Guðmundur Benediktsson
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Guðmundur Benediktsson nicknamed Gummi Ben (born 3 September 1974) is an
Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
ic
TV personality Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group due to the attention given to them by mass media. The word is also used to refer to famous individuals. A person may attain celebrity status by having great w ...
, sports commentator and former
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...
and manager.


Playing career

At a young age, Guðmundur attracted the attention of major foreign clubs. At 15, he was approached by teams such as Arsenal, Everton, Tottenham and Stuttgart. Later, while still 15, he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament. 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. 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). Guðmundur rejected the deal, as he had a newborn (his son Albert) and needed more long-term security. After a stint at Geel in 2000, Guðmundur had serious knee problems, leading him to play irregularly for KR in the subsequent years. In one season during the 2000-2004 period, he was assistant coach at KR when Willum Þór Þórsson coached the team. He retired from playing 2009 and he started a career as a football manager.


National team career

He made his debut for
Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
in 1994 against the
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
, and scored in the game. His final game for Iceland came in January 2001 against
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
.


TV career

Guðmundur has commentated matches live for Icelandic television and was the commentator for Iceland's matches at
UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's association football, football ch ...
. His enthusiastic commentary earned him international praise. One especially memorable commentary came immediately after full-time of Iceland's 2–1 win over
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
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 play
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
on Sunday. France Iceland! You can go home. You can go out of Europe. You can go wherever you want. England 1 Iceland 2 is the closing score here in
Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionAlbert Guðmundsson is currently with
Genoa CFC Genoa Cricket and Football Club () is an Italian professional Association football, football club based in Genoa, Liguria. The team competes in the Serie A, the top division of the Italian football league system. Established in 1893, Genoa is ...
and is a full international.


References

1974 births Living people Gudmundur Benediktsson Gudmundur Benediktsson Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Gudmundur Benediktsson Gudmundur Benediktsson Men's association football forwards Gudmundur Benediktsson Gudmundur Benediktsson Gudmundur Benediktsson Gudmundur Benediktsson Gudmundur Benediktsson {{Iceland-footy-bio-stub