Tom Lund, born September 10, 1950, was perhaps the most talented football player Norway ever saw. During his career as a player with Lillestrøm Sportsklubb, he donned their yellow and black jersey 505 times. As a senior player while Lillestrøm played the top division, he scored 64 goals in 149 matches.
He remained an amateur player throughout his entire career despite offers from several top football clubs all over Europe. In 1973 he turned down an offer from the Dutch super side Ajax, and rumour has it the Ajax management was furious over this. His intended role in the legendary club was the replacement for none other than Johan Cruijff. Tom's reason for turning down this and numerous other offers was that he already felt comfortable where he was, as well as his fear of flying.
On the 26th of May 1971, at the age of 21, he got his debut on the national side facing Iceland on Brann Stadion in Bergen. Lillestrøm Sportsklubb played in the 3rd division at the time, and this remarkable feat have not been repeated by any Norwegian football club since.
Young Tom also played ice hockey, and on several occasions he told the national side's coach - englishman George Curtis - he wouldn't be able to show up for training because of a hockey match! Other times he refused to come because he didn't feel fit enough.
In spite of this, he went on to play 47 caps scoring 12 goals for Norway. In 5 of the games he was captain.
He won the Norwegian premiership with Lillestrøm Sportsklubb two times (1976 and 1977) and the Norwegian Football Association Cup three times (1977, 1978 and 1981).
In 1978 he became the top scorer in the 1st division with 17 goals in 21 matches. VG, the biggest Norwegian newspaper, named him attacker of the year four times (1976, 1977, 1981 and 1982). No other football player have achieved this.
His last match for LSK was October 10, 1982, scoring a penalty goal. After his playing career ended he took up a position as an LSK coach for several seasons.
Today Tom Lund is very little involved in football, but he remains a living football legend. A statue of him have been erected in the centre of Lillestrøm, a gesture towards his loyalty to his hometown. | 
