Charles Reep: A Major Influence on British and Norwegian Football

Abstract

This article attempts to explain Norway's international success in football during the 1990s, by primarily focusing on the development of playing styles in Norway and the UK. Charles Reep has been central in this development. His research has led him to propose a theory which highlights the role which chance plays in football and thus a particularly direct style of play. This playing style, however, has its roots in the football played by Herbert Chapman's Arsenal team of the early 1930s. The style of play subsequently adopted by the Norwegian national team in the 1990s, therefore, can be traced back to Herbert Chapman via Charles Reep.