{{Short description|Norwegian footballer (1952-2011)}} {{More footnotes needed|date=April 2009}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}} {{Infobox football biography | name = Svein Mathisen | image = | full_name = Svein Erling Mathisen | birth_date = {{birth date|1952|9|30|df=y}} | birth_place = [[Sauda Municipality|Sauda]], Norway | death_date = {{death date and age|2011|1|27|1952|9|30|df=y}} | death_place = [[Kristiansand Municipality|Kristiansand]], Norway | height = 1.80 m | position = [[Attacking midfielder]] | youthyears1 = | youthclubs1 = [[IK Start]] | years1 = 1973–1989 | years2 = 1978 | clubs1 = [[IK Start]] | clubs2 = [[Hibernian F.C.|Hibernian]] | caps1 = 327 | caps2 = 3 | goals1 = 106 | goals2 = 0 | nationalyears1 = 1975–1984 | nationalteam1 = [[Norway national football team|Norway]] | nationalcaps1 = 25 | nationalgoals1 = 2 }}
'''Svein Erling "Matta" Mathisen''' (30 September 1952 – 27 January 2011) was a Norwegian [[association football|footballer]]. With the exception of a short spell with Scottish club [[Hibernian F.C.|Hibernian]] in 1978, "Matta" played for [[IK Start]] throughout his career, where he won the Norwegian league title in 1978 and 1980. Mathisen was capped 25 times for [[Norway national football team|Norway]], scoring twice.
Playing [[attacking midfielder]] or [[striker (association football)|striker]], Mathisen played 327 top-tier league matches, and scored 106 goals. Both numbers are club records, and when he retired in 1989 he also held the domestic "matches played" record. It has later been beaten by [[Ola By Rise]], [[Roar Strand]], [[Christer Basma]], [[Erik Hoftun]] and [[Bjørn Johansen (footballer)|Bjørn Johansen]].
In 2010, Mathisen was diagnosed with [[stomach cancer]], and began treatment for it, but he continued to play football and appear on television. In an interview with [[Verdens Gang]], Mathisen said the sickness had taught him to love the little things in life, and that he was optimistic about his recovery.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.vg.no/sport/fotball/norsk/artikkel.php?artid=10027640|title = Kreftsyk "Matta": - Lever på lånt tid| date=23 September 2010 }}</ref>
Svein Mathisen died in his sleep from cancer in the early hours of 27 January 2011, nearly six months after being diagnosed. His last public appearance had been at a local football tournament just a few days prior. Several football personalities expressed grief over his death, and his old club IK Start cancelled all activities for the day.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.vg.no/sport/fotball/norsk/artikkel.php?artid=10037844|title = - "Matta" var en av de største| date=27 January 2011 }}</ref>
Mathisen's son [[Jesper Mathisen|Jesper]] is also a footballer, who plays as a central defender or defensive midfielder for IK Start. He is also a former under-21 international for Norway.
==References== {{reflist}} * {{cite book| last=Jeffrey | first=Jim | title=The Men Who Made Hibernian F.C. since 1946 | publisher=Tempus Publishing Ltd | year=2005 | isbn=0-7524-3091-2}}
== External links == * {{NFT player|id=22189}} * {{NeilBrownPlayers|player3/sveinmathisen}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mathisen, Svein}} [[Category:1952 births]] [[Category:2011 deaths]] [[Category:Footballers from Kristiansand]] [[Category:Men's association football midfielders]] [[Category:Norwegian men's footballers]] [[Category:Norway men's international footballers]] [[Category:Eliteserien players]] [[Category:IK Start players]] [[Category:Hibernian F.C. players]] [[Category:Scottish Football League players]] [[Category:Norwegian expatriate men's footballers]] [[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland]] [[Category:IK Start non-playing staff]] [[Category:People from Sauda Municipality]] [[Category:20th-century Norwegian sportsmen]]