Grétar Steinsson

Grétar Steinsson

Personal information
Full name	Grétar Rafn Steinsson
Date of birth	9 January 1982 (1982-01-09)
Place of birth	Siglufjörður, Iceland
Height	1.89 m (6 ft 2 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Right back
Club information
Current club	Bolton Wanderers
Number	2
Youth career
1998	KS Siglufjörður
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1999–2004	Akranes	76	(12)
2004–2006	Young Boys	21	(3)
2006–2008	AZ	61	(7)
2008–	Bolton Wanderers	122	(5)
National team‡
2002–	Iceland	41	(4)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12:45, 10 March 2012 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 22:00, 11 August 2011 (UTC)

Grétar Rafn Steinsson (born 9 January 1982 in Siglufjörður) is an Icelandic footballer who plays for Bolton Wanderers.

Club career

He started his career with local team KS in Siglufjörður and later played for ÍA Akranes before going abroad to play professionally for Swiss club BSC Young Boys.

On 2 July 2007, AZ Alkmaar announced they had accepted a €3.5 million bid from Middlesbrough. Gareth Southgate had seen him as an ideal replacement for Stuart Parnaby. After the bid was accepted, however, AZ backtracked, claiming the price wasn't high enough and requested Middlesbrough to raise their bid to £4m. Instead, Middlesbrough turned their attention to Charlton Athletic right back Luke Young, who ended up making the move, ending Middlesbrough's interest in Steinsson.

He signed for Bolton Wanderers on 16 January 2008 after a transfer fee of £3.5m was agreed between the two clubs. He made his debut against Newcastle United on the 19 January 2008.

Gary Megson and his side picked up a win against Middlesbrough, a draw against Tottenham, a win against Sunderland and a 1–1 draw against Chelsea to keep them up which could have also decided who won the Premier League title. He scored his first goal for Bolton in the 3–1 victory over Stoke City on 16 August 2008. At the start of the 2010-11 season, Steinsson changed his squad number from 15 to 2.

International career

He also plays regularly for the Iceland national football team. He made his debut in a March 2002 friendly match against Brazil as a substitute and scored after being only 17 minutes on the pitch. He also represented Iceland at all youth levels.

Personal life

Grétar married Manuela Ósk Harðardóttir in 2007. Manuela has one son from a previous relationship.

Manuela was crowned Miss Reykjavik and Miss Iceland 2002. She represented Iceland in Miss Scandinavia where she came 1st runner up. She also represented her country in Miss Universe 2003 but was hospitalized due to dehydration and could not compete.

They have a 5 year old son called Johann and a daughter, Elma Rós, who was born in April 2010.

External links

• Gretar Steinsson career stats at Soccerbase
• (Dutch) Career stats