Former Stoke and Iceland manager Gudjon Thordarson dies aged 71

Gudjon Thordarson, the former Iceland national team coach who led Stoke City out of English football's third tier, has died aged 71. BBC Sport reported his death on Saturday, noting that he had been living with Parkinson's disease in recent years. He also managed Barnsley, Notts County and Crewe Alexandra.

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Thordarson took charge at Stoke in 1999 after managing his country's national side. His first silverware with the club came in the EFL Trophy in 2000. Promotion proved harder to secure: Stoke lost in the play-off semi-finals in each of his first two seasons before finally going up through the play-offs in 2002.

The promotion did not lead to an extended stay. According to the BBC, Thordarson left Stoke just days after that success. He subsequently managed Barnsley from 2003 to 2004, Notts County from 2005 to 2006 and Crewe from 2008 to 2009, adding three further English clubs to his coaching career.

His achievements in Iceland had begun long before his arrival in England. Icelandic broadcaster RÚV reported that he played senior football for IA from 1972 to 1986 and won five national championships with the club. He began coaching IA in 1987, then moved to KA, whom he led to the Icelandic title in 1989.

A return to IA brought promotion in 1991 and top-flight titles in 1992 and 1993. Icelandic newspaper DV reported that he also won the domestic cup with IA in 1993, before guiding KR to cup victories in 1994 and 1995. Back at IA in 1996, he secured another league-and-cup double.

Thordarson coached Iceland from 1997 to 1999. DV's account records 11 wins in 25 internationals during his tenure, including a 1-1 draw against newly crowned world champions France in 1998. His move to Stoke followed that spell in international management.

His work also took him to Start in Norway and NSI Runavik in the Faroe Islands. Morgunbladid reported that his final coaching role was with Vikingur Olafsvik, where his tenure ended in 2022, closing a managerial career that had begun 35 years earlier.