Tom Lund (born 10 September 1950) is a former

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

and striker, he is considered by some as Norway's greatest football player of all time. Lund spent his entire career at Norwegian club

Lillestrøm Lillestrøm is a municipality in Viken county. It is located in the traditional district of Romerike. With a population of 85,757 inhabitants, it is the fourth most populated municipality in Viken. It was founded on 1 January 2020 as a merger be ...

, despite receiving numerous offers from big clubs abroad. The most famous example of his loyalty came in 1973, when he turned down

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Greek ...

, who wanted him to fill in the gap after football legend

Johan Cruijff Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (, internationally known as Johan Cruyff; 25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016) was a Dutch professional football player and manager. As a player, he won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973 and 1974. Cruyff was a pr ...

. On September 14, 1977 Lillestrøm played against Ajax in the European champions cup, at

Ullevaal Stadium Ullevaal Stadion () is an all-seater football stadium located in Oslo, Norway. It is the home ground of the Norway national football team, and the site of the Norwegian Cup Final. From its opening in 1926 to 2009 it was the home ground of ...

and won 2–0. The match was seen by more than 20,000 spectators, which became an all-time record attendance for any LSK match at home. Lund also turned down offers from clubs like

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

and

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

. In all official competitions, he played 348 matches and scored 197 goals for Lillestrøm (of which 274 matches and 154 goals were recorded in league competition), helping his club to win the

Norwegian Cup The Norwegian Football Cup ( no, Norgesmesterskapet i fotball for herrer) is the main knockout cup competition in Norwegian football. It is run by the Football Association of Norway and has been contested since 1902, making it the oldest football ...

in 1977, 1978 and 1981, and the

Norwegian top division 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 ...

in 1976 and 1977. He won 47 caps for the Norwegian national team, and scored 12 goals. He retired from football in 1982, at the relatively young age of 32, while still being regarded as one of the best players in Norwegian football. Lund has aviophobia, fear of flying, and travelled by car to away games in Norway and Europe—including to games played in Bulgaria and Hungary. It has been speculated that this is one of the reasons why he turned down offers from abroad. From 1985 to 1987, as well as in 1990, Tom Lund coached Lillestrøm, and secured a cup triumph in 1985 and a league championship in 1986. For his loyalty and achievements with Lillestrøm he is one of the few Norwegian footballers to be immortalised in sculpture, with a statue of him standing outside Lillestrøms stadium, Åråsen. The statue was decapitated in June 2013, allegedly by supporters of Lillestrøm's arch-rivals

Vålerenga Vålerenga () is a neighbourhood in the city of Oslo, Norway, belonging to the borough of Gamle Oslo. Vålerenga is located between the neighbourhoods of Gamlebyen, Jordal, Ensjø, Etterstad and Lodalen. Vålerenga is in particular known for it ...

. As of 2006, Tom Lund is an investor in Lillestrøm, and is part of the club's sports committee.

References

External links

Everything2: Tom Lund
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lund, Tom 1950 births Living people Norwegian men's footballers Norway men's international footballers Lillestrøm SK players Eliteserien players Norwegian football managers Lillestrøm SK managers Men's association football forwards People from Lillestrøm Footballers from Viken (county)