Erik Hoftun (born 3 March 1969) 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

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

Career

Born in

Kyrksæterøra Kyrksæterøra is the administrative center of Heim Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The village was known as the "white town of Hemnfjorden" at one time because there were only white houses. It is located at the end of Hemnfjorden, abo ...

, Hoftun started his career at

KIL/Hemne KIL/Hemne is a Association football, football club from Kyrksæterøra in Heim Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. Top-level players Erik Hoftun, Ardian Gashi, Alex Valencia, Vegard Forren, Pål André Helland and Magnus Stamnestrø began ...

before moving to

Molde FK Molde Fotballklubb () is a association football, football club based in Molde Municipality, Molde, Norway, that competes in Eliteserien, the top flight of Norwegian football league system, Norwegian football. Founded on 19 June 1911, the club w ...

in 1992. He went to Rosenborg BK in 1994, where he won 11 league titles and 3 cup titles in 11 years. Hoftun was a key player for Rosenborg in the Norwegian league and the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

, where he played a total of 82 matches. At his peak, Hoftun was arguably one of the best central defenders in Scandinavia, with superb anticipation and offensive qualities. His lack of speed was his one major weakness, though he usually managed to mask it through footballing experience and understanding of the game. For Norway's national team, he has been capped 30 times. In a 2004 issue of the official UEFA Champions League publication, ''Champions Magazine'', Hoftun was ranked as no. 86 in a list of the 250 greatest

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an football players of all time. The jury's comment on Hoftun read: In 2005, Hoftun moved to

FK Bodø/Glimt Fotballklubben Bodø/Glimt (), also referred to as Bodø/Glimt or its former name Glimt, is a Norwegian professional football club from the town of Bodø in Bodø Municipality, Nordland county, Norway. The club currently plays in Eliteserien ...

, where he finished his career as an active football player. On 24 June 2007, while playing a match for Bodø/Glimt, Hoftun suffered from

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...

after getting a knee in the chest in a duel. The club's doctor ran onto the pitch to revive him. The doctor's fast reaction is likely to have saved Hoftun's life. In November 2007, Hoftun returned to Rosenborg in an administrative role, and worked as assistant director after

Knut Torbjørn Eggen Knut Torbjørn Eggen (1 November 1960 – 20 February 2012) was a Norwegian football coach and player, famous for his time in Rosenborg as a player, and Moss and Fredrikstad as a coach. He was the son of Norway's most successful football coach, ...

resigned. On 18 August 2008, he got the position permanently.

Honours

Rosenborg' *

Norwegian top division Eliteserien () is a professional association football league in Norway and the highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Norwegian First Division ...

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 ...

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

Norwegian Cup The Norwegian Football Cup () is the main knockout cup competition in Norwegian football. It is run by the Football Association of Norway and has been contested since 1902, making it the oldest football tournament in the country. The tournament ...

Individual *

Kniksen award The Kniksen Award (), established in 1990, honors the best players in the Norwegian football premiership. The award is named after the legendary Norwegian football player Roald Jensen, nicknamed "Kniksen". Categories Category A A jury comp ...

as defender of the year:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoftun, Erik 1969 births Living people Kniksen Award winners Norwegian men's footballers Norway men's international footballers Rosenborg BK players Molde FK players FK Bodø/Glimt players Eliteserien players 1998 FIFA World Cup players People from Hemne Rosenborg BK non-playing staff Men's association football central defenders Footballers from Trøndelag 20th-century Norwegian sportsmen