Stefán Arnar Gunnarsson

Stefán Arnar Gunnarsson (13 March 1978 – c. 2 April 2023) was an Icelandic handball coach and player. During his career, he coached several teams in Iceland, Norway, Germany and the Faroe Islands.[1]

Stefán Arnar Gunnarsson
Personal information
Born (1978-03-03)3 March 1978
Keflavík, Iceland
Died c. 2 April 2023(2023-04-02) (aged 45)
Iceland
Teams managed
Years Team
2011–2013
 Selfoss
2014–2018
 Fjölnir
2019–2020
 HSG Krefeld
2020–2022
 Neistin
2022
 HK

Early life

Born in Keflavík, Stefán Arnar grew up in Akureyri.[2]

Coaching career

Stefán Arnar was hired as the coach of Fjölnir men's team in 2014 and in 2017, he guided the team to victory in the Icelandic second-tier 1. deild karla. In October 2017, he was unexpectedly fired by Fjölnir's chairman Aðalsteinn Snorrason. Later, it turned out that Aðalsteinn did not have the board's support in the matter[3] and Stefán Arnar was reinstated a week later.[4] Following the season, where Fjölnir was relegated, his contract was not renewed.[5]

He coached HSG Krefeld in Germany from 2019 to 2020. He was the coach of Neistin from 2020 to 2022 and guided the team twice to the Faroese Cup final.[6] In February 2022, he was hired as the interim coach of HK women's team, following the firing of Halldór Harri Kristjánsson.[7] The following season, he continued coaching HK's youth teams.[1]

Death

On 2 March 2023, Stefán Arnar was reported missing. An extensive search was conducted by the Icelandic Association for Search and Rescue, Icelandic Police and the Icelandic Coast Guard in the following weeks.[8] On 2 April 2023, his body was found washed ashore on a beach in Reykjanesbær.[9] Following his death, Stefán's brother, handball coach Samúel Ívar Árnason, heavily criticised family members of players for their treatment and undermining of Stefán Arnar to force preferable treatment of certain players and the HK club for his firing shortly before his death.[10][11][12]

Personal life

Stefán Arnar's stepfather was Árni J. Stefánsson, a former handball coach. Two of his brothers, Samúel Ívar Árnason and Stefán Árnason were also handball coaches.[13]

Achievements

Titles

References
  1. Ívar Benediktsson (6 April 2023). "Andlát: Stefán Arnar Gunnarsson". Handbolti.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  2. Ragna Gestsdóttir (2 May 2023). "Segir skriflega ásökun gegn Arnari hafa verið kvittaða með tilbúnu nafni og númeri á pizzastað – „Hversu illa innrætt er þessi manneskja, eða hópur?"". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  3. Gunnar Birgisson (25 October 2017). "Arnar ennþá þjálfari Fjölnis". RÚV (in Icelandic). Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  4. Tómas Þór Þórðarson (1 November 2017). "Formaðurinn sem rak Arnar frá Fjölni staðfestir að Arnar verður áfram með Fjölni". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  5. Einar Örn Jónsson (13 April 2018). "Arnar heldur ekki áfram með Fjölni". RÚV (in Icelandic). Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  6. Ívar Benediktsson (23 February 2022). "Arnari sagt upp hjá Neistanum". Handbolti.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  7. Ívar Benediktsson (25 February 2022). "Arnar tekur við af Harra". Handbolti.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  8. Alexander Kristjánsson (4 March 2023). "100 björgunarsveitarmenn leita Stefáns Arnar". RÚV (in Icelandic). Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  9. Brynjólfur Þór Guðmundsson (5 April 2023). "Lík Stefáns Arnars fundið". RÚV (in Icelandic). Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  10. Máni Snær Þorláksson (15 April 2023). "Á endanum hafði Arnar minn ekki kraftinn til að standa af sér þennan storm". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  11. Bjarki Sigurðsson (17 April 2023). "Fyrsta kjaftasagan hafi farið á flug skömmu eftir tilkynningu lögreglu". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  12. Sonja Sif Þórólfsdóttir (17 April 2023). "Tjá sig ekki um mál Stefáns Arnars". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  13. Viðar Guðjónsson (4 May 2016). "Bræðrabylta á hliðarlínunni". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). p. 44. Retrieved 17 April 2023 – via Tímarit.is.open access
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