![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/how-once-in-a-lifetime-talent-martin-odegaard-went-from-real-madrid-flop-to-arsenal-leader/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/0_Martin-Odegaard-signs-a-New-Contract-with-Arsenal.jpg&description=Few players have had a career quite like Martin Odegaard. but after a few years in the Dutch wilderness he is now one of Arsenal's and the Premier League's best performers Martin Odegaard was THE wonderkid of the early 2010's. Plucked from the port city of Drammen, Norway as a teen, the midfielder may only be 24 now - but already has quite the story to tell. In possession of the kind of technical talent that defied his years, the mercurial playmaker started to train with senior professionals in 2012 when he was just 13. By the time Odegaard had turned 15, he'd made history by making his first-team debut for hometown club Strømsgodset. The rest of the footballing world soon took notice, but the fact that a 15-year-old was pulling the strings in the middle of the park in men's professional football came as little surprise to those who know him best. Last year, Mirror Football spoke exclusively to two prominent figures in the Strømsgodset hierarchy who witnessed Odegaard's rise to superstardom first-hand. Club Chief Executive Officer Magne Jordan Nilsen recalled the first time he could tell the current Arsenal captain was unlike anything else he'd seen before. "I remember the pre-season before when he was 15 years old he was with us for pre-season in Marbella and he played against a Hungarian team, he played as a 6 in the centre of midfield and he totally dominated the game," he explained. "Martin was just 15, and he totally dominated the game and I remember the coaches and players said 'this thing that we have just experienced now, we will never see again in our lifetime – this will never happen again.' I didn't want to tell anyone as they were going to sign him straight away. He played like a 30-year-old superstar at 15." Nilsen's sentiments were echoed by Strømsgodset's marketing manager Rune Marthinsen, who shed light on just how overwhelming the interest in Odegaard was. He claimed: "We had sponsors who wanted to sign him when he was 13 years old, I don't think ve){kind=link}
Few players have had a career quite like Martin Odegaard. but after a few years in the Dutch wilderness he is now one of Arsenal’s and the Premier League’s best performers
Martin Odegaard was THE wonderkid of the early 2010’s. Plucked from the port city of Drammen, Norway as a teen, the midfielder may only be 24 now – but already has quite the story to tell.
In possession of the kind of technical talent that defied his years, the mercurial playmaker started to train with senior professionals in 2012 when he was just 13. By the time Odegaard had turned 15, he’d made history by making his first-team debut for hometown club Strømsgodset.
The rest of the footballing world soon took notice, but the fact that a 15-year-old was pulling the strings in the middle of the park in men’s professional football came as little surprise to those who know him best. Last year, Mirror Football spoke exclusively to two prominent figures in the Strømsgodset hierarchy who witnessed Odegaard’s rise to superstardom first-hand.
Club Chief Executive Officer Magne Jordan Nilsen recalled the first time he could tell the current Arsenal captain was unlike anything else he’d seen before. “I remember the pre-season before when he was 15 years old he was with us for pre-season in Marbella and he played against a Hungarian team, he played as a 6 in the centre of midfield and he totally dominated the game,” he explained.