Quick Facts
Biography
Vegard Heggem (born 13 July 1975 in Trondheim) is a former Norway international footballer.
He rose to prominence with Rosenborg, winning three league titles and a cup, and scoring a goal to knock Milan out of the UEFA Champions League. In 1998 he joined Liverpool, but was troubled by injury during his five seasons there before retiring.
In a two-year international career, Heggem earned 20 caps for Norway, scoring once in his debut match. He was part of their squads at the 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000.
Club career
Heggem made his professional debut with Rosenborg on 21 April 1995 against Kongsvinger in the Norwegian Premier League. He is best remembered by some for the goal in the away match against Milan in the 1996–97 UEFA Champions League when Rosenborg sensationally beat the Italian giants, thereby advancing to the Champions League quarter-finals.
After the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Heggem transferred to Liverpool for £3.5 million. His first two seasons at Anfield were splendid, but he was unfortunately plagued by hamstring injuries. He was the player substituted when Steven Gerrard made his Premier League debut for the club on 29 November 1998 in a 2–0 win over Blackburn Rovers. After being injured in the 2000 European Championship he rarely appeared during the 2000–01 treble-winning season, and during the next two seasons he did not appear in the lineup at all.
Heggem left Liverpool when his contract ended in the summer of 2003, and shortly thereafter retired from football.
International career
Heggem made his national team debut on 25 February 1998 against France, scoring a goal in the 3–3 draw at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille. He was selected for the 1998 FIFA World Cup squad, but spent the entire tournament on the substitutes' bench as Norway reached the last 16. He played in the 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, playing the full 90 minutes in Norway's opening 1–0 win over Spain at De Kuip in Rotterdam. However, in the second match against FR Yugoslavia, he left the pitch injured after 35 minutes to be replaced by his Liverpool teammate Stig Inge Bjørnebye, and Norway eventually were eliminated.
Personal life
Heggem is currently the owner and manager of the salmon fishing business Aunan Lodge on the river Orkla in Sør-Trøndelag. He is also an official patron of A.F.C. Liverpool, an independent football club owned and run by Liverpool supporters. He is also a regular at Liverpool home matches, and was also at the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final in Istanbul.
In February 2012, the AGM of Rosenborg elected Vegard Heggem as a member of the board for a period of two years.
Honours
- Rosenborg
- Norwegian Premier League: 1995, 1996, 1997,
- Norwegian Cup: 1995
- Liverpool
- UEFA Cup: 2001
Statistics
Club
| Season | Club | Division | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| 1995 | Rosenborg | Tippeligaen | 15 | 1 | 8 | 2 | – | 6 | 1 | 29 | 4 | |
| 1996 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | 9 | 2 | 25 | 3 | |||
| 1997 | 23 | 3 | 3 | 0 | – | 8 | 0 | 34 | 0 | |||
| 1998 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | |||
| Rosenborg total | 57 | 5 | 15 | 2 | — | 23 | 3 | 95 | 10 | |||
| 1998–99 | Liverpool | Premier League | 29 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 36 | 2 |
| 1999–2000 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | 25 | 1 | |||
| 2000–01 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| Liverpool total | 54 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 65 | 3 | ||
| Career total | 111 | 8 | 16 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 29 | 3 | 160 | 13 | ||
International
| Norway national team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 1998 | 6 | 1 |
| 1999 | 9 | 0 |
| 2000 | 5 | 0 |
| Total | 20 | 1 |
International goals
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 25 February 1998 | Stade Vélodrome, Marseille, France |  France | 2–3 | 3–3 | Friendly |
Legacy
In the 2002 book Folkets Fotballbok. De største øyeblikkene (The People's Football Book. The Greatest Moments) (ISBN 82-994467-2-4), penned by sports writer Oddleiv Moe, his goal against Milan at the San Siro was named one of the twelve greatest moments in Norwegian football history. The chapter devoted to his goal was named Mirakelet på San Siro (The miracle at San Siro).