Martin Odegaard was the youngest player to represent his local team, Stromsgodset, at Tippeligaen at just 15 years old. 

Martin Odegaard is one of the rare players who made a breakthrough in world football. At the age of 13, the Norwegian midfielder bursting with age-defying potential began training with more experienced players. Two years later, at the age of 15, he entered the history books of his hometown team, Stromsgodset, when he came off the bench in a match for the first team.

This attracted the attention of the entire football community, with numerous European powerhouses now firmly focused on the port city of Drammen, Norway, to see what it was all about. The fact that a baby-faced boy with at least another year of school ahead of him was leading the midfield surprised the local supporters, but it did not surprise those who knew him well.

Mirror Football has conducted exclusive interviews with two prominent members of the Stromsgodset hierarchy who witnessed Odegaard’s rapid rise to football superstardom. The club’s general manager, Magne Jordan Nilsen, detailed the moment when he recognized that the current Arsenal player resembled no other young talent he had ever seen.

“He was 15 when he joined us for pre-season in Marbella, and he played as a number 6 in midfield against a Hungarian team,” Nilsen said. “Martin, who was just 15 at the time, dominated the match. It’s something we have witnessed, and it’s something we will never see again in our lives,” stated the coaches and players. “I didn’t want to inform anyone because they would have signed him right away,” Nilsen joked.

“He demonstrated superstar quality at the age of 15,” said Rune Marthinsen, the marketing director of Stromsgodset, emphasizing how popular Odegaard was two years ago. “I noticed for the first time how talented he was when he made his [non-competitive] debut at the age of 13. When he was 13, we had sponsors who wаnted to sign him. I doubt many people in Drammen had heard of him, but Diadora, Adidas, and Nike were all interested in him. Martin was something no one had ever seen in Norway before.”

Marthinsen states that he seamlessly transitioned from pre-season friendly matches to high-level league matches without incident. “It was probably his fourth or fifth match for us, and he joked by saying a 37-year-old man scored twice. It was a fantastic match and experience for all of us.”

Martin Odegaard’s journey from a young prodigy to a global football sensation has captivated the football world, and his talent continues to shine at the highest level.

“Martin was something no one had ever seen in Norway before,” Marthinsen affirmed. He smoothly transitioned from pre-season friendly matches to high-level championship matches without incident. It was probably his fourth or fifth match for us, and he joked by saying a 37-year-old man scored twice. It was a fantastic match and experience for all of us.

Odegaard attracted the attention of bigger clubs, which was unusual for young players from lesser-known clubs. As far as I know, we received 63 emails from foreign teams, including Bayern Munich, Dortmund, Liverpool, and everyone. He was probably 14 or 15 at the time. Nilsen continued by pointing out that, despite being under the spotlight now, teenage Odegaard remained unaffected.

“What attracted attention was that it was Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Arsenal, some Italian teams—all the best teams in Europe.” The most astonishing aspect of Martin’s technical talent, however, was his and his family’s ability to stay grounded. “He made the headlines here every day, the media were knocking on their door,” a journalist stated. The sеcrеt was that he kept his cool and focused on improving as a player. Although he was bought with the intention to develop, it took him 679 days after his arrival to make his debut for the senior team of Real Madrid.

Odegaard joined the club permanently in 2016 and has never regretted it since. According to Nilsen, he is already among the best in England.

Martin is now one of the Premier League’s top midfielders, but it’s hard to sаy what would have happened if he had gone straight to Arsenal.

Odegaard, at just 23 years old, has already experienced things that most people would strugglе to fit into a single career.

He has dealt with the attention that comes with being a teenage prodigy, debunked suggestions that he would be a failure when things didn’t work out in Spain, and is currently leading Arsenal’s charge for the top four.

Perhaps it has less to do with the tough treatment he sometimes received in Madrid and more to do with the amount of love he receives in North London.