PROFILE You can't keep Eidur down

Monday 11th March 2002

by Paul Smith

Chelsea forward Eidur Gudjohnsen has packed more into his short professional life than many footballers might expect across a whole career.

An international debut at 17, the supposed big break with PSV which ended in heartache, a rebirth with the biggest club in Iceland, goals in the English first division for Bolton Wanderers, then initial disappointment at Chelsea.

Finally, though, Gudjohnsen is fulfilling the promise which saw him picked in the same Iceland squad as his father Arnor in 1996.

Gudjohnsen was just 17 at the time. Now he is 23 and forms one of the most feared partnerships in the Premiership with Holland star Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.

“Jimmy and I understand each other well on the field and always know what the other one is doing,” explained Gudjohnsen.

“We work together a lot in training and are around each other a lot when we travel, that is why we have done well together. But the two of us will not win games alone, we play as one team and when the whole team is good we play well.”

It is fair to assume that the team ethic was not so much on Gudjohnsen's mind when he seemed set to make history by playing alongside his then 34-year-old dad for Iceland against Estonia.

They would have become the first father and son to play for the same national team, had Eidur not replaced Arnor as a late substitute. Months later, though, the youngster looked ready to beat his old man into retirement.

Gudjohnsen suffered a serious ankle injury while representing the Iceland youth side and Eindhoven giants PSV, who had snapped him up a year earlier, took a very dim view as he ballooned in weight and showed little sign of a quick recovery.

The Dutch club's doctors finally informed the teenager, who had scored three times in 13 appearances the previous season alongside Ronaldo, that he should explore another career path and he was handed a free transfer.

They did not reckon on the youngster's fortitutude, though, and Gudjohnsen soon sought out a Norwegian doctor who offered him hope.

Recuperation was painfully slow, but Gudjohnsen saw his hard work come to fruition at the beginning of the 1998 summer season when KR Reykjavik took him on.

The old sharpness returned almost instantly and, after only a few friendlies and a handful of goals, Gudjohnsen was fit and attracting the attention of Bolton.

Coach Sam Allardyce was happy to show patience with the Icelander and he was a virtual ever-present by 1999-2000, scoring 13 goals in 41 matches. Gianluca Vialli promptly speculated £4 million on bringing him to Chelsea.

If it all seemed too good to be true, so it proved. Vialli got the sack shortly afterwards, Gudjohnsen collected an injury just as Claudio Ranieri's tenure began and his prospects looked bleak again.

But the determination which has characterised Gudjohnsen's career ensured they did not stay that way for long. Initially used only as a substitute, his form and goals late in games eventually proved too exciting to ignore.

This season, he has kept Gianfranco Zola out of the side. The irrepressible Italian is back now, but rather than drop Gudjohnsen, Ranieri has rejigged to fit them both in.

Gudjohnsen took his season tally to 21 goals at the weekend with a double - this time against Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup quarter-final. But the highlight came at Manchester United in a pre-Christmas 3-0 win.

“Ever since I was a little boy I have dreamed of playing at Old Trafford, so you can just imagine how good I felt when I saw the ball in the back of the net behind Barthez,” said Gudjohnsen, who averages nearly a goal ever other game for Chelsea.

“My aim was to score more than last year. I have done that now, as I scored 13 last season, so I just hope this spree will continue,” added the recently-crowned Icelandic Sportsman of the Year.

His dad Arnor is sharing in his son's success. “Now he is very comfortable in London, he has just bought a house and the spirit in the Chelsea camp is very good,” he said.

“Eidur and Jimmy are also good friends. Everything is going well now, but it is best not to say too much because fortunes can change very quickly.”

The last person who needs reminding of that is Eidur Gudjohnsen