Vadim Demidov

Demidov turned professional in 2004 when he joined Sandefjord Fotball, and made his debut for the club in the First Division when he came on as a substitute for Magne Sturød after 87 minutes in the opening match of the 2004 season against Hødd. Demidov was then injured for a year and after spending the second half of the 2005 campaign on loan at 2. divisjon side Fram Larvik, he returned to Sandefjord who had won promotion to the Tippeligaen, with the team subsequently telling the player that the best thing for him would be to join another club. Demidov spent the 2006 season on loan with Manglerud Star when the club was relegated from the First Division. Ahead of the 2006 season, he lacked motivation to continue with football, but later stated that the year with Manglerud Star was the turning point in his career. Demidov joined Hønefoss for the 2007 campaign, despite being wanted by top flight's Strømsgodset. He played regularly for the club in the First Division before moving to Rosenborg ahead of the 2008 season. In Trondheim he became first-choice centre-back from the beginning playing alongside Kris Stadsgaard, and was a part of the team that lost only one of 60 matches en route to winning two straight league championships, in 2009 and 2010. Demidov played a total of 79 league-matches, scoring four goals during his three seasons with the club. In July 2010, as his contract was approaching its end, Demidov signed a three-year deal with Spanish club Real Sociedad, effective…

Demidov made his debut for Norway on 28 May 2008, replacing Jan Gunnar Solli after 76 minutes in a friendly match with Uruguay. In October the Russian Football Union checked the possibilities for the player to appear for Russia, the country of his parents; when Norway manager Egil Olsen chose Morten Fevang ahead of him for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against Montenegro and Netherlands in June 2009, however, he admitted that he would consider playing for Russia if he did not get more chances for Norway. Demidov played his second international in a friendly against Slovakia on 3 March 2010, and featured heavily in the country's UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying campaign, in an eventual third-place finish in Group H.

Demidov was born in Riga, Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Union, and is of Russian ethnicity. His father is handball player Sergei Demidov (1961–2020), who played internationally for the Soviet Union and later became a coach in Norway; the family moved to Sandefjord in 1989. As a youngster, Demidov played both football and handball for Runar and was a big talent in both sports. When he was 15 his father told him that he had to choose between the two sports, and Demidov decided to quit handball; in an interview with FHM in 2011, he claimed that he could have been one of the top three handballers in the world if he had continued playing handball, but that he did not want to walk in his father's footsteps.

He is married to the Norwegian hurdler, Christina Vukicevic.