Eiður Smári Guðjohnsen is the greatest Icelandic player in the 21st century. He has played all around the world with some of the greatest teams in the world. Some incredibly interesting information about Gudjohnsen’s career came in the new mini-series: Gudjohnsen. In that mini-series, Eidur opens up about his experience playing for all of the clubs he played for. In this article I will go through Gudjohnsen’s career and write about his personal thoughts at his time in the clubs he played for.
Early career: Under Pressure
Eidur Gudjohnsen is the son of Arnor Gudjohnsen, a very successful Icelandic footballer who is respected by all in Iceland. Eidur played for Valur in his first season and then made a move to the Netherlands to play professionally only at the age of 16. He put out some decent performances but due to his long-time injury it looked like his professional career was sadly coming to an end. In 1998, he made a move back to Iceland, this time signing for Valur’s main rival, KR. Gudjohnsen admitted that he was overweight and not in great form. The KR fans called him Keikó. After his time at KR, the English team, Bolton Wanderers, signed him up.
Bolton Wanderers: A New Hope
Bolton Wanderers: A New Hope
In 1998, Eidur Gudjohnsen made a move to Bolton. He scored 19 league goals in 59 matches and was very influential in Bolton’s attacking side. Still to this day, Gudjohnsen is very popular amongst the Bolton fans despite only playing for them for 2 seasons. However, these 2 seasons convinced the big London club, Chelsea, to snatch him up.
Chelsea: Blue is the Colour
Most people agree that Eidur’s time at Chelsea was when he was at his absolute best. He scored, made assists and was every manager’s dream player. He scored 54 goals in 186 league games. Icelanders had not seen such a great Icelandic player for a very long time. Jose Mourinho, Eidur’s manager at Chelsea, called him: “A very good player.” Mourinho also praised Eidur’s intelligence on the pitch and said that Eidur has a great understanding of the game. Despite having accomplished so much in his career, Jose Mourinho, always believed that Eidur could have been better. Gudjohnsen formed a partnership with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. Together they were unstoppable. Eidur revealed recently that he is still upset that he could not play more with Gianfranco Zola, the Italian legend. Gudjohnsen’s most famous goal was his overhead kick against Leeds. During his time with Chelsea, Gudjohnsen won the Football League Cup, the Community Shield and the Premier League (2x).
Barcelona: Living the Good Life
In 2006, Gudjohnsen made a move to the Spanish super club, Barcelona. Eidur’s father revealed recently that Real Madrid was interested in the player but Frank Rijkaard, the then manager of Barcelona, was very eager to have Gudjohnsen in his side. During his time with Barcelona, Eidur played with some of the greatest players in the world (Messi, Ronaldinho, Iniesta, Xavi, Henry etc.). Despite having won the Champions League and the League with Barcelona, Eidur was did not get as much first team action as he did with Chelsea. Later on he realised that he was not going to get more first team action and that he wanted to make a change. His decision to leave Barcelona was not based on money. We might not have seen the last Gudjohnsen play for Barcelona because Eidur’s son, Daniel Tristan, is currently training with Barcelona’s youth.
Monaco: Mr. Lonely
Eidur joined Monaco in 2009. Eidur was alone and we was pretty bored during his time there. The excitement for football in Monaco is nothing like in Barcelona. He knew that he wasn’t going to stay long and that his mind was set on a return to England. Eidur played 9 league games for Monaco.
Tottenham: London - Take 2
Eidur got an offer from West Ham and it looked like he was going to be on his way to The Hammers. He underwent a medical for West Ham. However, the Tottenham manager, Harry Redknapp, knew that Eidur was available and convinced him to join Tottenham. After Gudjohnsen received an angry call from West Ham he knew that he was never going to join them. Like at Monaco, Eidur’s stay at Tottenham was brief. He scored one goal in 11 league matches.
Stoke City: Lowest point
Eidur said himself that his time at Stoke was the worst time of his career. It had nothing to do with the club but rather his relationship with the manager, Tony Pulis, who never gave him a spot in the starting team despite telling him shortly before joining that he would be the star player of the team. When Eidur sat at the bench during the games he was absolutely certain that he was not coming on. Eidur’s stay at Stoke is something that he wants to forget. Stoke is not the prettiest place in the world and Eidur said that the players who play for Stoke don’t even live there. Eidur also said that Tony Pulis told him that Stoke was a terrible place (“skítapleis” in rough Icelandic). Eidur lived in Manchester when he played for Stoke. Eidur was so eager to leave Stoke that he payed 100.000 pounds to leave Stoke. Eidur only played 4 league games for Stoke.
Fulham: London...yet again
There is not a lot of information about Eidur’s stay at Fulham. I once saw Eidur play for Fulham. It was against Everton at Goodison Park. He came on and made a positive impact on the pitch. He played 10 league games for Fulham.
PHOTO: https://www.sportsmole.co.uk/football/chelsea/transfer-talk/news/gudjohnsen-joins-brugge_48022.html
AEK Athens: Plato, Socrates...Gudjohnsen
After his time at Fulham, Eidur joined AEK Athens. Shortly before signing a contract with AEK Athens he got a much better deal from a club in Turkey. However, just before he got the offer from Turkey he had been greeted by incredibly passionate AEK Athens fans who adored him. Gudjohnsen knew that he couldn’t betray the AEK Athens’ fans so he rejected the offer from Turkey and joined AEK Athens. Unfortunately, Eidur suffered a major injury blow and could not play for a very long time. He scored one goal in 10 league games.
Cercle Brugge and Club Brugge: Belgian Neighbours
In 2012, Eidur Gudjohnsen made a shocking move to the Belgian bottom team, Cercle Brugge. Eidur said that the players weren’t that good and that he was the best player in the team. Eidur put on some decent performances and ended the season with 6 goals in 13 league matches. After his time at Cercle Brugge he joined one of the best teams in the Belgian league, Club Brugge. The two sides play on the same pitch so Gudjohnsen’s move to the neighbouring side was very controversial. Gudjohnsen was booed when he played against Club Brugge. He also scored against them. Eidur said that the atmosphere during his time at Club Brugge was much better than during his time with Cercle Brugge. He scored 7 goals in 46 league games for Club Brugge.
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Bolton Wanderers: Back to his English Roots
After his time in Belgium, Gudjohnsen headed back to the place he was most familiar with, England, to join the club where he got his big break, Bolton Wanderers. Eidur was already a hero in Bolton so he did not have to think about convincing the fans about his abilities as a footballer. His most important goal for Bolton came against Liverpool in a cup game where he scored from the penalty spot. He scored 5 goals in 21 league games for Bolton in 2014-15.
Shijiazhuang Ever Bright: The Sensei’s Mission
The day before Eidur got an offer from a Chinese club, he had a dream about his team-mate in the Icelandic International squad who happens to play for a club in China. So when Eidur got an offer from China he was amazed. He joined the recently newly-found professional team in 2015. While shooting a mini-series about his career, Eidur visited China and was greeted like a super-star. That goes to show that Gudjohnsen is still very popular in China. Gudjohnsen scored one goal in 14 league games for the Chinese club.
Molde: The End of the Road
Gudjohnsen’s final club he played was for the Norwegian club, Molde, under the management of the Manchester United legend, Ole Gunnar Solskjær. Despite not achieving much for the Norwegian side he still managed to finish his career with honour. He scored 1 goal in 13 league games for Molde.
National Team: Iceland’s Wonderboy
For the longest time, Eidur Gudjohnsen was the best player in the Icelandic national team. His name in Iceland was synonymous with class, power, ambition and quality. His most famous game for the Icelandic national team was when he come on as a substitute for his father. Many people were displeased that he didn’t play alongside his father, however, it was still a touching and an emotional moment. After losing to Croatia on November 19th 2013 in a World Cup play-off, Eidur announced that he was going to retire from football. However, when Eidur saw Iceland’s unstoppable form in the Euro 2016 qualifier, he saw an opportunity to restart his International career. His dream came true and he played in the Euro 2016. Despite not being a first team player in the Euro’s, everybody in Iceland was absolutely thrilled to see Eidur Gudjohnsen finally play in a big International tournament.
Conclusion
As you can see, Eidur has had quite the career. From being an overweight youngster playing in Iceland to becoming a Champions League winner for Barcelona, Eidur is an inspiring role model for all up and coming footballers. What he wants to do in the future is up to him but many are hoping to see him take on a managerial role. Eidur’s legacy is one that will live forever and will continue to inspire people to achieve greatness.
Post by: Ólafur Hálfdan Pálsson
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