Arild Stavrum was born in 1972. His first novel, No More Free Kicks, was partly based on his own experiences as a top footballer. He followed up with the crime novel Golden Boys (Engl. edition: Exposed at the Back).

Through his long career as a footballer he played for Norwegian clubs Brann and Molde, as well as the Swedish club Helsingborg (where he was top scorer in the Swedish league), Aberdeen (of which he was the top scorer for two seasons) and Besiktas. He also has two games for the Norwegian national team to his name. Since finishing his playing career, he has also been manager for the Norwegian football clubs Molde FK and Skeid.

He has also written two books on Maradona for children and the memoir One Summer of Football.