Ultimate Barclaysmen: The ‘Blond Maradona’ Eidur Gudjohnsen

‘The Barclays’. While the Premier League was technically sponsored by the aforementioned bank between 2001-16, the period which is so wistfully looked back upon by fans of a certain vintage is the first decade of the 2000s.

After its initial emergence in 1992, the English top-flight enjoyed a secondary boom in popularity following the turn of the millennium, as overseas television deals and a secondary influx of foreign stars gave the league a truly global appeal.

It played host to a number of the games modern icons, too, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Thierry Henry and Didier Drogba among those who lit up the Premier League on a weekly basis. When fans refer to ‘The Barclays’, though, it is not those household names they are referring to. Instead, it is the players who were largely in the background when it came to being headline-grabbing, but were seen as key cogs in the Premier League machine by die-hard fans, while still able to produce moments of magic.

These players have come to be known as the ‘Barclaysmen’, but what made them so beloved, and what became of them once their Barclays life was over?

Here at GOAL, we will endeavour to find out with our latest series, ‘Ultimate Barclaysmen’. As the Barclaysmen trend swept social media recently, one name was thrown around by more than one fanbase: Eidur Gudjohnsen.

The Icelandic goal machine began his Barclays career with Bolton Wanderers, and would also play for the likes of Chelsea – where he is undoubtedly most fondly remembered – Tottenham and Stoke City.

• • WHERE HE CAME FROM

    Gudjohnsen did not exactly have a gilded footballing upbringing. Despite his dad being a very famous Icelandic player – Gudjohnsen Jr actually replaced his father when he made his international debut for Iceland in 1996 – the striker endured a tumultuous start to his career.

    Having played for Valur in the 1994-95 season, he was snaffled up by Dutch club PSV Eindhoven. They hoped to team up Gudjohnsen with their latest emerging sensation: Ronaldo Nazario.

    However, an ankle injury put paid to that dream and Gudjohnsen was forced to return to his homeland, playing for KR Reykjavik in 1998.

    He only played six times for the club before he was snapped up by an ambitious Bolton side looking to return to the Premier League. Then-manager Colin Todd invited Gudjohnsen to the club for a trial and he played during a pre-season tour of the Republic of Ireland.

    Having impressed, he was signed, and would go on to make his official debut for the club in September of 1998, with Bolton in the Championship still.

    The following season, he netted 21 times in all competitions, but Bolton tasted disappointment in the play-offs, and Chelsea were there to snap him up for a bargain £4m fee.

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    BARCLAYS HIGHLIGHTS

    Gudjohnsen found his footballing soulmate at Chelsea, once he linked up with another Barclaysman, the brilliant Dutchman Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.

    He has even said that, upon meeting his fellow striker, “it was love at first sight”, after they first laid eyes upon each other.

    He adds: “It was quite romantic!”

    In 2000-01, their first season together, the pair combined to score 33 Premier League goals; in 01-02, they netted 37 and in 2002-03, they scored 21 between them. Their final campaign together came in 2003-04, and they again combined for 18 strikes in the top-flight.

    While Hasselbaink was perhaps more of a sledgehammer, Gudjohnsen was more akin to a lock-picker, with his best goal inarguably coming against Leeds. Frank Lampard burst down the right flank and floated a cross in, and the Icelandic striker pivoted in midair and sent a bicycle kick into the bottom corner.

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    • Coming in 2003, it is a goal he still reflects on, insisting that even Gianfranco Zola, himself a magical technician, was impressed with the finish.

      He said: “It’s the one that gave me the biggest natural high. You dream of these things as a kid and practice it thousands of times in the garden or in training; to do it in the Premier League against a big rival like Leeds was very special indeed.

      “I remember Zola telling me after the match, ‘Eidur, you showed me something special today’. That meant the world to me.”

      He was capable of long-range stunners, one coming against Fulham from around 25 yards, as well as impudent flicks; one goal against Manchester United saw him ghost behind the offside line and merely lift an excellent dink over the onrushing Fabian Barthez with a swish of his boot.

      Perhaps his finest overall season came in 2004-05, playing every single Premier League game as Chelsea won the title under Jose Mourinho, their first title in half a century. He scored 12 goals and contributed eight assists, scoring a hat-trick against Blackburn and netting in the penultimate game of the season against title rivals Manchester United, as the Blues won 3-1.

      ‘THE BLOND MARADONA’

      During his time with Mourinho, and an influx of both cash and bodies into Stamford Bridge, Gudjohnsen was tasked with an unfamiliar role.

      In the League Cup final of 2005, with Chelsea 1-0 down to Liverpool, Mourinho introduced the striker for Jiri Jarosik, tasking him with playing in midfield for the first time. While he had operated as a secondary striker at times, a deeper role was new for the forward.

      Mateja Kezman also came on, as Chelsea switched their formation and operated with a back three; the tactical switch led to a turnaround and the Blues won 3-2 after extra time.

      Reports after the game claim that Mourinho compared Gudjohnsen to Argentine icon Diego Maradona, such was his technique and flair in the role.

      It was a headline-grabbing moment, and perhaps the final great performance of Gudjohnsen’s Chelsea spell. That it came in a must-win game with the Blues behind is a testament to the Icelandic star’s coolness under pressure; he had ice in his veins from his upbringing, and in front of goal.

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      MOVING ON

      Gudjohnsen’s minutes at Chelsea diminished in 05-06 due to the emergence of Didier Drogba, and so in 2006, he sought pastures new.

      A move to Barcelona as a replacement for Henrik Larsson saw him link up with some of the finest Camp Nou players of all time, including Lionel Messi and Ronaldinho.

      In 2008-09, he was part of the squad that won both La Liga and the Champions League, with Barca beating Chelsea in the semi-finals. He played just one minute in that tie and was on the bench for the final against United.

      His goals and games diminished as he joined Monaco, then headed to Tottenham on loan, returning to England under Harry Redknapp. He played 14 games and scored twice, with his only league goal coming, ironically, against Stoke City, his next permanent club.

      A short spell in the Potteries brought no goals, nor did a stint at Fulham, but Gudjohnsen had begun to be used more as a rotational option than a guaranteed starter.

      LIFE AFTER THE BARCLAYS

      That continued in his spells following his move out of the Premier League in 2011.

      A move to Greece with AEK Athens followed, before a jaunt in Belgium with Cercle Brugge and Club Brugge.

      In 2014-15, he briefly returned to England, playing out a romantic swansong with Bolton. He scored five Championship goals and would leave for China, joining Cangzhou Mighty Lions F.C. Spells with Molde and Pune City rounded out the playing career of the Blond Maradona.

      He went on to work with Iceland as an assistant manager, after winning 88 caps throughout his playing career, and has twice managed Icelandic club FH.

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      LASTING LEGACY

      He remains revered at Chelsea, as one of the few players to play in the pre- and post-Roman Abramovich eras.

      He was key to their first title win in 50 years, and also helped them win the League Cup in a midfield position.

      Equally lionised at Bolton, the club where he first entered the wider footballing consciousness as a player to watch, Gudjohnsen is one of the most elegant strikers to bewitch Premier League defences.

      Despite a somewhat nomadic career after leaving the promised land of Barcelona, he remains a quintessential Barclaysman, much like his fabled strike partner Hasselbaink.