Virgil van Dijk – UEFA Men’s Player of the Year (2019)
The Dutch National Team defender is arguably the best defender in the world of football at the moment. During his three seasons at Southampton, he made 80 appearances and scored 7 goals. Two weeks after his debut, he managed to score his first goal for the club, a headed goal assisted by the masterpiece free-kick taker James Ward-Prowse. In January 2017, he was named team captain. The special thing about him was that he commanded not only the defence, but used his commanding height (6.3 ft) to impose himself in the opposition’s goal area. He left St. Mary’s to join Liverpool FC for a fee of £75 million (transfer fee record for a defender at the time). Van Dijk is a player many fans would like to have seen play for more seasons. While probably one of the best ever footballers to play for Southampton, the way he left the club probably will not make him one of the most loved.
Claus Lundekvam – Southampton FC Player of the Season (2006)
The loyal Norwegian defender only ever played for two clubs (Brann and Southampton FC) and the Norway National Team, and is one of the longest serving players in Southampton history. He stayed at Southampton for 12 seasons, making 376 appearances and finding the net twice. His first goal in a red and white shirt, came in a 4-1 victory against Wolves in 2004, while his second came against Cardiff two years later. Lundekvam was part of the team that achieved Saints’ longest ever unbeaten run in the Premier League, which lasted nine games during the 2003/04 season. In March 2008, an ankle injury decided the end of his career and forced him to retire.
Michael Svensson – “The Killer”
The Swedish National Team defender played for Southampton for 6 seasons, as well as playing for other clubs and the Sweden National Team. During his time with the Saints, he made 85 appearances and scored 5 goals. A memorable match in which he turned out to be essential, was the great 4-0 victory against Tottenham in the FA Cup in 2003, where he scored the first goal to give Saints the lead within the first 13 minutes of the match. In 2006 he suffered a terrible knee injury and had to undergo surgery to attempt to save his football career. His contract was not renewed straight away. Later in July 2008, Southampton announced that the defender “could be on a verge of a remarkable footballing comeback”, and a month after that the club announced his signing of a new contract. In August 2009, Svensson announced his retirement from football, which later he decided to rescind and played another two seasons with the Swedish football club Halmstads BK.
Neil Ruddock – “Hardman Razor Ruddock”
The English defender has played for many English clubs as well as Southampton, including Liverpool, Tottenham and West Ham. He played three seasons at Southampton having joined from Millwall in 1989, making 107 appearances and also scoring 9 goals. He is well known at Southampton for having scored the 89th-minute winner against Newcastle, where his goal gave Saints their first win in 18 games. He celebrated the goal with the “Ruddock stump”, his famous goal celebration. In May 1992 he rejoined his previous club Tottenham for a transfer fee of £750,000.
