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Eiður Guðjohnsen

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This is an Icelandic name. The last name is a family name, but this person is referred to by the given name Eiður Smári.

Eiður Guðjohnsen
Eiður Smári while playing for Barcelona in 2007
Personal information
Full name Eiður Smári Guðjohnsen[1]
Date of birth (1978-09-15) 15 September 1978 (age 46)[1]
Place of birth Reykjavík, Iceland
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1]
Position(s) Forward / Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Molde
Number 22
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994 Valur 17 (7)
1995–1997 PSV Eindhoven 13 (3)
1998 KR Reykjavík 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 Shijiazhuang Ever Bright 14 (1)
2016– Molde 4 (1)
International career‡
1992–1994 Iceland U17 27 (6)
1994 Iceland U19 9 (2)
1994–1998 Iceland U21 11 (5)
1996– Iceland 84 (25)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10 April 2016
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 31 January 2016

Eiður Smári Guðjohnsen[n 1] (born 15 September 1978) is an Icelandic professional footballer who currently plays for Norwegian club Molde FK as a forward or an attacking midfielder.

He has previously played for Premier League club Chelsea and FC Barcelona of Spain, and has had two spells at Bolton Wanderers fourteen years apart. He was the captain of the Iceland national team until manager Ólafur Jóhannesson took over the team. Throughout his professional career, Eiður Smári has scored over 150 goals in all competitions with his clubs and the national team.

He is the son of Arnór Guðjohnsen, a former professional footballer, and is often considered to be one of the greatest Icelandic footballers, having won titles in the Netherlands, Spain, and England as well as the Champions League. He made his full international debut for Iceland as a substitute for his father in 1996, and is the nation's top scorer of all time with 25 international goals in 84 caps. In his home country he is simply known as Eiður Smári due to the patronymic naming system in Iceland.

Club career

Early career

After spending the 1994 season with Valur in Reykjavík, Eiður Smári played for PSV in the Netherlands from 1995 to 1997.[citation needed] After a spell back in Iceland with KR Reykjavík, Eiður Smári signed with Bolton Wanderers in 1998.[citation needed]

Bolton Wanderers

Eiður Smári was unveiled to the Bolton supporters prior to their pre-season friendly with the Scottish club Celtic in a game which was arranged as a testimonial for long-serving defender Jimmy Phillips.[citation needed]

Chelsea

Eiður Smári celebrates winning the 2004–05 Premiership with Frank Lampard and John Terry.

In 2000 he was signed by Chelsea for a fee of £4 million.[citation needed]

Early in 2003, he admitted to a gambling problem, confessing to having lost £400,000 in casinos over a five-month period.[2]

FC Barcelona

Eiður Smári playing for Barcelona in 2008

Eiður Smári was signed by Spanish club FC Barcelona as a replacement for Henrik Larsson.[3][4]

AS Monaco

He later joined Ligue 1 club Monaco on a two-year deal for an undisclosed fee on 31 August.[5]

Return to England

Eiður Smári (furthest left) warming-up for Tottenham before an away match at Wigan Athletic, 21 February 2010

On 28 January 2010, Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp confirmed that Eiður Smári had joined the club on loan for the remainder of 2009–10 season, despite undergoing a medical at West Ham United. The striker was offered an identical deal by both clubs; however, Eiður Smári opted to join Spurs.[6]

On 31 August 2010, Eiður Smári signed for Stoke City on a one-year deal[7] and made his debut for Stoke on 18 September in a 1–1 draw against West Ham United.[8] After only making five substitute appearances for Stoke, Eiður Smári left on the final day of the January transfer window to join Fulham on loan.[9]

On 31 January 2011, Eiður Smári signed on loan to Fulham until the end of the 2010–11 season.[10]

After an unsuccessful time at Stoke he was released at the end of the 2010–11 season.[11]

AEK Athens

On 19 July 2011, Eiður Smári signed a two-year deal with AEK Athens keeping him at the club until 2013,[12] despite interest from English club West Ham United and Welsh club Swansea City.[13] He was greeted by over 2,500 AEK Athens fans at the city's Eleftherios Venizelos airport.[14]

Shortly after signing a new 2-year contract with AEK Athens, Eiður Smári 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".[15]

On 15 October 2011, in the derby against Olympiakos, Eiður Smári was injured in the 44th minute following a collision with the opposition goalkeeper, Franco Costanzo. The diagnosis was a fractured tibia and fibula which kept him out for the rest of the season.[16]

Cercle Brugge

On 2 October 2012, Eiður Smári signed with Belgian Pro League side Cercle Brugge, signing a contract until the end of the season.[17]

Club Brugge

On 13 January 2013, after an impressive first half season with Cercle Brugge, Eiður Smári signed a one-and a half-year contract with city rivals Club Brugge for an estimated amount of €300,000.[18]

Return to Bolton

After leaving Club Brugge at the end of his contract, Eiður Smári began training with former club Bolton Wanderers in November 2014.[19] On 5 December, Eiður Smári signed for Bolton for the rest of the 2014–15 season.[20]

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 Smári had made the last appearance of his previous Bolton spell against in May 2000.[21]

On 4 April 2015 Bolton manager Neil Lennon said that that week was one of the best of Eiður Smári's career. 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.[22]

Shijiazhuang Ever Bright

On 5 July 2015, Chinese Super League club Shijiazhuang Ever Bright announced that they had signed Eiður Smári on an undisclosed contract.[23]

Molde

On 12 February 2016, Guðjohnsen signed for Tippeligaen side Molde FK on a two-year contract.[24]

International career

See also: List of international goals scored by Eiður Guðjohnsen

Eiður Smári made his debut for the Iceland national under-17 football 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 Iceland national under-21 football team later in the year. He represented the under-21s for four years, scoring a total of four goals in 11 caps.[25]

On 24 April 1996, Eiður Smári and his father Arnór entered football history when playing in an international friendly for Iceland against Estonia in Tallinn. Arnór started the match, and Eiður Smári came on in the second half as a substitute for his father.[26]

Both father and son have later expressed bitterness at the fact that they were not allowed to play together in the match. The president of the Icelandic FA, Eggert Magnússon (later of West Ham United) gave the coach, Logi Ólafsson, an express order to not play them together because he wanted it to happen on home turf, when Iceland played Macedonia two months later in the first qualification round for the 1998 FIFA World Cup.[26]

As it happened they never got another chance because a month after the game in Estonia the younger Guðjohnsen broke his leg, playing for the Icelandic U18 team against 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 aging father had retired.[26]

On 2 September 2006, Eiður Smári 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 Smári 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 expressed that the record was made less important by the day's defeat.[27]

Eiður Smári 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 FIFA World Cup.[28]

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 UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying.[29]

Career statistics

As of 22 April 2016[30][31]
Club performance League Cup Other Continental Total
Season Club Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Iceland League Icelandic Cup — Europe Total
1994 Valur Úrvalsdeild 17 7 — — 17 7
Netherlands League KNVB Cup — Europe Total
1995–96 PSV Eindhoven Eredivisie 13 3 — 2 0 15 3
1996–97 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Iceland League Icelandic Cup Deildabikar Europe Total
1998 KR Reykjavík Úrvalsdeild 6 0 — 6 0
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
1998–99 Bolton Wanderers First Division 171 5 0 0 1 0 — 18 5
1999–2000 422 143 5 4 8 3 — 55 21
2000–01 Chelsea Premier League 30 10 3 3 1 0 2 0 36 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 36 3
Spain League Copa del Rey Supercopa Europe[n 2] Total
2006–07 Barcelona La Liga 25 5 6 3 1 0 9 3 41 11
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
France League Coupe de France Coupe de la Ligue Europe Total
2009–10 Monaco Ligue 1 9 0 1 0 1 0 — 11 0
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
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
Greece League Greek Cup — Europe Total
2011–12 AEK Athens Superleague Greece 10 1 0 0 — 4 0 14 1
Belgium League Belgian Cup — Europe Total
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
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
2014–15 Bolton Wanderers Championship 21 5 3 1 0 0 — 24 6
China League FA Cup CSL Cup Asia Total
2015 Shijiazhuang Ever Bright Chinese Super League 14 1 0 0 - - 14 1
Norway League Norwegian Cup Europe Total
2016 Molde Tippeligaen 6 2 0 0 - - 6 2
Total Iceland 23 7 — 23 7
Netherlands 13 3 0 0 — 2 0 15 3
England 291 79 36 16 26 9 34 8 387 112
Spain 72 10 17 5 1 0 22 3 112 18
France 9 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 11 0
Greece 10 1 0 0 — 4 0 14 1
Belgium 59 13 2 1 — 2 0 63 14
China 14 1 0 0 — — 14 1
Norway 6 2 0 0 — — 6 2
Career statistics 497 116 56 22 28 9 64 11 645 158
1Includes three First Division play-off matches.
2Includes one First Division play-off match.
3Includes one First Division play-off goal.

Honours

PSV
Chelsea
Barcelona

Notes

  1. ^ Usually spelt Eidur Gudjohnsen in English-language sources
  2. ^ Includes 2006 UEFA Super Cup

References

  1. ^ a b c Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. p. 179. ISBN 978-1-84596-601-0.
  2. ^ Gudjohnsen in casino woe, BBC Sport, 12 January 2003
  3. ^ Gudjohnsen completes Barça move, BBC Sport, 14 June 2006
  4. ^ Gudjohnsen set to sign, FC Barcelona, 14 June 2006
  5. ^ "Gudjohnsen joins Monaco from Barcelona". ESPN. 31 August 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  6. ^ "Tottenham complete Eidur Gudjohnsen loan capture". BBC News. 29 January 2010. Retrieved 28 January 2010.
  7. ^ "Gudjohnsen Deal A Major Coup". stokecityfc.com. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
  8. ^ "Stoke 1 – 1 West Ham". BBC Sport. 18 September 2010.
  9. ^ "Gudjohnsen Moves On To Fulham". stokecityfc.com. 31 January 2010.
  10. ^ "Eidur down for Cottage". Sky Sports. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
  11. ^ "Potters Announce Retained List". stokecityfc.com. 31 May 2011.
  12. ^ Gudjohnsen signs 2 year deal with AEK. Aekfc.gr (19 July 2011). Retrieved on 16 April 2012.
  13. ^ Interest from English clubs. Goal.com (18 July 2011). Retrieved on 16 April 2012.
  14. ^ Gudjohnsen greeted by AEK fans. Uk.eurosport.yahoo.com. Retrieved on 16 April 2012.
  15. ^ Guðjohnsen interview. Aek365.gr (19 July 2011). Retrieved on 16 April 2012.
  16. ^ Gudjohnsen to miss season. Neoskosmos.com (23 October 2011). Retrieved on 16 April 2012.
  17. ^ 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.
  18. ^ "Eidur Gudjohnsen voor 1,5 jaar naar Club" (in Dutch).
  19. ^ "Eidur Gudjohnsen trains at Bolton: Exclusive photos". www.bwfc.co.uk/. Bolton Wanderers F.C. 10 November 2014. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
  20. ^ "Eidur Gudjohnsen: Bolton Wanderers sign striker". BBC Sport. 5 December 2014. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  21. ^ "Bolton 0 Ipswich 0". www.bbc.co.uk/. BBC Sport. 13 December 2014. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
  22. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/32186145
  23. ^ "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.
  24. ^ "Eidur Gudjohnsen klar for Molde FK". www.moldefk.no (in Norwegian). Molde FK. 12 February 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  25. ^ "Landsliðsmenn Íslands karla". Knattspyrnusamband Íslands. December 2009. Retrieved 10 July 2010.
  26. ^ a b c Bell, Jack (5 August 2008). "A Pillar of Strength on a Team in Transition". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
  27. ^ Stefánsson, Stefán (15 October 2007). "Gudjohnsen unmoved by Icelandic record". UEFA. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  28. ^ 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.
  29. ^ "Gudjohnsen propels Iceland to Kazakhstan win". UEFA. 28 March 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  30. ^ "Eidur Gudjohnsen". Football Database.eu. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  31. ^ "Eidur Gudjohnsen Chelsea career". Bounder Friardale.co.uk. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
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