Jon Knudsen

Knudsen started his career with youth football in his native Leirsund. He was discovered by the local club Lillestrøm, a Tippeligaen team, and represented Norway internationally on youth level, including at the 1993 FIFA World Youth Championship. In 1993, he was on a fruitless trial with AFC Ajax. The same year he was included in the first squad of Lillestrøm as a reserve for Norway international Frode Grodås. In a Lillestrøm match against Ham Kam in June 1993, Grodås was injured before half time, and Knudsen made his senior debut. At the time Grodås was injured Ham Kam was behind 0–2, but they eventually won 4–3 after four goals by Petter Belsvik. However, in the next game Lillestrøm defeated Molde 3–0. After four games Grodås returned from injury. Seeing limited playing time, Knudsen was sent on loan to Strømsgodset. Here, Knudsen suffered from a broken leg sustained in a match against Stabæk, where he collided with a teammate. Knudsen spent thirteen months away from football. He then spent time on loan to Skjetten and Kongsvinger. He left Norway in 1999 for Danish team Ikast FS, which in the same year was merged to form FC Midtjylland. Already in January 2000 he left FC Midtjylland, after conceding eight goals in fifteen matches, for Stabæk in Norway, as a replacement for Frode Olsen.

Knudsen quickly established himself in Stabæk's first team, being ever-present during the 2000 season. However, he missed most of the 2001 season due to epilepsy, after an epileptic attack…

Knudsen was included in the national team squad for the first time in 2007, for a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying match against Malta. His next call-up came in the autumn of 2008 for a friendly match against Ireland. He made his international debut for Norway on 11 October 2008 in a 0–0 draw against Scotland. Keeping a clean sheet, he received praise for his play. National team manager Åge Hareide was "impressed", although he was uncertain whether Knudsen would keep his first-team place on a long-term view. Knudsen did retain his position as Norway first-choice goalkeeper for three years, until Knudsen got a fracture in his finger during training in March 2011, and lost the position as first-choice goalkeeper to Rune Jarstein. Knudsen's last international match was the friendly match against Poland in February 2011, and in total he was capped 20 times.

As of 19 June 2013

Jon Knudsen lives at Høybråten in Oslo with his wife and children. His son, Magnus, is also a professional footballer. His sister Mari Knudsen also played international football for Norway, while his brother Atle Knudsen is a film and television director. After he stepped down from professional football in 2012 he was employed as a goalkeeper coach at the Norwegian College of Elite Sport.