Anders Lindegaard

Odense

Born in the Dyrup suburb of Odense, Lindegaard started his career at local Danish Superliga team Odense Boldklub (OB). He made his Danish Superliga debut in a 3–1 victory against Silkeborg IF on 19 November 2006. He made his UEFA competition debut on 30 July 2009, in a 4–3 win over Rabotnički. During most of his time with OB, he was kept out of the team by Arek Onyszko, and he had two loan spells at Kolding FC, where he remained undefeated in the ten league games he got for the team, after it had lost the first four games of the season, and Aalesunds FK, who he would later join permanently. When Onyszko was sacked by Odense in June 2009 due to him being convicted for assaulting his ex-wife, Lindegaard was seen as his replacement.

Aalesund

In 2009, he joined Norwegian club Aalesunds FK on loan and later permanently. In 2009, he won the Norwegian Football Cup with Aalesund. In 2010, Lindegaard was named Goalkeeper of the Year in both Norway and Denmark.

Manchester United

2010–11 season

Since early November 2010, he was reported to have become a target for English club Manchester United. On 23 November 2010, it was reported that Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson expected to complete the signing of the player in the "next two or three weeks". On 27 November 2010, Lindegaard joined Manchester United on a three-and-a-half-year contract for an undisclosed fee believed to be around £3.5 million. He trained with the first team…

Lindegaard has represented Denmark at under-19, under-20 and senior level. He made his debut for the U-19s in September 2002, and played a 2003 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship qualification 1–0 win over Switzerland on 13 October 2002. He played a total six youth international games until September 2003. Lindegaard made his senior international debut in a UEFA Euro 2012 qualifier against Iceland on 7 September 2010, which Denmark won 1–0. On 8 October 2010, Denmark faced Portugal in another Euro 2012 qualifier. Early on in the game, with Denmark trailing 2–0, an injury sustained by starting goalkeeper Thomas Sørensen brought Lindegaard into action. He made many saves to keep his team in the game, but conceded a goal in the 85th minute to Cristiano Ronaldo with the match finishing 3–1 in Portugal's favour. Lindegaard started the following Euro 2012 qualifier against Cyprus, in which he kept a clean sheet as Denmark won 2–0. He was expected to feature for Denmark at the Euro 2012 finals but due to injuries while playing for his club and lack of proper game time post-recovery, his national teammate Stephan Andersen took over after normal second-choice goalkeeper Thomas Sørensen was injured in a pre-tournament friendly against Brazil.

Club

As of match played 6 January 2021

International

Lindegaard married The Real Housewives of Cheshire star, Misse Beqiri, a Swedish model of Albanian roots, in June 2014. They split in 2016. They have a son named Julian. Following his retirement from professional football, Lindegaard is reported to have joined UBS in a role as a business developer in Copenhagen.

LGBT activism

Lindegaard has spoken out against the intolerance of homosexuality in football and the absence of openly gay players from the game. In 2012, he wrote, As a footballer I think first and foremost that a homosexual colleague is afraid of the reception he could get from the fans. My impression is that the players would not have a problem accepting a homosexual. Homosexuality in football is a taboo subject. The atmosphere on the pitch and in the stands is tough. The mechanisms are primitive, and it is often expressed through a classic stereotype that a real man should be brave, strong and aggressive. And it is not the image that a football fan associates with a gay person. The problem for me is that a lot of football fans are stuck in a time of intolerance that does not deserve to be compared with modern society's development in the last decades. While the rest of the world has been more liberal, civilised and less prejudiced, the world of football remains stuck in the past when it comes to tolerance. Homosexuals are in need of a hero. They are in need of someone who dares to stand up for their sexuality.