Eiður Guðjohnsen

Eiður Smári Guðjohnsen (born 15 September 1978 in Reykjavík), known in English as Eidur Gudjohnsen or by Eiður Guðjohnsen nickname, Guddy, is an Icelandic football (soccer) player who is currently an Midfielder for FC Barcelona, having signed for the Spain club on 14 June 2006. For the six previous years, Eiður Guðjohnsen had been a Striker with the England FA Premier League club Chelsea F.C., having made Eiður Guðjohnsen name with Bolton Wanderers F.C.. Eiður Guðjohnsen was the captain of the Iceland national football team until manager Ólafur Jóhannesson (coach) took over the team. For FC Barcelona, Eiður Guðjohnsen wears the number 7 shirt and for Iceland, number 9 where Eiður Guðjohnsen plays in Eiður Guðjohnsen primary position as a Forward (association football). So far in Eiður Guðjohnsen professional football career, Guðjohnsen has scored 156 goals in all competitions with Eiður Guðjohnsen clubs and the national team. Eiður Guðjohnsen is the son of Arnór Guðjohnsen, a former professional footballer. Eiður Guðjohnsen is considered the greatest Icelandic footballer having won titles in Spain and England as well as the Champions League title.

Club career

Early career

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

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 Eiður Guðjohnsen wanted it to happen on home turf, when Iceland played FYR Macedonia two months later in the first qualification round for the 1998 FIFA World Cup.

As it happened they never got another chance because a month after the game in Estonia the younger Guðjohnsen broke Eiður Guðjohnsen ankle, playing for the Icelandic U18 team against Republic of Ireland national football team. Eiður Guðjohnsen had difficulty coming back because of undiagnosed tendinitis in that ankle.

Guðjohnsen had then been with PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands for two years and much had been expected of him, as well as another young hopeful, the Brazilian Ronaldo. During Guðjohnsen's injury struggles, PSV finally released him. At the same time, Ronaldo went on to Barcelona, the club where Guðjohnsen would end up ten years later.

After a spell in Iceland with Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur, Guðjohnsen signed with Bolton Wanderers F.C. in 1998.

Eiður Guðjohnsen has later said that the help Eiður Guðjohnsen got from former Iceland international, Bolton's defensive stalwart Guðni Bergsson, was incredible.

Bolton Wanderers

Guðjohnsen was unveiled to the Bolton supporters prior to their pre-season friendly with the Scottish club Celtic F.C. in a game which was arranged as a testimonial for long serving defender Jimmy Phillips, now a first team coach at Bolton. Guðjohnsen had impressed on the clubs summer tour of Ireland and was given a contract by the then Bolton manager Colin Todd.

Overweight and unfit, it was going to take time for Guðjohnsen to return to the level Eiður Guðjohnsen needed to be and a brief substitute appearance against Birmingham City F.C in September 1998 meant that the Icelander had taken a step further on the road to recovery.

By early 1999, Todd decided to put Guðjohnsen into the senior team full time to help freshen up a Bolton forward line which was decimated by the sale of Arnar Gunnlaugsson to Leicester City F.C. and Nathan Blake to Blackburn Rovers F.C..

Guðjohnsen's return to the team saw Eiður Guðjohnsen score in a 3-3 draw against struggling Swindon Town F.C. at the County Ground and again in the next game against Barnsley F.C. at the Reebok Stadium. By the end of the season Eiður Guðjohnsen had scored five goals in all competitions.

Eiður Guðjohnsen helped Bolton to the play off finals against Watford in 1999 but they lost the game 2-0 with the goals coming from Nick Wright (footballer born 1975) and Allan Smart.

Starting in all but seven of Bolton's games in the FA Premier League 1999-2000, Guðjohnsen partnered a number of players in the Trotters forward line including Dean Holdsworth, Bo Hansen and Bob Taylor (footballer).

Eiður Guðjohnsen scored 21 goals in the English First Division 1999–2000 season for the Trotters and helped them to the semi-finals of both the FA Cup and Football League Cup.

New chairman Phil Gartside announced that it would take at least £10 million to prize Guðjohnsen away from Bolton. After helping the Wanderers to the League Cup and FA Cup Semi Finals, it was now Eiður Guðjohnsen main aim to get the club into the Premiership. Eiður Guðjohnsen was injured against Ipswich Town F.C. in the first leg of the Play Off Semi Finals and missed the controversial second leg which saw twelve Bolton players booked and Mike Whitlow and Robbie Elliott sent off by match official Barry Knight. Speculation increased about Eiður Guðjohnsen future despite Eiður Guðjohnsen willingness to stay with Bolton.

Chelsea

In the 2000 close season, during a period of financial troubles at Bolton, Eiður Guðjohnsen was signed by Chelsea F.C. for a fee of £4 million by Gianluca Vialli (who was sacked in September of that year to be succeeded by Claudio Ranieri). Eiður Guðjohnsen formed a deadly partnership with Dutch striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink during the FA Premier League 2001-02, scoring 23 goals himself and helping Hasselbaink to a tally of 27.

Early in 2003, Eiður Guðjohnsen admitted to a compulsive gambling, confessing to having lost £400,000 in casinos over a five-month period.

Eiður Guðjohnsen dribbling and close-control, combined with Eiður Guðjohnsen deadly finishing, saw Eiður Guðjohnsen score some remarkable goals during Eiður Guðjohnsen time at Chelsea F.C.. Eiður Guðjohnsen overhead kick against Leeds United in the FA Premier League 2002-03 for Chelsea is perhaps Eiður Guðjohnsen finest strike to date. Other notable goals came against Fulham F.C. at Stamford Bridge (stadium) in FA Premier League 2003-04, ranked ten in the FA Premier League 2004-05 Premier League Goals of the Season against Southampton F.C. in 2005, and Eiður Guðjohnsen first professional hat-trick against Blackburn Rovers in October 2004, Eiður Guðjohnsen also made around 60 assists during Eiður Guðjohnsen time with Chelsea. Eiður Guðjohnsen touch and vision saw Chelsea manager José Mourinho deploy Guðjohnsen into a deeper midfield role, to which Eiður Guðjohnsen took readily. Eiður Guðjohnsen ended up as a utility player: Eiður Guðjohnsen performed as a central-midfielder; as a right or left winger; as a holding-defensive midfielder or as a striker.

After the arrival of Roman Abramovich as the owner of Chelsea F.C. in 2003, and the subsequent influx of expensive and high-profile players including Adrian Mutu, Didier Drogba and Hernán Crespo, Eiður Guðjohnsen first team place seemed under threat. Despite this, Eiður Guðjohnsen played regularly throughout the FA Premier League 2003-04 and FA Premier League 2004-05 seasons, playing a significant role in the Premier League title triumph in 2005, scoring a total of 12 league goals. Eiður also scored in Chelsea 4-2 win over Barcelona in the 2004-05 Champions League quarter-final.

With Chelsea making several big-name signings in the 2006 close season, notably strikers Andriy Shevchenko and Salomon Kalou and midfielder Michael Ballack, there was growing speculation concerning Guðjohnsen's opportunities for playing time in the Premier League 2006-07 and Eiður Guðjohnsen future at Chelsea. Despite being linked with Manchester United F.C. and Real Madrid C.F., amongst others, on 14 June 2006, it was announced that Eiður Guðjohnsen had joined FC Barcelona on a three year contract, with the option of an additional year.

FC Barcelona

Guðjohnsen was signed by Barcelona to replace Henrik Larsson, who had decided to finish Eiður Guðjohnsen career at Eiður Guðjohnsen home town club of Helsingborgs IF in Sweden. The fee was claimed to be €12 million with an additional €3 million depending on appearances and performances.

On 28 August 2006, Guðjohnsen made Eiður Guðjohnsen La Liga debut in a match against Celta Vigo. With three minutes remaining in the match, Eiður Guðjohnsen scored the game-winning goal, leading Barcelona to a 3-2 win. When a Celta defender tried to block Guðjohnsen's first attempt at a shot, Eiður Guðjohnsen flicked the ball in the air and volleyed it past the keeper. Guðjohnsen scored against Chelsea in the Champions League in October 2006, and recorded a brace against RCD Mallorca in mid-November. Eiður Guðjohnsen scored one of the goals against SV Werder Bremen, 2-0, to take Barcelona to the final sixteen of the Champions League. Guðjohnsen also gained fame in the United States when Eiður Guðjohnsen scored an impressive goal against Mexican champions Club Deportivo Guadalajara in front of nearly 100,000 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. On 6 December 2006, Guðjohnsen scored in a 4-0 win against Club América in the FIFA Club World Cup semifinals.

On 6 March 2007, Guðjohnsen scored for Barcelona as they fought to overturn their disadvantage in a UEFA Champions League match against Liverpool F.C. at Anfield. Despite winning the match, Barcelona were knocked out of the Champions League on away goals. Eiður Guðjohnsen ended the 2006-07 season with 12 goals in all competitions. Only three of the biggest Barcelona stars, Ronaldinho, Samuel Eto'o and Lionel Messi, scored more goals. Guðjohnsen was, in fact, the club's top scorer in the UEFA Champions League, albeit with only 3 goals.

Although Guðjohnsen played reasonably well in Eiður Guðjohnsen first season with Barcelona, Eiður Guðjohnsen did not seem to have fulfilled the expectations of either Frank Rijkaard or the Barcelona fans. During the summer of 2007 Eiður Guðjohnsen was widely expected to be moving on and was linked with virtually every Premier League team in England. Barcelona did, however, not take any concrete steps to off-load him. Because of injury, nothing happened and, in autumn, Guðjohnsen took Eiður Guðjohnsen place on the Barcelona bench. Eiður Guðjohnsen claimed Eiður Guðjohnsen was determined to fight Eiður Guðjohnsen way back into the team but as Barcelona had by now acquired the services of Thierry Henry and given first-team places to young strikers Giovani dos Santos and Bojan Krkić, Eiður Guðjohnsen faced a formidable task.

Guðjohnsen made Eiður Guðjohnsen first appearance of the season on 23 October against Rangers F.C in the Champions League, playing as a centre midfielder and Eiður Guðjohnsen scored Eiður Guðjohnsen first goal of the 2007-08 season from the penalty spot in the 89th minute in Barcelona's 3-0 Copa del Rey victory over C.D. Alcoyano on 13 November. Guðjohnsen scored Eiður Guðjohnsen first La Liga goal, of the season in Barça's highest win (3-0) at Mestalla against Valencia CF since the 1997-98 season and on 20 February 2007, Eiður Guðjohnsen made Eiður Guðjohnsen 50th appearance in a UEFA Champions League match. During Barcelona's troubled season, Guðjohnsen did manage to become a regular member of Rijkaard's team, playing in altogether 34 games, but only starting 18 times and often replaced. Only on four occasions did Eiður Guðjohnsen play the full 90 minutes. Guðjohnsen saved Eiður Guðjohnsen best performance for the last La Liga match, against relegated Real Murcia, when Eiður Guðjohnsen fluid midfield play drew rave reviews, although Eiður Guðjohnsen did not score.

As Barcelona's new coach, Josep Guardiola, was widely thought to plan to off-load Guðjohnsen, together with a host of other players, most people thought this would have been Eiður Guðjohnsen last game for Barça. Interest from several Premier League clubs duly materialized in the next few weeks, notably from West Ham United and Portsmouth F.C..
At the end of July, Guardiola seemed to have changed Eiður Guðjohnsen opinion and Guðjohnsen played a considerable role in Barcelona's pre-season matches, even scoring two goals against Hibernian.Guðjohnsen declared that Guardiola had expressed more faith in Eiður Guðjohnsen and Eiður Guðjohnsen was likely to stay in Spain next season. On 21 September, Guðjohnsen played Eiður Guðjohnsen first game of the new season, coming on as a substitute in the 71st minute in Barcelona's thrashing of Sporting Gijón, 6-1. Eiður Guðjohnsen did not score but played well and was involved in the last two goals, both scored by Lionel Messi. Three days later, on September 24, Eiður Guðjohnsen again came off the bench in the 70th minute, this time against Real Betis, when Eiður Guðjohnsen replaced Seydou Keita (footballer) and managed to score the winning goal in a 3-2 win, 9 minutes later after coming on. Shortly after, on the 27th of September, Guðjohnsen got Eiður Guðjohnsen first start of the season, against RCD Espanyol After this Eiður Guðjohnsen has had Eiður Guðjohnsen best season in Barcelona although not scoring as much as in the first. Guðjohnsen has competed with Seydou Keita for playing time and has made frequent appearances with a fair amount of starts. Despite this Eiður will probably seek a new team come summer due to the fact that Eiður Guðjohnsen playing time has decreased during the season. Eiður Guðjohnsen made Eiður Guðjohnsen 100th appearance in a Barca shirt this season. Guðjohnsen got Eiður Guðjohnsen first Champions League trophy as Barcelona won the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final against defending champions, Manchester United, at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome and became the first Icelander to achieve it.

On July 26th, Guðjohnsen hinted that a move to Celtic FC would be adequate. Despite the Wage Eidur is receiving from FC Barcelona Eiður Guðjohnsen stated to the press "Eiður Guðjohnsen would leave for football reasons"

International career

Guðjohnsen joined the Iceland national football team in 1996 and since then Eiður Guðjohnsen has been capped 58 times and scored 23 times Eiður Guðjohnsen is the highest goalscorer for Iceland. Eiður Guðjohnsen surpassed Ríkharður Jónsson's Icelandic record of 17 international goals on 13 October 2007 by scoring twice in a 2-4 home loss to Latvia national football team. Eiður Guðjohnsen is the only player to come on as a substitute for Eiður Guðjohnsen own father.

Personal life

Eiður Guðjohnsen has three children, Sveinn Aron and Andri Lucas, and a baby boy with Eiður Guðjohnsen wife, Ragnhildur. Sveinn Aron plays for the Barcelona youth team.