When stoppage time meant cardiac arrest and clinical death for Norway coach in 2001

3 min readNew DelhiJul 6, 2026 01:04 PM IST

Norway coach Stale Solbakken in picture. (AP)

Handing five-time World Champions Brazil their earliest World Cup exit since 1990 is not the most daring thing Norway coach Stale Solbakken has done in his life.

The 58-year-old, born on the banks of the longest Norwegian river Glomma, has cheated death once back in 2001 when he suffered a cardiac arrest and was clinically dead for seven minutes before coming to life.

In Norse history, the Helgi cycle describes a heroic story where names, love, and fate seem to repeat across lives.

On Sunday, Solbakken proved that the Helgi cycle is more than just a folklore. He defeated Brazil twice, once in 1998 before his near death experience and second time in the Round of 16 of the 2026 FIFA WC.

The 2-1 score line was a repeat from the 1998 edition when Norway had come back from 0-1 down and Solbakken was on the sidelines then also but as an unused substitute.

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Five times World Champion Brazil has played over 1000 international matches and have faced 88 opponents in their fabulous history but like every other great sporting team, they have an antidote, a kryptonite: The Vikings from the land of midnight sun.

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The Samba boys have played Norway five times in the international arena, drawing twice and losing thrice.

“I think that all Norwegian citizens are experiencing the night of a lifetime,” Solbakken said. “Some people say that we have changed Norway forever. They will party for a week or so.”

But many years before he made history with his bunch of vikings on Sunday, Solbakken suffered a ‘near-death’ experience.

Dead for seven minutes

Playing for Danish side Copenhagen in 2001, Solbakken suffered a cardiac arrest on the training ground and was clinically dead as his heart stopped beating for 12 minutes, as per Marca English.

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“My teammates saw me collapse, die and come back to life,” Solbakked told Marca English. “My mother started organizing my funeral. At first they were worried about whether I would survive; afterward, whether I would suffer brain damage. Those were the thoughts tormenting my family.”

Then Copenhagen team doctor Frank Odgaard, performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation and external cardiac massage on him until the ambulance arrived, and then used a defibrillator to restart his heart.

The following day, he admitted that it was a miracle as Solbakken’s heart stopped beating.

The day is erased from Solbakken’s memory as he only remembers regaining consciousness in the intensive care unit at Rigshospitalet.

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“At first I couldn’t see anything, just total darkness. Then a light blue appeared… let’s call it a tunnel. It was a beautiful light. When they woke me up, I thought: “Oh no, could I stay there a little longer?”. I have no explanation for what I saw,” Solbakken recalled.

When Norway confirmed the first knockout appearance in 28 years after defeating Senegal earlier in the tournament, Solbakken rushed to the stands to find his wife Anniken.

After he found her, the former midfielder passionately kissed her, 25 years after kissing death.