Eirik Schulze

Eirik Schulze was voted IK Start's Player of the Year in 2020. Start signed him in January of that year on a free transfer, and the forward has since made 144 appearances for them and scored 49 goals.

He grew up in Mandal and started out at Mandalskameratene, then moved to Viking. Neither spell brought him regular football: he played six matches at each club without scoring.

The breakthrough came at Strømmen. Over two seasons there he played 55 matches and scored 10 goals, the first sustained run of scoring in his career. Sandnes Ulf followed in 2016, where he added three goals in 29 matches.

In January 2017 Sogndal paid a reported €165,000 for him. He spent three seasons there, playing 85 times and scoring 23 goals.

At Start he has become a regular source of goals. His tally of 49 in 144 appearances is a better rate than he managed at Sogndal, and the 2020 award came after a single season in which the club's own supporters and staff singled him out.

Schulze has not won a major team title, and he has not played for the Norway national team at senior level. His career has instead been built one club at a time.