals from the game with commentary from legendary Bjørge Lillelien.

[@DalleDayul]

The most underrated line of this is right before the final whistle is blown. "The referee is adding and adding on. He is close to receiving English citizenship."

[@emmetfahy9151]

Yes!

[@dhall5785]

It’s a fantastic line 😂

[@alanfrehley1373]

As an Englander, I have nothing but respect for this commentator. Just brilliant.

[@agehellander8419]

I live in Northern Norway and I was serving my duty as an soldier in southern Norway and I was at Ullevaal that memroble night back in 1981. I heard this commentary later. Tommy Lund was great in this match. What a legend and a giftet footballer.

[@postpaal]

He rambled off all those british references unplanned... because he loved england... In Norway at the time... only English football mattered.... there was one TV channel...it showed Norwegian football + the english football league...that's it. He was the generation that came of age during ww2.

[@phoenixreborn6065]

Agreed. The "He is close to receiving English citizenship" is a personal highlight for me hahahaha legendary.

[@creativeamerican8811]

@@postpaal I went to Norway in 2012 and 13. They still love English Football. I’m English and got drinks bought for me by all these Norwegian Liverpool fans cos I mentioned I am friends with Gerrard’s cousin , I’m a spurs fan… but they were basically treating me like I was Gerrard. Also 4:30pm on saturdsy, local news in Bergen comes on, before anything else is mentioned they start showing football highlights, a Spurs goal I didn’t recognise… then realised it was the goal from the game I was reading about… the game that was 30 mins in in England , and they are showing the goals.. I was just like “ is this normal!” In England we have to wait til MOTD or did back then, KZbin highlights are usually quicker these days. But imagine seeing premier league highlights on your local news broadcast whilst the games are still being played… or I mean it’s like then showing Barcelona games. Madness. Beautiful country, best on the planet imo, would do anything for a Norwegian lady to fall in love with me; just so I could move there and watch football highlights..

[@peterviner7703]

Just discovered this again, as an Englishman I can say without doubt this is the best thing on KZbin :-) LOL

[@yourt00bz]

I watch this once a month if so and I don’t even watch football anymore except for National side. That unhinged passion

[@DJKharvellian1998MUFC]

I have to listen to this at least 10 times every time I come to it 😂 Such raw passion in every single word. RIP Bjørge

[@dhall5785]

Loved his country. Bless his soul

[@roadgent7921]

It was worth losing just to hear this guy. 😊

[@Tony74665]

When ever I’m feeling a bit down I always come to this , absolutely priceless 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@postpaal]

To the people missing the point of the greatness of this video apart from the commentator's enthusiasm: The Point is the joy of the commentator and the "homage" to Britain...it was unplanned but shows how natural he rambles off a bunch of British references... He grew up under WW2...for that generation the UK was the "only" country that mattered...also when it came to football... Norway has always felt close to UK, specially the war generation.

[@user-zj5rm4qc2k]

its not britain its england who got pumped

[@smann7236]

Yeah that's why it's so funny...he and Norway obviously looked up to England

[@colinadams5390]

Brilliant commentary. Well done Norge! 🇸🇯

[@bovrilgate2354]

Love the passion of the Norwegian commentator Bjorge Lillelien. His passion for his Country is how anyone should feel for their country on such a momentous occasion. He was full of pride and excitement. Without seeing his face I can imagine tears of joy rolling down his cheeks. This is the reason football is the beautiful game and why we love it. On that day I was a young man in England unhappy with the result. 40 years later I listen to this commentary and feel so pleased and emotional for Norway. Well done.

[@jontyarnold8522]

I completely agree, yet it seems our commentators aren’t allowed to do it in case some twat gets offended.......what a silly society we live in. No doubt we would also be accused of racism by a random leftie white dickweed... Well done Norway though...

[@kvassrock]

As much as he loved Norway I think it's sad that he died way too young in 1989 and never got the chance to experience Norway in a big tournament. And that happened in 94, 98 and 2000.

[@user-bp1be1yg2h]

Meanwhile people in England are like 'omg English commentators are so biased 😡😡😡'

[@lotus72e]

@@kvassrockBjørge died of cancer in october 1987. He commentated his last match when Norway beat France 2-0 at Ullevaal during the summer of that year. A great loss to the Norwegian broadcasting, NRK.

[@Chris_34]

This is legendary! "Maggie Thatcher your boys took one hell of a beating!"😂😂😂. Love this commentator❤️. Hi, from England🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿✌️

[@kvassrock]

Hello England! Remember that Norway has always loved english football. :)

[@Chris_34]

@@kvassrock 😊✌️

[@landonlowe4029]

Wait this is where the Cundy line originated from

[@nightlife6899]

Absolutely adore this commentary. His love for Norway AND England is clear. What a legend.

[@kvassrock]

Oh yes. He indeed loved England.

[@WhatInTheDeepestShadeOfFeck]

I'm English, but this commentator's sheer joy, passion and pride in his team's win has always made me smile, and of course his choice of words 😂

[@AzulinhoAzulinho]

Haha something brought this to my mind and I'm glad I watched this version to see a line I didn't know and has had me chuckling for some time _"the referee is adding on and adding on, he is close to receiving English citizenship"!_ LOL

[@geoffpoole483]

That line was brilliant. Didn't know about it until I watched this clip.

[@zestyut1344]

Best line in the whole commentary and I had no idea that it existed until I watched the clip now

[@andrewbaldie3558]

@@geoffpoole483 me too.

[@simonrees9441]

Wonderful, just wonderful... Rest in Peace Bjørge

[@Auriflamme]

I want this guy on commentary for my funeral. Absolutely amazing emotion and an iconic moment in football history.

[@EASYTIGER10]

Sadly he's already had his own funeral

[@acb7074]

Absolutely brilliant

[@xrovyn]

This mans knowledge of english history is insane

[@cerdic6305]

Not really. At the time they all would have been well-known present day celebrities and politicians for a middle-aged person

[@hotdog9262]

@@cerdic6305 lord nelson a VIP at the game for sure

[@youtubedislikes3756]

@@hotdog9262yeh, in 1981 Winston Churchill would have been like what we consider a tiktok influencer to be today. Ignore the fact he died in the 60s

[@GordonCaledonia]

Rest in peace, Bjørge Lillelien. You don't get moments like this in sport now, it's all safe, sedate and politically correct. Passion is the essence of commentating, accuracy can come afterwards! Rest in peace, Bjørge Lillelien, you lived a helluva life!

[@boundsgreenboy8354]

No matter how many times I see or hear this it truly is a classic 😂

[@user-ct2wo6ig4x]

A great moment for Norwegian football. Good luck to your marvellous country from an Englishman x

[@gumdeo]

Still the greatest commentary ever!

[@kvassrock]

I think so too! Bjørge had a passion that is hard to beat. Fantastic guy.

[@Chris_34]

Sheer class💯👏👌.

[@61mod]

I was at that game stayed in Oslo for a week,ferry from Newcastle then the train from Bergan to Oslo. Great country great people. We took one Hell of a beating 😂

[@jimmytgoose476]

I've never watched a game of football in my life but this is fantastic 😃👍👍

[@migatron1]

This is one of the best ever! This guy started reviving the ancestors just to bury them again!

[@lurchlocker89]

What makes it even better is they were 2 poxy goals they scored. Then going on about the ref being close to receiving English citizenship for not blowing the whistle fast enough.

[@Vingul]

Aldri fulgt nøye med på fotball, men dette er helt legendarisk!! Lilleliens entusiasme er til å felle en liten tåre over.

[@Dead-Ball-Situation]

Everything about this is so retro. The dim floodlights. The passionate commentary. The kits, the pitch.

[@markgreen5153]

England's defending for the second goal is almost as funny as the commentary

[@judithnewman4903]

Such a good way to cheer yourself up. I think insulting people by naming all their achievements is the way to get world peace.

[@timredsell-rn3hz]

The passion, the commentary simply superb

[@jonblazeinc]

Lol first time hearing that in full, no didn't quite knock England out as we went to the Spain world cup year later in 82... Actually needed similar commentary 12 years later in 93 when Norway victory actually did help towards England failure to qualify for USA 94

[@grahamoliver4875]

I haven't heard this for years, it was so funny. I heard Jason Cundy's version on talksport, Hilarious! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@landonlowe4029]

I just realized it came from this

[@pellebjork]

Norges Lasse Granqvist!! Underbar kommentator!!

[@petermcbride4732]

Thanks for uploading this Roger. This is THE all time classic football commentary! Nice to see the legendary footage in full. Other uploads in UK are massacred by the BBC talking head idiots.

[@kvassrock]

No problem! I also have to add that Bjørge LOVED english football. He put on a show on radio. He wanted it to be colourful.

[@waynetemplar2183]

As a passionate England supporter I am... highly amused by the commentary ;-)

[@cruickgl]

I think hidden in the commentary at the end is a lot of respect with which England were held back then as the birthplace of the game and love the Norwegians had for our football. We didn't have a particularly good team in those days but it is obvious that to beat the team that gave the game to the world meant everything to Lillelien.

[@bardo0007]

True, he was a true supporter of English football, and I believe Liverpool. Kevin Keegan played in this game.

[@geoffpoole483]

I remember watching this game on tv, but I don't know when I first heard this commentary. I used to work with a Norwegian woman and she told me this result was huge for Norway. At the time the Norwegian football league was semi-professional and many Norwegians also followed clubs in the English and Scottish leagues. English football supporters love this commentary; Lillelien was citing people you wouldn't expect any foreigner to know much about: Attlee, Lord Beaverbrook (actually a Canadian) and Anthony Eden. Great stuff!

[@jimb9063]

Yes agree with that, although I wouldn't say hidden! At this time Norway were considered "minows", while England were World Champions "just" 15 years before. As exciting as a lower league team beating a giant in the FA cup.

[@geoffpoole483]

@@jimb9063 A bit like Hereford knocking out Newcastle back in 1972.

[@jimb9063]

@@geoffpoole483 "Ant and Dec, can you hear me?..."

[@jimb9063]

My favourite commentary ever! How did he get from Clement Atlee to Henry Cooper!? Notice the seamless transition from Norwegian to English (Is there anyone in Scandinavia who can't?). How many of our commentators could do the same then and now? (I couldn't either to be fair!).

[@STPickrell]

I was wondering that - whether his audience would've understood the English back in 1981. I mean today I guess many would understood it (certainly be able to read it), but in 1981 was Norway's English skills as advanced as today?

[@palnikolaiisnes7804]

Pretty much, yes.

[@landonlowe4029]

​@@STPickrell Norse is super similar to English in language origin so I am sure they picked up some words

[@hotdog9262]

@@landonlowe4029 english afaik, is a mishmash of native british, french, german and scandinavian

[@maurooctavioaxel9033]

Hallvar Thoresen, was one of the football players actors from the movie Victory (1981), with Pelé, Stallone, Michael Caine and Ossie Ardiles

[@GordonCaledonia]

"Ronald Reagan, can you hear me? General Douglas MacArthur! Davey Crockett! Robert E. Lee! Dolly Parton! Ronald Reagan, can you hear me?"

[@rosecottage6256]

Can't believe he listed all those names of the top of his head. He must have had them written down somewhere its as if he knew Norway were winning that day😁

[@kimbentolsen2913]

Vi skreg af glæde i Danmark der Norge havde slået England . 🇳🇴🇳🇴🇳🇴🇩🇰🇩🇰🇩🇰🤗🤗🤗🤗

[@mattbod]

I don’t begrudge them the victory. The commentator is a legend.

[@lolitasamson-yv3yu]

La Norvège avait une équipe formidable en 1994,helas il manquait un peu de techniciens,de folies...lars bohinen rekdal c est un français qui le dit.bien à vous.👍✌️ TV ex

[@danmartin886]

Jason Cundy on talkSPORT brought me here 😂

[@notalagerboy]

Norway have beaten them twice. In 1993 2:0 with some help from an English man Charles Reep. An excellent article about him ( on BBC) brought me he , hence catching up with Norway's legendary performances.

[@SuperTed19021]

3:23 Not quite. Romania put us straight back in it again. *Still love this though*

[@bardo0007]

Kevin Keegan was a great player at the time, I believe he played this game.

[@GordonCaledonia]

"Kevin Keegan, can you hear me? I would love it if we them and gave you a HELLUVA BEATING, I'D LOVE IT!"

[@basedelon]

@1:15 "This hooligan is about to break down the entire barrier around the pitch."

[@dhall5785]

I don’t know who loves this more, Norwegian or Scottish fans 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@ianmurphy9955]

This is hilarious, Jason Cundy from Talksport has been recreating this when teams get knocked out of the world cup but not a patch on the original

[@Clem_Fandango11]

Cundy does this to the bigger clubs when they lose. Some of them are hilarious the Forest one this week was superb after their cup loss. The spurs one are the best ....(Emerson Royal with Cheese) gets me every time.

[@jeschinstad]

I was one year old when this happened, but I did this once after winning a very hard game of pool in 2001, I think. We were playing for a months salary and we were playing three wins in a row to win, which took fifteen hours or something like that. I absolutely hated the man I was playing against, which is why we did it. The only thing that came to me was «Maggie Tatcher, can you hear me!» People always asked me to do it again, but you can't do that.

[@sevendaughters]

the one thing I don't understand about this video: England did actually qualify for the World Cup.

[@sonicpaintbrush]

Why does it fade to black at 2.54?

[@barnbersonol]

This has to be the only ever time that a side finished top of the group and got "knocked out" by Norway.

[@paulswords5745]

"We have knocked England out of the World cup" . I'm nearly sure that the history books will back me up that england qualified in 1982!!!

[@patrickmoen8577]

After this result it looked very likely that Romania would qualify ahead of England, but the Romanians screwed up, losing at home to Switzerland, who had previously lost at home to Norway.

[@geoffpoole483]

Well, he was getting a bit carried away! England were lucky to qualify and actually did well in Spain. There was a round robin stage following the group stage and England drew both games, with Spain and West Germany. West Germany nearly went out in the group stage; their draw with Austria which was obviously played in a manner to ensure both sides went through eliminated Algeria who'd beaten the Germans 2-1. West Germany lost to Italy in the final.

[@mezzala1014]

Here from ESPN.

[@jftt42]

same, I had no idea cundy was copying this guy the whole time.

[@zestyut1344]

You can only do this if the team your commentating for is a complete underdog, if a German commentator said it, it would sound sooo wrong

[@kvassrock]

I dont know. When England won against Germany today there was definitely lots of emotions in play. Not sure how it was described by commentators in England though.

[@joedean7964]

Amazing commentary at the end but we qualified and they didn't :)

[@jasonwood3377]

You didn’t get that with Elton Welsby.

[@MrGrimlyFeendish]

Lady Diana and Maggie Thatcher were good upfront and Lord Nelson provided solid defence but Lord Beaverbrook lacked creativity and Ron Greenwood should’ve substituted him in the first half..

[@basedelon]

To borrow a line from Graeme Souness - "Where was Henry Cooper?"

[@Jose-fk2zo]

Back in the days

[@batekush5352]

Would love to know what Terje Dalby had to say following that 🤣

[@stormofmagic9358]

He was the weatherman

[@GordonCaledonia]

@@stormofmagic9358 "MICHAEL FISH, CAN YOU HEAR ME?"

[@marti2474]

And the English used to take the piss out of Scottish goalkeepers. Clemence nightmare to go with Shilton's Damarski shamble

[@HandleGF]

Bassett Time ... the early Eighties when England's footballing fortunes turned from tragicomedy to pure farce. A hundred years of luck got pawned in getting out of that group.

[@chrisgibbs1024]

This will never be unfunny 😂

[@fatbelly27]

Brilliant commentary. Aided by Norwegian vodka.

[@HandleGF]

Clemence was woeful in this and in every away game in the group.

[@kingkane1051]

don't say BULLSHIT CLEM were one of the best keeper in the world WASH YOUR MOUTH full of shit before talks about clems!

[@HandleGF]

@@kingkane1051 Heh heh ... the footage doesn't lie

[@kingkane1051]

@@HandleGFEngland deserve draw ref let the norways players kick all the forwards players...BUT at the end we go through and NORWAY GO TO FUCK OFF! YNWA

[@xiropigado]

He was absolutley shit as was Shilton (Poland 73) England have only ever had 2 good goalkeepers Banks and Pickford

[@Iron-Bridge]

@@xiropigado David James, David Seaman and Joe Hart, yo 😎

[@MrGoneTroppo]

Ironically England qualified and then went on to win the 1982 World Cup

[@mickyday2008]

Classic

[@JfK--OBJECTivE]

You'd think they won a football match.

[@nickthefox72]

I’m English and the result didn’t matter in the end as they still qualified but so funny the commentator

[@kingkane1051]

the commentator was a PUFF

[@IMJACKMADDEN]

Tony Blair, David Cameron, Tyson Fury, Boris Johnson. Can you hear me?

[@northlincsfox243]

😀😊😆

[@userk23c5d5]

This is in my top three favourite commentator moments, the other two being Hugo Morales when Maradona scored, also against England, and Tomasz Zimoch when Widzew knocked Broendby out of CL in 1996. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mYuZc6aKh6unbJI

[@quietstorm8129]

World beaters Norway. They went so far LOL

[@Paul.swanseavilla]

Cundy and ohara on sports bar on talk sports do there take on this regular its funny

[@MrJonno85]

Amazingly, England weren't quite out of the World Cup, and qualified a couple of months later!

[@torgeirbrandsnes1916]

Jon Cole yes I remember. Why did not Norway play in Spain? I also remember Schumacher, the german goal keeper knocking out, and nearly killing a french player. He should have been given the chair! I just know that he is THE most hated german, AFTER Hitler!

[@MrJonno85]

@@torgeirbrandsnes1916 In that group everybody beat each other, unfortunately Norway didn't quite do enough to qualify. This was their first ever win over England (might even have been their first goals against them!). As for Schumacher, yes he should have been sent-off versus France. To make matters worse, the referee even let him move early to save two penalties in the shoot-out!

[@kingkane1051]

and what about fucking norway!

[@no1wasgeorgiebest]

@@torgeirbrandsnes1916 yeah! Never mind Himmler, Göring etc, fucking Schumacher!!!!!!

[@gumdeo]

@@torgeirbrandsnes1916 Hitler was Austrian.

[@beorlingo]

"Vi er best I verden!!!" 🤣 🇸🇪👍🇧🇻

[@adambaum7814]

Ikke bland Sverige bort i det her da. Fysj.

[@justinterrordactyl6132]

As an Englishman, I have to say this is world class commentary

[@jamesjukebox172]

Considering England were crap at the time and Argentina were champions, brilliant though.

[@TheForkhandles]

It's hilarious and I remember it from the time. But this was a poor England team with players like Paul Mariner, Viv Anderson and Dave Watson in the side. Norway should have won by more.

[@xiropigado]

Dave Watson, Viv Anderson didn't play in this game

[@patrickmoen8577]

That England team was one of the luckiest ever to qualify for a World Cup. They lost and drew with Romania (who only won one other game in the group, against Norway), lost to Norway, lost to Switzerland, and had the luxury of playing a Hungarian team who had already qualified in their final match.

[@geoffpoole483]

@@patrickmoen8577 That's true, although England did quite well in Spain.

[@exentr]

@@geoffpoole483 Because the 1981 Norway team was a talented team. Players in Man C, Nott. F., Bundesliga, Dutch and French League. Ajax wanted Tommy Lund to replace Cruijff after his departure to Barcelona. Lund rejected and played his whole career in Lillestrøm SK. Still till this day reckon as one of Norway's finest players. Hallvar Thoresen became captain for PSV. Winner of 1988 UEFA Cup. In PSV Gullit and Koeman. However Thoresen was in his last season and were injured in 1988. He retired summer 1988. Most scoring foreigner in Dutch league at the time. 12th in 2023. Qualified for the 1980 Olympics but boycoted. Reckon as the world's best national amateur team at that time. English clubs won 7 UEFA Cups between 1977 and 1984.

[@nikreece6295]

One thing i must pick up from the norway commentator. Was that england were not out of the world cup.

[@AzulinhoAzulinho]

Indeed, but at the time everyone including the English thought they were out. They were dependeing on unlikely results here and there to have any chance, and Switzerland is the team considered to have given the England lifeline by beating Romania away.

[@IamJacksColon4]

Who said beating England would make you the best in the world? I believe England was ranked 12th in the world back then.

[@bardo0007]

England always been number 1 for Norwegians , at least back then.

[@ewaf88]

This just great. England were crap and they got what they deserved in this match. However they did qualify for the WC and didn't do too badly.

[@moreblack]

I dunno, not getting past the second round wasn't exactly lighting the tournament on fire. But can you imagine the national disaster, if they had missed on a 3rd World Cup in a row, having missed 74 and 78?

[@ewaf88]

@@moreblack It was a bleak period for England and they didn't really recover until 1986

[@bardo0007]

@@ewaf88 Well you didn't do so well in 92/93 , lost to Norway again and this time knocked out of the WC. Norway won their group ahead of Holland and England.

[@ewaf88]

@@bardo0007 All in the past and of no real relevance here in 2020

[@bardo0007]

@@ewaf88 It's a part of history mate. Your team were really poor under Graham Taylor.

[@FANISEN11]

A BIT overexcited the commentator

[@leedscab123]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@kikiu2619]

First and last time Norway won anything at all!-

[@bardo0007]

1993 2-0 over England and we knocked you out of the WC.

[@prafter7]

Maybe at football but they are all time medal winners at Winter Olympics.

[@magassacheikene2421]

Vu Bébé fokeodoje je yuje

[@xiropigado]

That 2nd goal, Terry McDermont, there wasn't even anyone near him. Absolute Crap player

[@hugodrax71]

Did Lillelien know England hadn't qualified for the previous two World Cups?

[@geoffpoole483]

I used to work with a Norwegian and she told me this result was massive in Norway (as you may have guessed from the commentary). Norwegian football was part-time and most people followed English football clubs. To get drawn against England in a qualifier and to beat them was the stuff that dreams are made of.

[@gumdeo]

@@geoffpoole483 Indeed, Norway had played England five times before this and lost heavily every time.

[@kvassrock]

@@geoffpoole483 The love for english football was so big in Norway that the media wanted Norway to lose so England could qualify. At least there was a debate at the time.

[@geoffpoole483]

@@kvassrock That's incredible!

[@theuserwithnoname7688]

Honk of Thatcher's dead.

[@moreblack]

"we are the best in the world, we have beaten England" Ummm hate to break it to you pal, but That ain't no Brazil, Italy, France or Germany. LOL. Hell, Uruguay has won more World Cups than England, and I assure you Norway, you couldn't take them either.

[@larslosh5598]

Hate to break it to you pal, but you're talking to a guy who died 33 years ago.

[@kingkane1051]

lot of CRAPS!

[@stephengould4343]

So what - it's a fantastic bit of commentary that is much loved by England fans.

[@andrewjoyce9038]

Norwegians absolutely loved English football that's why he was so excited. We were like gods to them

[@exentr]

@@andrewjoyce9038 In addition Lillelien was commenting sports events for radio. His philosophy were "make it entertaining no matter how boring." Norwegians used to pimp tv sports broadcast listening to radio while watching the tv. That is exactly what you see in the video. The audio is from radio. We laughed so hard of Lillelien's commenting. We could clearly see him exaggerate. But he was fun. He was entertaining. Lots of passion. I remember I was a kid and beating England was the unthinkable. We did admire English football broadcasting since 1969. Tears of joy and pissing our pants laughing of Lillelien's rant. Lillelien's best. The myth says that Ajax wanted Tom Lund (1-1) to replace Cruyff after his departure to Barca. Bayern Munchen and several others EUR clubs wanted to sign Lund but he stayed in his beloved club in Norway his whole career. Lund is one of Norway's absolute finest ballers ever. There were some quality in this team. Halvard Thorsen (2-1) and Roger Albertsen (taking credit for Lund's goal pointing his shoe but later admitted it was Lund's goal) played in Eresdivie. Thorsen had great success in Eresdivie.

[@blueluny]

What erm, what team is he supporting?