Ruben Kristiansen

Ruben Kristiansen

Kristiansen in 2024
Personal information
Date of birth	(1988-02-20) 20 February 1988 (age 36)
Place of birth	Nordreisa, Norway
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position(s)	Defender
Team information
Current team	Tromsø
Youth career
	Nordreisa
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2006	Nordreisa
2007–2009	Skjervøy
2010–2011	Tromsdalen	43	(5)
2012–2014	Tromsø	43	(1)
2014–2015	Vålerenga	42	(0)
2015–2024	Brann	228	(4)
2025–	Tromsø	0	(0)
International career^‡
2012	Norway U23	1	(0)
2013–2014	Norway	4	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16 December 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18:03, 2 April 2014 (UTC)

Ruben Kristiansen (born 20 February 1988) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays for Tromsø as a defender.

Career

Early years

Kristiansen hails from Nordreisa Municipality.[2] He started his career at local club Nordreisa, before moving on to play for Skjervøy, Tromsdalen.[3]

Tromsø

In late 2011 Kristiansen signed a three-year contract with Eliteserien club Tromsø.[4]

Vålerenga

He signed for Vålerenga in March 2014.[5]

Brann

After two seasons at Vålerenga, Kristiansen joined fellow Eliteserien side Brann in 2015, helping them reach promotion at the end of the season.[6]

He subsequently signed several new contracts with the club, stretching all the way through the 2024 season.[7][8]

Return to Tromsø

In October 2024 Brann announced that Kristiansen would not be offered a contract extention after the season was finished. The following December, his formed club Tromsø confirmed that they had signed Kristiansen on a one-year contract.[9][10]

International career

Kristiansen made one appearance for Norway's U23 team in 2012 against Estonia's U23 team, where they lost 2-0.[3]

He made his international senior debut for Norway against South Africa in a friendly game in January 2013.[11]

Career statistics

Club

As of 16 December 2024[3][1]

Club	Season	Division	League		National Cup		Europe		Other		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Tromsdalen	2010	1. divisjon	19	2	3	0	—		—		22	2
	2011	2. divisjon	24	3	1	0	—		—		25	3
	Total		43	5	4	0	—		—		47	5
Tromsø	2012	Eliteserien	16	1	6	0	6[a]	0	—		28	1
	2013		27	0	2	0	13[a]	0	—		42	0
	Total		43	1	8	0	19	0	—		70	1
Vålerenga	2014	Eliteserien	26	0	2	0	—		—		28	0
	2015		16	0	1	0	—		—		17	0
	Total		42	0	3	0	—		—		45	0
Brann	2015	1. divisjon	12	2	0	0	—		—		12	2
	2016	Eliteserien	28	0	0	0	—		—		28	0
	2017		28	1	2	0	2[a]	0	1[b]	0	33	1
	2018		13	0	0	0	—		—		13	0
	2019		28	0	0	0	2[a]	0	—		30	0
	2020		21	0	—		—		—		21	0
	2021		26	1	2	0	—		—		28	1
	2022	1. divisjon	30	0	2	0	—		—		32	0
	2023	Eliteserien	13	0	5	0	4[c]	0	—		22	0
	2024		29	0	1	0	6[c]	0	—		36	0
	Total		228	4	12	0	14	0	1	0	255	4
Tromsø	2025	Eliteserien	0	0	0	0	—		0	0	0	0
Career Total			357	10	27	0	33	0	1	0	418	10

1. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
2. Appearance in Mesterfinalen
3. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

Kristiansen in 2012.

International

As of match played 18 January 2014[12]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Norway	2013	3	0
	2014	1	0
Total		4	0

Honours

Tromsø[1]

• Norwegian Cup runner-up: 2012

Brann[1]

• Norwegian First Division: 2022
• Norwegian Football Cup: 2022
• Mesterfinalen runner-up: 2017

References

1. Ruben Kristiansen at Soccerway
2. Profile at Tromsø IL
3. Ruben Kristiansen at the Norwegian Football Federation (in Norwegian)
4. Skeie, Torgeir (1 November 2011). "Ny back klar for Tromsø" (in Norwegian). NRK. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
5. "Vålerenga henter Ruben Kristiansen fra TIL" (in Norwegian). Dagbladet. 31 March 2014. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
6. Bolstad, Jon; Kongsvik, Christine (10 August 2015). "Nok ein venstreback klar for Brann" (in Norwegian Nynorsk). Retrieved 27 January 2025.
7. "Ruben har signert ny kontrakt" (in Norwegian). SK Brann. 20 February 2020. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
8. "Har forlenget kontrakten ut 2024" (in Norwegian). SK Brann. 1 August 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
9. Biørnstad, Carl Henning (8 October 2024). "Bekrefter at profilen er ferdig – to andre spillere tar følge" (in Norwegian). Eurosport. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
10. de Wahl, Stian André (16 December 2024). "Ruben Kristiansen blir Tromsø-spiller" (in Norwegian). Nettavisen. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
11. "South Africa vs. Norway 0 - 1". Soccerway. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
12. "Ruben Kristiansen: Internationals". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 27 January 2025.