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Claus delighted with Saints farewell
2:13am Saturday 19th July 2008
By Adam Leitch »
Claus Lundekvam said he leaves Saints a happy man after his emotional farewell against Celtic last night.
Just under 19,000 fans turned out at St Mary's to see Gordon Strachan's Scottish champions defeat Jan Poortvliet's young side 2-0 meaning the big Norwegian should recoup all of the £250,000 he forked out to stage his testimonial which drew a line under his 12 seasons at the club.
Lundekvam, watched by family, friends and former teammates such as Antti Niemi and Wayne Bridge, came on for the final eight minutes of the game to a rapturous reception.
But after struggling through even that short spell with the ankle injury that has forced his retirement and having had the chance to say his proper goodbyes to the fans he adores he left the stadium satisfied.
He said: "There are no loose ends.
"I can be walking away now very happy and I have no second thoughts about it now.
"This is my goodbye and I'm very happy with how it's turned out to be.
"I know now it was absolutely the right decision to retire and for my head that was important too. I couldn't do this any more.
"I wanted to have that little competitive game again.
"I was straight into it, looking at the back four, pushing up and down.
"It's not as good fun when you can't move as well as you'd like to though but I wanted to do it for the last time."
Full story: See today's Daily Echo.
Your Say YourEcho
ozzy saint, adelaide says...
4:49am Sat 19 Jul 08
daren, says...
7:19am Sat 19 Jul 08
and yes we were well behaved and stayed right til the end to acknowledge claus , well done you will miss him hail hail
andy, maybush says...
8:49am Sat 19 Jul 08
Mick, warsash says...
10:01am Sat 19 Jul 08
Chris, Soton says...
10:19am Sat 19 Jul 08
gerry, bournemouth says...
11:03am Sat 19 Jul 08
quote
brizlllll, premier says...
11:20am Sat 19 Jul 08
ossiesaint, at the bar says...
11:24am Sat 19 Jul 08
brizlllll wrote:Big house in Chilworth ocean going Yacht 3 years full pay for nothing, thats why I did not go!
what a disgrace from a small town in hampshire 10,000 jocks turn up 9,000 sa-nts disgrace sorry claus here you had to pay for the pitch as well and you are out of pocket about somes them up fans
Mark, says...
12:15pm Sat 19 Jul 08
GOOD LUCK AND THANK YOU CLAUS.
Mark, says...
12:16pm Sat 19 Jul 08
Mark wrote:I meant made for one person
Good match, i think it was more of a competitive friendly but the match was for one made person GOOD LUCK AND THANK YOU CLAUS.
Saint, says...
12:48pm Sat 19 Jul 08
Good to see you and Svensson back together again! Only wish it could be for the coming seasons.
Claus you are a Saints legend! Don't stay away, and lets hope the club can find a position for you. Or get on sky next to Le Tiss and get that useless big nose scouse off the panel!
Bill, Southampton says...
4:31pm Sat 19 Jul 08
Celtic football team may be a decent bunch, but their fans are obnoxious, big-headed thugs, as you may witness from some of the responses (to come!) to this post ....
welcome, Romsey says...
4:33pm Sat 19 Jul 08
the Truth Master, in the Real World says...
6:51pm Sat 19 Jul 08
brizlllll wrote:Mmmm, dont tell me, let me guess, you are an inbred, pikey, skanky, fish-fuck1ng skate!
what a disgrace from a small town in hampshire 10,000 jocks turn up 9,000 sa-nts disgrace sorry claus here you had to pay for the pitch as well and you are out of pocket about somes them up fans
Typical pompey tw@t!
"small town"? Southampton is a city and its larger than your sh1thole of a place!
"10,000 jocks turn up? What a nobhea@d you are. Once a again typical skate bullsh1t! You must be related to that other waste of space crew 657.
"here you had to pay for the pitch as well and you are out of pocket about somes them up fans" - translate please.
saints fan, southampton says...
6:57pm Sat 19 Jul 08
brizlllll wrote:Can tell you weren't there you tw*t as about 2,500 celtic fans turned up which is still great for a friendly!! Where did you get your 10,000 jocks turning up from. about 16,000 saints fans where there and we made up for the ones who couldnt be bothered to say thanks to claus great atmosphere good game. Be ashamed those people who call them selves saints fans!!!!
what a disgrace from a small town in hampshire 10,000 jocks turn up 9,000 sa-nts disgrace sorry claus here you had to pay for the pitch as well and you are out of pocket about somes them up fans
Neil, Bitterne Park says...
8:31pm Sat 19 Jul 08
Chris wrote:Chris.
19,000 is a disgrace! Any Saints fan that didn't go last night should be ashamed of themselves. Where were the 10,000+ that came to the Shef Utd game?
I totally agree.
Me and my lad had a great time.... was also glad no one was sat in my seat in the Northam.
My dedication was also on the 1st dedication page of the program as well which was nice.
Neil, Bitterne Park says...
8:34pm Sat 19 Jul 08
brizlllll wrote:Fish anyone?
what a disgrace from a small town in hampshire 10,000 jocks turn up 9,000 sa-nts disgrace sorry claus here you had to pay for the pitch as well and you are out of pocket about somes them up fans
10,000 jocks? where did you get that info?
Still, 19,000 and you get SO MANY more for a prem game dont you NOT.
Ken Jeans, Highcliffe,Dorset says...
9:22pm Sat 19 Jul 08
Chris wrote:I totally agree Chris what more do you need to get you to come,this man has been as important as Matt Le Tiss to this club,it was a privilege to have been there.I hope this doesnt put "killer" off signing again! I have my ticket and will be supporting my team for the 64th season.
19,000 is a disgrace! Any Saints fan that didn't go last night should be ashamed of themselves. Where were the 10,000+ that came to the Shef Utd game?
saintsteve, says...
9:24pm Sat 19 Jul 08
Sean O'Rourke, says...
9:10pm Sun 20 Jul 08
about 16,000 saints fans where there ????
that is rubbish as we wer given 6,000 tickets and yes we sold out (by the way biggest away support ever in that stadium) also there wer many celtic shirts amongst the southampton fans.
although you did not have a lot and it is not good no selling out your stadium as you say he was a legend but your a decent bunch
oh yer we were not fighting amonst our selfs some women brought in a Portsmouth flag and we pulled her out so that should clear it up for you
jude carter-murphy, southampton says...
8:33am Mon 21 Jul 08
celtic daz, says...
8:48am Mon 21 Jul 08
Murphatsoton, Southampton says...
11:40am Mon 21 Jul 08
Bill wrote:It was the saints fans that began the racist chants and as a joke one of the Celtic fans raised a Pompey Flag. That's when it got a bit pushy. I was born and raised in Soton but if can't take a joke you should be a Saints supporter, after all you only have to look at the boardroom.
A good game, marred only by the sectarian and racist chants from some Celtic fans (which resulted in a number of them being forcibly removed from the stadium).
Celtic football team may be a decent bunch, but their fans are obnoxious, big-headed thugs, as you may witness from some of the responses (to come!) to this post ....
Kate, Andover says...
1:49pm Mon 21 Jul 08
Bill wrote:I agree, they didn't do them selves any favours. Getting thrown out at a friendly - that's clever!
A good game, marred only by the sectarian and racist chants from some Celtic fans (which resulted in a number of them being forcibly removed from the stadium). Celtic football team may be a decent bunch, but their fans are obnoxious, big-headed thugs, as you may witness from some of the responses (to come!) to this post ....
I didn't hear the chanting that led to the ejections but we had a lot of Celtic fans in our stand who were generally behaving like idiots.
It's not like there wasn't any room in the Northam end, why sit with us and cause problems? Surely it's best to sit with your own fans??
Anyhoo, I'm glad it was such a good night for Claus and great to see the old faces like Franny & LeGod!!! You can tell he's now played for a while!! LOL!!
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Claus Lundekvam
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Billy 2 Baps, Waiting for my Whistle says...
3:53am Sat 19 Jul 08