Øystein Drillestad

Øystein Drillestad (born 22 January 1970) is a retired Norwegian footballer who played as a midfielder or forward. He is best known for playing on the first tier with Moss FK, on the second tier with Råde IL and Sarpsborg FK, and representing Norway at the 1989 FIFA World Youth Championship.

Career Hailing from Karlshus, and participated in their successful run in the 1988 Norwegian Football Cup. As Råde eliminated Lillestrøm from the cup, Drillestad scored one goal and was mentioned by VG as Råde's most talented player. Drillestad was highlighted as one of Råde's standout players, as the team chased promotion to the second tier, His main strengths as a player were passing and ball distribution. but did not make his international debut until 1988. He was still new to the international scene when playing against Portugal and Spain, but he was selected for the squad. Drillestad scored Norway's first goal in the tournament, the 1–0 goal in a 4–2 victory over Spain U20. Nonetheless, Norway was eliminated from the tournament.

As Drillestad entered the compulsory military service in the fall of 1989, he also negotiated a transfer to First Division team Moss FK ahead of the 1990 season. He would make his first-tier debut in June 1990, but was not a team regular, and both Råde and Fredrikstad FK made inquiries about the player's availability. Moss rejected a transfer in 1990, but in 1991 he was back in Råde.

In the summer of 1991 Drillestad left Norway to attend the University of South Florida and play college soccer for the USF Bulls. The star of the team was Mark Chung. Drillestad and his Norwegian teammates characterized American college soccer as a bit more technical and far less tactical than the Norwegian game. After Mark Chung left, head coach Jay Miller called Drillestad the most important player on the team.

During the college off-season, the summer of 1992, he played for Råde on loan. In the summer of 1993, he was wanted by Ski IL, but was somewhat injured.

After 3.5 years at the University of South Florida, Drillestad graduated in business administration. Returning to Norway in January 1995, he visited Kongsvinger IL, but they did not have room for another player in their budget, and he trained with second-tier club Sarpsborg FK. He was considering the MLS Tryout in October 1995, for the new league that would commence in 1996, being especially interested in joining the Tampa-based team. In the meantime, Drillestad did sign for Sarpsborg FK, both as a player and joint head coach.

Drillestad was on the wishlist of Råde both after the 1995 season and after the 1996 season, but on both occasions he stayed in Sarpsborg.

In 2000 he was named as playing assistant manager of IL Sparta, under head coach and alongside Jan Kristian Fjærestad. He then returned to SFK after the 2000 season,

Personal life He is a nephew of football manager Bjørn Drillestad. He married in 2000 and resided in Sarpsborg.

When Sarpsborg 08 FF was formed in 2008, then under the name Sarpsborg Sparta FK, Drillestad was nominated for the board of directors. He also held positions in minnows Tune IL.