Arnar_Grétarsson
Arnar Grétarsson
Icelandic footballer and manager
Arnar Grétarsson (born 20 February 1972 in Reykjavík) is an Icelandic former professional football player and current manager of Valur.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Arnar Grétarsson | ||
| Date of birth | (1972-02-20) 20 February 1972 (age 52) | ||
| Place of birth | Reykjavík, Iceland | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1987 | Breiðablik | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1988–1997 | Breiðablik | 139 | (27) |
| 1989–1990 | → Rangers (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 1997 | Leiftur | 6 | (0) |
| 1997–2000 | AEK Athens | 67 | (2) |
| 2000–2006 | Lokeren | 157 | (36) |
| 2006–2009 | Breiðablik | 60 | (5) |
| 2015 | Augnablik | 1 | (1) |
| International career | |||
| 1987 | Iceland U16 | 6 | (4) |
| 1988–1990 | Iceland U18 | 12 | (2) |
| 1991 | Iceland U21 | 4 | (0) |
| 1991–2004 | Iceland | 71 | (2) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2009 | Breiðablik (assistant) | ||
| 2010–2012 | AEK Athens (Director of Football) | ||
| 2013–2014 | Club Brugge (sporting Director) | ||
| 2015–2017 | Breiðablik | ||
| 2019 | Roeselare | ||
| 2020– 2022 | KA Akureyri | ||
| 2022– | Valur | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Arnar started his career in Breiðablik, where he played for several years until he joined Leiftur in 1997, where he stayed for one year. His next club was AEK Athens FC, where he stayed for three years. After his contract expired in 2000, Arnar signed for Belgian club K.S.C. Lokeren, where he played until 2006, when he moved back to his homeland to play for Breiðablik again.
Arnar made his debut for Iceland in the famous 5–1 shock defeat of Turkey in a September 1991 friendly match. He has been capped 71 times for Iceland, scoring two goals.[1] His last international match was an October 2004 World Cup qualifying match against Malta.
In 2009, Arnar was appointed Assistant Manager of Breiðablik. In April 2010, Greek side AEK Athens F.C. appointed him as Director of Football. He left the club due to reorganization in the summer of 2012.[2]
In 2013, he was appointed as Sporting Director with Belgian team Club Brugge.[3]
In late 2014 he was appointed as Manager of Breiðablik ahead of the 2015 season.
In a major reshake in the fall of 2022 he was appointed by Valur as their manager soon after he was sacked as manager of KA Akureyri, after having notable success as manager in the northern capital the Icelandic giants hope to bring stability to their setup.
His older brother, Sigurður, was also an Iceland international.
- Iceland – Record International Players – Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
- "Arnar quit AEK". fotbolti.net. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
- "Victor Vazquez verlengt contract bij Club Brugge" [Victor Vazques extends contract]. Het Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). 21 March 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
- Arnar Grétarsson at National-Football-Teams.com
- Arnar Grétarsson at Soccerway