Torfi Magnússon (born 6 June 1955) is an Icelandic former
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
player and a former member of the
Icelandic national basketball team. He was named the
Icelandic Basketball Player of the Year in 1980 and won two national championships with
Valur in the 1980s. In 2001, he was named to the
Icelandic basketball team of the 20th century on the 40 year anniversary of the
Icelandic Basketball Federation.
Playing career
Torfi started his senior career with
Valur during the 1972–1973 season. He spent 16 seasons with Valur, winning the national championship in 1980 and 1983.
In 1984, he was named the
Úrvalsdeild Defensive Player of the Year.
Torfi, along with several former national team players, joined
1. deild karla club Víkverjar in October 1989. Víkverjar finished second in the league and played a promotion playoffs game against
Þór Akureyri
Íþróttafélagið Þór (, ), commonly known as Þór Akureyri (), or simply Þór or Thór, is a multi-sport club in Akureyri, in the north of Iceland. It features departments in basketball, football, handball and taekwondo. Its main rival is ...
, who finished second-to-last in the Úrvalsdeild. In the game, Þór blew out Víkverjar 94–53, with Torfi scoring a game high 26 points.
National team career
From 1974 to 1987, Torfi played 131 games for the
Icelandic national basketball team.
Coaching career
Torfi was hired as the head coach of
Haukar
Knattspyrnufélagið Haukar (, ) is an Icelandic multi-sport club from Hafnarfjörður with divisions in Association football, Football, Haukar Handball, Handball, Basketball, Haukar RC, Rugby union, Karate, Skiing & Chess.
Club history
The clu ...
in late December 1989, replacing player-coach Pálmar Sigurðsson, who continued to play for the club. After the season, Torfi was hired as the head coach of the
Icelandic men's national basketball team where he served until June 1995.
In July 1995, Torfi returned to Valur when he was hired as the head coach of the men's team.
In 1997 he guided Valur to victory in 1. deild karla and promotion back to the Úrvalsdeild. For his effort, he was named the
1. deild karla Coach of the Year.
He stepped down after the season and was replaced by
Svali Björgvinsson.
In end of October 2000, Torfi returned to the sidelines, replacing recently fired
Pétur Guðmundsson as the head coach of
Valur/Fjölnir. He was unable to turn the team's fortunes as it was relegated to 1. deild karla at the season's end.
References
External links
Úrvalsdeild statisticsa
kki.is
{{DEFAULTSORT:Magnusson, Torfi
1955 births
Living people
Torfi Magnusson
Torfi Magnusson
Torfi Magnusson
Torfi Magnusson
Torfi Magnusson
Torfi Magnusson
Torfi Magnusson
Centers (basketball)
20th-century Icelandic sportsmen