Wikipedia

Valur (men's football)

For the women's team, see Valur women's football.

The Valur men's football team, commonly known as Valur, is the men's football department of the Knattspyrnufélagið Valur multi-sport club. The club is based in Reykjavík, Iceland, and currently plays in the Besta deild karla, the top league of men's football in Iceland. The team plays its home games at Hlíðarendi in Reykjavík. The team's colours are red and white. Valur has spent most of its time in the top-flight of Icelandic football, spending only three seasons outside the top tier. Valur is one of the most successful football clubs in Iceland, with 23 Icelandic championships.

Valur
Full nameKnattspyrnufélagið Valur
Nickname(s)Valsarar
Hlíðarendapiltar
Founded11 May 1911; 113 years ago (1911-05-11)
GroundHlíðarendi, Reykjavík
Capacity1,524
ChairmanE. Börkur Edvardsson
ManagerSrdjan Tufegdzic
LeagueBesta deild karla
2024Besta deild karla, 3rd of 12
Websitehttps://www.valur.is/fotbolti

Early beginnings

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Football arrived in Iceland before the end of the nineteenth century, and as elsewhere, became popular amongst young people. In 1908, a youth group was founded within the YMCA in Reykjavík, led by Reverend Friðrik Friðriksson. The boys of the group were active in a number of indoor and outdoor activities.

By 1911, several football clubs had been founded in Reykjavík, though the sport was still in its infancy in Iceland. On 11 May 1911, six boys founded the YMCA Football Club, changing the name of the club to Val later the same year. The story goes that when these founders of the club were working on fixing their football field at Melunum in Reykjavík, a falcon hovered over their heads and that's when they got the idea to call the club Val. At the inauguration of the first Valsvallar in Melunum in the fall of 1911, Friðrik gave a speech in which he encouraged the boys to continue on the path they had set out on and also reminded them of honesty in play and work and that peace, love, unity, beauty and energy should reign in the work and nothing indecent and ugly should ever flourish. In 1915, Valur participated for the first time in the Icelandic national championship in football, but in addition to them, Fram and KR competed in the tournament. In 1916, a junior division was founded in the association, called Væringjar, for boys in YMCA up to the age of 15 who from that age joined Valur. In 1919, this group of young Valsmen won the so-called fallmeet, becoming the club's first tournament victory.

The first championship titles

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Valur won its first Icelandic championship in 1930, nineteen years after the club was founded, a long-awaited dream had come true. Reverend Friðrik told the newly crowned champions that a victory would certainly be good, but one should not overestimate or show arrogance. Reverend Friðrik always had various advice for the Valsmen about boyish play and pomp. National championships would be sporadic: in 1933, from 1935 to 1938, in 1940 and from 1942 to 1945.

National champions under the management of Ian Ross

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In March 1984, the Valur football department signed a contract with Ian Ross, a Scotsman who previously had, among other things, played football for Aston Villa and Liverpool but also had a lot of experience as a coach, meaning that Ross would take over the coaching of the men's football team. Ross quickly proved himself as a coach; the team finished second in the league in his first season. Ross led the team to victory in the top tier in football a year later and repeated the feat in 1987.

Domestic success

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Valur participated in the Icelandic men's football tournament for the first time in 1915 and, as stated previously, won the Icelandic championship for the first time in 1930. In total, the club has won the Icelandic championship 23 times, the most recent success being in 2020.[1][2] This makes Valur the second most decorated club in Iceland.

Recent history

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In a reorganization in the fall of 2022, following a disappointing season, Valur appointed Arnar Grétarsson as manager soon after 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 Arnar Grétarsson Valur appointed Sigurður Höskuldsson former manager of Leiknir Reykjavík as assistant manager.

After the 2022/2023 season, Sigurður Höskuldsson and Valur parted ways, with Sigurður taking the manager job at Þór Akureyri. Valur appointed former captain and most capped player Haukur Páll Sigurðsson as assistant manager.

In March 2024 the club signed Icelandic international Gylfi Sigurdsson on a two-year contract, a move widely regarded as the biggest signing of an Icelandic club. This signing signalled the club's intention to pursue a championship in the 2024 season.

1. Agust 2024 the club and Arnar Grétarsson parted ways and Icelandic Serbian Srdjan Tufegdzic took over on a 3 year contract. Knowing the club well, having been a part of a championship winning coaching team of Valur in the 2020 season.

European competition

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Valur first competed in Europe at the 1966–67 European Cup Winners' Cup Preliminary Round, drawing 1–1 with Standard Liège but ultimately losing on aggregate 9–2. Since then, the club has participated in European competition twenty times, never advancing beyond the second round of any tournament.

Valur holds the record attendance for a football match in Iceland, with 18,243 spectators in attendance for their match against Benfica in 1968.[3]

Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate
1966–67 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Preliminary Round   Standard Liège 1–1 1–8 2–9
1967–68 European Cup First round   Jeunesse Esch 1–1 3–3 4–4(a)
Second Round   Vasas 0–6 1–5 1–11
1968–69 European Cup First round   Benfica 0–0 1–8 1–8
1974–75 UEFA Cup First round   Portadown 0–0 1–2 1–2
1975–76 European Cup Winners' Cup First round   Celtic 0–2 0–7 0–9
1977–78 European Cup First round   Glentoran 1–0 0–2 1–2
1978–79 European Cup Winners' Cup First round   1. FC Magdeburg 1–1 0–4 1–5
1979–80 European Cup First round   Hamburg 0–3 1–2 1–5
1981–82 European Cup First round   Aston Villa 0–2 0–5 0–7
1985–86 UEFA Cup First round   Nantes 2–1 0–3 2–4
1986–87 European Cup First round   Juventus 0–4 0–7 0–11
1987–88 UEFA Cup First round   Wismut Aue 1–1 0–0 1–1(a)
1988–89 European Cup First round   Monaco 1–0 0–2 1–2
1989–90 European Cup Winners' Cup First round   BFC Dynamo 1–2 1–2 2–4
1991–92 European Cup Winners' Cup First round   Sion 0–1 1–1 1–2
1992–93 European Cup Winners' Cup First round   Boavista 0–0 0–3 0–3
1993–94 European Cup Winners' Cup Qualifying round   MyPa 3–1 1–0 4–1
First round   Aberdeen 0–3 0–4 0–7
2006–07 UEFA Cup First qualifying round   Brøndby IF 0–0 1–3 1–3
2008–09 UEFA Champions League First qualifying round   BATE Borisov 0–1 0–2 0–3
2016–17 UEFA Europa League First qualifying round   Brøndby IF 1–4 0–6 1–10
2017–18 UEFA Europa League First qualifying round   Ventspils 1–0 0–0 1–0
Second qualifying round   Domžale 1–2 2–3 3–5
2018–19 UEFA Champions League First qualifying round   Rosenborg 1–0 1–3 2–3
UEFA Europa League Second qualifying round   FC Santa Coloma 3–0 0–1 3–1
Third qualifying round   Sheriff Tiraspol 2–1 0–1 2–2 (a)
2019–20 UEFA Champions League First qualifying round   Maribor 0–3 0–2 0–5
UEFA Europa League Second qualifying round   Ludogorets Razgrad 1–1 0–4 1–5
2021–22 UEFA Champions League First qualifying round   Dinamo Zagreb 0–2 2–3 2–5
UEFA Europa Conference League Second qualifying round   Bodø/Glimt 0–3 0–3 0–6
2024–25 UEFA Conference League First qualifying round   Vllaznia 2−2 4−0 6–2
Second qualifying round   St Mirren 0–0 1–4 1–4
2025–26 UEFA Conference League First qualifying round

Players

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Current squad

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As of 16 August 2024

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK   ISL Frederik Schram
2 DF   ISL Birkir Már Sævarsson
3 DF   ISL Hörður Ingi Gunnarsson
4 DF   ISL Elfar Freyr Helgason
6 MF   ISL Bjarni Mark Antonsson
7 FW   USA Aron Jóhannsson
8 MF   ISL Jónatan Ingi Jónsson
9 FW   DEN Patrick Pedersen
10 MF   ISL Kristinn Freyr Sigurðsson
11 FW   ISL Sigurður Egill Lárusson
12 FW   ISL Tryggvi Hrafn Haraldsson
14 FW   SWE Albin Skoglund
No. Pos. Nation Player
15 DF   ISL Hólmar Örn Eyjólfsson (captain)
16 MF   ISL Gisli Laxdal Unnarsson
17 MF   ISL Lúkas Logi Heimisson
18 MF   ISL Þorsteinn Emil Jónsson
19 MF   ISL Orri Hrafn Kjartansson
20 DF   ISL Orri Sigurður Ómarsson
21 MF   ISL Jakob Franz Pálsson
23 MF   ISL Gylfi Sigurðsson
25 GK   ISL Stefán Þor Ágústsson
31 GK   ISL Ögmundur Kristinsson
33 MF   BRA Helber Josua Catano
71 MF   ISL Ólafur Karl Finsen

Out on loan

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— GK   ISL Hilmar Karlsson (at KH)
— DF   ISL Þorsteinn Aron Antonsson (at HK)
— DF   ISL Hilmar Starri Hilmasson (at Þróttur Vogum)
— DF   ISL Sverrir Þór Kristinsson (at KFA)
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF   ISL Adam Ægir Pálsson (at Perugia)
— MF   ISL Eyþór Örn Eyþórsson (at Víkingur Ólafsvík)
— MF   ISL Bjarmi Kristinsson (at KH)

Coaches

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Honours

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  1. ^ Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the season was cancelled with four games left to play. Valur was awarded the title as the team in first at the time of suspension.

References

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  1. ^ "Valur er Íslandsmeistari 2020". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 30 October 2020. Archived from the original on 28 November 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  2. ^ Gunnar Birgisson (31 October 2020). "Nýstárlegar leiðir í fögnuði Íslandsmeistaranna". RÚV (in Icelandic). Archived from the original on 24 April 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  3. ^ "18.243 spectators in attendance vs. Benfica". Mbl.is. 18 September 1968. Archived from the original on 29 August 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  4. ^ "Knattspyrnudeild – Titlar" (in Icelandic). valur.is. Archived from the original on 25 April 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
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