69: Frode Grodas, Norge, Panini World Cup France 98

Back in April 2020 I introduced Richard Allinson’s second post for this blog (on the excellent Dave Beasant) with a reference to today’s subject. Eleven months, and 130 posts, later we return to the Norwegian shot stopper who simultaneously further cemented a friendship and ensured we’d always wait that little bit longer to be served in the EDT. Over to Rich.

“FRODE GRODÅS!” 10 pints of Adnams’ Ghost Ship down and A Sticker’s Worth 500 Words founder Manny Hawks finally remembered the name of Chelsea’s reserve goalkeeper from 1997. Whether the rest of the punters in the East Dulwich Tavern that winter’s evening in 2011 were quite expecting this Scandinavian outburst is debatable. However, just in case any of them are reading now, let me explain why it was such a joyous exclamation. 

Manny and I had met for a “quick pint” to discuss how my new job was going. After quickly realising that neither of us really cared about that subject, we got on to talking about the greatest of men: goalkeeping understudies. For every Peter Schmeichel there is a Les Sealey. For every David Seaman there is a Vince Bartram. For virtually every other goalkeeper there is Stuart Taylor. People often think that the role of a sub goalkeeper is a deliberate career choice: minimal work for a millionaire’s lifestyle. However, this is an idea that former Arsenal ‘keeper Taylor completely dismisses. As he outlined in an interview with, bizarrely, the New York Times it isn’t the career that he foresaw “every coach I have had, every goalkeeper I have worked with, has said I should have played 200 or 300 Premier League games, I look back at it and think the same.” 

The thing is though, being a back up goalkeeper is as crucial a part of a squad as being a back up striker. For example, take Louis van Gaal randomly and successfully bringing Tim Krul off the bench for a penalty shootout in the 2014 World Cup, or Raimond van der Gouw coming in to replace Peter Schmeichel just minutes before the 1996/97 Champions League semi-final. The thing about back up goalkeepers though, is that they make a much better subject of football chat than their outfield counterparts, which gets us away from Stuart Taylor and back to Frode Grodås. Sorry Stu, relegated to the bench again. 

Grodås only really got given the tag of back up ‘keeper when he moved to Chelsea in 1996. Before that he had carved out a successful career at club level with Lillestrøm where over a period of nine years he played 182 games for the club and wonderfully for a goalkeeper, scored one goal. I’ve tried to find footage of him hitting the back of the net but it doesn’t seem to be available, therefore I’m going to completely make it up and say that it was an overhead kick from the edge of the box right into the top corner. Good strike Frode. It was whilst with Lillestrøm that Grodås worked his way into the reckoning with the Norwegian national side, winning his first cap in 1991 in a 0-0 draw with Hungary. However, despite a number of other caps he largely acted as deputy to Tottenham Hotspur legend Erik Thorstvedt (including at USA ‘94) until he made the starting role his own in 1995. Grodås would eventually go on to captain Norway at the 1998 World Cup where they qualified out of the group following a 2-1 victory over eventual finalists Brazil, before succumbing to Italy in the round of 16. The slightly odd thing about this though was that he hadn’t started a game of domestic football for almost twelve months, as by then he’d firmly taken the role of back up goalkeeper at Spurs. 

Following his successful time in his homeland, 32 year old Grodås joined Chelsea in 1996 when he was signed by Ruud Gullit to provide competition to, quite frankly, a lot of other goalkeepers. Also on the books that year were Dimitri Kharine, Kevin Hitchcock, Nick Colgan and Craig Forrest as Gullit, binning off the idea of stability, rotated his ‘keepers throughout the season. Grodås eventually won the Royal Rumble though as he racked up 27 appearances in all competitions and, most importantly, he was awarded the starting berth in the 1997 FA Cup final against Middlesbrough. However, his appearance in English football’s showpiece match almost didn’t happen as he was sent off on the last day of the league season against Everton. In an interview with the Chelsea FC magazine, Grodås described his feelings around his belief that he would be suspended for the final when he explained “I was completely broken; I was crying when I went into the dressing room. Luckily for me... the suspension didn’t come in straight away. I only found out in the evening when we were coming back to London on the bus. The players saw I was a little bit down, we talked about it – and then I just shouted out because I was so, so happy.” I really hope, like Manny on that night in a SE London boozer, he just shouted out “FRODE GRODÅS!” 

The 2-0 victory that day proved to be Grodås’ last for Chelsea as he transferred across London to join Tottenham Hotspur midway through the 1997/98 season. In fact, it was to be his last on these shores as Spurs clearly decided that they needed a back up goalkeeper in the truest sense of the word and never picked him. Keeping a clean sheet in a Cup Final is not a bad way to bow out of English football though. 

Following his spell at Spurs, Grodås moved overseas and had brief spells at Schalke and Racing Santander before seeing out his playing career back in his native Norway with Hønefoss. His fiftieth and final appearance for the Norwegian national side came in 2002, aged 37 years and 318 days, making him the fourth oldest player in the Norwegian national team’s history and not long after this he retired from the game in 2003.

Frode Grodås then, he played in excess of 250 games, went to two World Cups, won the FA Cup and earned 50 international caps. Maybe not quite the back up goalie that Manny and I thought he was.