Arnór Guðjohnsen

Arnór Guðjohnsen (born 30 April 1961) is an Icelandic former professional footballer who played as a striker. He spent seven years with Belgian club Anderlecht and was the top scorer in the 1986–87 season. He is the father of striker Eiður Guðjohnsen and the grandfather of striker Sveinn Aron Guðjohnsen. His younger son, also named Arnór, signed for Swansea City in July 2017, at the age of 16.[1]

Arnór Guðjohnsen
Arnór in March 2016
Personal information
Date of birth (1961-07-30) 30 July 1961 (age 62)
Place of birthReykjavík, Iceland
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)Striker
Youth career
0000–1978Víkingur
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1978Víkingur12(7)
1978–1983Lokeren138(26)
1983–1990Anderlecht139(40)
1990–1992Bordeaux52(8)
1993Häcken24(4)
1994–1998Örebro100(24)
1998–2000Valur41(22)
2001Stjarnan18(5)
Total524(136)
International career
1978Iceland U192(0)
1978Iceland U211(0)
1979–1997Iceland73(14)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

Starting his career at Víkingur in Iceland, Arnór also played for Valur and Stjarnan, Lokeren and Anderlecht in Belgium, Bordeaux in France, Häcken and Örebro in Sweden.

Arnór took the final penalty of the 1984 UEFA Cup final shootout which was saved by Tottenham's Tony Parks.

International career

Arnór is the father and agent of striker Eiður Guðjohnsen. Arnór and Eiður are the only father and son to play for a national football team during the same game, in a match on 24 April 1996 in which Iceland beat Estonia 3–0 in Tallinn. Arnór was 34 and Eiður was 17 at the time. Eiður came on as a second-half substitute for his father, so they never actually played together.

At 2, he had been asked his biggest wish, to which he replied "to play international football alongside Eiður". However, shortly before a match in Reykjavik in which father and son were scheduled to appear alongside one another, Eiður broke his ankle in an Under-18 tournament. He missed the next two seasons, in which time Arnór retired from football. Arnór later said "It remains my biggest regret that we didn't get to play together, and I know it's Eiður's too".[citation needed]

Arnór played 73 games for the Icelandic national team and scored 14 goals,[2] four of them in a game against Turkey. He played his last international in October 1997 against Liechtenstein.

Career statistics

Appearances and goals listed by year[3][4]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Iceland
197920
198030
198130
198241
198330
198420
198510
198652
198720
198830
198920
199052
199174
199230
199362
199450
199550
199672
199751
Total7314
Iceland score listed first, score column indicates score after each Arnór goal.[3][4]
International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition
No.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition
12 June 1982Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland9  England1–01–1Friendly
225 May 198619  Republic of Ireland1–11–2Iceland Triangular Tournament
324 September 198622  Soviet Union1–01–1UEFA Euro 1988 qualifying
430 May 199031  Albania1–02–0UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying
58 August 1990Ovara Vølli í Gundadali, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands32  Faroe Islands3–23–2Friendly
617 July 1991Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland39  Turkey2–15–1
73–1
84–1
95–1
1020 May 1993Stade Municipal, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg47  Luxembourg1–01–11994 FIFA World Cup qualification
1116 June 1993Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland49  Hungary2–02–0
1211 February 1996Ta' Qali National Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta64  Malta4–04–11996 Rothmans International Tournament
131 June 1996Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland66  Macedonia1–11–11998 FIFA World Cup qualification
1411 October 199773  Liechtenstein3–04–0

Honours

Anderlecht[5]

Bordeaux

Individual

References