Øyvind Leonhardsen (born 17 August 1970) is a Norwegian former 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 lea ...

who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. He retired after the 2007 season, ending a career with nine years in English football at clubs

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

, and

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

, and in Norway he played for

Molde Molde () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town and the seat of Molde Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Pen ...

, Rosenborg, Lyn, and

Strømsgodset Strømsgodset is a former municipality in Vestfold county (from 1964 Buskerud county) in Norway which is today a part of the city of Drammen. History Strømsgodset was originally a small rural annex to the city parish of Bragernes (Drammen). ...

. Between 1990 and 2003 he made 86 appearances for the Norway national team scoring 19 goals.

Club career

In Norway

Leonhardsen started his career in Clausenengen before he, as a 19-year-old, moved to Premier Division side

in 1989. Two years later he was brought to Norwegian champions Rosenborg. Leonhardsen won the honorable Kniksen award as the best

in 1989, 1991, 1992 and 1993. He was voted the Player's Player of the Year in Norway in 1994.

In England

Leonhardsen moved to

in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

the following season, where he made an instant impact on the left wing. He spent three seasons with Wimbledon, and helped them reach the semi-finals of both the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

and

Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

in his final season there. He was sold to

for £3.5million in May 1997, and was initially a regular member of the first team under the management of

Roy Evans Roy Quentin Echlin Evans (born 4 October 1948) is an English former footballer who played as a defender for Liverpool, where he also had a spell as manager. Aside from his time at Liverpool, he had a short spell in the United States; and also ...

. After Gerard Houllier's continental revolution of Liverpool from 1999, Leonhardsen fell out of favour at

Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...

and was sold to

, before joining

on a free transfer in August 2002.

Return to Norway

Leonhardsen moved back to Norway in 2004 to join

FC Lyn Oslo Lyn 1896 Fotballklubb () is a Norwegian football club and a department of the sports club Ski- og Fotballklubben Lyn based in Oslo, whose members also participate in Nordic skiing and orienteering. Until 2010, SFK Lyn had two football departm ...

, where he became the

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. He signed a two-year contract with second-level club Strømsgodset IF from

Drammen Drammen () is a city and municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the south-eastern and most populated part of Norway. Drammen municipality also includes smaller towns and villages such ...

in December 2005. Leonhardsen retired aged 37 after helping securing Strømsgodset's promotion to Tippeligaen in 2006, and later retaining their place in the league in 2007. Leonhardsen began working as a youth coach at his former club Lyn. In 2018 he became assistant coach of Mjøndalen IF.

International career

Leonhardsen made 86 appearances for the Norway national team, scoring 19 goals. He was part of the

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

and

1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 1 ...

squads. In Norway, the expression "a Leo run" is derived from Leonhardsen's running capacity and smart movements. He seemed to have an uncanny instinct for anticipating when and where a loose ball would present him with a scoring chance, directing and timing his runs to make sure he'd be there to exploit it - hence his impressive scoring rate for a midfielder. He is reckoned as somewhat of a cult hero and a symbol of the Norway national team success in the 1990s. He earned great respect during his career due to his highly professional approach to the game.

Career Statistics

International

:''Scores and results list Norway's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Leonhardsen goal.''

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leonhardsen, Oeyvind Living people 1970 births Footballers from Kristiansund Norwegian men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Norway men's youth international footballers Norway men's international footballers Eliteserien players Clausenengen FK players Molde FK players Rosenborg BK players Premier League players Wimbledon F.C. players Liverpool F.C. players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players Lyn Fotball players Strømsgodset Toppfotball players 1994 FIFA World Cup players 1998 FIFA World Cup players Norwegian expatriate men's footballers Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England Mjøndalen IF Fotball non-playing staff