Guðni Bergsson

Born in Reykjavík, Guðni started life in football with his local club Valur but soon harboured ambitions to play overseas. In 1985, he had a trial with English team Aston Villa but they did not follow up their initial interest.

Tottenham Hotspur

In December 1988, he was to return to England with Tottenham Hotspur, as then manager Terry Venables paid a fee of around £100,000 to Valur, a fee which was then a record sale for the Icelandic club who have since gone on to produce many other top Icelandic exports. At Spurs, the central defender or full back teamed up with England internationals Paul Gascoigne, Gary Mabbutt, Gary Lineker and Chris Waddle. Understandably, he found it hard to make a regular breakthrough for the London club often filling in intermittently due to injuries or suspension. This did not stop him from becoming a regular for the Icelandic national team, where he eventually became captain winning in excess of 80 caps, which was a record for that country at the time. He had his most successful spell at Spurs under the management of Venables, but he missed out on the FA Cup triumph of 1991. The appointment of Ossie Ardiles as the Tottenham manager effectively spelt the beginning of the end for Guðni, who feared a life away from football at one stage.

Bolton Wanderers

In 1995, after being told he could leave Spurs, Guðni began studying to become a lawyer. A trial game for Crystal Palace reserves alerted the then Bolton Wanderers manager Bruce…

Guðni made his debut for Iceland in 1984 and went on to earn 80 caps, scoring 1 goal. His last international came in June 2003 against Lithuania. He is number four in Iceland's all-time international appearances list, behind record-holder Rúnar Kristinsson, Hermann Hreiðarsson and Eiður Guðjohnsen.

Tottenham Hotspur

FA Charity Shield: 1991 (shared) Bolton Wanderers

Football League First Division: 1996–97; play-offs: 1995, 2001 Football League Cup runner-up: 1994–95