Ólafur Stefánsson

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Ólafur Stefánsson
Personal information
Full nameÓlafur Indriði Stefánsson
Date of birth (1973-07-03) 3 July 1973
Place of birthReykjavík, Iceland
Height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Playing positionRight Back
Club information
Current clubAG København
Number11
Youth career
1990-1992Valur
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1992–1996Valur-(-)
1996–1998LTV Wuppertal-(-)
1998–2003SC Magdeburg-(-)
2003–2009BM Ciudad Real-(-)
2009–2011Rhein-Neckar Löwen65(209)
2011–2012AG København21(49)
2012-2013Lekhwiya
National team
1992-2013Iceland318(1511)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:37, 17 January 2010 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).
This is an Icelandic name. The last name is a patronymic, not a family name; this person is properly referred to by the given name Ólafur.
Ólafur Stefánsson

Ólafur Indriði Stefánsson (born July 3, 1973 in Reykjavík, Iceland) is an Icelandic handball player who currently plays for first division side Lekhwiya handball team in Qatar. He was for many years the captain of the Iceland national handball team but announced his international retirement afther the 2012 London Olympics. His demarcation is right back. At his peak he was considered to be one of the very best handball players in the world.

As a player for his national team, he currently holds the record for the number of goals scored with a national handball team (over 1500 goals) ever. He is also one of the most enduring handball players of all times, being a field player since 1990.

He was voted Sports Personality of the Year in Iceland in 2002, 2003, 2008 and 2009.

Career in clubs

Ólafur's career started with the Reykjavík based sports club Valur. With Valur, Ólafur became Icelandic champion 5 times. After Valur, he transferred to the Bundesliga, playing with LTV Wuppertal, then coached by Icelandic coahc Viggó Sigurðsson. Later the joined another Icelandic coach, Alfreð Gíslason in SC Magdeburg. In 2003, Ólafur was transferred to top Spanish club BM Ciudad Real. At the pinnacle of his career, Ólafur Stefánsson enjoyed massive success with Ciudad, winning both the Champions League and the Spanich title multiple times. In 2009 he went back to Germany to play with Rhein-Neckar Löwen, then coached by Icelandic national team coach, Guðmundur Guðmundsson. On July 1, 2011 he signed for AG København, but after the club filed for bankruptcy in the summer of 2012 he was without a club for the remainder of the year. On December 7 his agent announced he had signed for the Lekhwiya Handball Team in Doha, Qatar.[1]

Ólafur now lives in Reykjavík and coaches his boyhood team Valur.

Career on the national team

In 1995, he was selected to play on the Iceland national handball team to take part in the world championships, which were held in Iceland.

He was captain for the national handball team on the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing (ending with the silver medal), and again on the 2010 European Championship where Iceland finished third.

Family

He is the brother of Icelandic basketball player Jón Arnór Stefánsson, formerly of NBA's Dallas Mavericks.[citation needed]

Honours

Valur Reykjavík

  • Icelandic champion: 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996
  • Icelandic cup: 1993

SC Magdeburg

  • Bundesliga: 2001
  • DHB-Supercup: 2001
  • Champions League: 2002
  • EHF Cup: 1999, 2001
  • EHF Men’s Champions Trophy: 2001, 2002

BM Ciudad Real

AG København

International

Individual

Orders and special awards

References

  1. ↑ http://visir.is/olafur-stefansson-samdi-vid-lid-i-katar/article/2012121209245

External links

Awards
Preceded by
Örn Arnarson
Margrét Lára Viðarsdóttir		 Icelandic Sportsperson of the Year
2002, 2003
2008, 2009 		Succeeded by
Eiður Guðjohnsen
Alexander Petersson
Iceland
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