Gylfi Sigurðsson
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gylfi Þór Sigurðsson | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Reading | ||
| Number | 25 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2002 | FH Hafnarfjörður | ||
| 2003-2005 | Breiðablik | ||
| 2005-2008 | Reading | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2008– | Reading | 32 | (12) |
| 2008 | → Shrewsbury Town (loan) | 5 | (1) |
| 2009 | → Crewe Alexandra (loan) | 15 | (4) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2005 | Iceland U17 | 3 | (2) |
| 2006 | Iceland U18 | 3 | (1) |
| 2006–2007 | Iceland U19 | 12 | (7) |
| 2007– | Iceland U21 | 8 | (3) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:04, 5 April 2010 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:00, 14 November 2009 (UTC) | |||
Gylfi Þór Sigurðsson (born 9 September 1989, in Reykjavík, Iceland) is an Icelandic footballer, who plays for Reading as a midfielder.
Sigurðsson had spent time on trial with Preston North End before signing for Reading on an Academy scholarship on 1 October 2005.[1] On 6 July 2007 he signed a one year professional contract with Reading.[2] Before joining Reading he played for hometown side FH Hafnarfjörður before joining Breiðablik and had been an Icelandic under-17 international.
Reading
Sigurðsson was signed by Reading's academy on October 2005 after a successful trial. He spent three years playing for the youth and reserve teams.
Prior to the 2007-08 season, he and five other youngsters were given professional contracts.[3] He was given a squad number for the 2008-09 season and made his Reading debut in a League Cup match against Luton Town on 26 August.[4] He scored a penalty in Reading's penalty shoot-out against Stoke in the League Cup, after coming on as a substitute.
To gain first team experience, Sigurðsson signed for Shrewsbury Town on a one-month loan spell[5], and scored on his league debut against Bournemouth on 18 October 2008,[6] before moving to Crewe Alexandra on an emergency loan move on 26 February 2009, and making his debut two days later against Brighton away, also scoring in the 89th minute.
He scored his first Reading goal against Burton Albion in the first round Carling Cup tie at home on 11 August 2009. [7] He scored his first league goal for Reading in a 3-2 defeat at Peterborough United on 19 September 2009.[8]
Sigurðsson has been a huge contributor in Reading's extraordinary 2009-10 FA Cup run which has included wins over Premier League sides Liverpool and Burnley and Championship side West Bromwich Albion. Perhaps his biggest goal to date came against Liverpool in the third round of the F.A. Cup on 13 January 2010, when he scored a penalty in injury time to make the score 1-1 and force extra-time. Reading then went on to win the game 2-1. He scored the winning goal in the 87th minute against Burnley in the 4th round. In the 5th round, he scored an extraordinary winning goal against West Bromwich Albion in a 3-2 victory in extra time. On 3 April 2010, Sigurdsson won the Championship Player of the Month Award for March, beating Peter Lovenkrands of Newcastle United, Graham Dorrans of West Brom and Adel Taarabt of QPR, scoring 5 goals in 6 games in that month.[9]
International Career
Sigurðsson took part in the 2008 U19 European Championship qualifying, scoring twice in qualification and twice in the elite round, but Iceland lost out to group winners Bulgaria by 3 points and missed out on the finals.
On 16 November 2007 Sigurðsson made his U21s debut for Iceland playing half an hour against Germany.[10] He made his first appearance in the 2009 European Championship qualifying four days later, coming as an extra-time substitute and played in the remaining matches. In their last match, he scored the opener against Slovakia but Miroslav Stoch equalised to make it 1-1.[11] Iceland failed to qualify for the play-offs but made a bright start to the 2011 campaign. He made his campaign debut in October against San Marino and made an immediate impact, scoring a brace within 16 minutes in a 6-0 thrashing.[12]
Private Life
Sigurðsson previously shared a house with current Reading teammate Simon Church. His nickname given to him by supporters is "The Sig" in reference to the popular character The Stig who has appeared on the popular show Top Gear since 2003.
Honours
Individual
- Football League Championship Player of the Month: March 2010
References
- ^ "Royals sign Iceland youngster". readingfc.co.uk. 2005-10-14. Retrieved 2008-01-08.
- ^ "Royals make six Academy signings". readingfc.co.uk. 2007-07-06. Retrieved 2008-01-08.
- ^ "Royals make six Academy signings". readingfc.co.uk. 6 July 2007.
- ^ Reading vs Luton Town Reading FC
- ^ "Sigurdsson signs for Shrewsbury". BBC Sport. 2008-10-16. Retrieved 2008-10-19.
- ^ "Shrewsbury 4-1 Bournemouth". BBC. 18 October 2008. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
- ^ "Reading 5 - 1 Burton Albion". BBC. 11 August 2009. Retrieved 14 August 2009.
- ^ "Peterborough 3 - 2 Reading". BBC. 19 September 2009. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
- ^ "Sigurdsson named Player of the Month". The Football League. 3 April 2010. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
- ^ "Under 21s boost for Sigurdsson". readingfc.co.uk. 2007-11-07. Retrieved 2008-01-08.
- ^ "Jafntefli við Slóvaka hjá U21 karla" (in Icelandic). ksi.is. 9 September 2008.
- ^ "Goal glut continues for resurgent Iceland". uefa.com. 13 November 2009.
External links
- Reading FC profile
- Gylfi Sigurðsson at Soccerbase
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