Eidur Gudjohnsen won his first cap as a sub for his father and is now the daddy of Icelandic football, says Jonathan Wilson
EIDUR GUDJOHNSEN'S most famous act in an Iceland shirt was also his first. On April 24, 1996, he, at 17, emerged for the second half of a friendly against Estonia in Tallinn having replaced his 34-year-old father, Arnor. The substitution of son for f
ather could have been a glorious moment, a slap of palms on the touchline marking the end of one generation and the beginning of the next, but the symbolism was rather ruined by the handover happening within the private confines of the dressing-room.
The two had been desperate to play together, but the then president of the Iceland FA, Eggert Magnusson, who would go on to become chairman of West Ham United, was determined that the first time they should do so should be on home soil, and so ordered the coach, Logi Olafsson, not to allow both on the field until the World Cup qualifier against Macedonia two months later. Before that fixture came around, though, Gudjohnsen broke his ankle, and by the time he had recovered from that and associated tendonitis, his father had retired. "It could have been a big moment," he said, "but it was kind of sad."
The episode has come to stand almost as an image of his career: inclining to greatness, but never quite getting there. Even when he took Rikhardur Jonsson's goalscoring record for the Iceland national team by scoring twice against Latvia last October, the achievement was undermined by the fact that his side lost 4-2.
As Gudjohnsen approaches his 30th birthday – four days after Scotland's visit to Reykjavik on Wednesday – it must be a troubling thought that everywhere he has been, he has seemed almost an afterthought, loved and respected by insiders, but perhaps never quite getting the wider acclaim he deserved. Jose Mourinho was always a huge fan, calling him "bright, resilient, capable". Gudjohnsen, after all, played a significant part in leading him to his early glory at Chelsea.
There had just been the odd suggestion of Chelsea becoming slightly stale, perhaps a little predictable, when they faced Liverpool in the 2005 League Cup final. There'd been a draw at home to Manchester City, an unconvincing 1-0 win at Everton, an FA Cup defeat at Newcastle and a Champions League defeat at Barcelona. And then, in the first minute in Cardiff, John Arne Riise gave Liverpool the lead. For the rest of the first half, Chelsea seemed to have no response, but at half-time Mourinho put on Gudjohnsen for the Czech midfielder Jiri Jarosik. He had not played in midfield since he turned professional, not even in training, but he was exceptional, his natural footballing intelligence allowing him to adapt instantly. "Maybe Mourinho saw something other managers hadn't," he said.
The game turned, Chelsea equalised and triumphed in extra-time. They went on to win their next six games, coming back to beat Barcelona and easing to the league title. Yet if Gudjohnsen was mentioned, it tended to be in passing: it was the likes of John Terry, Claude Makelele and Frank Lampard who took the credit. Not that that seems to have bothered Gudjohnsen: he has always had sufficient belief in his own ability not to need it reinforcing with external praise.
That was true even as a teenager, and got him through the difficult times after he broke his ankle. He had made his debut for Valur Reykjavik, for whom his father would later play, as a 15-year-old, impressing sufficiently to earn a move to PSV Eindhoven where the plan had been for him to partner Ronaldo. His injury, though, put paid to that, and he spent two hard years of rehabilitation back in Iceland before Bolton Wanderers decided to take a gamble on a player who was still some way short of full fitness. Two years there brought 18 goals, at which he was sold to Chelsea, where he formed a highly effective partnership with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.
As the arrival of Roman Abramovich saw the signings of Adrian Mutu, Hernan Crespo and Didier Drogba, the perception was that Gudjohnsen would soon be on his way. And yet, thanks in part to redeveloping himself as a utility firefighter, he hung on until being sold to Barcelona in 2006 as Andriy Shevchenko and Salomon Kalou arrived at the club. Perhaps significantly, Chelsea have not won the league since. Being a Jack-of-all-trades leads to the assumption you are the master of none, but sometimes even the starriest of clubs need somebody prepared to eschew the glory and fill in the gaps.
At Barcelona, Gudjohnsen has faced a similar lack of appreciation, as Frank Rijkaard's team disintegrated around him. Yet he has done there what he has always done, unfussily going about the job in his unobtrusive style. It was widely expected he would leave last summer, and a number of Premier League clubs expressed an interest, but after Pep Guardiola replaced Rijkaard, he made it clear that he saw Gudjohnsen as key to his plans.
At international level, Gudjohnsen faces the opposite problem. Amid the egos of club football he tends to pass unnoticed, but he is by some margin Iceland's most recognisable player. This, after all, is a nation who, despite a scattering of England-based players and others at decent clubs in Scandinavia, somehow managed to lose 3-0 to Liechtenstein in the qualifiers for Euro 2008. "I think because people don't see me on a world stage," he said, "because they will never see me in the Euros or a World Cup, some players might seem more attractive because they get all the attention in a big tournament."
And that is the paradox of Gudjohnsen. In a national team that has no chance of success, he stands out a mile; but for two of the greatest club teams in the world, he has been undeservedly anonymous. Still, there is surely consolation to be drawn from the fact that, after himself, Gudjohnsen was the first person at Chelsea Mourinho categorised as "special".
ICELAND: A ROUGH GUIDE
THE STADIUM
Set in Reykjavik, the world's most northerly capital city, the 14,000-capacity Laugardalsvollur stadium is not just home to the national team, but also to club side, Fram.
THE FOOD
It will take a brave Scotsman to try the local delicacy. Hakarl – also known as rotten shark – is prepared by gutting a basking or greenland shark and placing it in a shallow hole dug in gravelly-sand. The shark is then covered up with sand and gravel. Stones are used to cover the shark and to release fluids out of the body. The shark ferments for up to three months before it is dried and served.
WHERE TO GOFood and drink does not come cheap here so expect to pay over the odds when eating out. Recommended restaurants include Geyser Bistro and Bar and the well-known Siggi Hall. On the other hand, if you prefer fast food, there is just one McDonald's on the island!
PARTY TIMEReykjavik is actually a lively capital with a throbbing nightlife. With a population of 120,000, Reykjavik offers 120 stylish bars and clubs but due to the high price of drinks (about £7-£10 each), the bars do not fill up until after midnight. Bars stay open until 4am on weekends while many clubs don't close until 8am, so party time is extensive!
THE CULT HEROPint-sized pop star, Bjork Gudmundsdottir (known popularly as Bjork) hails from Iceland. In 1993, she released her first solo album, named 'Debut', which sold nearly three million copies worldwide. She made fashion history when she wore her controversial "swan dress" while performing a song at the 2001 Academy Award Ceremony.
BOBBY FISHER The late American chess player helped put Iceland on the world map when he defeated Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union to become world chess champion in Reykjavik in 1972. He was awarded full Icelandic citizenship in January 2005 after becoming a figure of hate in the United States. Fisher stated that the September 11 attacks of 2001 provided "wonderful news". Despite this, and despite allegations of tax evasion in the US, Fisher arrived in Iceland in 2005 to find a large crowd with welcome arms.
MAGNUS MAGNUSSON"I've started so I'll finish." This phrase may not be so well known in Iceland, but is fondly remembered in Britain as the catchphrase of the late Mastermind presenter Magnus Magnusson, the Reykjavic-born Scot who presented the show between 1972 and 1997.
The full article contains 1452 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
