Fjortoft following urge to do something totally different
MARKUS Fjortoft likes being out of his comfort zone.
The Norwegian defender has lived in five countries and played football in three very different parts of the world.
Dunedin is his latest home, the 24yearold having arrived two months ago to link with Southern United.
At 1.91m he provides size to what was a very solid defensive unit in its first game — a 10 loss against Canterbury United last week.
That defence will need to be good again tomorrow, as Southern hosts Auckland City at the Caledonian Ground in its first home game of the season.
It is a long way from Europe or the United States where Fjortoft recently finished at Duke University, making it to the cusp of
Major League Soccer.
‘‘I asked myself what do I want to do with my footballing career, how do I want to look back on it?’’ he said.
‘‘I was thinking if I can’t reach for the great lights of the Santiago Bernabeus, or the Arsenals, or Real Madrids, or whatever you dreamed of as a kid, I want as cool as an experience as I can get.
‘‘But just something totally different, something not many people can say they did.
‘‘Things led to another, I heard about New Zealand and thought why don’t I just travel there, give it a go and see what I can do?’’
He has certainly lived a footballing life.
Fjorfort was born in England, when his father, Jan Age Fjortoft, played in the English Premier League.
The family then moved to Germany, before returning to Norway when Fjorfort was 7.
His father has proven a valuable mentor and has followed his career closely.
‘‘He obviously has a lot of experience so I’m able to leverage off his knowledge.
‘‘Me being a centre back and him being a striker, he has a lot of knowledge to pass on as to what you can expect.
‘‘Overall, he’s just been very supportive. There’s never been any pressure for me to become a footballer, its all out of my own will.’’
After finishing school, Fjortoft decided to seek another new experience, shifting to Duke University in North Carolina.
That was an ‘‘amazing’’ experience and eventually led to him to the fringe of the MLS.
He captained the New York Red Bulls under23 side and in January was drafted by the Seattle Sounders.
However, he made the decision to stay at school to complete his masters in business, adding to his bachelor’s degree in cultural anthropology.
Now in Dunedin he is loving his new home and hoping to help Southern go one better than last year’s fifth place.
Southern has a tough challenge today, coming up against an Auckland City side which has topped the table each of the past five years.
Auckland has made a strong start this year too, claiming wins over Team Wellington and Tasman United.
Kickoff is at 2pm.