Claus Lundekvam

Norwegian footballer (born 1973)

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.

Lundekvam was a junior player for local team Selbjørn in Austevoll before joining Norwegian top flight team Brann, where he made his senior debut in 1993. He scored his first goal in the premiership against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 3 April, 2004, and his second goal against Cardiff in 1 April, 2006, in the Championship. 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 Premier League 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 lawn being damaged following a Bon Jovi concert the week before, but the fan turnout allowed him to recoup his budget.

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.