Espen Baardsen
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| Espen Baardsen | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | December 7, 1977 | |
| Place of birth | San Rafael, California, United States | |
| Height | 1,98 m. | |
| Playing position | goalkeeper | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| San Francisco All Blacks | ||
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1996-2000 2000-2002 2002-2003 |
Tottenham Hotspur Watford Everton |
23 (0) 41 (0) 1 (0) |
| National team2 | ||
| 1998-2000 | Norway | 4 (0) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
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Espen Baardsen (born December 7, 1977), pronounced "bordsen", is a former football goalkeeper. He was born in San Rafael, California to Norwegian parents, and was selected for the US Under-18 national team before switching his international eligibility to Norway because of his dual nationality.
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[edit] Club career
In 1995 he was spotted by English team Tottenham Hotspur and offered a contract. He made his debut for the team in the spring of 1997, but despite good performances, including a 0-0 draw away to arch rivals Arsenal, he was unable to become the team's first-choice keeper. In 2000 he was transferred to Watford for £1.25 million to get regular first-team football. However, towards the end of the 2000-01 season he lost his place in the team to veteran Alec Chamberlain and spent most of his remaining Watford career on the bench.
In 2003, following a short loan spell at Everton, Baardsen retired from the game aged only 25 and moved back to the United States, claiming he had lost interest in the game. He is currently a partner and analyst for a London-based asset management company.[1]
[edit] International career
At international level, Baardsen played more than 20 matches for the Norwegian Under-21 team and also won four caps for the senior national team. He made his debut for Norway in a September 1998 European Championship qualifying match against Latvia. Before that match, he was already part of Norway's 1998 World Cup squad as third-choice goalkeeper. This was despite the fact that he has never lived in Norway in his entire life. His last international match was a January 2000 friendly game against Iceland.
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ Chris Bevan, Were you there...?, BBC Sport, 15 February 2007, accessed 18 February 2007
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