Eidur Guojohnsen (born 15 September 1978 in Reykjavík) is
an Icelandic football player who is currently a striker for the
English Premiership club Chelsea and the captain of the Iceland
national team. English-language media have internationalized his
name as Eidur Gudjohnsen since he began playing football in the
Netherlands and England.
His father Arnór Guðjohnsen1 was one of the top players in
Icelandic history, and played most of his football career in
Belgium. Eiður was born when his father was 17, just before
Arnór moved to Belgium. After the family returned to Iceland at
the end of his father's Belgian career, Eiður joined the
Reykjavík club Valur, making his first-team debut as a 15-year-old.
In 1994, he joined Dutch powers PSV Eindhoven. Despite competing
with several other top strikers, including a young Ronaldo, he
made his PSV first-team debut at 17, and shortly thereafter
played in the Champions League against Barcelona.
On 24 April 1996, he and his father entered football history in
an Iceland international friendly against Estonia in Tallinn.
Arnór started the match, and Eiður came on in the second half as
a substitute for his father. This was the first time that a
father and son had ever played in the same international match.
Late in 1996, Eiður broke his ankle, and had difficulty coming
back because of undiagnosed tendonitis in that ankle. During his
injury struggles, PSV released him. After a spell in Iceland
with KR Reykjavík, he signed with Bolton Wanderers in 1999,
scoring 21 goals in the 1999/2000 season for the Trotters and
helping them to the semifinals of both the FA Cup and League Cup.
In the 2000 offseason, during a period of financial troubles at
Bolton, he was signed by Chelsea for a £4 million fee, and has
played there ever since.
Early in 2003, he admitted to a gambling problem, confessing to
having lost £400,000 in casinos over a five-month period.
After the arrival of Roman Abramovich as the owner of Chelsea FC,
and the subsequent influx of high-profile players into the team,
there was some concern that he might not be able to secure a
regular place. Two years on, however, he is still regarded by
many as one of the key players at the club. |
