Teitur Thordarson Explained

Teitur Thordarson
Fullname:Teitur Þórðarson
Birth Date:14 January 1952
Birth Place:Akranes, Iceland
Position:Striker
Youthyears1:1968
Youthclubs1:IA Akranes
Years1:1969–1977
Years2:1977
Years3:1978–1981
Years4:1981–1983
Years5:1983–1984
Years6:1984–1985
Years7:1985–1986
Years8:1987
Caps1:99
Caps2:21
Caps3:87
Caps4:48
Caps5:31
Caps6:13
Caps7:18
Caps8:16
Totalcaps:285
Goals1:51
Goals2:10
Goals3:35
Goals4:20
Goals5:9
Goals6:6
Goals7:6
Goals8:0
Totalgoals:117
Nationalyears1:1972–1985
Nationalteam1:Iceland
Nationalcaps1:41
Nationalgoals1:9
Manageryears1:1987–1988
Manageryears2:1988–1990
Manageryears3:1991–1992
Manageryears4:1993
Manageryears5:1994–1995
Manageryears6:1995–1999
Manageryears7:2000–2002
Manageryears8:2002–2003
Manageryears9:2004–2005
Manageryears10:2006–2007
Manageryears11:2008–2010
Manageryears12:2011
Manageryears13:2012–2013
Manageryears14:2013
Manageryears15:2014–2018
Managerclubs12:Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Managerclubs13:Barasat Euro Musketeers
Managerclubs14:Funnefoss/Vormsund
Managerclubs15:Drøbak-Frogn
Pcupdate:12 September 2007
Ntupdate:12 September 2007

Teitur Thordarson (Icelandic: Teitur Þórðarson, born 14 January 1952) is an Icelandic football coach. He is the older brother of Ólafur Þórðarson.

Playing career

Club

Íþróttabandalag Akraness

Before coaching, Teitur playing as a striker for nearly two decades. He signed his first professional contract when he joined hometown club Íþróttabandalag Akraness in 1969. He scored 51 goals in 99 appearances, and won four championship titles with ÍA between 1969 and 1977.

Sweden

After a season with Swedish second division club Jönköping in 1977, Teitur helped Öster to three league championships in Sweden's top-flight Allsvenskan between 1978 and 1981.

France

In 1981, he moved to French club Lens where he scored 19 goals during the 1981–82 Ligue 1 season, finishing fourth in scoring. At Lens he played for former Liverpool, Lyon, and France manager Gérard Houllier. He then joined Cannes where Arsène Wenger was an assistant coach.

Switzerland/Return to Sweden

Teitur then had a spell in Switzerland with Yverdon-Sport before returning to Sweden in 1985 to complete his playing career with Öster and Skövde.

International

Teitur received 41 caps for Iceland between 1972 and 1985. He scored nine goals and captained the team in some of the matches.[1]

Coaching career

Skövde

Teitur's coaching career extends over two decades starting in Sweden in 1987 with the last club he played for, Skövde.

Norway

In 1988, he landed his first head-coaching role in Norway's top-flight Tippeligaen when he joined Brann. He led the Bergen club to the 1988 Norwegian Football Cup Final and spent the following two seasons at Brann before ending his first spell by moving to Lyn for two seasons in 1991. After a season with Norwegian Second Division club Grei, Teitur took charge of Lillestrøm and led them to second- and fourth-placed Tippeligaen finishes in 1994 and 1995 respectively.

Estonia

In 1996, Teitur moved to Estonia to become head coach of their national team and Estonian club Flora Tallinn. He led Flora Tallinn to 3 Meistriliiga championships in 1994–95, 1997–98 and 1998. He also led the club to the Estonian Cup and the Estonian SuperCup titles in 1998.

Teitur helped the Baltic nation move up from 145th (January 1996) to 68th (November 1999) in the FIFA World Ranking. Though he was Estonia's first foreign coach since the country's independence in 1991, Teitur's efforts in developing Estonian football earned him the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana (4th class) from the President of Estonia in February 2000.[2]

Return to Norway

The turn of the millennium saw Teitur return to the Norwegian game for a second spell with Brann. He led the club to a second-place finish in the 2000 Tippeligaen season, and spent two more seasons with the Bergen outfit before making a return to another former club, Lyn in 2003. His final two years in Norway saw him coach second division club Ull/Kisa in 2004 and 2005.

KR Reykjavík

In 2006, Teitur returned to his native Iceland to coach KR Reykjavík to a second-place finish in Iceland's top-flight Landsbankadeild, as well as a spot in the 2006 Icelandic Cup final.

Vancouver Whitecaps

With nearly four decades of experience in European football, Teitur became the sixth head coach in the history of the Vancouver Whitecaps after signing a two-year deal with the club on 11 December 2007. He was at the helm when the Whitecaps claimed their second United Soccer League First Division championship in three seasons after a 2–1 victory over Puerto Rico Islanders on 12 October 2008. The following season Teitur made key changes to the Vancouver squad, replacing several veterans with young and experienced players. Though the Whitecaps struggled in the later part of the season, they finished in the final playoff spot and reached the final, where they faced the Montreal Impact home and away in a two-legged affair. It was the first time in USL history that two Canadian clubs would meet for the league championship. The Caps lost both fixtures, home and away, 6–3 on aggregate. On 30 November 2009 Teitur signed a one-year contract extension with the club.[3]

On 1 September 2010, the Vancouver Whitecaps FC held a press conference where Teitur was named as the coach for the Vancouver Whitecaps' first season in Major League Soccer.[4] After producing only one win in three months of action, Teitur was released from his contract on 30 May 2011 with Whitecaps Director of Operations Tom Soehn stepping in to replace him in the interim.[5]

Barasat Euro Musketeers

On 15 January 2012, Cassius Management announced that Teitur would be one of six foreign coaches hired for the new league Bengal Premier League Soccer, with group stages beginning 15 March 2012.[6] He was subsequently bought by Basarat, under the ownership of Uro Infra Reality India Ltd., for on 30 January 2012.[7] After several delays due to lack of quality venues and government opposition,[8] the project was cancelled in January 2013.[9]

Honours

Player

Íþróttabandalag Akraness

1970, 1974, 1975, 1977

Östers IF

1978, 1980, 1981

1976–77

Manager

Flora Tallinn

1997–98, 1998

1997–98

1998

Vancouver Whitecaps FC

2008

Barasat Euro Musketeers

2012[10]

Notes and References

  1. https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/ijs-recintlp.html Iceland - Record International Players
  2. Web site: Eesti Vabariigi Teenetemärgid. President of Estonia. 22 September 2011. et. Decorations of the Republic of Estonia.
  3. Web site: Thordarson Given His Big Chance . Prost Amerika . 30 January 2012.
  4. Web site: Thordarson named MLS head coach | Vancouver Whitecaps FC . Whitecapsfc.com . 1 September 2010 . 30 January 2012.
  5. Web site: Greg Lalas . Whitecaps Fire Head Coach Teitur Thordarson . Mlssoccer.com . 30 May 2011 . 30 January 2012.
  6. Web site: Teitur Thordarson Selected For Indian Premier League Soccer Tournament . Cassiusmanagement.com . 30 January 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120127135906/http://www.cassiusmanagement.com/news/Teitur-Thordarson-Selected-For-Indian-Premier-Leag . 27 January 2012.
  7. Web site: Fabio Cannavaro gets maximum bidders in IPL style soccer. CelebrityManagement. 30 January 2012. 1 February 2012.
  8. Web site: Robbie Fowler's Indian payday under threat as Premier League Soccer hits problems. The Telegraph. 5 November 2013.
  9. Web site: India’s ambitious Premier League Soccer plan finally axed. Goal.com. 5 November 2013.
  10. Web site: Indian Premier League Soccer: Cannavaro, Pires and Crespo to Show Off in Kolkata . Ibtimes.co.uk . 21 March 2012.