 Guðmundur in 2018 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1974-09-03)3 September 1974 (age 51)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Akureyri,Iceland | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Þór | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1990–1991 | Þór | 2 | (0) |
| 1991–1994 | Germinal Ekeren | 4 | (0) |
| 1994 | Þór | 17 | (4) |
| 1995–1999 | KR | 75 | (32) |
| 1999–2000 | Geel | 15 | (4) |
| 2000–2004 | KR | 53 | (7) |
| 2005–2008 | Valur | 70 | (10) |
| 2009 | KR | 20 | (4) |
| International career | |||
| 1989–1991 | Iceland U17 | 18 | (13) |
| 1990 | Iceland U19 | 4 | (4) |
| 1992–1995 | Iceland U21 | 11 | (3) |
| 1994–2001 | Iceland | 10 | (2) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2010 | Selfoss | ||
| 2011–2014 | Breiðablik (assistant) | ||
| 2014 | Breiðablik | ||
| 2014–2016 | KR (assistant) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Guðmundur Benediktsson nicknamedGummi Ben (born 3 September 1974) is anIcelandicTV personality,[2] sports commentator and formerfootballer and manager.[3]
At a young age, Guðmundur attracted the attention of major foreign clubs.[4] At 15, he was approached by teams such as Arsenal, Everton, Tottenham and Stuttgart.[4] Later, while still 15, he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament.[4] After the injury, he was offered the choice of going to Stuttgart or Germinal Ekeren, opting for the latter because he believed he would get more playing time.[4]
In 1997, he went on trial at Preston North End (which at the time was managed by David Moyes) and was offered a one-month contract which would be renewed on a monthly basis (due to Guðmundur's record of injury problems).[4] Guðmundur rejected the deal, as he had a newborn (his son Albert) and needed more long-term security.[4]
After a stint at Geel in 2000, Guðmundur had serious knee problems, leading him to play irregularly for KR in the subsequent years.[4] In one season during the 2000-2004 period, he was assistant coach at KR when Willum Þór Þórsson coached the team.[4]
He retired from playing 2009 and he started a career as a football manager.
He made his debut forIceland in 1994 against theUnited Arab Emirates, and scored in the game. His final game for Iceland came in January 2001 againstChile.[5]
Guðmundur has commentated matches live for Icelandic television and was the commentator for Iceland's matches atUEFA Euro 2016.[6] His enthusiastic commentary earned him international praise.[7][8] One especially memorable commentary came immediately after full-time of Iceland's 2–1 win overEngland in the round of 16 (English translation given here):
This is done! This is done! We are never going home! Did you see that? Amazing! I can't believe it! This is a dream. Never wake me from this amazing dream! Live the way you want, England! Iceland is going to playFrance on Sunday. France Iceland! You can go home. You cango out of Europe. You can go wherever you want. England 1 Iceland 2 is the closing score here inNice. And the fairytale continues.[9]
His sonAlbert Guðmundsson is currently withFiorentina and is a full international.[10][11]
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