The Valur men's football team, commonly known as Valur, is the men's football department of the

Knattspyrnufélagið Valur Knattspyrnufélagið Valur is an Icelandic multi-sport club based in Reykjavík, Iceland. The club is situated close to the city center, in the east side of town, on the former farmland of Hlíðarendi. The club was originally formed as part ...

multi-sport club A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports. Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...

. It is based in

Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a pop ...

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

, and currently plays in the

Besta deild karla The Besta deild karla () is the top level men's football league in Iceland. The competition was founded in 1912 as the Icelandic Championship. Because of the harsh winters in Iceland, it is generally played in the spring and summer (May to Septe ...

, the top-tier men's football league in Iceland. The team plays it home games at

Hlíðarendi Hlíðarendi () is a famous place in Icelandic historical literature. Gunnar Hámundarson from Njála used to live in Hlíðarendi at Fljótshlíð Fljótshlíð () is a rural area in the municipality of Rangárþing eystra in Southern Regio ...

located in

. The team's colors are red and white. Valur has spent most of it´s time in Icelandic top flight football, having only played 3 seasons in the clubs history outside the top tier. Valur is one of the most successful football clubs in Iceland with 23 Icelandic championships. And holds the record attendance to a football match in Iceland with 18.243 spectators in attendance vs. Benfica in 1968. Valur participated in the Icelandic men's soccer tournament for the first time in 1915 and became the Icelandic champion for the first time in 1930. In total, it has won the Icelandic championship 23 times, most recently in 2020. In a reshake in the fall of 2022 following a disappointing season Valur appointed

Arnar Grétarsson Arnar Grétarsson (born 20 February 1972 in Reykjavík) is an Icelandic former professional football player and current manager of Valur. Club career Arnar started his career in Breiðablik, where he played for several years until he joined ...

as manager soon after the he was sacked as manager of KA Akureyri, after having notable success as manager in the northern capital the Icelandic giants hope to bring stability to their setup. Along with

Valur appointed

Sigurður Höskuldsson Sigurður () or Sigurdur may refer to: *Sigurður Bragason (born 1954), Icelandic baritone * Sigurður Breiðfjörð (1798–1846), Icelandic poet *Sigurður Eggerz (1875–1945), Prime Minister of Iceland from 1914 to 1915 and from 1922 to 1924 * ...

former manager of

Leiknir Reykjavík Íþróttafélagið Leiknir, commonly known as Leiknir Reykjavík, is an Icelandic multi-sports club. It is best known for its men's football team that plays in 1. deild karla, the second tier of Icelandic football, but also fields departments ...

as assistant manager.

European competition

Valur first competed in Europe at the

1966–67 European Cup Winners' Cup The 1966–67 season of the European Cup Winners' Cup club football competition was won by Bayern Munich with a 1–0 final victory over Rangers, who had eliminated holders Borussia Dortmund. It was the fourth time in six years that the final req ...

Preliminary Round, playing to a draw (1–1) in its first match against

Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège (; nl, Standard Luik ; german: Standard Lüttich ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège. They are one of the mo ...

, ultimately losing on aggregate 9–2. Since then, the club has participated in European competition 20 times, never advancing beyond the second round of any tournament.

Players

Current squad

Coaches

* Guðmundur H. Pétursson (1930) *

Reidar Sörensen Reidar is a Scandinavian male given name of Old Norse origins. As of 2013, there are 6,850 people with this name in Norway, 1,519 in Sweden and 108 in Finland. In Estonia there are 5 Reidars and in Italy there's only one. The namesday is July 28 in ...

(1933–35) *

Murdo MacDougall Murdo McDougall was a Scottish football manager and former player. He was joint manager of the Icelandic national team in 1946. References Scottish football managers Scottish men's footballers Expatriate football managers in Iceland Ic ...

(1935–37) *

& Robert Jack (1937–38) *

(1938) *

Joe Devine Joseph Cassidy Devine (8 September 1905 – 1980) was a Scottish professional footballer born in Motherwell, who played as an inside forward or wing half. He represented Bathgate in the Scottish Football League, and made nearly 350 appearances ...

(1939), (1948) *

Hermann Hermannsson Hermann Hermannsson (7 October 1914 - 28 August 1975) was an Icelandic former footballer. He was part of the Iceland national football team between 1946 and 1949. He played 4 matches. See also * List of Iceland international footballers The Ic ...

(1955) * Óli B. Jónsson (1967–31 December 1968) *

Yuri Illichev Dr. Yuri Ilichev ( Russian: Ильичев Юрий Петрович, Icelandic: Júrí Ilitchev; 8 December 1927 – 10 February 1988) was the coach of the national football teams of Iraq and Iceland. Little is known about the Soviet tra ...

(1 July 1973 – 30 June 1974), (1 July 1976 – 30 June 1978) *

Gyula Nemes Gyula may refer to: * Gyula (title), Hungarian title of the 9th–10th century * Gyula (name), Hungarian male given name, derived from the title ; People * Gyula II, the ''gyula'' who was baptized in Constantinople around 950 * Gyula III, the ...

(1978–79) *

Volker Hofferbert Volker may refer to: * Volker (name), including a list of people with the given name or surname * Volker, Kansas City, a historic neighborhood in Kansas City * Volker Boulevard, Kansas City * ''Alien Nations'' (German: ''Die Völker''), a real-t ...

(1980) * Klaus-Jürgen Hilpert (1982) * Claus Peter (1982–83) * Ian Ross (1 January 1984 – 31 December 1987) *

Hörður Helgason Hörður () may refer to: People *Hörður Árnason, Icelandic footballer *Hörður Barðdal, Icelandic water polo player *Hörður Felixson, Icelandic footballer *Hörður Magnússon (disambiguation), several people *Hörður Torfason, Icelandic so ...

(1 January 1988 – 1 August 1989) *

Guðmundur Þorbjörnsson Guðmundur Þorbjörnsson (born 19 April 1957) is a retired Icelandic footballer and coach. He played most of his career in Valur and also coached the team in 1989. He made 37 caps for Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic islan ...

(1989) *

Ingi Björn Albertsson Ingi Björn Albertsson (born 3 November 1952) is an Icelandic retired footballer who played as a striker, and former manager of the Icelandic Úrvalsdeild. After his playing career, he moved to politics and was a congressman at the Althing, the ...

(1990–91) *

Kristinn Björnsson Kristinn Björnsson (born 26 May 1972) is an Icelandic former alpine skier who competed in the 1992 Winter Olympics, in the 1994 Winter Olympics, in the 1998 Winter Olympics, and in the 2002 Winter Olympics. Björnsson became the first ever skier ...

(1992–93) *

(1995) *

Sigurður Dagsson Sigurður () or Sigurdur may refer to: *Sigurður Bragason (born 1954), Icelandic baritone * Sigurður Breiðfjörð (1798–1846), Icelandic poet * Sigurður Eggerz (1875–1945), Prime Minister of Iceland from 1914 to 1915 and from 1922 to 1924 * ...

(1996) * Sigurður Grétarsson (1996) *

(1997–99) * Ejub Purišević (2000–01) *

Þorlákur Árnason Þorlákur (Old Norse: Þorlákr) is an Icelandic given name, meaning "game of Thor". Notable people with this name include: * Þorlákur Runólfsson (1086–1133), Icelandic bishop * Þorlákur helgi Þórhallsson (1133–1193), Icelandic bishop an ...

(2002–03) *

Njáll Eiðsson Njáll (; ) is an old Viking given name native to Iceland and other Scandinavian countries. It was borrowed from the Old Irish name Niall. People with this name *Njáll Þorgeirsson Njáll Þorgeirsson (Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ) was a 10 ...

(2004) * Willum Þór Þórsson (1 August 2005 – July 2009) * Atli Eðvaldsson (4 July 2009 – September 2009) *

Gunnlaugur Jónsson Gunnlaugur Jónsson (born 29 November 1974) is an Icelandic football manager who last managed Þróttur in the 1. deild karla. In his early career he played for ÍA. After short spells with Motherwell, Kongsvinger and Örebro, he rejoined ...

(October 2009 – 31 December 2010) * Kristján Guðmundsson (1 January 2011 – 31 December 2012) * Magnús Gylfason (1 January 2013 – 31 October 2014) *

Ólafur Jóhannesson Ólafur Jóhannesson (1 March 1913 – 20 May 1984) was the prime minister of Iceland for the Progressive Party on two occasions. He was a member of the Progressive Party, serving as party chairman during the 1970s. Career Ólafur was educ ...

(31 October 2014–2019) * Heimir Guðjónsson (2019-2022) *

(17 July 2022 - 31 Oct 2022) *

(31 Oct 2022 - present)

Honours

Úrvalsdeild * Champions (23):

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...

1933 Events January * January 11 – Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independence, against the wis ...

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart bec ...

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Febr ...

, 1938,

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *January ...

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 – ...

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in No ...

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. Januar ...

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, are kille ...

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo is ...

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establ ...

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phil ...

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government). * January 6 – ...

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Syst ...

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airpor ...

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...

Icelandic Cup * Champions (11): 1965, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992,

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris (dwarf planet), Er ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

, 2016

Icelandic League Cup The Icelandic Men's Football League Cup (Icelandic: Deildarbikar karla), also known as the Lengjubikar karla for sponsorship reasons, is a pre-season professional football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees ...

* Champions (3):

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

, 2011,

Icelandic Super Cup * Champions (11): 1977, 1979, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1993, 2006, 2008, 2016,

, 2018

References

External links

Official website
{{Urvalsdeild Football clubs in Iceland Association football clubs established in 1911 Football clubs in Reykjavík 1911 establishments in Iceland