Eggert Jónsson

Eggert Jónsson

Jónsson in blue kit
Personal information
Full name	Eggert Gunnþór Jónsson
Date of birth	18 August 1988 (1988-08-18)
Place of birth	Reykjavík, Iceland
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position	Defender / Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Wolverhampton Wanderers
Number	22
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2004–2005	Fjarðabyggð	22	(5)
2005–2012	Heart of Midlothian	134	(8)
2012–	Wolverhampton Wanderers	1	(0)
National team‡
2004	Iceland U17	7	(0)
2005-2007	Iceland U19	12	(2)
2007–2011	Iceland U21	15	(0)
2007–	Iceland	12	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:50, 31 January 2012 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 16:42, 27 October 2011 (UTC)

Eggert Gunnþór Jónsson (born 18 August 1988) is an Icelandic international footballer who plays predominantly as a midfielder but is also capable of playing as a centre back or in both full back roles. He is signed to English Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers.

He joined Scottish Premier League side Hearts as a teenager and eventually established himself in the first-team where he displayed his versatility and even went on to captain the Edinburgh side on numerous occasions before moving to the English Premier League in January 2012 when he signed for Wolves.

He made his international debut at the age of 19 and is considered to be part of Iceland's golden generation along with the likes of Gylfi Sigurðsson and Kolbeinn Sigþórsson.

Club career

Jónsson made his debut as a 15-year-old for Fjarðabyggð in Iceland. After that he trained with Þór Akureyri.

Hearts

In July 2005, he signed for Hearts, signing a professional contract soon after he turned 18. He made his debut for Hearts on 20 September 2006, appearing as a substitute in a 4–0 League Cup victory over Alloa Athletic. He made his league debut as a substitute in Hearts' 1–0 win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle at Tynecastle on 10 February 2007. His first experience of an Edinburgh Derby came on 1 April 2007 as he appeared as a 66th minute substitute in 1-0 victory at Easter Road.

Jónsson scored his first goal for the club against Heracles Almelo in a 5–1 friendly victory in July 2007. His first competitive goal came against St. Mirren in 3-2 at Tynecastle on 19 April 2008. On 28 March 2008 Jónsson signed a new four-and-a-half year contract with the Edinburgh team.

Having played mainly as a centre midfielder and occasionally a centre back for the first few years of his Hearts career Jónsson began to display his versatility in the 2008-09 season. New manager Csaba László used Jónsson almost exclusively as a right-back for the first few months of the season and during the course of the season he played across the midfield, as a centre back and as a left back. László praised Jónsson for his consistent performances despite constantly changing position as well as his diligent attitude. Jónsson himself expressed his desire to do his best for the team regardless of which position he played.

Following the departure of Christophe Berra to Wolverhampton Wanderers in January 2009, Jónsson was given the number four shirt for the 2009-10 season. Perhaps the most memorable moment of his Hearts career came against Aberdeen as he scored an acrobatic overhead kick to give Hearts a 1-0 victory at Pittodrie on 27 February 2010. Due to the absence of captain Marius Žaliūkas and vice-captain Lee Wallace Jónsson was made captain for the 3-0 defeat to Celtic F.C. at Parkhead on 11 September 2010. He would go on to take the captain's armband for numerous matches while with the Jambos due to the unavailability of Žaliūkas. One such occasion came on 7 May 2011 as he was sent off for a challenge on Nikica Jelavić in a 4-0 away loss against Rangers. During his Hearts career Jónsson made 153 appearances in all competitions and scored nine goals.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

On 21 December 2011, Jónsson agreed to join English Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers on a three-and-a half year contract for an undisclosed fee, believed to be £250,000 rising to £600,000. The deal was officially completed when the January 2012 transfer window opened.

On 7 January, he made his debut for Wolves playing the full 90 minutes against Birmingham in the FA Cup.

International career

Jónsson received his first call-up to the Iceland national team in November 2007 for the Euro 2008 qualifier against Denmark on 21 November. He made his debut as a 73 minute replacement for Emil Hallfreðsson in the 3-0 Group F defeat at the Parken Stadium.

He was part of the Iceland under-21 team at the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, a squad which was considered to be the golden generation of Icelandic football. Iceland were eliminated from Group A by a three way tie-breaker as they finished with an identical record to both Belarus and Denmark, allowing Belarus to advance along with group winners Switzerland.

Career statistics

Club	Season	League	League		Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Hearts	2006–07	Scottish Premier League	3	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	5	0
	2007–08		28	1	1	0	3	0	0	0	32	1
	2008–09		30	3	2	0	1	0	0	0	33	3
	2009–10		28	3	1	0	2	0	0	0	31	3
	2010–11		29	0	1	0	2	1	0	0	32	1
	2011–12		16	1	0	0	1	0	3	0	20	1
Hearts Total			134	8	6	0	10	1	3	0	153	9
Wolves	2011–12	Premier League	1	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
Wolves Total			1	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
Career Total			136	8	7	0	10	1	3	0	156	9

External links

• Eggert Jonsson career stats at Soccerbase
• Transfermarkt Profile
• Appearances at londonhearts.com
• Eggert Jónsson at National-Football-Teams.com