I just received confirmation from Brian Halliday of "Inside Soccer" that Hans Knutsen, the top assistant of Norwegian Coach Åge Steen, will be a guest on "Inside Soccer" today at 5:30 PM San Diego time (8:30 PM EDT).
Some Info About Knutsen In a "toppserien.com" article that I found from last December it says that Hans Knutsen is 47 years old and was Even Pellerud's top assistant on the Norwegian National Women's Team from 1991 - 1996. Knutsen was offered a job as one of the assistant coaches of the Philadelphia Charge last December and turned it down. There is a picture of Hans with the following article: Says "No" to Philadelphia Knutsen also coached the men's teams Kongsvinger and Eik in the Norwegian First Division and has coached the women's teams Asker and Nikko (Japan). I'm not sure about the timing, but Hege Riise has also played for Asker and Nikko over in Japan so Knutsen may have coached Hege at the club level as well.
"Inside Soccer" Link & Phone Numbers Here's the direct link for listening to the "Inside Soccer" show along with the phone numbers: Inside Soccer Toll Free Number: 888-514-2100 Intl Number: 001-858-268-3068
Link to Knutsen Interview Here is the link to yesterday's interview on "Inside Soccer" with Hans Knutsen: September 27, 2003 (Interview starts about 5 minutes into segment #9)
Status of Anne Tønnessen I had a chance to ask Coach Knutsen about the lack of playing time for Anne Tønnessen in this World Cup and he responded by saying that Anne has been injured and is not in her best form yet while the two other central defenders (Knudsen & Stangeland) are at the moment playing better than Tønnessen. I found it interesting that in an article posted today at the "toppserien.com" website Tønnessen said that she is disappointed with her lack of playing time and that she "is not here as a tourist." Her suggestion to Coach Steen is to play her with with Stangeland in the center of the Norwegian defense and move Monica Knudsen back to the midfield where she normally plays for her club team Asker and where she started for Norway in the 2000 Gold Medal match.