Grétar Steinsson

Grétar Steinsson
Personal information
Full name Grétar Rafn Steinsson
Date of birth (1982-01-09) 9 January 1982
Place of birth Siglufjörður, Iceland
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 1⁄2 in) [1]
Playing position Right back
Club information
Current team
 Fleetwood Town (technical director)
Youth career
1998–1999 ÍA
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1997–1998 KS 8 (0)
2000–2004 ÍA 76 (11)
2004–2006 Young Boys 21 (3)
2006–2008 AZ 61 (7)
2008–2012 Bolton Wanderers 126 (5)
2012–2013 Kayserispor 9 (1)
Total 301 (27)
National team
1998 Iceland U-17 7 (0)
2000 Iceland U-19 4 (0)
2001–2003 Iceland U-21 11 (1)
2002–2012 Iceland 46 (4)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Grétar Rafn Steinsson (born 9 January 1982 in Siglufjörður) is a retired Icelandic footballer who is now employed as technical director at Fleetwood Town in England.[2]

Club career

He started his career with local team KS in Siglufjörður and later played for ÍA Akranes, winning the Icelandic league in 2001, before going abroad to play professionally for Swiss club BSC Young Boys. In 2005, Grétar signed for AZ Alkmaar as a replacement for Jan Kromkamp.[3]

On 2 July 2007, AZ Alkmaar announced they had accepted a €3.5 million bid from Middlesbrough. Gareth Southgate had seen him as an ideal replacement for Stuart Parnaby. After the bid was accepted, however, AZ backtracked, claiming the price wasn't high enough and requested Middlesbrough to raise their bid to £4m. Instead, Middlesbrough turned their attention to Charlton Athletic right back Luke Young, who ended up making the move, ending Middlesbrough's interest in Grétar.

Despite signing a new four-and-a-half-year contract with AZ in November 2007,[4] Grétar signed for Bolton Wanderers on 16 January 2008 for a £3.5m fee.[5] He made his debut against Newcastle United on 19 January 2008.

Gary Megson and his side picked up a win against Middlesbrough, a draw against Tottenham, a win against Sunderland and a 1–1 draw against Chelsea to keep them up which could have also decided who won the Premier League title. He scored his first goal for Bolton in the 3–1 victory over Stoke City on 16 August 2008.[6] In the last but one game of the season, Grétar's goal in a 1–1 draw against Hull City confirmed Bolton's Premier League survival.[7]

At the start of the 2010–11 season, Grétar changed his squad number from 15 to 2. He scored in the 3–1 home win against Liverpool on 21 January 2012. At the end of the 2011–12 season Bolton were relegated and the club elected not to offer Steinsson a new contract.

On 22 August 2012, Grétar signed a two-year contract with Turkish Süper Lig club Kayserispor.[8]

On 27 September 2013 Grétar announced that he had retired from football.[9] He helped former club Bolton sign Yannick Bastos in 2014.[10]

International career

He also played regularly for the Iceland national football team. He made his debut in a March 2002 friendly match against Brazil as a substitute and scored after being only 17 minutes on the pitch. He also represented Iceland at all youth levels.

Personal life

Grétar married former Miss Iceland Manuela Ósk Harðardóttir in 2007 and they renewed their vows in 2009. They got divorced in 2011.

They have a daughter, Elma Rós, who was born in April 2010.[11]

On 21 January 2015, Grétar returned to English football, being appointed as technical director at Fleetwood Town of League One.[12]

References

  1. ↑ "Premier League Player Profile". Premier League. Retrieved 16 March 2011.
  2. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30922755
  3. ↑ Van Leeuwen, Gerri. "AZ bag defender". Sky Sports. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  4. ↑ Glorie, Jeffrey (4 November 2007). "AZ ace eyes England future". Sky Sports. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
  5. ↑ "Defender Steinsson joins Bolton". BBC Sport. 16 January 2008. Retrieved 16 January 2008.
  6. ↑ "Bolton 3–1 Stoke". BBC Sport. 16 August 2008. Retrieved 16 August 2008.
  7. ↑ "Tigers climb out of drop zone". Sky Sports. 16 May 2009. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  8. ↑ "Steinsson'dan Kayserispor'a 2 yıllık imza" [Steinsson signs for Kayserispor for 2 years] (in Turkish). NTVSpor.net. 22 August 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  9. ↑ http://fotbolti.net/news/27-09-2013/gretar-rafn-leggur-skona-a-hilluna
  10. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLS5-k-gDUY
  11. ↑ "Oh baby, Gretar is back in business". Bolton News. 3 May 2010. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
  12. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30922755

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