# Christian Grindheim

Christian Grindheim (born 17 July 1983) is a Norwegian retired professional footballer who last played as a midfielder for Eliteserien club FK Haugesund. Grindheim is known as a hardworking midfielder with tough tackling and powerful shots. He has made over 50 appearances for the Norway national team.

## Club career

Grindheim was born in Haugesund and started his career in the local club Haugar, before he joined Haugesund where he made his debut for the first team in Tippeligaen at the age of 17. After Haugesund's relegation from the First Division in 2004, several Tippeligaen clubs were interested in his signature.
Viking, with Roy Hodgson as manager, made an offer for Grindheim, but he chose Vålerenga. At Vålerenga, he played regularly for the team that won the league in 2005.
On 7 January 2008, Grindheim joined Heerenveen. Heerenveen paid Vålerenga a reported transfer fee of €3 million. He played 86 matches for the club winning the 2008–09 Dutch Cup.
On 15 June 2011, Grindheim transferred to FC Copenhagen on a three-year contract, for a reported transfer fee of €750,000.
In February 2013, Grindheim returned to Vålerenga on loan with an option to buy, which Vålerenga took up in July 2013, signing Grindheim to a three-year contract.

## International career

Grindheim made his debut for the Norwegian national team, on 17 August 2005 in a friendly match against Switzerland. Grindheim played 45 minutes in a match Norway lost 2–0. He scored his first goal in Egil Olsen first match in his second stint as head coach of Norway, the friendly match against Germany on 11 February 2009, He reached his 50th cap in the friendly match against England.

## Career statistics

    As of 22 December 2020
| Club | Season | League | League | League | Cup | Cup | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Haugesund | 2000 | Tippeligaen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 |
| Haugesund | 2001 | 1. divisjon | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 12 | 1 |
| Haugesund | 2002 | 1. divisjon | 28 | 5 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 29 | 5 |
| Haugesund | 2003 | 1. divisjon | 29 | 7 | 5 | 2 | – | – | 34 | 9 |
| Haugesund | 2004 | 1. divisjon | 28 | 9 | 1 | 1 | – | – | 29 | 10 |
| Haugesund | Total | Total | 98 | 22 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 105 | 25 |
| Vålerenga | 2005 | Tippeligaen | 24 | 2 | 5 | 1 | – | – | 29 | 3 |
| Vålerenga | 2006 | Tippeligaen | 24 | 2 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 27 | 2 |
| Vålerenga | 2007 | Tippeligaen | 22 | 3 | 3 | 1 | – | – | 25 | 4 |
| Vålerenga | Total | Total | 70 | 7 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 81 | 9 |
| Heerenveen | 2007–08 | Eredivisie | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| Heerenveen | 2008–09 | Eredivisie | 30 | 4 | 3 | 1 | – | – | 33 | 5 |
| Heerenveen | 2009–10 | Eredivisie | 28 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 30 | 1 |
| Heerenveen | 2010–11 | Eredivisie | 30 | 2 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 32 | 2 |
| Heerenveen | Total | Total | 97 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 108 | 8 |
| Copenhagen | 2011–12 | Superliga | 30 | 0 | 5 | 0 | – | – | 35 | 0 |
| Copenhagen | 2012–13 | Superliga | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 8 | 0 |
| Copenhagen | Total | Total | 37 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 0 |
| Vålerenga | 2013 | Tippeligaen | 24 | 1 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 27 | 1 |
| Vålerenga | 2014 | Tippeligaen | 29 | 4 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 31 | 4 |
| Vålerenga | 2015 | Tippeligaen | 30 | 5 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 30 | 5 |
| Vålerenga | 2016 | Tippeligaen | 28 | 1 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 31 | 1 |
| Vålerenga | 2017 | Eliteserien | 23 | 5 | 4 | 0 | – | – | 27 | 5 |
| Vålerenga | Total | Total | 134 | 16 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 146 | 16 |
| Haugesund | 2018 | Eliteserien | 28 | 4 | 3 | 1 | – | – | 31 | 5 |
| Haugesund | 2019 | Eliteserien | 28 | 3 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 30 | 3 |
| Haugesund | 2020 | Eliteserien | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 25 | 0 |
| Haugesund | Total | Total | 81 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 86 | 8 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 517 | 59 | 48 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 569 | 66 |

### Notes

* ↑ Eredivisie playoffs

### International goals

| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 11 February 2009 | LTU Arena, Düsseldorf | Germany | 1–0 | Win | Friendly |
| 2 | 29 May 2010 | Ullevaal stadion, Norway | Montenegro | 2–1 | Win | Friendly |
    Source:

## Honours
### Vålerenga IF

* Norwegian Premier League: 2005

### SC Heerenveen

* KNVB Cup: 2008–09

### F.C. Copenhagen

* Danish Cup: 2011–12