Erik Thorstvedt

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Erik Thorstvedt (born October 28, 1962 in Stavanger) is a former Norwegian professional football goalkeeper. Thorstvedt is recognised as one of the best Norwegian goal keepers.^{[citation needed]} He won 97 caps for the Norwegian national team, only Henning Berg (100) and Thorbjørn Svenssen (104) achieved more, and was the starter in goal at the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

He has played for Eik-Tønsberg, Viking, Borussia Mönchengladbach, IFK Göteborg and Tottenham Hotspur. He was part of the IFK Göteborg squad that won the Swedish championship but he did not play enough matches to receive a medal. He was also the first Norwegian to win the FA Cup with Spurs in 1991.

Thorstvedt was the goalkeeper for Viking in the Norwegian cup final in 1984 against Fredrikstad when Per Egil Ahlsen of Fredrikstad scored a fantastic free kick from more than 35 yards out. Thorstvedt is also remembered for a dreadful mistake he made for Tottenham on debut against Nottingham Forest but bounced back and became a fans favourite.

Thorstvedt had to retire in 1996 due to back injuries. After his career as a player, he worked as a goalkeeping coach with the Norwegian national team, and had a brief spell as Director of Football at Viking. He currently works as an expert commentator/pundit on Canal+ and is also a TV host on the Royal League matches shown on TVNorge. He is also the coach of Tufte IL, a team created for the reality-TV show Heia Tufte!, also aired on TVNorge.

v • d • e Norway squad - 1994 FIFA World Cup 1 Thorstvedt • 2 Halle • 3 Johnsen • 4 Bratseth • 5 Bjørnebye • 6 J. Flo • 7 Mykland • 8 Leonhardsen • 9 Fjørtoft • 10 Rekdal • 11 Jakobsen • 12 Grodås • 13 By Rise • 14 Nilsen • 15 Løken • 16 Sørloth • 17 Eggen • 18 Håland • 19 Strand • 20 Berg • 21 Rushfeldt • 22 Bohinen • Coach: Olsen