Sölvi Ottesen

Sölvi Geir Ottesen Jónsson (born 18 February 1984) is an Icelandic former footballer and current manager, who played as a centre back; he earned 28 caps for the Iceland national football team. He is currently the manager of Icelandic team Vikingur Reykjavík.

Sölvi is among the most decorated Icelandic professional footballers ever. In his professional career, Sölvi picked up seven titles. In Sweden, he won the Allsvenskan and the Svenska Cupen on two occasions. In Denmark he won the Superliga twice and the Cup. As he moved to Asia he helped Jiangsu Sainty to win the Chinese FA Cup. He also played a part with Buriram United as they won the Thai League 1.

Club career

Early career

Born in Reykjavík, Sölvi started his career at Vikingur Reykjavík, where he came through the academy. After progressing the ranks of the youth team, he made his Vikingur Reykjavík debut as an 84th-minute substitute, in a 7–2 win over KS on 25 August 2001. Ottesen went on to make four appearances for the side at the end of the 2001 season. The following 2002 season saw his first team opportunities increased, making a total of ten appearances.

The 2003 season saw Ottesen continuing to establish himself in the starting eleven for Vikingur Reykjavík. He went on to make eighteen appearances for the side at the end of the 2003 season. His performance saw him being named 1. deild karla's Team of the Year. Despite signing a three–year contract with for Vikingur Reykjavík, Ottesen was linked with a move away with the club, with Norwegian side Brann and Football League Second Division side Barnsley were interested in signing him.

Despite suffering from an injury, Ottesen was a first team regular until July 2004, where he made eight appearances for the side. By the time he departed from the club, Ottesen made 32 appearances in the heart of defence for Vikingur between years 2001 and 2004, spurring interest from abroad.

Djurgården

Sölvi signed for Swedish side Djurgården on 10 July 2004, signing a four-and-a-half-year contract with the club. Upon joining the club, he said the move would help him develop.

However, Ottesen suffered a setback when he suffered an injury. On 21 August 2004 Ottesen was an unused substitute, in a 1–0 win over Örgryte. He made his Djurgården debut, starting the whole game, in a 2–0 loss against Malmö on 20 September 2004. Ottesen appeared three more times, all coming on as a substitute. He later helped Djurgården win the Svenska Cupen with them in his first year as a professional after beating IFK Göteborg 3–1 in the final. At the end of the 2004 season, Ottesen went on to make four appearances for the side.

At the start of the 2005 season, Ottesen was expecting to compete with Elias Storm over the centre–back position. However, he suffered a groin injury during the pre–season and was sidelined for several months. By May, Ottesen made his recovery from his groin injury. On 13 June 2005 he made his first appearance of the season, starting the whole match, in a 0–0 draw against IFK Göteborg. However, Ottesen appeared in the remaining matches of the 2005 season at the substitute bench. On 4 August 2005 he played in a 2–2 draw against Hammarby. Although Ottesen made two appearances for the side in the 2005, he was part of the squad that won both the Allsvenskan and Cupen. Shortly after, Ottesen was sidelined for six to eight months after injuring his knee during a friendly match against Väsby United.

In the 2006 season, Ottesen continue to be rehabilitated his knee since the start of the season. By mid–July, he returned to full training, though his knee hadn't yet fully recovered. On 28 August 2006 made his return from a knee injury, starting the whole game, in a 3–0 win over Hammarby. Since returning to the first team, he went on to make five more appearances for the side at the end of the 2006 season.

In the 2007 season, Ottesen continued to be in a competition over the centre–back position with Toni Kuivasto, Markus Johannesson and Kebba Ceesay. He scored his first goal for the club in a Swedish Cup, in a 2–0 win over Norrby on 27 April 2007. Despite being sidelined at the beginning of May, he began to play regularly for the side by the end of the month. However, Ottesen suffered an injury that resulted in him sidelined for two months. But he made his return to the first team in the last game of the season, coming on as a late substitute, in a 1–0 loss against IF Brommapojkarna. Ottesen made fourteen appearances and scoring once this season.

Ahead of the 2008 season, Ottesen was sidelined with a knee injury that kept him out between three and four weeks. But he returned and started the season, as he found himself in and out of the starting line-up for the side. On 14 April 2008 he scored his first Djurgården goal, in a 2–1 win over Halmstad. His second goal for the side came on 28 April 2008, in a 2–1 win over Ljungskile. By the time he departed Djurgården, Sölvi made thirty–six appearances and scoring three times in all competitions.

SønderjyskE

Following his spell in Sweden, Sölvi signed a three-year contract with SønderjyskE of the Danish Superliga in the summer of 2008. The move was reportedly cost "close to one million DKK. Swedish kronor - about 800,000 kr".

Ottesen made his SønderjyskE debut, starting the whole game, in a 2–0 loss against AC Horsens in the opening game of the season. In a 1–1 draw against FC Copenhagen on 4 August 2008, Ottesen started the whole match, as his performance earned him a Man of the Match by Ekstrabladet. In a follow–up match against Vejle on 11 August 2008, setting up the club's opening goal of the game, in a 2–1 loss. He scored his first goal for the club, in a 2–1 loss against Aalborg three weeks later on 31 August 2008. Since joining the club, Ottesen quickly established himself in the starting eleven, playing in the centre–back position. On 8 April 2009 he scored his second goal of the season, in a 2–1 loss against F.C. Copenhagen. Ottesen later scored two more goals against Odense BK and Esbjerg, win against them saw SønderjyskE avoid relegation. Despite being sidelined on five occasions during the 2008–09 season, he went on to make twenty–seven appearances and scoring four times in all competitions.

Ahead of his second season with SønderjyskE, a report suggested that he would soon go on trial with Scottish giants Glasgow Celtic. Icelandic newspaper Fréttablaðið stated that he had been invited to train with during pre-season with a view to a deal subject to permission from his then current club, SønderjyskE. But he stayed at SønderjyskE for the second season. At the start of the 2009–10 season, Ottesen appeared in the opening game of the season against Randers, starting the whole game and keeping a clean sheet, as SønderjyskE won 1–0. However, he suffered a knee injury that saw him sidelined for two matches. On 9 August 2009 Ottesen returned from injury, starting the whole game, in a 1–0 loss against FC Copenhagen. Since returning to the first team from injury, he regained his first team place for the side. His performance saw him named Player of the Month. As the season went by, SønderjyskE was in financial problems, leading him to be linked away from the club. Despite this, Ottesen stayed at the club for the remaining matches of the 2009–10 season. Ottesen scored his first goal of the season, in a 1–1 draw against Brøndby on 7 March 2010. He then captained the side for the first time, starting the whole game, in a 2–0 against FC Copenhagen on 21 March 2010. Despite suffering from an injury later in the 2009–10 season, Ottesen was able to return to the first team and scored his second goal of the season, in a 2–0 win over Odense BK on 3 May 2010. Following another successful relegation battle to stay in the top division, he went on to make twenty–nine appearances and scoring two times in all competitions.

It was announced on 18 March 2010 that he will leave the club at the end of the 2009–10 season, regardless of the club's future in the top division. Six years after departing the club, Ottesen was inducted to Sønderjyske's Hall of Fame.

Copenhagen

As the deal with Glasgow Celtic failed to materialize, Ottesen signed a three-year contract with defending Superliga champions Copenhagen instead on 23 June 2010.

Ottesen made his FC Copenhagen debut, starting the whole game, in a 3–0 win against his former club, SønderjyskE, in the opening game of the season. He then made his UEFA Champions League debut against BATE Borisov in the first leg of the third qualifying round, in a 0–0 draw. FC Copenhagen went on to win 3–2 in the second leg. Following a 2–1 loss against Rosenberg in the first leg, the then 26 year old Ottesen could hardly have popped up at a more important time to register his first goal for [Copenhagen, in the UEFA Champions League Play-Off Round against Rosenberg. In the biggest game of his career so far, his perfectly placed header secured Copenhagen a spot in the group stage for only the second time in the club's history. Four days later on 29 August 2010, Ottesen scored his second goal for the side, in a 2–1 win over AC Horsens. Since joining the club, he found himself in a competition with Mathias Jørgensen and Mikael Antonsson over the centre–back position. During a 2–0 win over Brøndby on 19 September 2010, Ottesen fractured his arm and was sidelined between four and six weeks. On 24 October 2010 he returned from injury, coming on as a substitute in the 70th minute, in a 3–0 win over Silkeborg

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