Claus Lundekvam

Claus Lundekvam (born 22 February 1973) is a Norwegian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Lundekvam began his career with Brann before moving to English side Southampton in 1996 where he played until his retirement in 2008. He made a total of 413 appearances for the club, of which 290 were in the Premier League, and was the team's captain for several years. He notably played for Southampton in the 2003 FA Cup Final against Arsenal. Lundekvam was capped 40 times for Norway and often captained the national team.

Playing career Lundekvam was a junior player for local team Selbjørn in Austevoll Municipality before joining Norwegian top flight team Brann, where he made his senior debut in 1993. Coincidentally, both teams were managed at the time by former Saints manager Dave Jones.

In 2002–03, he contributed to one of Southampton's most successful seasons in history as they finished eighth in the Premiership and reached the FA Cup final, where they lost 1–0 to Arsenal. The team was managed by Gordon Strachan, who famously joked when Lundekvam was stretchered off injured in a game against Leicester City in the 2003–04 season that he "didn't have a clue" whether the player was unconscious as "that's what he's always like".

Lundekvam remained at Southampton after their relegation from the Premier League in 2005. He went off injured after five minutes of the first game of the 2006–07 season, away to Derby County on 6 August 2006, and missed the first two months of the season. He then had a long run in the team before another injury in March put him out for another month. In a game at St Mary's against Southend United on 6 May 2007, Lundekvam fell awkwardly and sustained a serious ankle injury that put him out of action. On 18 March 2008, it was announced that his injury was to the extent that his playing career was over. Southampton rewarded Lundekvam for his service to the club that had included over 400 appearances with a testimonial match against Celtic, managed by Gordon Strachan, at St Mary's on 18 July 2008. Curiously, Lundekvam had to pay the expenses of his own testimonial match, due to the St Mary's pitch being damaged following a Bon Jovi concert the week before, but the fan turnout allowed him to recoup his budget.

International career Lundekvam made his international debut for the Norwegian U21 team in 1994 and his senior debut for the Norwegian national team in November 1995. His first international goal, against Bosnia-Herzegovina in 2002, was the 1,000th goal in the history of the Norwegian national team. Lundekvam was capped 40 times for the national team, often as captain, and scored two goals. About his addiction he said: "I would drink two litres of hard liquor and do between five and ten grams of cocaine every day." The allegations were later denied by Lundekvam's former team-mate and captain Francis Benali. In 2015, he released his autobiography detailing his career and struggles with addiction and mental health. Lundekvam worked regularly as a pundit for TV 2, the largest commercial broadcaster in Norway, until 2016. Lundekvam now works with the Psychiatry Alliance in Bergen to help others with mental health and drug issues by sharing his own experiences.

Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals

1993 Tippeligaen

1994 Tippeligaen

1995 Tippeligaen

1996 Tippeligaen

1996–97 Premier League

1997–98 Premier League

1998–99 Premier League

1999–2000 Premier League

2000–01 Premier League

2001–02 Premier League

2002–03 Premier League

2003–04 Premier League

2004–05 Premier League

2005–06 Championship

2006–07 Championship

International

Scores and results list Norway's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Lundekvam goal.

Honours Brann

Norwegian Football Cup runner-up: 1995

Southampton FA Cup runner-up: 2002–03 Individual

Southampton Player of the Season: 2005–06