Arsenal star Martin Odegaard’s debut aged 13 was illegal and rivals went easy on him because his dad was the coach

ARSENAL star Martin Odegaard’s Stromsgodset debut at 13 was ILLEGAL and rivals went easy on his because his dad was the coach.

Odegaard made his debut for Stromsgodset in 2012, coming off the bench in a friendly against Mjondalen – a side where his dad Hans Erik was assistant coach at the time.

Mjondalen raced into a four-goal lead heading into half-time.

And such a scoreline saw young Odegaard, playing as a right winger at the time, be called off the bench.

Despite being 13, it took Odegaard 25 minutes to register an assist.

But it wasn’t enough to inspire a comeback as Stromsgodset lost the game 5-2.

Ex-Mjondalen ace, Martin Strange, recalled: “We beat Stromsgodset 5-2, which at the time was a big deal for us.

“We were in the second tier and they were local opposition.”

Strange continued: “But of course the headline wasn’t that.

“Most of the attention was regarding a 13-year-old playing for Stroms-godset. Which is understandable.”

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Strange admitted he was “kind of careful” when coming up against the talented youngster as his dad was Mjondalen’s assistant.

He added: “I was kind of careful. I didn’t want to hurt him.

“He was only 13 and his dad was the assistant coach. It wasn’t the headline you wanted!”

However, Odegaard’s debut was, in fact, illegal, and the Norwegian club got into trouble after the game.

Stromsgodset’s assistant coach at the time, Petter Ingebretsen, said it was a risk worth taking.

Ingebretsen said: “I didn’t think about it at the time — that it would be a historic event.

“But we got in trouble with the federation after the game — he was too young to play — so that made it a historic event after all!

“But we took a chance and got a warning.”

Within three years, Odegaard found himself at the biggest club in world football, Real Madrid.

And a decade on, he now plays for Arsenal and will return to his homeland to take on Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League on Thursday.

The Norway and Arsenal captain said on his debut: “I remember it well.

“I was a kid. I feel young today and it’s like 10 years ago now. I was a kid. It was a good time.

“I was playing football, having fun, I just enjoyed doing what I love.”

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk