Tommy Svindal Larsen

Tommy Svindal Larsen (born 11 August 1973) is a Norwegian former footballer who played as a midfielder for Odd, Start and Stabæk in his home country, in addition to a four-year spell at 1. FC Nürnberg in Germany.[1] Svindal Larsen was capped 24 times for Norway.

Tommy Larsen
Personal information
Full name Tommy Svindal Larsen
Date of birth (1973-08-11) 11 August 1973
Place of birth Skien, Norway
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1988–1990 Odd 34 (9)
1991 Start 16 (1)
1992 → Odd (loan) 23 (5)
1993–1994 Start 43 (1)
1995–2001 Stabæk 153 (16)
2001–2005 1. FC Nürnberg 109 (2)
2005–2011 Odd 139 (3)
Total 517 (37)
National team
1988–1989 Norway U15 25 (8)
1989 Norway U16 12 (8)
1990–1991 Norway U17 11 (4)
1992 Norway U18 6 (0)
1993 Norway U20 4 (0)
1991–1995 Norway U21 41 (11)
1996–2007 Norway 24 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

Svindal Larsen was born in Skien. In his youth, he was regarded as an exceptionally talented player. He made his senior debut for Odd in the First Division as a 15-year-old, and was signed by Start at 17 ahead of the 1991 season. While he played regularly for the Kristiansand club, he was overshadowed by other players and left Start at the end of the 1994 season, having only briefly showcased his great potential. He then joined newly promoted Stabæk.

At Stabæk, Svindal Larsen became a first-team regular. In the early years of his career, Svindal Larsen had been regarded as a creative attacking midfielder, but during his time at Stabæk he was converted to more of a midfield anchor, and thrived in that role. He formed an excellent midfield partnership at Stabæk alongside Martin Andresen, and won his first major trophy in 1998, when he captained the Stabæk side that won the Norwegian Cup.

After six years at Stabæk, Svindal Larsen wanted to play abroad, and joined German side 1. FC Nürnberg on a Bosman free transfer at the end of the 2001 season. He spent four years with the Bundesliga side, playing more than a hundred games before returning home to his first club Odd where he spent the remainder of his career, captaining his hometown team for six seasons before retiring in 2011.

International career

Svindal Larsen was capped by Norway at every youth level from Under-15 to Under-21, and is current record holder for most total international games played for Norway's age-delimited national teams, with 99 youth caps in total, including a record 41 caps for Norway Under-21.[2]

However, despite his success at youth level, Svindal Larsen never truly made his mark in senior international football. He had to wait until April 1996, a few months before his 23rd birthday, before he got his full international debut in a friendly against Spain, and did not start an international match until a January 1999 friendly against Israel. In total, Svindal Larsen was capped "only" 24 times by Norway's senior national team, and ten of those appearances was as a substitute.[3] Tired of being selected for the international squad only to sit on the bench, Svindal Larsen announced his retirement from international football in 2007.

Personal life

Svindal Larsen is married and has four children.

Career statistics
Source:[4]
Season Club Division League Cup Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
2001–02 1. FC Nürnberg Bundesliga 21100211
2002–03 30030330
2003–042. Bundesliga 29120311
2004–05Bundesliga 29010300
2005 Odd Grenland Tippeligaen 11110121
2006 23110241
2007 19030220
2008 Adeccoligaen 27121292
2009 Tippeligaen 22040260
2010 15030180
2011 22040260
Career total 24852412726

References
  1. "Tommy Svindal Larsen". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  2. "Tommy Svindal Larsen". fotball.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  3. "Football PLAYER: Tommy Svindal Larsen". eu-football.info. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  4. "Tommy Svindal Larsen". kicker.de (in German). Retrieved 30 August 2015.
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