Gunnar Heiðar Þorvaldsson

Gunnar Heiðar Þorvaldsson (born 1 April 1982), commonly anglicised as Gunnar Heidar Thorvaldsson, is an Icelandic former professional footballer who played as a striker. His cousin is former Reading defender Ivar Ingimarsson.

This is an Icelandic name. The last name is patronymic, not a family name; this person is referred to by the given name Gunnar.

Gunnar Heiðar Þorvaldsson
Personal information
Full name Gunnar Heiðar Þorvaldsson
Date of birth (1982-04-01) 1 April 1982
Place of birth Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position(s) Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2004 ÍBV 72 (37)
2004–2006 Halmstads BK 38 (16)
2006–2007 Hannover 96 7 (0)
2007–2008 → Vålerenga (loan) 16 (4)
2008–2011 Esbjerg fB 24 (2)
2010 → Reading (loan) 4 (0)
2010–2011 → Fredrikstad FK (loan) 7 (3)
2011 ÍBV 0 (0)
2011–2013 IFK Norrköping 70 (34)
2013–2014 Konyaspor 12 (1)
2014–2015 BK Häcken 23 (3)
2015–2018 ÍBV 55 (24)
Total 328 (124)
National team
1998 Iceland U-17 3 (0)
2000 Iceland U-19 5 (1)
2002–2003 Iceland U-21 7 (0)
2005–2013 Iceland 24 (5)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

Born in Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland, Gunnar started his career at Íþróttabandalag Vestmannaeyja. After establishing himself as the best striker in the Icelandic Premier League, he was transferred to Halmstads BK in Sweden in 2004. Here, he only narrowly missed out on the league title in his first year and won the Swedish golden boot in the following season (with 16 goals). He also featured in the club's UEFA Cup campaign of 2005–06, scoring a vital goal in the qualifying round victory over Sporting.

This brought him to the attention of several clubs from around Europe, before he eventually opted to move to German side Hannover 96 in March 2006 on a three-year deal.[1] His time in Germany however was blighted by persistent injuries; he only managed to make seven appearances and scored no goals. In August 2007, after only 17 months with Hannover, he was loaned to Vålerenga. In summer 2008, he was sold to Danish club Esbjerg fB. For the latter part of the 2009–10 season, Gunnar was on loan at the English Football League Championship side Reading F.C.[2]

Gunnar joined Norwegian side Fredrikstad FK on loan for the rest of the Norwegian 2010 season. On 17 March 2011, Gunnar signed a three-year contract with IFK Norrköping. After a prolific spell in the top Swedish league Gunnar signed a two-year contract with Turkish Süper Lig side Konyaspor on 5 August 2013.[3]

International career

He made his international debut on 30 March 2005, as a last minute substitute in a goalless friendly draw with Italy in Padova. His first international goal came in a 4–1 World Cup qualifying victory over Malta on 8 June 2005.

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References
  1. "Hannover holt Isländer Thorvaldsson" (in German). RP Online. 21 March 2006. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  2. "Reading complete Gunnar Thorvaldsson loan deal". BBC Sport. 31 December 2009. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  3. "Gunnar Heiðar samdi til tveggja ára" (in Icelandic). mbl.is. 5 August 2013. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
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