Eiður Guðjohnsen
Eiður Smári Guðjohnsen (transliterated as Eidur Smari Gudjohnsen; born 15 September 1978) is an Icelandic professional football coach and former player who played as a forward. He is currently the assistant manager of the Iceland national under-21 football team. Gudjohnsen saw his greatest success in Spain and England with Chelsea and Barcelona respectively, where he won the UEFA Champions League and La Liga with the latter and the FA Cup and Premiership twice with the former. Along with two spells at Bolton Wanderers fourteen years apart, he also played in Iceland, the Netherlands, France, Greece, Belgium, China and Norway in a club career lasting 22 years.
![]() Gudjohnsen in 2018 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Eiður Smári Guðjohnsen[1] | ||
Date of birth | [1] | 15 September 1978||
Place of birth | Reykjavík, Iceland | ||
Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1] | ||
Playing position(s) | Forward / Midfielder | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | Iceland U21 (assistant) | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1994 | Valur | 17 | (7) |
1994–1998 | PSV | 13 | (3) |
1998 | → KR Reykjavík (loan) | 6 | (0) |
1998–2000 | Bolton Wanderers | 59 | (19) |
2000–2006 | Chelsea | 186 | (54) |
2006–2009 | Barcelona | 72 | (10) |
2009–2010 | Monaco | 9 | (0) |
2010 | → Tottenham Hotspur (loan) | 11 | (1) |
2010–2011 | Stoke City | 4 | (0) |
2011 | → Fulham (loan) | 10 | (0) |
2011–2012 | AEK Athens | 10 | (1) |
2012–2013 | Cercle Brugge | 13 | (6) |
2013–2014 | Club Brugge | 46 | (7) |
2014–2015 | Bolton Wanderers | 21 | (5) |
2015–2016 | Shijiazhuang Ever Bright | 14 | (1) |
2016 | Molde | 13 | (1) |
Total | 504 | (115) | |
National team | |||
1992–1994 | Iceland U17 | 27 | (6) |
1994 | Iceland U19 | 9 | (2) |
1994–1998 | Iceland U21 | 11 | (5) |
1996–2016 | Iceland | 88 | (26) |
Teams managed | |||
2019– | Iceland U21 (assistant) | ||
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only |
Eiður is the son of Arnór Guðjohnsen, who was also an Icelandic international footballer. He made his full international debut for Iceland as a substitute for his father in 1996, and is the nation's joint top scorer of all time with 26 international goals in 88 caps between 1996 and 2016. He was the captain of the Iceland national team until Ólafur Jóhannesson took over the role of manager. He was part of their squad that reached the quarter-finals of UEFA Euro 2016, their first major tournament.
Club career
Early career
After spending the 1994 season with Valur in Reykjavík, Eiður played for PSV in the Netherlands from 1995, playing alongside Ronaldo.[2] Following a serious ankle injury, he returned home to play for KR Reykjavík.[2]
Bolton Wanderers
Eiður signed with English club Bolton Wanderers in 1998.[3] He made his debut in September 1998 in a match against Birmingham City.[3] By March the following year, Eiður had become a regular member of the Bolton first team, and the following season, he scored 21 times in all competitions as the Trotters reached the Division One play-offs and the semi-finals of both the FA Cup and the League Cup.[3]
Chelsea
![](../I/m/Champions_2004-5.jpg)
On 19 June 2000, Eiður was signed by Premier League club Chelsea for a fee of £4.5 million.[4][2] He was the second striker signed by the Blues that pre-season, after Dutch international Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.[2]
Eiður made his debut on 13 August in the 2000 FA Charity Shield at Wembley Stadium, replacing Gianfranco Zola for the final 17 minutes of a 2–0 win over Manchester United.[5][6] He spent most of his first season in London being used as a substitute, but was still able to score 13 times.[4] In his second season, he formed a partnership with Hasselbaink which provided 52 goals for Chelsea in all competitions.[4]
Following the appointment of José Mourinho as manager, Eiður eventually played in a more withdrawn role as he helped the club win two successive Premier League titles.[4] On 23 October 2004, he scored a hat-trick in a 4–0 home win over Blackburn Rovers.[7]
Early in 2003, he admitted to a gambling problem, confessing to having lost £400,000 in casinos over a five-month period.[8]
Barcelona
![](../I/m/Eidur_Gudjohnsen.jpg)
On 14 June 2006, Eiður was signed by La Liga club Barcelona in an £8 million transfer on a four-year contract, as a replacement for Henrik Larsson.[9][10]
He made his debut on 20 August in the second leg of the 2006 Supercopa de España, as a half-time substitute in a 3–0 win at the Camp Nou against RCD Espanyol (4–0 aggregate).[11] Eight days later in his league debut away to Celta de Vigo, he replaced Ludovic Giuly with 16 minutes remaining and scored the winning goal in a 3–2 victory.[12]
He was part of the Treble-winning side in 2008–09 as Barcelona won La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the UEFA Champions League.[3]
Monaco and return to England
Eiður joined Ligue 1 club Monaco, on 31 August 2009,[13] signing a two-year deal for a £1.8 million fee.[14]
![](../I/m/Tottenham_warmup%2C_Wigan_Athletic_v_Tottenham_Hotspur%2C_21st_February_2010.jpg)
On 28 January 2010, Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp confirmed that Eiður had joined the club on loan for the remainder of the 2009–10 season, despite undergoing a medical at West Ham United. The striker was offered identical deals by both clubs; however, Eiður opted to join Spurs.[15] On 31 August 2010, Eiður signed for Stoke City on a one-year deal[16] and made his debut for Stoke on 18 September in a 1–1 draw against West Ham.[17] After only making five substitute appearances for Stoke, Eiður left on the final day of the January transfer window to join Fulham on loan.[18] On 31 January 2011, Eiður signed on loan to Fulham until the end of the 2010–11 season.[19] After an unsuccessful time at Stoke, he was released at the end of the 2010–11 season.[20]
AEK Athens
On 19 July 2011, Eiður signed a two-year deal with Greek club AEK Athens, keeping him at the club until 2013,[21] despite further interest from English club West Ham as well as Welsh side Swansea City.[22] He was greeted by over 2,500 AEK fans at Athens International Airport.[23]
Shortly after signing a new two-year contract with AEK, Eiður stated to the press after he was greeted by the AEK fans, "It was unbelievable, I have played and been in many countries but I have never seen anything like this before. It really made me feel welcomed. I was informed that I would have been greeted but this was not what I had in mind. I am a 100% sure I have made the right choice going to AEK. I have come for trophies and nothing else. The least thing I can do is help AEK achieve their expectations after the way I was greeted at the airport."[24]
On 15 October 2011, in the derby match against Olympiakos, Eiður was injured in the 44th minute following a collision with opposition goalkeeper Franco Costanzo. The diagnosis was a fractured tibia and fibula which kept him out for the remainder of the season.[25]
Move to Belgium
On 2 October 2012, Eiður signed with Belgian Pro League side Cercle Brugge, signing a contract until the end of the season.[26] On 13 January 2013, after an impressive first half of the season with Cercle Brugge, Eiður signed a one-and-a-half-year contract with city rivals Club Brugge for an estimated amount of €300,000.[27]
Return to Bolton
After leaving Club Brugge at the end of his contract, Eiður began training with former club Bolton Wanderers in November 2014.[28] On 5 December, he signed for Bolton for the remainder of the 2014–15 season.[29]
He made his second debut for the club as a second-half substitute for Darren Pratley in a goalless draw with Ipswich Town at the Macron Stadium on 13 December, the same opponents against whom Eiður had made the last appearance of his previous Bolton spell against in May 2000.[30]
On 4 April 2015, Bolton manager Neil Lennon said that the week had been one of the best of Eiður's career, as he had returned and scored for Iceland after two years without a cap and six years without an international goal, equalised in stoppage time for Bolton against Blackpool and became a father for the fourth time in that week.[31]
Later career
Eiður joined Chinese Super League club Shijiazhuang Ever Bright in July 2015 on an undisclosed contract.[32] In February the following year he signed for Norwegian Tippeligaen side Molde on a two-year contract.[33] He was released from his contract with Molde in August 2016,[34] and in September 2017 he retired from professional football.[35]
International career
Eiður made his debut for the Iceland under-17 national team in 1992 at the age of 14. He went on to score seven goals in 26 appearances for the team before progressing to the under-19 side in 1994. He netted twice in nine caps for the under-19s, before making his debut for the U-21 side later in the year. He represented the U-21s for four years, scoring a total of four goals in 11 caps.[36]
On 24 April 1996, 17-year-old Eiður and his 34-year-old father Arnór entered football history when playing in an international friendly for the senior Iceland team against Estonia in Tallinn. Arnór started the match, and Eiður came on in the second half as a substitute for his father.[37]
Both father and son have later expressed bitterness at the fact that they were not allowed to play together in that match. The then president of the Football Association of Iceland, Eggert Magnússon, gave the coach Logi Ólafsson an express order to not play them together because he wanted it to occur on home turf, when Iceland played Macedonia two months later in the first qualification round for the 1998 FIFA World Cup.[37]
As it happened, however, the two never got another chance because a month after the match in Estonia Eiður broke his leg playing for the Icelandic U-18 team against the Republic of Ireland. He had difficulty coming back because of undiagnosed tendinitis in that leg. When he had recovered and was again available for selection for the national team, his father had retired.[37]
On 2 September 2006, Eiður scored in a 3–0 away victory over Northern Ireland in UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying, pulling him level with Ríkharður Jónsson's record of 17 international goals (the latter had held the record since his third goal in 1948, and totalled 17 in 33 matches from 1947 to 1965). On 13 October 2007, his 48th cap, Eiður broke a six-match international drought with two goals in a 2–4 home qualifier defeat to Latvia to become Iceland's top scorer of all-time. He said that the record was made less important by the day's defeat.[38]
Eiður announced his possible retirement from international football after Iceland's 2–0 defeat against Croatia on 19 November 2013 in a play-off for a place at the 2014 World Cup.[39]
On 28 March 2015, he made a goal-scoring return to the national team after 18 months away, opening a 3–0 win over Kazakhstan at the Astana Arena in Euro 2016 qualifying.[40]
He was selected for Iceland's Euro 2016 squad at the age of 37. He appeared twice, both as a substitute. He came on late in their second group match against Hungary which ended 1–1.[41] Iceland then surprised everyone by progressing into the last 16, where they caused another shock after defeating England 2–1. He came on and was given the captain's armband in the 82nd minute in their quarter-final match against tournament hosts France. They lost 5–2 and were eliminated, which was his last international match.[42]
Personal life
Eiður's half-brother, named Arnór like their father, signed for Swansea City in July 2017, at the age of 16.[43]
Eiður has three sons, all of whom play football at different levels. His eldest, Sveinn Aron is 20 and a professional with Italian Serie B side Spezia Calcio.[44] Middle son Andri Lucas is 18 and has moved into the youth side of Real Madrid after playing for Espanyol. His youngest, Daniel Tristan is 12 and is in the Real Madrid academy programme too, after playing for Barcelona.[45]
Coaching career
In January 2019, Eiður was hired as the assistant manager for the Iceland national under-21 football team under newly appointed manager Arnar Viðarsson.[46]
Career statistics
Club
Club performance | League | Cup | League cup | Continental | Other[lower-alpha 1] | Total | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Club | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
1994 | Valur | Úrvalsdeild | 17 | 7 | — | — | — | 17 | 7 | |||||
1995–96 | PSV | Eredivisie | 13 | 3 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 15 | 3 | ||||
1996–97 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
1998 | KR | Úrvalsdeild | 6 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0 | ||||||
1998–99 | Bolton Wanderers | First Division | 14 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 3[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 18 | 5 | |
1999–2000 | 41 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 3 | — | 1[lower-alpha 2] | 1[lower-alpha 3] | 55 | 21 | |||
2000–01 | Chelsea | Premier League | 30 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 4] | 0 | 37 | 13 |
2001–02 | 32 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | — | 47 | 23 | |||
2002–03 | 35 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 44 | 10 | |||
2003–04 | 26 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 3 | — | 41 | 13 | |||
2004–05 | 37 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 2 | — | 57 | 16 | |||
2005–06 | 26 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 4] | 0 | 37 | 3 | ||
2006–07 | Barcelona | La Liga | 25 | 5 | 6 | 3 | — | 8 | 3 | 4[lower-alpha 5] | 1[lower-alpha 6] | 43 | 12 | |
2007–08 | 23 | 2 | 6 | 1 | — | 8 | 0 | — | 37 | 3 | ||||
2008–09 | 24 | 3 | 5 | 1 | — | 5 | 0 | — | 34 | 4 | ||||
2009–10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
2009–10 | Monaco | Ligue 1 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 0 | ||
2009–10 | Tottenham Hotspur | Premier League | 11 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 2 | ||
2010–11 | Stoke City | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||
Fulham | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 0 | ||||
2011–12 | AEK Athens | Superleague Greece | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | — | 14 | 1 | ||
2012–13 | Cercle Brugge | Belgian Pro League | 13 | 6 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 14 | 7 | |||
Club Brugge | 18 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 18 | 3 | ||||
2013–14 | 28 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 31 | 4 | ||||
2014–15 | Bolton Wanderers | Championship | 21 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 6 | ||
2015 | Shijiazhuang Ever Bright | Chinese Super League | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 14 | 1 | |||
2016 | Molde | Tippeligaen | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 13 | 1 | |||
Total | Bolton | 76 | 23 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 3 | — | 4 | 1 | 97 | 32 | ||
Chelsea | 186 | 54 | 25 | 10 | 16 | 6 | 34 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 263 | 78 | ||
Barcelona | 72 | 10 | 17 | 5 | — | 21 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 114 | 19 | |||
Career total | 500 | 114 | 56 | 22 | 27 | 9 | 63 | 11 | 10 | 2 | 656 | 158 |
- Includes the Football League play-offs, FA Charity/Community Shield, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup and Supercopa de España
- Appearances in Football League play-offs
- Goal in Football League play-offs
- Appearance in FA Charity/Community Shield
- One appearance in UEFA Super Cup, one appearance in Supercopa de España, two appearances in FIFA Club World Cup
- One goal in FIFA Club World Cup
International
Iceland national team | ||
---|---|---|
Year | Apps | Goals |
1996 | 1 | 0 |
1997 | 0 | 0 |
1998 | 0 | 0 |
1999 | 3 | 1 |
2000 | 5 | 0 |
2001 | 7 | 2 |
2002 | 4 | 3 |
2003 | 7 | 3 |
2004 | 7 | 4 |
2005 | 5 | 3 |
2006 | 5 | 1 |
2007 | 5 | 2 |
2008 | 6 | 3 |
2009 | 6 | 2 |
2010 | 2 | 0 |
2011 | 4 | 0 |
2012 | 1 | 0 |
2013 | 10 | 0 |
2014 | 0 | 0 |
2015 | 3 | 1 |
2016 | 7 | 1 |
Total | 88 | 26 |
Honours
Chelsea
- Premier League: 2004–05, 2005–06[50]
- Football League Cup: 2004–05
- FA Charity/Community Shield: 2000, 2005
Barcelona
- La Liga: 2008–09
- Copa del Rey: 2008–09
- Supercopa de España: 2006, 2009
- UEFA Champions League: 2008–09
- UEFA Super Cup: 2009
References
- Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. p. 179. ISBN 978-1-84596-601-0.
- "Gudjohnsen signs for Blues". BBC Sport. 19 June 2000. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
- @OfficialBWFC (14 June 2016). "Euro Whites: Eidur Gudjohnsen". Bolton Wanderers F.C. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
- "Former Key Players: Eidur Gudjohnsen". Chelsea F.C. 25 October 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
- "The One-2-One FA Charity Shield". ESPN. 13 August 2000. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
- "FA Charity Shield: 2000". Chelsea F.C. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
- "Chelsea 4–0 Blackburn". BBC Sport. 23 October 2004. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
- Gudjohnsen in casino woe, BBC Sport, 12 January 2003
- "Gudjohnsen completes Barça move". BBC. 14 June 2006.
- Gudjohnsen set to sign, FC Barcelona, 14 June 2006
- "Barcelona goleó al Espanyol y se coronó en la Supercopa de España" (in Spanish). Emol. 20 August 2006. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
- "Gudjohnsen rescata al Barça en Vigo". El Mundo (in Spanish). 28 August 2006. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
- "Gudjohnsen joins Monaco from Barcelona". ESPN. 31 August 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
- "Eidur Gudjohnsen signs for Monaco in £1.8m deal". London Evening Standard. 31 August 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
- "Tottenham complete Eidur Gudjohnsen loan capture". BBC News. 29 January 2010. Retrieved 28 January 2010.
- "Gudjohnsen Deal A Major Coup". Stoke City F.C. Archived from the original on 2 September 2010. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
- "Stoke 1 – 1 West Ham". BBC Sport. 18 September 2010.
- "Gudjohnsen Moves on To Fulham". Stoke City F.C. 31 January 2010. Archived from the original on 7 April 2011.
- "Eidur down for Cottage". Sky Sports. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
- "Potters Announce Retained List". Stoke City F.C. 31 May 2011. Archived from the original on 3 June 2011.
- Gudjohnsen signs 2 year deal with AEK Archived 22 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Aekfc.gr (19 July 2011). Retrieved 16 April 2012.
- Interest from English clubs. Goal.com (18 July 2011). Retrieved 16 April 2012.
- Gudjohnsen greeted by AEK fans. Uk.eurosport.yahoo.com. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
- "Ice Man: Ήρθα για τίτλους". Aek365.gr (19 July 2011). Retrieved 16 April 2012.
- Gudjohnsen to miss season. Neoskosmos.com (23 October 2011). Retrieved 16 April 2012.
- van Leeuwen, Gerrit (1 October 2012). "Former Chelsea striker Eidur Gudjohnsen to join Cercle Brugge in Belgium". Sky Sports. British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB). Retrieved 6 October 2012.
- "Eidur Gudjohnsen voor 1,5 jaar naar Club" (in Dutch).
- "Eidur Gudjohnsen trains at Bolton: Exclusive photos". bwfc.co.uk/. Bolton Wanderers F.C. 10 November 2014. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
- "Eidur Gudjohnsen: Bolton Wanderers sign striker". BBC Sport. 5 December 2014. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
- "Bolton 0 Ipswich 0". bbc.co.uk/. BBC Sport. 13 December 2014. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
- "Eidur Gudjohnsen: Bolton striker has 'one of best weeks of career'". BBC. 4 April 2015.
- "中超妖队宣布签约传奇级巨星 巴萨三冠功勋加盟". 网易体育. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
- "Eidur Gudjohnsen klar for Molde FK". moldefk.no (in Norwegian). Molde FK. 12 February 2016. Archived from the original on 16 February 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
- "Gudjohnsen ferdig i Molde". nettavisen.no (in Norwegian). Nettavisen. 3 August 2016. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
- Sæmundsson, Ingvi Þór (8 September 2017). "Eiður Smári hættur". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 9 September 2017.
- "Landsliðsmenn Íslands karla". Knattspyrnusamband Íslands. December 2009. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2010.
- Bell, Jack (5 August 2008). "A Pillar of Strength on a Team in Transition". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
- Stefánsson, Stefán (15 October 2007). "Gudjohnsen unmoved by Icelandic record". UEFA. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
- Muller, Alex (19 November 2013). "Eidur Gudjohnsen Breaks into Tears After Missing Out on World Cup in Final Game For Iceland". World Soccer Talk. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
- "Gudjohnsen propels Iceland to Kazakhstan win". UEFA. 28 March 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
- "Iceland 1–1 Hungary". BBC. 18 June 2016.
- "France 5–2 Iceland". BBC. 3 July 2016.
- "Arnor Gudjohnsen: Eidur Gudjohnsen's half-brother happy to join Swansea City". BBC Sport. 7 July 2017. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
- "Mercato: Sveinn Aron Gudjohnsen nuovo attaccante aquilotto". Spezia Calcio - Sito ufficiale. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
- "Eidur Gudjohnsen's son leaves Barça and signs for Real Madrid".
- Arnar og Eiður Smári taka við U21, ruv.is, 4 January 2019
- "Eidur Gudjohnsen". Football Database.eu. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
- "Eidur Gudjohnsen Chelsea career". Bounder Friardale.co.uk. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
- "Guðjohnsen, Eiður". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
- "Eidur Gudjohnsen: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
External links
- Eiður Guðjohnsen at National-Football-Teams.com
- Eiður Guðjohnsen at Soccerway
- Eidur Gudjohnsen at Soccerbase
- KSÍ profile detailing caps and matches in the Icelandic League