Ólafur Ingi Skúlason

Ólafur Skúlason

Personal information
Full name	Ólafur Ingi Skúlason
Date of birth	1 April 1983 (1983-04-01) (age 28)
Place of birth	Reykjavík, Iceland
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position	Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current club	Zulte Waregem
Number	16
Youth career
	Fylkir
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2000–2001	Fylkir	20	(0)
2001–2005	Arsenal	1	(0)
2003	→ Fylkir (loan)	14	(1)
2005–2007	Brentford	16	(1)
2007–2009	Helsingborgs IF	37	(0)
2010–2011	SønderjyskE	41	(3)
2011–	Zulte Waregem	0	(0)
National team‡
2003–	Iceland	14	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 25 May 2011. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 26 March 2011

Ólafur Ingi Skúlason (born 1 April 1983) is an Icelandic footballer and a midfielder, currently playing for Belgian club S.V. Zulte Waregem.

Club career

Skúlason was born in Reykjavík, Iceland and, before playing for Arsenal F.C., played for Icelandic soccer team Fylkir. After the Icelandic season had come to a close, he was looking for new employment, and found it with Arsenal on 1 July 2001. Skúlason was loaned back to Fylkir over a part of the 2003 season, and was voted the best young player in the Icelandic league 2003.

A defensive midfielder, his Arsenal debut came on 2 December 2003 in a 5–1 defeat of Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C., replacing Justin Hoyte after 55 minutes of the match. Skúlason was released by Arsenal on 28 May 2005. He signed for Brentford on 22 June 2005.

Upon his arrival at Brentford, the club's website quoted him as saying: "I look at this as a very important move for my career, knowing that manager Martin Allen had been interested in signing me for a while was a huge compliment for me."

Skúlason missed the 2005/6 season due to a cruciate knee ligament injury resulting from a tackle with Chesterfield's Derek Niven. He was passed fit for the start of the 2006/7 season and completed his comeback by scoring the winner in a 1–0 win over Blackpool,^[1] the first game of the season. He signed for Helsingborgs IF on 21 February 2007. After three successful years in Helsingborg, Skúlason denied a new contract offer and signed for Danish team SønderjyskE on 1 January 2010.

International career

Skúlason earned his first cap for Iceland in a friendly against Mexico on 20 November 2003 as a substitute, replacing Veigar Páll Gunnarsson. He has also captained their U21 team.

References

1. ^ "Brentford 1–0 Blackpool". BBC. 5 August 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_2/5226788.stm. Retrieved 9 April 2010. 

External links

• Helsingborgs profile
• Ólafur Ingi Skúlason at National-Football-Teams.com
• Ólafur Ingi Skúlason career stats at Soccerbase

Sporting positions
Preceded by Sölvi Ottesen	SønderjyskE captain 2010–2011	Succeeded by Henrik Hansen

Persondata
Name	Skulason, Olafur Ingi
Alternative names
Short description	footballer
Date of birth	1 April 1983
Place of birth	Reykjavík, Iceland
Date of death
Place of death