Gylfi Sigurðsson

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 Gylfi.
Gylfi Sigurðsson

Gylfi playing for Iceland in 2012
Personal information
Full nameGylfi Þór Sigurðsson
Date of birth8 September 1989
Place of birthHafnarfjörður, Iceland
Height1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Playing positionAttacking midfielder
Club information
Current team
Swansea City
Number23
Youth career
2002FH
2003–2005Breiðablik
2005–2008Reading
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2008–2010Reading42(19)
2008→ Shrewsbury Town (loan)5(1)
2009→ Crewe Alexandra (loan)22(3)
2010–20121899 Hoffenheim36(9)
2012→ Swansea City (loan)18(7)
2012–2014Tottenham Hotspur58(8)
2014–Swansea City29(6)
National team‡
2005Iceland U173(2)
2006–2007Iceland U1915(8)
2007–2011Iceland U2114(6)
2010–Iceland28(9)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:00, 25 April 2015 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 16:19, 7 December 2014 (UTC)

Gylfi Þór Sigurðsson (born 8 September 1989) is an Icelandic footballer who currently plays for Swansea City as a midfielder. He is a specialist on set-pieces and possesses great long-range shooting ability.

He began his professional career with Reading in the Championship, and in 2010 was sold to Hoffenheim in Reading's biggest sale. He was voted player of the season for two consecutive seasons for Reading in 2009–10 season and for Hoffenheim in 2010–11.[2][3] After a season back in English football with Swansea he joined Tottenham Hotspur for £8.8 million, and in 2014 moved back to Swansea as part of an exchange for Ben Davies.

Gylfi made his senior international debut for Iceland in 2010 and has since earned over 25 caps.

Club career

Early life

Born in Hafnarfjörður, Iceland, Gylfi played for hometown side FH before joining Breiðablik and was an Icelandic under-17 international. He had spent time on trial with Preston North End before signing for Reading on an Academy scholarship on 1 October 2005.[4] He spent three years playing for the youth and reserve teams. Prior to the 2007–08 season, he and five other youngsters were given professional contracts.[5]

2008–09

Ahead of the 2008–09 season, Gylfi was assigned the number 34 shirt for Reading, and he was an unused substitute in the club's 2–1 away win at Dagenham & Redbridge in August 2008.[6] Two weeks later, he made his debut in Reading's League Cup match against Luton Town, coming on as a 59th minute substitute.[7] He scored a penalty in Reading's penalty shoot-out against Stoke City in the League Cup, after coming on as a substitute.[8] In order to gain first-team experience, Gylfi signed for Shrewsbury Town on a one-month loan spell,[9] and he scored on his league debut against Bournemouth in October 2008.[10] He made a total of six appearances during his time at Shrewsbury, scoring one goal. He returned to his parent club and featured in Reading's 2–0 loss to Cardiff City in the FA Cup.[11] In February 2009, Gylfi joined Crewe Alexandra on an emergency loan move,[12] and he made his debut two days later against Brighton away, scoring in the 89th minute in Crewe's 4–0 win.[13] In March 2009, Gylfi's loan was extended until the end of the season.[14] He scored two further goals for Crewe, against Milton Keynes Dons and Cheltenham Town respectively,[15][16] but could not prevent the club's relegation to League Two.[17]

2009–10

Gylfi scored his first Reading goal against Burton Albion from 35 yards out in the first round League Cup tie at home on 11 August 2009.[18] He scored his first league goal for Reading in a 3–2 defeat at Peterborough United on 19 September 2009.[19] Gylfi was a huge contributor in Reading's extraordinary 2009–10 FA Cup run which included wins over Premier League sides Liverpool and Burnley and West Bromwich Albion. Perhaps his biggest goal to date came against Liverpool in the third round of the FA Cup on 13 January 2010, when he scored a penalty in injury time to make the score 1–1 and force extra time. Reading went on to win the game 2–1.[20] He scored the winning goal in the 87th minute against Burnley in the fourth round.[21] In the fifth round, he scored the winning goal against West Bromwich Albion for a 3–2 victory in extra time.[22] In April 2010, Gylfi won the Championship Player of the Month Award for March, beating Peter Løvenkrands of Newcastle United, Graham Dorrans of West Brom and Adel Taarabt of QPR, scoring five goals in six games in that month.[23] Gylfi scored against Preston North End in the final game of the season.[24] Before the match, Gylfi was named as the 2009–10 Reading Player of the Season beating Jimmy Kébé and Ryan Bertrand, who finished second and third respectively.

Gylfi finished the season with a fruitful 21 goals in 44 matches in all competitions.[25] His performances and his young age prompted several Premier League clubs to enquire over his availability, but he committed his future to Reading when he signed a three-year deal in May 2010.[26]

2010–11

Gylfi scored his first goal of the 2010–11 season in the first match of the season when he "skipped past two players before smashing in a 25-yard equaliser" against Scunthorpe in a 2–1 home loss.[27] He followed this up on 28 August with a short range chip in the 22nd minute away at Leicester. The evening after the game the Icelandic media reported that Gylfi was to travel to Germany the following Monday to have a medical at 1899 Hoffenheim.[28] Gylfi joined 1899 Hoffenheim on 31 August 2010. Reading reported that the fee exceeded their previous club record sale of £6.5 million recouped from the sale of Kevin Doyle.[29]

1899 Hoffenheim

Gylfi made his debut for 1899 Hoffenheim on 10 September 2010, coming on with 10 minutes to go in a 2–0 win over Schalke. A week later, he scored his first goal for Hoffenheim in a 2–2 draw with Kaiserslautern after coming on as a 77th-minute substitute. He scored with his first touch, a 20-yard free kick that levelled the game.[30] His second goal for the club was another free kick, from 25 yards, against Mainz in a 4–2 away defeat.[31] He added another two goals to his tally in Hoffenheim's home win against Hannover 96, one of which was from the penalty spot.

On 25 May 2011, Gylfi was voted as 1899 Hoffenheim's fans' player of the season, despite only starting 13 games. He finished the season with ten goals and two assists. During the first half of the 2011–12 season, he fell down the pecking order, making just seven league appearances and was linked with a move away from the club.

Swansea City loan

On 1 January 2012, it was announced that Gylfi would join Premier League club Swansea City on loan for the rest of the season.[32] He made his Premier League debut for Swansea on 15 January, coming on at half-time and setting up the winning goal in a 3–2 win over Arsenal.[33] On 4 February, Gylfi scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 win against West Brom.[34] He also created Swansea's other goal game for Danny Graham, taking his tally to three assists in four games. On 3 March, he scored two goals in a 2–0 victory away at Wigan, his second being a free kick.[35] Two weeks later, he scored another brace in a 3–0 away win against Fulham.[36] He scored his next goal at White Hart Lane in his team's 3–1 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur on 1 April.[37]

As a result of his fine form, Gylfi was named the Premier League Player of the Month for March, the first Icelander to win the award. His next goal came in a 3–0 victory over Blackburn Rovers that put the club on 42 points for the season.[38]

On 28 May, Swansea agreed a £6.8 million fee with Hoffenheim for the permanent transfer of the player, subject to him passing a medical, however, following Brendan Rodgers' move to Liverpool, the deal collapsed despite Huw Jenkins keeping hope in the deal alight.[39] In 18 Premier League games during his loan spell for Swansea, Gylfi scored seven goals and added four assists.[40]

Tottenham Hotspur

Gylfi playing against Cardiff City on 22 September 2013.

On 4 July 2012, it was confirmed that Gylfi had joined Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of £8.8 million.[41] He was the first signing for newly appointed Head Coach, André Villas-Boas. He scored his first goal for the club in a friendly against Stevenage, after coming on as a second-half substitute. On 31 July, Gylfi scored the winning goal in a friendly against New York Red Bulls. On 26 September, Gylfi scored his first goal for the club in a third round League Cup tie away against Carlisle, closing the scoring in a 3–0 win.

Brian McDermott confirmed that Reading made three unsuccessful bids to bring Gylfi back to his former club during the January 2013 transfer window, including a club record offer on deadline day thought by BBC Sport to be around £10 million.[42] On 25 February, Gylfi scored his first Premier League goal for Tottenham which was the second goal in a 3–2 win against West Ham United. In the following game, a 2–1 win against Arsenal, he provided the assist for Gareth Bale.[43]

In the 2013–14 season, he scored a brace in 2–0 win against Norwich City on September 14, 2013. This win took Spurs up to second in the table. Gylfi's momentum in Tottenham's team continued on 28 September 2013, as he scored in a 1–1 home draw against Chelsea.[44]

Return to Swansea

In July 2014, Tottenham announced that a deal had been reached with Swansea City for Gylfi to re-join his former club, while Swansea left-back Ben Davies would join Spurs. On the move, Gylfi said, "I really enjoyed my time here last time. I know the club, I know the manager, I know the players and I obviously know the fans and the city as well, so that wasn't that difficult for me."[45] In the opening match of the 2014-15 Premier League season, he set up the opener and scored the winning goal as Swansea defeated Manchester United 2–1 at Old Trafford, making this the first time Manchester United have lost their opening home game since 1972.[46] Gylfi continued his good start to his Swansea return with another 3 assists in his next 2 games.[47] In a home game against Arsenal on 9 November 2014, Gylfi curled a free kick over the wall and into the corner of the net from 25 yards to equalise in a 2–1 win.[48] Gylfi scored in a 4–1 away defeat against Liverpool at Anfield on 29 December.[49]

On 17 January 2015, a wayward pass by Gylfi allowed Chelsea's Oscar to score after 50 seconds in an eventual 0–5 home defeat for Swansea.[50] A week later, he was sent off in added time at the end of a 1–3 defeat away to Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup fourth round, with Swansea already having been down to ten men after the earlier dismissal of Kyle Bartley.[51]

International career

Gylfi took part in the 2008 U19 European Championship qualifying, scoring twice in qualification and twice in the elite round, but Iceland lost out to group winners Bulgaria by three points and missed out on the finals. In November 2007, Gylfi made his U21s debut for Iceland, playing half an hour against Germany.[52] He made his first appearance in the 2009 European Under-21 Championship qualifying four days later, coming as an extra-time substitute, and played in the remaining matches. In Iceland's last match, he scored the opener against Slovakia but Miroslav Stoch equalised to make it 1–1.[53] Iceland failed to qualify for the play-offs but made a bright start to the 2011 campaign. He made his campaign debut in October against San Marino and made an immediate impact, scoring a brace within 16 minutes in a 6–0 thrashing.[54]

In May 2010, Gylfi made his full Iceland debut in the convincing 4–0 win over Andorra and provided the assist for the second goal from a free kick. Gylfi also helped Iceland's U21 side reach the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, playing in both play-off legs against Scotland U21s as Iceland won 4–2 on aggregate.[55][56] In the second leg, Gylfi scored two "stunning" second-half goals to ensure Iceland won the match 2–1.[56]

On 13 October 2014, he scored both goals, one of which was a penalty, as Iceland defeated the Netherlands in a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match.[57]

Career statistics

As of 25 April 2015.[58][59]
Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
2008–09 Reading Championship 001020--30
Shrewsbury Town (loan) League Two 51--1061
Crewe Alexandra (loan) League One 153-153
2009–10 Reading Championship 381753114421
2010–11 42000042
Germany League DFB-Pokal - Europe Other Total
2010–11 1899 Hoffenheim Bundesliga 29931---3210
2011–12 700070
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
2011–12 Swansea City (loan) Premier League 1871000--197
2012–13 Tottenham Hotspur 3333021123507
2013–14 255002180356
2014–15 Swansea City 2961121-328
Totals Swansea 47132121----5115
England 16744114942031020855
Germany 36931------3910
Career totals 20353145942031024765

* Other – Football League Trophy

International statistics

[60]

Iceland national team
YearAppsGoals
201030
201131
201281
201383
201464
Total289

International goals

[61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71]

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 7 October 2011 Estádio do Dragão, Porto, Portugal  Portugal 5–3 5–3 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
2. 12 October 2012 Qemal Stafa, Tirana, Albania  Albania 1–2 1–2 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
3. 22 March 2013 Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia  Slovenia
1–1
1–2 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
4. 1–2
5. 11 October 2013 Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland  Cyprus 2–0 2–0 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
6. 9 September 2014 Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland  Turkey 2–0 3–0 UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying
7. 10 October 2014 Skonto Stadium, Riga, Latvia  Latvia 0–1 0–3 UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying
8. 13 October 2014 Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland  Netherlands
1–0
2–0 UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying
9. 2–0

Honours

Individual

Awards
Preceded by
Aron Pálmarsson		 Icelandic Sportsperson of the Year
2013 		Succeeded by
Jón Arnór Stefánsson

References

  1. ↑ "First team profiles: Gylfi Sigurdsson". Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  2. ↑ "Player of the Season 2010/11 – Gylfi Sigurdsson". achtzehn99.de. 27 May 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
  3. ↑ "Destination unknown for Sigurdsson family as in-demand Gylfi plots his next move". independent.co.uk. 1 July 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
  4. ↑ "Royals sign Iceland youngster". readingfc.co.uk. 14 October 2005. Retrieved 8 January 2008.
  5. ↑ "Royals make six Academy signings". readingfc.co.uk. 6 July 2007. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
  6. ↑ "Dag & Red 1–2 Reading". BBC Sport. 12 August 2008. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
  7. ↑ "Reading vs Luton Town". Reading FC. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
  8. ↑ "Stoke 2–2 Reading". BBC Sport. 23 September 2008. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
  9. ↑ "Sigurdsson signs for Shrewsbury". BBC Sport. 16 October 2008. Retrieved 19 October 2008.
  10. ↑ "Shrewsbury 4–1 Bournemouth". BBC Sport. 18 October 2008. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
  11. ↑ "Cardiff City 2–0 Reading". BBC Sport. 3 January 2009. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
  12. ↑ "Sigurdsson makes Crewe loan move". BBC Sport. 27 February 2009. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
  13. ↑ "Brighton 0–4 Crewe". BBC Sport. 28 February 2009. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
  14. ↑ "Crewe extend Sigurdsson loan deal". BBC Sport. 24 March 2009. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
  15. ↑ "MK Dons 2–2 Crewe". BBC Sport. 24 March 2009. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
  16. ↑ "Crewe 1–2 Cheltenham". BBC Sport. 18 April 2009. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
  17. ↑ "Crewe 0–3 Leicester". BBC Sport. 2 May 2009. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
  18. ↑ "Reading 5–1 Burton Albion". BBC Sport. 11 August 2009. Retrieved 14 August 2009.
  19. ↑ "Peterborough 3–2 Reading". BBC Sport. 19 September 2009. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
  20. ↑ "Liverpool 1–2 Reading". news.bbc.co.uk. 13 January 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
  21. ↑ Lacey, David (25 January 2010). "Reading 1–0 Burnley". www.guardian.co.uk (London). Retrieved 7 August 2010.
  22. ↑ "West Brom 2–3 Reading". news.bbc.co.uk. 24 February 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
  23. ↑ "Sigurdsson named Player of the Month". The Football League. 3 April 2010. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
  24. ↑ "Reading 4–1 Preston". news.bbc.co.uk. 2 April 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
  25. ↑ "ESPN Soccernet Gylfi Sigurdsson profile". soccernet.espn.go.com. 7 August 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
  26. ↑ "Sigurdsson signs new three year deal at Reading FC". www.getreading.co.uk. 27 May 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
  27. ↑ "Reading 1–2 Scunthorpe". news.bbc.co.uk. 7 August 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
  28. ↑ "Gylfi Þór á leið til Hoffenheim – Fer í læknisskoðun á mánudaginn" (in Icelandic). mbl.is. 28 August 2010. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
  29. ↑ "Hoffenheim sign Reading's Sigurdsson for at least £6.5m". BBC Sport. 28 August 2010. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
  30. ↑ "Kaiserlautern 2–2 Hoffenheim". Soccerway. 18 September 2010. Retrieved 31 October 2010.
  31. ↑ "Mainz 05 4–2 Hoffenheim". Soccerway. 2 October 2010. Retrieved 31 October 2010.
  32. ↑ "Gylfi Þór til Swansea City". mbl. 1 January 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  33. ↑ "Swansea City vs Arsenal Report". Goal.com. 15 January 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
  34. ↑ "West Brom 1- 2 Swansea". BBC Sport. 4 February 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
  35. ↑ "Wigan 0 – 2 Swansea". BBC Sport. 3 March 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
  36. ↑ "Fulham 0 – 3 Swansea". BBC Sport. 17 March 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
  37. ↑ "Tottenham 3 – 1 Swansea". BBC Sport. 1 April 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
  38. ↑ "Swansea 3 – 0 Blackburn". BBC Sport. 14 April 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
  39. ↑ "Swansea strike £6.8m Gylfi Sigurdsson deal – ESPN Soccernet". Soccernet.espn.go.com. 2008-01-01. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  40. ↑ "Swansea City agree club-record £6.8m fee for Sigurdsson". Goal.com. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  41. ↑ "Sigurdsson To Join Club". tottenhamhotspur.com. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  42. ↑ "Gylfi Sigurdsson: Reading failed with bid for Tottenham player". BBC Sport. 1 February 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
  43. ↑ "Gylfi Sigurdsson believes he was right to join Tottenham instead of Liverpool". skysports.com. Sky Sports. 8 March 2013. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  44. ↑ "Tottenham 1 Chelsea 1: Terry cancels out Sigurdsson opener before Torres sees red". dailymail.co.uk. Daily Mail. 28 September 2013. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
  45. ↑ "Spurs add Davies, Vorm from Swansea". PA Sport (ESPN.com). 23 July 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  46. ↑ Bevan, Chris (16 August 2014). "Man Utd 1–2 Swansea". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  47. ↑ Sport, BBC (30 August 2014). "On hand again". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
  48. ↑ "Bafetimbi Gomis heads home Swansea winner as Arsenal throw away late lead". PA Sport (ESPN.com). 9 November 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
  49. ↑ "Liverpool moved to within five points of the top four as their recent upturn in form continued with an emphatic victory over Swansea at Anfield.". BBC. 29 December 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  50. ↑ Rawlings, Owen (17 January 2015). "Swansea 0–5 Chelsea". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  51. ↑ Sanghera, Mandeep (24 January 2015). "Blackburn 3-2 Swansea". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  52. ↑ "Under 21s boost for Sigurdsson". readingfc.co.uk. 7 November 2007. Retrieved 8 January 2008.
  53. ↑ "Jafntefli við Slóvaka hjá U21 karla" (in Icelandic). ksi.is. 9 September 2008.
  54. ↑ "Goal glut continues for resurgent Iceland". uefa.com. 13 November 2009.
  55. ↑ "Iceland U21 2–1 Scotland U21". BBC Sport. 7 October 2010. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
  56. ↑ 56.0 56.1 "Scotland U21 1–2 Iceland U21 (2–4 on agg)". BBC Sport. 11 October 2010. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
  57. ↑ "Iceland 2–0 Netherlands". BBC Sport. 13 October 2014. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
  58. ↑ Gylfi Sigurðsson career statistics at Soccerbase
  59. ↑ ESPN Soccernet Profile
  60. ↑ Gylfi Sigurðsson at National-Football-Teams.com
  61. ↑ "Leikskýrsla | A karla – EM 2012 | Portúgal – Ísland | 5 – 3" (in Icelandic). ksi.is. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  62. ↑ "Leikskýrsla | A karla – HM 2014 | Albanía – Ísland | 1 – 2" (in Icelandic). ksi.is. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  63. ↑ "Leikskýrsla | A karla – HM 2014 | Slóvenía – Ísland | 1 – 2" (in Icelandic). ksi.is. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  64. ↑ "Leikskýrsla | A karla – HM 2014 | Ísland – Kýpur | 2 – 0" (in Icelandic). ksi.is. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  65. ↑ Portugal vs. Iceland at National-Football-Teams.com
  66. ↑ Albania vs. Iceland at National-Football-Teams.com
  67. ↑ Slovenia vs. Iceland at National-Football-Teams.com
  68. ↑ Iceland vs. Cyprus at National-Football-Teams.com
  69. ↑ Sigthórsson and Lagerbäck on "perfect" Iceland at UEFA.com
  70. ↑ Latvia vs. Iceland 0 – 3 at Soccerway.com
  71. ↑ Iceland vs. Netherlands 2 – 0 at Soccerway.com
  72. ↑ "Gylfi Sigurdsson wins Premier League player award". bbc.co.uk/sport. 4 April 2012. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
  73. ↑ "Reading boss Brian McDermott named manager of the month". BBC Sport. 3 April 2010. Retrieved 12 October 2010.
  74. ↑ "Games, goals, players of the season". Reading F.C. Retrieved 12 October 2010.
  75. ↑ "Season Review 2010/11: TSG 1899 Hoffenheim". Reading F.C. Retrieved 1 January 2012.

External links