Erik Hoftun

Hoftun settled quickly at Rosenborg, but despite his impressive performances for the Trondheim club, he was overlooked by the national team. After several outstanding seasons for Rosenborg, both domestically and in the Champions League, Hoftun finally got the chance to play for his country in 1997, when he was included in the squad of mainly home-based players for a four-nation tournament in Australia. He made his debut against the Australians, but remained fourth-choice behind Ronny Johnsen, Henning Berg and Dan Eggen in the games that mattered.

In 1998, after another impressive season in the Champions League, Hoftun was wanted by Serie A side Napoli. However, Hoftun was happy to remain in Trondheim, and turned down the move. Later that year, he was a member of Norway's World Cup squad in France, but spent the entire tournament on the bench. After the World Cup, Hoftun finally got an extended run in the national team (in part because of Ronny Johnsen's injury problems), and was virtually ever-present as Norway qualified for Euro 2000.

Throughout his career, Hoftun has stayed remarkably healthy. During his 16-year career in the top flight, he was hardly ever injured. However, in 2000, just weeks ahead of the European Championship, he did pick up an injury, forcing him to miss the tournament.

After Euro 2000, despite keeping up his impressive form for Rosenborg, Hoftun again found himself on the bench in the national team, now that Berg and Johnsen had returned to full fitness. And with Claus Lundekvam also staking his claim for a spot in the lineup, Hoftun found himself relegated to fourth-choice centre-back in 2002. Finally, he got tired of sitting on the bench, and announced his international retirement in the summer of 2002, having played 30 times for Norway.

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