Teitur Þórðarson

Teitur Þórðarson in June 2009

Teitur Benedikt Þórðarson (born January 14, 1952 in Akranes ) is an Icelandic former football player and current coach . The striker won national titles as a player in his home country and Sweden before coaching in Europe and North America.

Career

Teitur started his career at ÍA Akranes . After his debut for the club in 1969, he also quickly became a selection player in the Icelandic national team , for which he made his debut in 1972. In 1970, 1974, 1975 and 1977 he won the national championship with his club. After winning the fourth title, he left his home country and joined the Swedish second division club Jönköpings Södra IF . Here, as in Iceland, he proved to be a dangerous goal player, so that he had aroused attention and interest in the Allsvenskan . Before the first division season in 1978 he moved to Östers IF in the Swedish elite series. At the side of Karl-Gunnar Björklund , Peter Nilsson , Björn Andersson and Per-Olof Bild , he was the best internal goalscorer in the Allsvenskan with eleven goals this season and led the club to the second championship title in the club's history. With this title win he was the first foreign player to receive a championship medal in Swedish football. In the 1980 season he repeated the triumph with the team, again he was the best scorer with eleven goals this season. After four goals in new games, he left Sweden halfway through the summer of 1981 and followed an offer from France. While the Swedish club defended his title at the end of the season, he ran for the RC Lens in Division 1 . With 19 goals this season he placed himself among the top five goalscorers of the championship in France at the end of the season, although it was only enough for his club to place 14th in the table. Under coach Gérard Houllier he could not repeat his personal success in the following season, so that after two seasons in the summer of 1983 he moved to the second division AS Cannes in Division 2 . Under coach Jean-Marc Guillou , who was assisted by Arsène Wenger at the time , he was one of the regulars and scored nine goals. Nevertheless, he said goodbye to Switzerland after one season, where he joined Yverdon-Sport FC . In the summer of 1985 he returned to Östers IF, in the second half of the season he scored five goals in twelve games. After a few appearances in the following season, he let his career end at Skövde AIK as a player-coach.

Teitur started his first full-time coaching position in 1988 at the Norwegian club SK Brann . With the team around Per Egil Ahlsen , Odd Johnsen and Arne Møller , he reached the final of the Norwegian National Cup , which was lost to Rosenborg BK . Since the final opponent had also won the championship title, he was eligible to start with the club in the European Cup Winners' Cup 1989/90 . Both games were lost against Sampdoria Genoa , and the European Cup adventure was over in the first round. After three years with Brann, the coach moved to second division team Lyn Oslo within Norway . Later he was employed by SF Grei , before he returned in 1994 as coach of Lillestrøm SK in the Norwegian top division, which is now known as the Tippeligaen . After two seasons, the club replaced him with Per Brogeland .

Teitur found a new challenge in Estonia. At the same time he worked as a coach for Flora Tallinn and the Estonian national team , for which he was the first foreign coach. He led the national selection in qualifying for the 1998 World Cup finals in fifth place ahead of Belarus , against whose selection team achieved the only victory in the course of qualification. At the same time he was also successful with the club team, in addition to the national championship title, he won the national cup and the national Supercup. In the qualification for the European Championship 2000 he finished fifth with the selection again in a group of six, with three wins and two draws only the poorer direct comparison with the tied Bosnia-Herzegovina and Lithuania prevented a better placement. Under his leadership, the national team also rose significantly in the FIFA world rankings. At the beginning of 2000 he was honored for his commitment with the Order of the Marienland Cross by the Estonian President .

Teitur returned to SK Brann in 2000. In its first year still runner-up behind Rosenborg BK, the club slipped in the following years and was in a relegation battle in 2002. Only in the relegation games against Sandefjord Fotball did the team keep their class, then the coach announced his departure and went back to Lyn Oslo. Here he did not stay long, between 2004 and 2005 he was in charge of the Norwegian third division club Ullensaker / Kisa IL . Then he returned to his home country, with the Icelandic club KR Reykjavík he was runner-up in 2006.

In 2007 he joined the North American club Vancouver Whitecaps in the USL First Division . He led the Canadians to a final victory against Puerto Rico Islanders FC in 2008 , but he only missed defending the title with the team the following year after losing to Montreal Impact in the final . In 2010 the team was disbanded because the Vancouver Whitecaps, a major league soccer franchise , had been re-established. Here, too, he became coach, after only one win in the first games, the club dismissed him in late May 2011.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ president.ee: "Teenetemärkide kavalerid" (accessed on November 3, 2011)
2. ↑ mlssoccer.com: "Whitecaps fire head coach Teitur Thordarson" (accessed on November 3, 2011)

Web links

• Teitur Þórðarson in the database of weltfussball.de

Note: Icelanders are referred to by their first name or first and last name, but not just their surname. Further information can be found under Icelandic personal name .