Ben Olsen
| Date of birth | 03 May 1977 |
| Place of birth | Harrisburg |
| Nationality | American |
| Weight | 65 kg |
| Height | 1.73 m |
| Position | Midfielder |
Having appeared in the Sydney Olympics for the USA team that narrowly missed out on a bronze medal, Ben crossed the Atlantic to join Nottingham Forest for an extended loan period in October 2001.
He immediately took to English football, proving to be a very pacy and effervescent wide-right midfield player. He featured regularly before suffering a broken ankle in March when he returned to the United States.
Club history
| Team | Joined | Left | Loan / Trialist |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington DC United | 01 Jul 1998 | 11 Oct 2000 | |
| Nottingham Forest | 12 Oct 2000 | 07 May 2001 | L |
| Washington DC United | 08 May 2001 |
Club stats
| Season | Team | Competition | Apps | Subs | Goals | Y | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000-01 | Nottingham Forest | League Division 1 | 14 | 4 |
2 |
2
|
Please note: Career stats are based on performances in the Premier and Football Leagues and (in most cases all) internationals.
Club matches
| Date | Match | Result | Competition | Round | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 Oct 2000 | Nottingham Forest v Watford | L | 0-2 | League Division 1 | |
| 25 Oct 2000 | Nottingham Forest v Burnley | W | 5-0 | League Division 1 | |
| 28 Oct 2000 | Stockport County v Nottingham Forest | W | 1-2 | League Division 1 | |
| 04 Nov 2000 | Nottingham Forest v Preston North End | W | 3-1 | League Division 1 | |
| 12 Nov 2000 | Gillingham v Nottingham Forest | W | 1-3 | League Division 1 | |
| 18 Nov 2000 | Nottingham Forest v Wimbledon | L | 1-2 | League Division 1 | |
| 25 Nov 2000 | Nottingham Forest v Tranmere Rovers | W | 3-1 | League Division 1 | |
| 29 Nov 2000 | Nottingham Forest v Sheffield United | W | 2-0 | League Division 1 | |
| 09 Dec 2000 | Nottingham Forest v Portsmouth | W | 2-0 | League Division 1 | |
| 13 Dec 2000 | Nottingham Forest v Huddersfield Town | L | 1-3 | League Division 1 | |
| 16 Dec 2000 | Queens Park Rangers v Nottingham Forest | L | 1-0 | League Division 1 | |
| 23 Dec 2000 | West Bromwich Albion v Nottingham Forest | L | 3-0 | League Division 1 | |
| 26 Dec 2000 | Nottingham Forest v Crewe Alexandra | W | 1-0 | League Division 1 | |
| 30 Dec 2000 | Nottingham Forest v Norwich City | D | 0-0 | League Division 1 | |
| 10 Feb 2001 | Nottingham Forest v Blackburn Rovers | W | 2-1 | League Division 1 | |
| 17 Feb 2001 | Fulham v Nottingham Forest | L | 1-0 | League Division 1 | |
| 21 Feb 2001 | Nottingham Forest v Sheffield Wednesday | L | 0-1 | League Division 1 | |
| 07 Mar 2001 | Nottingham Forest v Barnsley | W | 1-0 | League Division 1 | |
Please note: Match history is complete for the Premier and Football Leagues and (in most cases all) internationals.
International stats
| Season | Team | Competition | Apps | Subs | Goals | Y | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-97 | USA | World Youth Cup | 3 | 1 |
|||
| 1998-99 | USA | International Friendly | 1 | 1 |
1 |
||
| 1998-99 | USA | Under-21 | 1 | ||||
| 1998-99 | USA | US Cup | 1 | 1 |
|||
| 1999-00 | USA | CONCACAF Gold Cup | 1 | 2 |
1
|
||
| 1999-00 | USA | FIFA Confederations Cup | 2 | 1 |
1 |
1
|
|
| 1999-00 | USA | International Friendly | 2 | 2 |
1 |
||
| 1999-00 | USA | Olympics | 3 | 1 |
|||
| 1999-00 | USA | US Nike Cup | 1 | 2 |
|||
| 2000-01 | USA | FIFA World Cup | 1 |
||||
| 2000-01 | USA | International Friendly | 1 | ||||
| 2000-01 | USA | Olympics | 5 |
1
|
|||
| 2002-03 | USA | International Friendly | 2 | 1 |
1 |
1
|
|
| 2005-06 | USA | CONCACAF Gold Cup | 2 | 2 |
1
|
||
| 2005-06 | USA | FIFA World Cup | 1 |
||||
| 2005-06 | USA | International Friendly | 4 | 4 |
2 |
2
|
|
| 2006-07 | USA | Copa America | 2 |
Please note: Career stats are based on performances in the Premier and Football Leagues and (in most cases all) internationals.
International matches
| Date | Match | Result | Competition | Round | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 Jun 1997 | China PR v USA | W | 0-1 | World Youth Cup | Group C |
| 19 Jun 1997 | Republic of Ireland v USA | L | 2-1 | World Youth Cup | Group C |
| 22 Jun 1997 | Ghana v USA | L | 1-0 | World Youth Cup | Group C |
| 25 Jun 1997 | Uruguay v USA | L | 3-0 | World Youth Cup | Group F |
| 06 Nov 1998 | USA v Australia | D | 0-0 | International Friendly | |
| 06 Feb 1999 | USA v Germany | L | 0-1 | U21 | |
| 21 Feb 1999 | USA v Chile | W | 2-1 | International Friendly | |
| 11 Mar 1999 | USA v Guatemala | W | 3-1 | US Cup | |
| 13 Mar 1999 | USA v Mexico | L | 1-2 | US Cup | Final |
| 24 Jul 1999 | New Zealand v USA | W | 1-2 | FIFA Confederations Cup | Group B |
| 30 Jul 1999 | USA v Germany | W | 2-0 | FIFA Confederations Cup | Group B |
| 03 Aug 1999 | USA v Saudi Arabia | W | 2-0 | FIFA Confederations Cup | 3rd place |
| 08 Sep 1999 | USA v Jamaica | D | 2-2 | International Friendly | |
| 16 Jan 2000 | USA v Iran | D | 1-1 | International Friendly | |
| 29 Jan 2000 | Chile v USA | W | 1-2 | International Friendly | |
| 12 Feb 2000 | USA v Haiti | W | 3-0 | CONCACAF Gold Cup | Group B |
| 16 Feb 2000 | USA v Peru | W | 1-0 | CONCACAF Gold Cup | Group B |
| 19 Feb 2000 | USA v Colombia | D | 2-1 (1-2) | CONCACAF Gold Cup | Quarter-final |
| 12 Mar 2000 | USA v Tunisia | D | 1-1 | International Friendly | |
| 21 Apr 2000 | USA v Honduras | W | 3-0 | Olympics | North and Central America final round group D |
| 25 Apr 2000 | USA v Canada | D | 0-0 | Olympics | North and Central America final round group D |
| 28 Apr 2000 | USA v Guatemala | W | 4-0 | Olympics | North and Central America final round semi-final |
| 30 Apr 2000 | USA v Honduras | L | 1-2 | Olympics | North and Central America final round group D |
| 03 Jun 2000 | USA v South Africa | W | 4-0 | US NIKE CUP | |
| 06 Jun 2000 | USA v Republic of Ireland | D | 1-1 | US NIKE CUP | |
| 11 Jun 2000 | USA v Mexico | W | 3-0 | US NIKE CUP | |
| 13 Sep 2000 | USA v Czech Republic | D | 2-2 | Olympics | Finals Group C |
| 16 Sep 2000 | USA v Cameroon | D | 1-1 | Olympics | Finals Group C |
| 19 Sep 2000 | USA v Kuwait | W | 3-1 | Olympics | Finals Group C |
| 23 Sep 2000 | USA v Japan | W | 2-2 (5-4) | Olympics | Quarter-final |
| 29 Sep 2000 | USA v Chile | L | 0-2 | Olympics | 3rd place |
| 11 Oct 2000 | USA v Costa Rica | D | 0-0 | FIFA World Cup | CONCACAF semi-final group E |
| 27 Jan 2001 | USA v China PR | W | 2-1 | International Friendly | |
| 17 Nov 2002 | USA v El Salvador | W | 2-0 | International Friendly | |
| 18 Jan 2003 | USA v Canada | W | 4-0 | International Friendly | |
| 08 Feb 2003 | USA v Argentina | L | 0-1 | International Friendly | |
| 07 Jul 2005 | Cuba v USA | W | 1-4 | CONCACAF Gold Cup | Group B |
| 12 Jul 2005 | USA v Costa Rica | D | 0-0 | CONCACAF Gold Cup | Group B |
| 16 Jul 2005 | USA v Jamaica | W | 3-1 | CONCACAF Gold Cup | Quarter-final |
| 24 Jul 2005 | USA v Panama | W | 0-0 (3-1) | CONCACAF Gold Cup | Final |
| 12 Nov 2005 | Scotland v USA | D | 1-1 | International Friendly | |
| 22 Jan 2006 | USA v Canada | D | 0-0 | International Friendly | |
| 29 Jan 2006 | USA v Norway | W | 5-0 | International Friendly | |
| 10 Feb 2006 | USA v Japan | W | 3-2 | International Friendly | |
| 19 Feb 2006 | USA v Guatemala | W | 4-0 | International Friendly | |
| 22 Mar 2006 | Germany v USA | L | 4-1 | International Friendly | |
| 11 Apr 2006 | USA v Jamaica | D | 1-1 | International Friendly | |
| 26 May 2006 | USA v Venezuela | W | 2-0 | International Friendly | |
| 22 Jun 2006 | Ghana v USA | L | 2-1 | FIFA World Cup | Finals group E |
| 28 Jun 2007 | Argentina v USA | L | 4-1 | Copa America | Group C |
| 02 Jul 2007 | USA v Paraguay | L | 1-3 | Copa America | Group C |
Please note: Match history is complete for the Premier and Football Leagues and (in most cases all) internationals.