April 24 – That’s my boy
GREETINGS dear reader and join us in our quest for historical football knowledge as we head to two unlikely places for today’s entry.
The first is Iceland, famous for Bjork, geysers and, ummm, well Bjork and geysers anyway. This Nordic country is the homeland of our protagonists, namely Arnór Gudjohnsen and his son Eidur, and it was on this day in 1996 when the father and son duo made history when Arnór was substituted in an Iceland national team match with his son Eidur replacing him.
They are the only father and son to have ever played for their country during the same game and the record breaking feat occurred in today’s other improbable location: Tallinn, capital city of Estonia, when the home side were facing Iceland in a friendly.
Arnór was 34 at the time and playing for Swedish side Örebro SK, while young Eidur was 17 and on the books at PSV Eindhoven. For all you stat fans out there, Iceland beat Estonia 3-2, with Arnór getting on the score sheet.
At the time it was assumed that Gudjohnsen senior and junior would soon both appear on the pitch together for Iceland but events conspired to prevent them from ever achieving the feat. Eidur suffered a bad ankle injury soon after the game in Estonia which ruled him out for the next two seasons, during which time his dad retired from the game.
Both regret not being able to play together for their country.
Arnór said: “It was my dream to play with him in the national team. It was very special, I had been in the national team for almost 18 years and suddenly my son was at the hotel with me.”
Eidur said: “We got close. It was very strange, it’s very different sitting in the dressing room and having your father there as well getting changed.
“It was a great experience but as well its one of my biggest regrets in my footballing career that we never actually played together or were on the pitch at the same time.”
Never mind Eidur, your incredible life as an international superstar millionaire footballer playing for one of the most prestigious clubs in the world will probably soften the blow.
See the big moment below (you might want to skip to 5mins 30secs to see the actual incident) and come back tomorrow for more from us.
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