Christian Grindheim (born 17 July 1983) is a Norwegian retired professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who last played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for

Eliteserien Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotio ...

club

FK Haugesund Fotballklubben Haugesund (English: ''Football Club Haugesund''), usually referred to as FK Haugesund or FKH, is a professional Norwegian football club from the city of Haugesund, Rogaland, Norway. The club currently plays in the Norwegian Elites ...

. Grindheim is known as a hardworking midfielder with tough tackling and powerful shots. He has made over 50 appearances for the Norway national team.

Club career

Grindheim was born in Haugesund and started his career in the local club Haugar, before he joined Haugesund where he made his debut for the first team in

Tippeligaen Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion ...

at the age of 17. After Haugesund's relegation from the First Division in 2004, several Tippeligaen clubs were interested in his signature.

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

, with Roy Hodgson as manager, made an offer for Grindheim, but he chose Vålerenga. At Vålerenga, he played regularly for the team that won the league in 2005. On 7 January 2008, Grindheim joined

Heerenveen Heerenveen (, fry, It Hearrenfean ) is a town and municipality in the province of Friesland (Fryslân), in the Northern Netherlands. In 2021, the town had a population of 29,790 (1 January) while the municipality had a population 50,859 (1 July). ...

. Heerenveen paid Vålerenga a reported transfer fee of €3 million. He played 86 matches for the club winning the 2008–09 Dutch Cup. On 15 June 2011, Grindheim transferred to

FC Copenhagen Football Club Copenhagen ( da, Football Club København, ), commonly known as FC København, FC Copenhagen, Copenhagen or simply FCK, is a professional Danish football club in Copenhagen, Denmark. FCK was founded in 1992 as a superstructure on ...

on a three-year contract, for a reported transfer fee of €750,000. In February 2013, Grindheim returned to Vålerenga on loan with an option to buy, which Vålerenga took up in July 2013, signing Grindheim to a three-year contract.

International career

Grindheim made his debut for the Norwegian national team, on 17 August 2005 in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against Switzerland. Grindheim played 45 minutes in a match Norway lost 2–0. He scored his first goal in

Egil Olsen Egil Roger Olsen (born 22 April 1942), nicknamed Drillo, is a Norwegian football manager and former footballer. He is best known as a highly successful manager of the Norway national football team. He has since been manager of the Iraq national ...

first match in his second stint as head coach of Norway, the friendly match against

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

on 11 February 2009, He reached his 50th cap in the friendly match against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Career statistics

;Notes

International goals

:Source:

Honours

;Vålerenga IF *

Norwegian Premier League Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion ...

: 2005 ;SC Heerenveen * KNVB Cup: 2008–09 ;F.C. Copenhagen *

Danish Cup The Danish Cup ( da, Landspokalturneringen; often referred to as Pokalen) is the official "knockout" cup competition in Danish football, run by the Danish Football Association. The cup has been contested annually since 1955. The winner will quali ...

: 2011–12

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grindheim, Christian 1983 births Living people People from Haugesund Association football midfielders Norwegian footballers Norway international footballers Norway under-21 international footballers FK Haugesund players Vålerenga Fotball players SC Heerenveen players F.C. Copenhagen players Eliteserien players Norwegian First Division players Eredivisie players Danish Superliga players Norwegian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate footballers in Denmark Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Denmark Sportspeople from Rogaland