Set up for success: Odegaard's extraordinary childhood
Our skipper discussed how his early start in the game affected his school life and vice-versa, and how all that incredible experience and pressure helped him become our leader
By the time Martin Odegaard made his first-team debut for the Norway national team – aged just 15 – he had already received an upbringing steeped in the sport.
His father, Hans Erik Odegaard (now manager of Lillestrom in Norway) was in the midst of his own playing career when Martin was born in 1998 – and it was football all the way from then on.
Surrounded by a like-minded friendship group, Martin was immersed in the sport growing up, and his development was so rapid that he was soon playing regular first-team football while still at school. But his level-headedness, self-discipline and overall love for the sport enabled him to continue to work hard and consistently learn, in order to fulfill the huge potential he possessed as a child.
After joining Real Madrid shortly after turning 16, Martin played most of his football over the next few years on loan (at Heerenveen and Vitesse in the Netherlands then Real Sociedad in Spain) before signing for us, also initially on loan in 2021.
He’s now widely regarded as one of the most gifted, creative midfielders in world football, and has more than 60 Norway caps to his name, as well as nearly 200 Arsenal appearances.
What were the main lessons you took from your early days in football?
It was always a big thing to enjoy it and have fun, and to always try to play with a smile on my face. For me the main thing should be that playing football makes you happy. I felt that from the very start and it’s something I still have with me today.
It’s about enjoying every day, every time I play. I would say that’s still the reason I’m playing, I’ve kept that enjoyment throughout my whole life and my career and it’s still important to me today.
Who were the people at the start of your career who taught you those formative lessons?
Well obviously because my dad was a footballer, it was kind of natural that it was him. I went to his games to watch him play from an early age and then he was also the coach of my team. I’d say he was probably the reason why I started playing football.
And then I think all my friends as well were big influences at that age. We all played football, I was lucky that the people in my same age group that I was around every day all loved playing football as well. When I was a kid they made a new pitch right next to where I lived, so we were there all the time.
I spent a lot of time together with my friends from school and my teammates and I think we learned a lot from each other. From that early age we always wanted to compete against each other, and we always watched a lot of football together. So you are just around football the whole time growing up. Every part of my life was football, my friends, my family then as I got older that’s when the coaches started to influence me as well.
Which senior players in the team helped you when you started playing men’s football for Stromsgodset?
I started training with the first-team when I was 14. I trained a bit with them, and then the next year when I was 15, that was when I started to train regularly and also play games with them. The good thing for me was there were three or four players that I already knew and had already played with before for the youth teams – the under-19s and under-16s. So I already knew a lot of them and to be fair we were quite close.
So when I moved up to the first-team I had a group of young guys around me, and it felt kind of natural. It didn’t feel like a big jump or a big change when I moved up to the first team. So that made it easier but also the more experienced players were really nice to me and helped me a lot. They were aware of my age and tried to support me, make it easy for me to fit in. Also the coaches I had there were really good to help me in that way. It didn’t feel like a massive change at all to be honest, and it’s a bit weird to say it, but it was kind of natural.
Did anyone in particular take you under their wing?
No, it was really spread out among the squad. All of them were really nice to me. It was a bit strange because a lot of them were old enough to have been my dad! But honestly they were all so good, it wouldn’t be fair to say one name because they all helped me.
"the main thing should be that playing football makes you happy. I felt that from the very start and it’s something I still have with me today"
At that age what did you particularly enjoy about training?
It was the same then as it is now for me – I loved to work on individual stuff and was always happy to do extra work on my own. I’ve done that extra work since I was really young, and still now at the senior level. Whether that was staying at the end of the session with some of the other boys or doing some finishing or technical exercises.
I guess the technical part has always been like my favourite part. I just love to play football and as long as the ball was involved, I was happy. I spent my time with the ball always, all sorts of different exercises with the ball was the main thing for me at that stage, and to be fair, it still is today.
How did you balance schoolwork with football back then?
In the beginning it was easy because we trained in the afternoons with the youth teams, so it was fine. But when I started training with the first-team, we always trained in the morning so the schedules were more difficult. But I went to a specialist sports school so they made it possible.
After training I would have to go to school a few days a week, and do extra work in the afternoons. Then when I moved abroad I did everything online. I spent a bit longer on it, but in the end I managed to do everything.
I liked primary school, I was pretty good at school, but as I got older, football began to take over. I still wanted to do well with my schoolwork though, and at home they pushed me to do that too. It was a big thing for my family to keep doing that.
What did you learn at school that has become useful in your career?
The discipline side is something I learned early. I always had to do my homework before I was allowed to go out and train as a kid. Then when I was at the online school while I was in Madrid, I had to get the schoolwork done, even though I was in a different country. You learn early on that you have to get it done, and you need to have the discipline to be independent, take responsibility and don’t find excuses. That’s probably the main thing I took from that time.
Was there a stage in your career when you made the biggest leap?
There were a few different stages that were really important when I look back now. The first one obviously is when I started playing for the first-team in Norway when I was 15. That was a massive change for my life, basically, and my career and all the attention I had. It’s probably the biggest transformation I’ve had in my life.
Then secondly I would say when I went to Vitesse on loan in the Netherlands. That year was pretty crucial to me because I was struggling a little bit, after the first loan I had (to Heerenveen). But that season in Vitesse was really, really good, so that was another turning point. Then that led to the year after, when I went to Sociedad, which also made a big difference. That was where I kind of made my mark in one of the big leagues. Those three moments were pretty crucial to where I am today.
"I started playing for the first-team in Norway when I was 15. That was a massive change for my life, and my career and all the attention I had. It’s probably the biggest transformation I’ve had in my life"
Have you thought about what you might do after your playing days?
No, I haven’t done anything like that, I haven’t started any coaching qualifications or anything, so maybe it’s something I will do in the future. At the moment though I feel like I have enough on my schedule.
A lot of people ask me whether I would be interested in coaching and to be fair, I’m not sure. I’ll have to see towards the end of my career and also when I stop playing, I guess I’ll see how it feels. When you’ve been in football for so long, it can be quite hard to stop completely at that point. It could be natural to stay in the game in some way, but also what we are doing every day is quite intense and a lot of hard work. So the question is whether you want more of that, or take a break from it. That’s the question I’ll have to ask myself in the end.
Who in the squad do you do you think would make a great manager in future?
The obvious choice is Jorginho. I think he’s really into that as well, he has a lot of experience and he’s an intelligent guy and tactically strong in the way he sees the game and everything. He would be a natural as manager.
I think also Jurrien Timber could be one. I don’t know if he’s interested in that at all yet, but just the way he is. Also he’s got a lot of experience already, of playing for Ajax too, and he’s an intelligent guy. Apart from those two, maybe Alex Zinchenko? He looks like he could be a coach to me.
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