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FH Hafnarfjördur have won the Icelandic Premiership title in the last two years and have been by far the strongest team in the league. 

They should be as strong as ever this season despite losing players such as flamboyant Danish striker Allan Borgvardt to Norway, midfield playmaker Heimir Gudjonsson who has retired, Jónas Gardarson to Fram and Audunn Helgason to a serious injury. 

The club have signed Sigurvin Ólafsson from KR Reykjavík who on form is probably the best midfielder in the league but he has been poor in the last couple of years at KR Reykjavík.

New Danish signings are questionmarks, striker Allan Dyring is a good player but defender Peter Matzen is unknown quantity.  Losing Borgvardt and Gudjónsson could put a dent in the team.  Gudjónsson was the leader on the pitch, it will remain to be seen who will take over the role as the leader.  Ólafsson could be the one.

Borgvardt was a great goalscorer for FH and alongside Tryggvi Gudmundsson last year, they two were an awesome partnership upfront – Borgvardt scoring 13 goals in 15 league games while Gudmundsson scored 16 goals in 17 league games. But who will help Gudmundsson with the responsibility of scoring goals this season? 

Allan Dyring is capable of scoring goals but there is a doubt he will make the same impact as Borgvardt did.  Despite all of this, FH are the best team in the league by some distance.

Strengths:  The team now knows how to win.  They have a quality manager, good board and great supporters.  The club will probably not have as much feriority over the other teams this season as they did last season but they will still win the league. 

Weaknesses:  The club needs a leader out there on the pitch and losing a great goalscorer like Allan Borgvardt is a blow.  Center back Tommy Nielsen who is one of the best defenders in the league has been having some injury problems while defender Audunn Helgason and Sverrir Gardarson have been having serious injury problems.

Players to watch:  Tryggvi Gudmundsson is the player to watch for FH, he is a great goalscorer.  Full back Gudmundur Sævarsson is another player who has caught the eye.  But its hard to single out individual players because the team unit is so strong.

Key player: Has to be Danish center back Tommy Nielsen – he will be a key player this season.  Gudmundsson also has to chip in with his shares of goals.

Source: Fótbolti.net

Icelandic Premiership champions FH Hafnarfjördur continued their solid start to the Icelandic Premiership by beating rivals Valur 2-0 away yesterday.

Football is a part of the culture in Akranes.  ÍA Akranes always plays football the same, with passion and power.  The club is one of the most succesful club in the history of Icelandic football.  The workethic is tremendous and the youngsters they put in the side are always outstanding.  Their current manager is also a strong steadfast character who knows how to succeed in football.

Strengths: The three muscateers are back; Arnar Gunnlaugsson, Bjarni Gudjonsson and Toddi Gudjonsson have been three of the best Icelandic footballers in the past few years and they will make ÍA Akranes stronger. 

The club has however lost their captain Gunnlaugur Jónsson to rivals KR Reykjavík while Reynir Leósson and Finnbogi Llorenz have also left.  Leósson and Gunnlaugsson were the first choice center back pairing last season so losing those two is a big blow.  New signing Árni Thor Gudmundsson from First Division club HK Kópavogur has been bought as a replacement for Jónsson and he seems solid enough to plug the holes in the defence. 

Weaknesses:  Losing the center back pairing could prove a major blow as those two are extremely experienced players.  Defending could prove a real problem for ÍA Akranes this season.

Players to watch: Seeing the two Gudjonsson brothers and Arnar Gunnlaugsson in the yellow of ÍA again will be a delight.  The youngsters such as Ellert Björnsson and Helgi Pétur Magnússon could also have a good season.

Key players: The three old boys returning will be the key to ÍA Akranes´s season but if Árni Thor Gudmundsson handles himself well in defence, he could prove a key player in defence.

Source: Fótbolti.net

KR Reykjavík beat fierce rivals ÍA Akranes 2-1 in a hard fought match yesterday evening. 

17-year-old striker Gudmundur Reynir Gunnarsson gave KR the lead in the 20th minute but former Bolton and Leicester striker Arnar Gunnlaugsson levelled the game seven minutes later from the penalty spot.

Prolific striker Grétar Hjartarson scored the winning goal for KR six minutes into the second half. 

Tempers were high and two players got sent off in the second half; Hjartarson got a second yellow for a rash challenge on ÍA goalkeeper Bjarki Gudmundsson. Gudmundsson however got sent off late in the game for elbowing KR striker Rógvi Jacobsen.

KR Reykjavík have signed two quality players in ÍA Akranes captain, center back Gunnlaugur Jónsson and Fylkir striker Björgólfur Takefusa. 

KR Reykjavík played boring and un-productive football last season.  It seems like there was something wrong with the players attitude.

The club has brought in a new manager in Teitur Thordarson who has brought professionalism and work ethic to the club.

Thordarson has the pedigree to bring success to the club having enjoyed a succesful career as club manager in Norway and Sweden as well as being the national manager of Estonia and managing Tallin.  He’s a very experienced manager.

Strengths: KR Reykjavík is the most succesful club of all time in Icelandic football, 24 league titles and and ten times winners of the Icelandic clubs proves that.  The expectations at KR are sky high and they are often to much for some of the players. 

At this moment in time the club has four quality strikers in Grétar Hjartarson, Rógvi Jacobsen, Björgólfur Takefusa and Gardar Jóhannsson.  Hjartarson is probably the best striker in the league.  The goalkeeper Kristján Finnbogason is very experienced and that counts a lot. 

The arrival of Gunnlaugur Jónsson in the heart of the defence will also prove vital as he is one of the best Icelandic center backs.

Weaknesses: KR Reykjavík have had poor seasons by their standars in the last few seasons and that could lie heavy on the clubs shoulders. 

There are no weaknesses in the side as such but I feel the side lacks pace in the middle of the park.  The midfielders often opt to pass sideways which slows down their forward play.  If Thordarson managed to get his ideas through to his players the club will have a succesful season.

Players to watch: If midfielder Bjarnólfur Lárusson (formerly at Walsall) can control his temper and stop collecting yellow and red cards he will be usefull.   Hjartarson has to have a good season after a poor last season as he is quality (says alot that was chosen by the Iceland manager to play Trinidad and Tobado in February with the likes of Chelsea striker Eidur Gudjohnsen and Fulham striker Heidar Helguson).

Key Players: Kristján Finnbogason and Gunnlaugur Jónsson are the key players in the KR Reykjavík side.

Source: Fótbolti.net

Breiðablik continued their impressive start to the Icelandic Premiership as they romped to emphatic 4-1 win over ÍBV Vestmannaeyjar today.

American defender Jonah Long gave ÍBV Vestmannaeyjar the lead in the 20th minute by scoring straight from a corner kick. 

Norwegian defender Stiig Haaland equalized for Breiðablik in the 38th minute.

The score remained 1-1 at the interval.

The home side, Breiðablik, proceeded to control the second half from start to finish with striker Marel Baldvinsson proving a real handful for the ÍBV defence as he went on to net a brace, scoring in the 61st and the 70th minute.

It was however sixteen year old Viktor Unnar Illugason, making his Premiership debut today, who grabbed the headlines.   The striker came on as a late substitute and went on to score in the 90th minute to make the score 4-1 to Breiðablik, becoming one of the youngest ever players to score in the Premiership.   The talented youngster slotted the ball past ÍBV´s keeper after beating the offside trap.

Illugason is regarded as one of the most talented young strikers to come out of Iceland for a long while and it will be interesting following his progress in the Premiership this season. 

Two games were in the Icelandic Premiership last night.  Keflavík beat Víkingur 2-1 at home while Fylkir enjoyed a 2-1 win over Grindavík.  Fylkir have started the season in good form and currently top the league with 6 points from the first two games.

Valur finished 2nd in the Premiership last season having been promoted from the first division the year before.  It has to be said, Valur had a terrific season last year.   The side played simple but effective football. 

Players such as striker Matthías Gudmundsson who people didnt expect much from, thrived.  Full back Bjarni Ólafur Eiríksson wa in awesome form throughout the season and showed why he is regarded one of the best Icelandic defender at the moment.  Seasoned pro Gudmundur Benediktsson appeared to have some extra strength while Grétar Sigfinnur (on loan from Víkingur Reykjavík) and Atli Thórarinsson were without a doubt the best center back pairing in the league.  Goalkeeper Kjartan Sturluson also had a great season.Valur are a changed side this season. 

The club has lost Grétar Sigfinnur who has returned from loan to Víkingur Reykjavík while Stefán Jónsson who was a solid player last year has retired. 

Valur made a great coup in signing Iceland U-21 international Pálmi Rafn Pálmason from KA Akureyri.  (Editor´s note: Stuart Pearce was seriously thinking signing Pálmason for Man City last summer). 

Central defender Valur Fannar Gíslason has come in to replace Grétar Sigfinnur while the club took a chance in signing Danish striker Jakob Spangsberg who scored for fun for Leiknir in the Icelandic 2nd division last season.  How he fares in the Premiership is another matter.

Strengths:                                                                                                                  If Gudmundur Benediktsson manages to perform like he did last season, setting up goals left and right, Valur could enjoy a fruitful season.  Players like Gardar Gunnlaugsson who was the clubs topscorer last season, Matthías Gudmundsson and Jakob Spangsberg could provide Valur with enough goals to do well this season.  Pálmason on his day is outstanding and could have a great season.

Weaknesses:                                                                                                       Valur have lost two key players in the defence. Grétar Sigfinnur who was probably the best center back in the league last season has gone back to Víkingur Reykjavík and Bjarni Ólafur Eiríksson who was the best defender in the league last season has signed for Silkeborg in Denmark.

Players to watch:  Gudmundur Benediktsson is always great to watch (Editor´s note: He’s the Icelandic version of Zola).  Baldur Adalsteinsson is probably the best winger in the league, he has pace, power and has a good shot on him.

Key players:  Atli Thórarinsson (Center Back), Gudmundur Benediktsson (Playmaker), Baldur Adalsteinsson (Flamboyant Winger), Sigurbjörn Hreidarsson (Midfield General) and Kjartan Sturluson (Goalkeeper) are the key players in the Valur side.

Source: Fótbolti.Net

Keflavík enjoyed a good season last year, finishing 4th in the Premiership and doing well in the UEFA Cup (by Icelandic standards).  The side played attractive football. 

After Gudjon Thordarson jumped ship only days before last season to manage English League 2 side Notts County people feared Keflavík would crumble and face a relegation battle.  However with their backs against the wall the club managed to turn a ´nightmare scenario´ season into a succesful one.

Keflavík manager Kristjan Gudmundsson who replaced Thordarson managed to hold things together and the club had two of the best strikers in the league in Gudmundur Steinarsson and Hördur Sveinsson up front.  Central defender Gudmundur Mete came from the Swedish Allsvenskan and did exceptionally well in keeping things tight at the back.  Attacking midfielder Hólmar Rúnarsson is also a very capable player who can be big asset to the team.   

It’s the same with Keflavík and ÍA Akranes, these two clubs are always up there because there is so much footballing tradition in the two towns.  Keflavík is a small town, but the togetherness between the players and the manager is something that works in their favour.Keflavík have the players to play attractive football and their production of good young players is second to none in Iceland.

Strengths:                                                                                                     Togetherness and work ethic are their strengths.  They also have the same manager as last season which is always a plus.  Keflavík have wonderful players like Gudmundur Steinarsson,  Gudjón Antóníusson and Jónas Gudni Sævarsson.

When Ingvi Rafn Gudmundsson returns from his horrific injury he can probably be the most entertaining player in the league, it was a shame he broke his leg last season but he’s without a doubt exceptional talent.

Keflavík defend well and appear organized.  Last season Keflavík deployed lethal attacking football which worked wonders but having lost Hördur Sveinsson who scored over twenty goals for Keflavík in all competitions last season is a major blow.

Strikers Magnús Thorsteinsson and Thórarinn Kristjánsson have returned to Keflavík and could strengthen the side should they hit form.  New signing Hallgrímur Jónasson from Thor Akureyri is also a very exiting player who has the potential to strengthen the side.

Weaknesses:                                                                                                    Losing top goalscorer Hördur Sveinsson to Danish club Silkeborg has definetly weakened their attacking threat.  The club might also find it difficult to follow up on a great season last year.

Players to watch:                                                                                             Jónas Gudni Sævarsson is a great player who is equally at home in defence or midfield.  Striker Gudmundur Steinarsson must do more defensive work for the team and if he does so, he is a very good player.

Key players:                                                                                                        The key players are the goalkeepers, Ómar Jóhannsson and Magnús Thormar are both quality goalkeepers and it doesn´t really matter which one plays and which one sits on the bench.  If Ingvi Rafn Gudmundsson returns from injury in good shape he’ll without a doubt become a key player for Keflavík.

Source: Fótbolti.net

Fylkir play the 4-3-3 system and one of the side’s main attributes is their passing style. They are a excellent passing side but their ruthlessnes in front of goal is often found wanting.

Fylkir have lost more key players than any other Premiership club but have signed the likes of Peter Gravesen (brother of Thomas Gravesen) and goalkeeper Fjalar Þorgeirsson from Throttur. The signings of Páll Gíslason and Jens Sævarsson from Throttur could also prove crucial.

Strenghts:
Fylkir have new manager in Leifur Gardarson who can share his FH Hafnarfjördur experience (has been champions FH’s assistant manager the past few seasons) with the players. Fylkir play attractive football but that’s often not enough for success.

Weaknesses:
The players often try to pass the ball into the back of the net which often proves unsuccesful. The team has to be more direct in their attacking play.

Players to watch:
It will be interesting to watch Eyjólfur Hédinsson and Hrafnkell Helgason. Kjartan Breiddal is also a very promising player and can play as a full back or as a winger. Striker Christian Christiansen comes with experience from the Danish league. Gravesen has the potential to be the team leader.

Key players:
Gudni Rúnar Helgason is a player who has to step up to the plate and drive his teammates on. If Haukur Ingi Gudnason stays injury free he could become a real key player in the team.

Source: Fótbolti.net