Claus Lundekvam

Claus Lundekvam
Personnel
birthday	February 22, 1973
place of birth	Austevoll ,  Norway
size	191 cm
position	Defender
Juniors
Years	station
until 1993	Brann Bergen
Men's
Years	station	Games (goals) 1
1993-1996	Brann Bergen	53 (1)
1996-2008	Southampton FC	357 (2)
National team
Years	selection	Games (goals)
1993-1994	Norway U-21	16 (2)
1995-2002	Norway	40 (2)
1 Only league games are given.

Claus Lundekvam (born February 22, 1973 in Austevoll ) is a former Norwegian football player . In 2007 he ended his playing career as the acting captain of the then English second division club Southampton FC .

Before that, he had spent most of his career with the Saints.

Club career

Career start

Born on the island of Austevoll , Lundekvam came to the mainland in the youth department of Brann Bergen as a teenager . It was there that he signed his first professional contract in 1993 and from 1994 onwards he also got a regular place in the Bergen defensive. By 1996, he completed 53 games with a goal in the top Norwegian league, but without being able to win a title.

Living legend of the "Saints"

In the autumn of 1996 he was then signed in a double with compatriot Egil Østenstad from Premier League -Cub FC Southampton . It should be the first and also the last change of club in his career. The newly minted Southampton manager, Graeme Souness , had already seen him in Galatasaray times and planned with him as a pillar in the defense of the Saints. Both Østenstad and Lundekvam struck from the start and were given a place in the team's regular formation.

As a result, Lundekvam formed a reliable central defense with Ken Monkou for years , which kept the traditionally weak offensive - with the exception of superstar Matt Le Tissier , in the midfield of the Premier League. When Monkou was sold to Huddersfield Town for reasons of age for the 2000/01 season , the Moroccan Tahar El Khalej took over his role before he was seriously injured the following season. He was followed by a squad of different central defenders, such as the Swedes Michael Svensson and Andreas Jakobsson , none of whom were able to convince completely. Over the years, only Lundekvam remained the constant in the central defense of the Saints, who became the unrestricted boss and captain after the resignation of Le Tissier. After the end of Le Tissier's career, however, the team lacked substance in midfield. Former star player Jamie Redknapp developed into a capital flop and the defensive, which was one of the Saints' greatest strengths so far, no longer exuded the security of bygone days. So they rose at the end of the 2004/05 season after 27 years of league membership from the Premier League. The relegation came as a surprise to those in charge of the Saints, as they had formed a powerful offensive team for the first time in years with Kevin Phillips , James Beattie and Peter Crouch .

When it came to a sell-off at Southampton and almost the entire squad ran away, Lundekvam remained loyal to the club. Above all, a move to ex-coach Gordon Strachan , who was determined to bring Lundekvam to Celtic Glasgow , was almost certain before he decided to stay with Lundekvam. This decision was highly appreciated by the fans.

In season one after relegation, the Saints struggled and only reached a disappointing 12th place in the table. In the following season they recovered again, had the best defense in the league with 53 goals conceded and reached the relegation games for the Premier League with 6th place in the table. In the playoffs one had to do without Lundekvam due to injury and was eliminated on penalties against Derby County .

He had previously broken his ankle in the decisive game for the relegation places Southend United and was convalescent by February 2008. As a result, he tried again to make a comeback, but this was thwarted by chronic ankle pain. In March 2008, he then announced the end of his career. He remained the team's captain until the end. Alongside Matt Le Tissier, he is considered to be the most formative personality of the club in modern times. On July 18, 2008, he was officially adopted as a Southampton player in a farewell game against Celtic Glasgow. He had previously donated a new lawn to his club for £ 100,000.

In his long career with the Saints, he also made a number of entries in the club's annals:

• With a total of 412 appearances for Southampton in competitive games, he is the club's most active legionnaire.
• In the eternal mission statistics of the Saints, he is ranked 9th.
• In the Premier League he ran a total of 256 times for Southampton. He was the Norwegian record player in the Premier League before he was replaced by John Arne Riise .

He was denied a title win in his entire career. The 2003 FA Cup final , which Southampton lost 1-0 to Arsenal FC, can be seen as the highlight .

National team

Unlike most of the Norwegian national team, Lundekvam has not been nominated for any youth team in his country.

In November 1995 he made his debut for Norway in the friendly against Jamaica . Then he counted to the extended circle of the national team until 2002, but without being able to prevail against the regular central defenders such as Henning Berg , Ronny Johnsen or Kjetil Rekdal . So it happened that he was not nominated for the Norwegian squad for the 1998 World Cup in France .

When two defensive players, Ronny Johnsen and Erik Hoftun, were canceled for the European Football Championship in Belgium and the Netherlands in 2000 , many counted on Lundekvam's nomination, who at the time showed attractive performances in the English Premier League . But the then national team coach Nils Johan Semb surprisingly nominated André Bergdølmo and Bjørn Otto Bragstad , who were largely inexperienced on the international stage, in the final squad and ignored Lundekvam.

It was not until 2002 that the national team was regularly called up. When Åge Hareide was appointed national team coach in 2003 , he finally got a regular place. On October 9, 2003 he then led the national team as captain in the friendly against Portugal for the first time. At the beginning still as a replacement for Henning Berg, he shared the office with Martin Andresen from 2004 until Hareide appointed him the regular captain.

He played his last international match in qualifying for the 2006 World Cup in a 2-1 defeat against Scotland .

He set a milestone with a goal in the 2-0 win against Bosnia in the qualifying game for the 2000 European Football Championship . It was the 1000th goal in the history of the Norwegian national football team.

In total he came to 40 international appearances with 2 goals. In 11 international matches he was allowed to lead his country as captain on the field. Participation in a major football tournament with Norway was denied him.

successes

• Holder of the Golden Clock (40 international matches)

Web links

• Lundekvam as a player from Southampton
• Lundekvam as the captain of Norway
• International match statistics from Lundekvam

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Lundekvam keen on Celtic transfer
2. ↑ Burley is concerned for Lundekvam
3. ↑ Lundekvam faces six-month lay-off
4. ↑ Lundekvam set to hang up boots
5. ↑ Claus rocked