[1] He joined Nils Arne Eggen's Moss FK in the winter of 1986 and made his debut in a friendly match against Hamkam.
Haugen, still aged 18, "burst into full bloom", "overshadowed established First Division players" and seemed to have a "star-class debut" and a "comet career".
[9][10] After the 1991 season, Haugen decided to move back to Trøndelag and join Strindheim IL.
[11][12] In Strindheim, Haugen served as team captain and won promotion from the 1994 1. divisjon to the 1995 Eliteserien.
Haugen rejected an offer to rejoin Moss, as he wanted to contribute in the attempt to establish Strindheim in the Eliteserien.
[21] After that, he moved to Spain, working as a PE teacher at the Norwegian school in Alfaz del Pi.
[22][23] In January 2007, he became interim co-manager with Tom Freddy Aune before Anders Grönhagen was hired as manager.