Erik Mykland (born 21 July 1971) is a Norwegian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He was nicknamed Myggen (mosquito) during his career, as he used to flap his arms and hands like one when celebrating his goals. A rarity in modern Norway footballers (standing at a mere 172 centimeters and a technical player), he played professionally in six countries, mainly representing IK Start, and earned 78 caps for the Norwegian national team, having appeared in the 1994 and 1998 World Cups as well as Euro 2000. Mykland was one of the most popular footballers in Norway but never without controversy, his bohemian, unshaved look and relaxed lifestyle in contrast to those of the typical footballers. Club career IK Start Born in Risør, Mykland started his career with modest Bryne FK, being "brought home" to IK Start in 1989 for NOK 60,000. He first appeared for the club against Moss FK at Melløs Stadion later that year, helping his team rank ninth in the Tippeligaen. In 1990, Mykland was named midfielder of the year in Norway, and also made his international debut – Start finished the 1991 season third, with wins over Viking FK (4–1) and Rosenborg BK (5–0). After the latter, he and seven other teammates were included in the team of the week and, also that year, he was named best player of an under-21 match, as Norway trounced Italy 6–0 in Stavanger; he represented the nation in this category a total of 15 times. Move abroad After being named the nation's player of the year in 1992, and being relegated with Start four years later, Mykland left for Austria's FC Linz (he had already served a small loan stint at FC Utrecht). Also during that year, producer Thomas Robsahm made a film, simply called "Myggen", which consisted in following him for a whole season. In 1997, Mykland moved to Panathinaikos FC but, during his spell at the club, it failed to achieve any silverware. After a season in the Bundesliga with TSV 1860 Munich (he also started 2001–02, but was released following a serious run-in with coach Peter Pacult), he joined F.C. Copenhagen in January 2002, playing very little due to injuries while also gaining a dubious reputation off the pitch: newspaper Ekstra Bladet found him three days before a match drunk on a pavement outside nightclub Rust, asking people walking by to arm wrestle