On Friday morning, New York City FC officially announced the signing of Norwegian international Jo Inge Berget. The 27-year-old forward will join the club pending receipt of his P1 Visa and ITC.

This is the second time NYCFC have signed a Malmö FF player this offseason as they also grabbed fullback Anton Tinnerholm from the Swedish champions.

Career Path

Jo Inge Berget began his career at Norwegian side FC Lyn Oslo. The forward was then bought by Serie A club Udinese but immediately sent back to FC Lyn Oslo on loan. After one year at Lyn, Udinese sent the now 27-year-old back to Norway but this time with Strømsgodset IF for two years.

After a pair of years with Strømsgodset, the Norwegian found a new club in his native country only this time moving on a permanent deal, not a loan. The club he moved to was Molde FK, who he eventually helped win the first title in club history. Berget ultimately helped the club retain the title the following season and eventually left the club after 63 appearances and 17 goals.

Berget during his time at Molde against former NYCFC player Mix Diskerud. | Photo: NYCFC.com
Berget during his time at Molde against former NYCFC player Mix Diskerud. | Photo: NYCFC.com

The manager at Molde at the time was Ole Gunnar Solskjær. When Solskjær left to go manage Cardiff City in the Premier League, he took Berget with him. While with Cardiff, Berget was sent out on loan to Scottish powerhouses Celtic.

In 2015, Jo Inge Berget moved to Sweden to play for Malmö. To this day, Malmö is the club that has given the Norwegian the most appearances as he left the club with 77 appearances and 25 goals. Jo Inge left the club with two Allsvenskan titles and three years of playing experience with NYCFC teammate Anton Tinnerholm.

Over the course of his career, Berget has made 20 appearances for Norway's senior side where he has bagged 2 goals.

Berget with former Malmö and current NYCFC teammate Anton Tinnerholm. | Photo: NYCFC.com
Berget with former Malmö and current NYCFC teammate Anton Tinnerholm. | Photo: NYCFC.com

Quotes

Berget started off by saying “I feel delighted, I’m really looking forward to getting to New York and getting to play in MLS for one of the best teams and hopefully, we’re going to win a trophy this year." The Norwegian went on to say “New York has been up there at the top but they’ve never won, so hopefully we can make a change to that. I know about the coach and some of the players there and they like to play offensive football. I think it’s going to suit me really well."

Patrick Vieira commented on his versatility saying “Jo is a player with good experience in Europe and he’s a player who can play in many different positions - on the wing, as a 9, or as a number 10."

NYCFC Sporting Director Claudio Reyna started off by saying “We are very happy to welcome Jo Inge to NYCFC and excited about his ability to slide into various attacking roles including center forward or playing in wide areas of the field." 

The former USMNT midfielder went on to say “Jo Inge also has size which is something we lacked in attacking areas and, at times in certain games, you need that component to try and handle the more physical teams and to be able to create chances in different ways.”

Quotes via NYCFC.com

VAVEL Logo
About the author
Jay Stucchio
Sports journalist based out of New York. Writing about the beautiful game worldwide. Editor at Vavel USA.