Icelandic Wanderers
Bolton Players from the Land of Ice & Fire
Iceland an island in the North Atlantic with a population of just over 300,000 has produced a couple of Bolton Wanderers legends and the odd ones that flattered to deceive.
History
The island itself was first settled by Irish Monks who quickly discovered that not only could you freeze to death but there was a very strong possibility that at any time you could be blown into the Ozone layer due to the place being just one big volcano. Various Scandinavian tribes tried to settle in the place and it was even too harsh for the Vikings. Eventually some hardy souls managed to survive mainly in the plateau that we now call Reykjavik but only after the discovery of central heating and double glazing!
Football
The Icelandic men’s football league is made up of four divisions with 12 clubs per division and a fifth division of 38 teams split into a national five league set-up. The woman’s competition has 32 clubs in three divisions so that’s 118 clubs in total. So, if you take into account the players at each club, the officials, managers coaching staff and supporters there are not a lot of people left to do anything other than to play football, fish and form bands.
The Icelanders play their football from May until the end of September when any training or games are then played indoors. It was the foresight of the KSi (The Icelandic Football Association) in the year 2000 who then decided to build indoor football pitches known as football houses and to date they have 15 of these either full size or half size, they are all publicly owned and are run on a not-for-profit basis. At the same time they decided to invest in coaching and currently Iceland has a UEFA licence coach for every 500 people where in the UK it is 1 in every 10,000. Given the investment the Icelanders have made in the game do not be surprised about any future achievements on the world stage.
If your team are four down at least you can enjoy the view hoping that the mountain doesn’t go boooooom…….
Gudni Bergsson
The first Icelandic legend to join the Wanderers was Gudni Bergsson who had being playing on and off for Spurs in the mid 90s. With the arrival of Ossie Ardiles as manager Bergsson was left looking for another club and it was while having a trial game for Crystal Palace that Bruce Rioch was alerted to his availability. Bolton paid Spurs a fee of circa £65,000 with add-ons and so the man from Reykjavik joined Rioch’s Bolton squad in the March of 1995. Gudni was soon plunged in at the deep end when he came on as a substitute for Scott Green in the League Cup final against Liverpool after the hapless Green and been turned inside out continually by Steve McManaman, not only did Bergsson quell the threat from the winger but with his first touch he put in the cross that led to Alan Thompson’s wonder goal for the Whites that sadly turned out to be a mere consolation.
The Thommo goal is around 8:20.
Gudni’s 40-yarder versus Barnsley
At the end of that season the Wanderers made it to the Premier League via the play-offs where Bergsson became a calming influence on what at times looked like a defence ready to implode at any moment. The club were relegated that season and so began the yo-yo years. The following season saw the Wanderers gain promotion back to the Premier League as Champions, Todd’s team that season played some brilliant football and scored goals galore. While Bolton did make a better fist of staying in the top flight they eventually dropped out of the Premier League again but that season Gudni scored possibility the goal of the season in the Boxing Day fixture against fellow strugglers Barnsley, a Hail Mary effort from the full back.
The following season saw the Whites get to three domestic semi-finals only to lose them all, in addition, Colin Todd moved on to pastures new and was replaced by ex-Wanderers legend Big Sam Allardyce. A league cup semi defeat to Tranmere, an F.A. Cup semi defeat to Aston Villa and possibility the most painful of all when losing a play-off semi to Ipswich. The Orpington referee Barry Knight booked virtually the entire Bolton team in the second leg at Portman Road, sent two of them for an early bath and gave Ipswich three penalties (no Ipswich Town players were cautioned during this bloodbath of a game, go figure!!). Gudni wanted to go back to school and finish his law degree but was persuaded to stay and the following season the Trotters defeated Preston in the Cardiff play-off final to reach the Premier League once again. Once more Allardyce hid his satchel and Gudni suspended his studies to help Bolton survive in the Premier League – decided on the last day of the season with a home win against Middlesbrough.
“Gudni Bergsson will always be regarded as a modern day legend at the club, a true warrior in a white shirt and an absolute gentleman off the field.”
Since leaving the Wanderers Gudni has had a quite a life outside football. He returned to his native Iceland to practise law. It was back home that during an attack on a solicitor, by a machete wielding lunatic, in the practice where he worked Gudni also suffered two stab wounds to the leg when intervening and ultimately saving the life of his colleague. Shocking. He later became head of the Icelandic F.A. before resigning after an historical KSi sex scandal. Gudni Bergsson will always be regarded as a modern day legend at the club, a true warrior in a white shirt and an absolute gentleman off the field.
Eidur Gudjohnsen
The arrival of Eidur Gudjohnsen in September 1998 was at the time seen as a make or break move for the talented youngster, his prodigious talent had taken him to PSV in the Netherlands where he played up front with Ronaldo, not the teak coloured six-pack who played for Real Madrid but the buck-toothed Brazilian master. Colin Todd used the striker sparingly mainly due to Eidur coming to the club with an ankle injury and Gudjohnsen only turned out 11 times in his first season. It has to be said that there was not much of a sign of the things to come from the only player ever to replace his dad as a substitute in an international game.
The goals in that first season Eidur was at the club were shared between Bob Taylor (17) Dean Holdsworth (12) and fellow volcano dodger Arnar Gunnlaugsson (13). The season ‘99/20 was Eidur first with the club after a full pre-season and it showed. The striker started with the winner at home to Q.P.R., in total that season EG played 41 games in all competitions scoring 21 goals. Everyone who witnessed that season always quote his goal against Wimbledon when he weaved through the Londoners defence during a League Cup quarter-final victory at the Reebok on a cold December evening. But for me his best goal that season came against Charlton Athletic in another cup quarter-final as the Whites marched all the way to Wembley.
Eidur’s goal vs Wimbledon (poor quality)
Eidur’s rasping strike vs Charlton
So for younger viewers you will notice that the players in these clips all wore black boots and we played with a white ball!
The F.A. Cup semi-final defeat at Wembley against Aston Villa denied EG what would have been a game in the final against his future employers Chelsea. More bad luck was to follow, after firing Bolton into a lead at home to Ipswich in the play-off semi-final at the Reebok, EG sustained an injury and was missing from the second leg at Portman Road. Who knows what the outcome of that game may have been with him present? Alas at the end of that season with a hotel to pay for we sold one of the best players I have seen at Bolton for £4.5 million. He was a striker who that season played under three different managers Todd, Brown (caretaker) and Allardyce.
One of the downsides of all seater stadiums really hit home that season. Where as at Burnden Park if somebody got on your nerves you could move away and find some peace – but stuck in my seat at the Reebok listening to a couple, clad in biker leathers with a test tube size flask, that did nothing but slag EG off for the whole period of a particular game. Some people just do not know class when they see it.
Eidur did hint that one day he would return to Bolton. After his time at Chelsea he moved on to Barcelona before bitty spells at numerous other clubs around England and Europe. Then in November 2014 he stayed true to his word and returned for a season under Neil Lennon, playing a further 21 games and scoring five times.
Maybe at some point I will get around to reviewing the careers of our other Icelandic warriors, namely Arnar Gunnlaugsson, Gretar Steinsson, Heidar Helguson and our current striker Jon Dadi Bodvarsson. With apologies to non-playing keeper Birdie Kristinsson, “who?” you may ask.