Icelandic football coach Guðjón Þórðarson dies at 71

Guðjón Þórðarson, one of the most successful coaches in Icelandic football history, has died aged 71, mbl.is reported. He coached for 35 years, led clubs in Iceland and England, and managed Iceland’s men’s national team from 1997 to 1999.

Þórðarson first drew attention as coach of KA, a football club in Akureyri, which he led to the Icelandic league title in 1989. He later returned to ÍA, a football club that had been relegated from the top division in 1990. He guided the team back up in 1991, then to the league title in 1992 and the cup in 1993.

He took charge of KR and won the Icelandic Cup with the club in 1994 and 1995. After returning to ÍA in 1996, he led the team to both the league and cup titles, winning the cup four years in a row.

In England, Þórðarson became manager of Stoke City after the club was bought by Icelandic investors. He took Stoke up to the second-highest division in 2002, though he was later dismissed. Before leaving, he also led the club to victory over Bristol City in a cup competition for lower-division teams. The final, the last match played at the old Wembley Stadium, drew widespread attention in Iceland. Þórðarson later called the win the greatest moment of his career.

After Stoke, he coached Norwegian club Start and three more English teams: Barnsley, Notts County and Crewe Alexandra. He later returned to ÍA and continued working in Icelandic football. His final coaching job was with Víkingur Ólafsvík, where he left the role in 2022.

Þórðarson had Parkinson’s disease, diagnosed in 2023, and also suffered from back problems. In an interview with RÚV earlier this year, he said the conditions caused difficult days and affected his strength in his legs.