Spurs stories | Erik Thorstvedt - from a debut low to the highest of highs against Forest

Erik Thorstvedt’s career at Spurs was inexorably linked with Nottingham Forest.

The goalkeeper endured a difficult debut against Brian Clough’s Reds on 15 January, 1988, gifting the winner to Forest striker Nigel Clough. But two months later, he was in goal when Spurs won 2-1 at the City Ground, ending Forest’s then-18-match unbeaten run in the process. And there was an even greater moment for Thorstvedt against Forest on 18 May, 1991, as he started in our 2-1 extra-time victory over them in the FA Cup Final.

Andy Greeves caught up with the Norwegian international who made 218 appearances for between 1988-1996 for the latest ‘In The Spotlight’ feature in our Official Matchday Programme for Monday evening’s Premier League clash at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Firstly Erik, can you tell us how you came to join us from IFK Göteborg back in 1988?

Erik: "I had actually been with Spurs a few years earlier but I wasn’t able to sign for the club because I couldn’t get a work permit. When Spurs came back in for me in 1988, I didn’t think the move would happen then either, but I was eventually given the green light to join and I was delighted. It was always my dream of mine to play in English football."

Your Spurs debut against Nottingham Forest didn’t exactly go the way you would have wanted it to. How do you reflect back on that experience?

"It’s something I’ve made peace with now but at the time, it felt much more than a goalkeeping mistake. It felt like a trauma. Early on in my Spurs career, after four or five matches, I don’t think anyone knew which way it was going to go for me... I can remember a huge turning point for me coming in a match down at Southampton. There was a moment when a certain Alan Shearer was bearing down on goal and I was about 25 metres from my goal line. I collided with him and in today’s game, I would have been sent off without any doubt. But luckily, I was just given a yellow card. If I’d have been sent off, who knows what would have happened. I’d have been out of the team for a few matches and then, would I have regained my place in the team? But as it was, we went on to win 2-0, I kept my place in the starting XI and we went on to have a good run of victories, eventually finishing sixth in the league. Football careers are full of randomness and luck and circumstance plays a huge part. There are probably players in the lower divisions in England today who could have played for the national team if circumstances had gone their way. But you need the right break at the right time and I got that in my Spurs career with what happened down at Southampton. It was a sliding doors moment for sure!"

In your first full season with us in 1989/90, you played in 34 of our 38 league games as we finished third in the First Division. You must have been delighted with the season from a personal and a team perspective?

"Yes, it was great season with a very special group of players. We had high standards as a club and we knew we should be up there challenging for trophies. When I first moved to England, there was the ‘Big Five’, which was Arsenal, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United and Spurs. We had top six finishes in my first two seasons at the club then won the FA Cup in 1991."

On the topic of the FA Cup triumph in 1991, how do you look back on our road to the final that year?

"I can remember the third round at Blackpool very clearly because they were the windiest conditions I’ve ever played a football match in and that’s coming from someone who comes from Stavanger on the south west coast of Norway! It’s a game that really could have gone either way. Luckily Paul Stewart, playing against his old club, came up with the winning goal for us. After that, Gazza really carried us through the rest of the rounds. He was on fire against Oxford, Portsmouth and Notts County and of course, everyone remembers his free-kick as we beat Arsenal 3-1 in the semi-final at Wembley."

And how do you reflect on the final against Nottingham Forest?

"The final was an eventful one to say the least. A lot of things went against us to begin with. Gazza got injured, Forest went 1-0 up, then we missed a penalty and Gary Lineker had a ‘goal’ disallowed. But we managed to come through in the end and win 2-1 in extra-time. It was an amazing day. My only regret about that day is that my mindset was very much, ‘okay, we’ve won this, what’s next’. I think in football, in life in general, we’re always thinking about the next thing. For many years, I didn’t really reflect on that FA Cup victory and what a great achievement it was. I think was only looking back after my career had finished that I could really appreciate how special it was."

Forest got a certain amount of revenge for their cup final defeat by knocking us out of the League Cup in the semi-finals in 1991/92 and in the fourth round in 1992/93...

"We played against Nottingham Forest a lot during my time at Spurs. I can remember once, we won a game in the League Cup and someone asked me my thoughts. I was just joking but I said ‘I don’t know why we bother... we always end up drawing Forest in this competition and lose to them’. And low and behold, who do we draw in the next round? Nottingham Forest! And sure enough, Forest beat us.  Can you imagine if a player had said that in my situation today? It would be all over the internet and the player would get lambasted. You could get away with things a bit more back then!"

Ian Walker became our number one goalkeeper towards the end of your time at Spurs. What was your relationship with Ian like?

"We got on well. I always had the attitude of ‘if you’re going to work with someone every day, do it as friends’. And that’s what we were. If I was on the bench, I’d wish Ian good luck for the match and I meant it. And vice-versa. I was in Germany for two years where I had the opposite situation. It was a war in training every day and I thought ‘life is too short for this!’ I think there’s a karma that goes on for goalkeepers. I think it’s more difficult to play yourself if you have a rivalry with fellow goalkeepers at a club. There’s no point wasting your energy like that."

Fast-forwarding to 2019. What was it like playing in the Spurs Legends versus Inter Forever match at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium?

"It was a full range of emotions, that’s for sure. I felt very proud to be invited and I was in awe of the new stadium. When I was asked, I thought ‘I have to do this’. I made a mistake in the match and felt massively frustrated! I said to myself ‘let it go, it doesn’t matter’ but it’s hard to lose that competitive mindset!"

Finally, can you tell us a bit about what you’ve been up to since retiring from playing?

"I was a goalkeeper coach for the Norway national team for a number of years before going down the ‘normal’ route as an ex-player into punditry. I also do team building exercises, group speaking, that sort of thing too. I sometimes feel a bit pathetic to still be squeezing the same lemon, to still be doing the same things all these years on. But I enjoy it and I enjoy life so why do something else? I’ve managed to convince my two sons to become die-hard Spurs supporters. Funnily enough, one of them, Kristian (who plays for Sassuolo), plays against Jürgen Klinsmann’s son (Jonathan), who is a goalkeeper (for Cesena), in Italy."