Jóhannes Karl Guðjónsson

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Joey Gudjonsson
Personal information
Full name	Jóhannes Karl Guðjónsson
Date of birth	May 25, 1980
Place of birth	Akranes, Iceland
Height	5'8 (173cm)
Nickname	Joey
Position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	AZ Alkmaar
Professional clubs*
Years	Club	Apps (goals)
1998 1998 – 1999 1999 - 2000 2000 – 2001 2001 - 2004 2003 2003 - 2004 2004 - 2006 2006 -	ÍA Akranes K.R.C. Genk MVV Maastricht RKC Waalwijk Real Betis Aston Villa (loan) Wolves (loan) Leicester City AZ Alkmaar	0 (0) 5 (0) 19 (5) 31 (4) 11 (0) 11 (2) 16 (1) 89 (13) 1 (0)
National team**
2003-	Iceland	24 (1)
* Professional club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of October 29, 2006. ** National team caps and goals correct as of August 16, 2006.

Jóhannes "Joey" Karl Guðjónsson (born in Akranes on 25th May 1980) is an Icelandic professional footballer currently playing for AZ Alkmaar. His father, Guðjón Þórðarson, has managed Stoke City F.C., Notts County, Barnsley F.C. and the Icelandic national team. He has two brothers who also currently play professional football, Þórður and Bjárni.

His previous clubs include Real Betis, Aston Villa, Wolves and Leicester City.

Joey burst onto the scene in the Icelandic premier division with ÍA Akranes at the age of 17. Seen as a hard-working midfield dynamo with a lot of commitment and enthusiasm when he played. It wasn't long before he was on the move, and in 1998, he was transferred to top-flight Belgium outfit, Racing Club Genk. He only played a handful of matches for them and the following season, he was on the move again. This time it was to the Netherlands, with newly-promoted side MVV Maastricht. Again, he only spent one season with the club and then moved to another Dutch club, RKC Waalwijk, spending one season under current Tottenham Hotspur manager Martin Jol. In 2001, he moved to Spanish Primera Liga side Real Betis. In his first year, he played eleven matches with the first team. His first-team chances became restricted, so, the following season, he was shipped out on loan to Aston Villa, in which he scored twice in eleven appearances. He was famed more for his sending off against bitter rivals Birmingham City than his actual footballing performances for Villa. Earlier, striker Dion Dublin had received a red card for head-butting Wales intermational Robbie Savage. He spent the next season on loan at Wolves as they battled against relegation from the Premiership.

His form with Wolves the previous season earned him a summer move to Leicester City, signing a two-year deal after arriving on a free transfer from Real Betis, thus ending his nightmare spell in Spain. It took him a while to start making an impact for the Championship side, but was a regular first-team player as the Foxes struggled to achieve their promtiom ambitions. In his second season, he became a cult figure with the fans, as he shone in a campaign as The Foxes struggled even more. Recognised now as a comfortable passer, a tough-tackler and a knack of scoring spectacular goals on a regular basis, it seemed Joey would become a key figure in the side for the future, having a playing style that was seen as a mixture of former midfield legends, Robbie Savage and Muzzy Izzet. As Joey improved, more clubs started to show interest as his contract started to run out. In mid-February, he agreed a move to Dutch side AZ Alkmaar, who had been playing Europe and spent most of the season in the top four of the Dutch Eredivisie.

In 2006, amongst other great strikes, Joey scored a fabulous goal for Leicester City against Hull City when he scored from the halfway line.

He won several goal of the month awards for the goal and won the Central Soccer Night goal of the season. He also won player and goal of the season for Leicester City in their end of season awards ceremony. As he prepared to move away in the summer, he commented that he had enjoyed being at Leicester very much and that the club were responsible for the major turn-around in his career.

On August 4th 2006, Joey made his debut for AZ in the friendly match against Arsenal. He came on as a 64th minute substiute. AZ lost the game 3-0, the game also being the first to be played at AZ's new DSB Stadion.

[edit] Personal Life

Joey is married with Maria. He has two sons: Izak and Joe.

AZ Alkmaar - Current Squad
1 Didulica | 2 Jaliens | 3 Luirink | 4 Opdam | 5 de Cler | 7 Guðjónsson | 8 Schaars | 9 Arveladze | 10 Cziommer | 11 Martens | 12 Luyckx | 14 Donk | 15 Molhoek | 17 Meerdink | 18 Dembélé | 19 Koevermans | 20 de Zeeuw | 21 Ikedia | 22 Sinouh | 23 Steinsson | 24 Mendes da Silva | 25 Vormer | 26 Bulters | 27 Jenner | 29 Lens | -- Waterreus