Iceland review - 2012, Page 56

54 ICELAND REVIEW
The Playmaker
This summer, one of Iceland’s
most promising soccer stars
Gylfi Þór Sigurðsson was recruited
by the top English Premier League Club
Tottenham Hotspur. Here is why.
I
am really happy that this is all
sorted out. Of course it was a
difficult choice but after review-
ing all options carefully and talk-
ing to Tottenham executives, who
informed me about the club’s plan
for next season and the coming
years, it fascinated me to join Tottenham
Hotspur,” says Gylfi Þór Sigurðsson who left
the German soccer club 1899 Hoffenheim to
accept a five-year contract with the English
Premier League team Tottenham. The pur-
chase price has not been revealed, but it is
believed to be around GBP 8 million (USD
12.5 million).
Gylfi had two years left on his contract
with Hoffenheim, but he made the team’s
executives well aware of the fact that he did
not want to return to the team after having
played very successfully on loan to Swansea
from January to May 2012. He scored 7 goals
in 18 games in the Premier League, set up
a few goals for his teammates, and received
very good reviews for his performance. He
was the first Icelander to be nominated
“Player of the Month” for his outstanding
performance in March.
For a long time, it looked like Gylfi would
stay with Swansea, but after the manager
Brendan Rodgers left the team to take over
Liverpool, things took a different turn.
From the very day that Rodgers was
hired by Liverpool, the talk of the
town was that Gylfi would join
the team as well. There was even
more than talk, because Liverpool
made him an offer. Rodgers really
wanted Gylfi to join him in Anfield, but
Tottenham got involved in the battle and
wound up winning the race to recruit the
soon-to-be 23-year-old Gylfi.
“Tottenham has great ambition. You can
tell by the fact that they have renewed the
contract with Gareth Bale, one of the team’s
best players, and they are about to start
using a new, impressive training ground. The
Tottenham team has great players and they
play good football, which goes well with my
technique. All this contributed to my deci-
sion to join the club. I am extremely excited,
and I can hardly wait to start training with
the team,” says Gylfi Þór, who made a great
impression when playing for Swansea.
There were many teams who wanted to
By guðmundur Hilmarsson
translated By HarPa björK birgisdóttir