Victor Pálsson

Guðlaugur Victor Pálsson (born 30 April 1991) is an Icelandic professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Belgian Pro League club Eupen. He has previously played for Liverpool, Dagenham & Redbridge, Hibernian, New York Red Bulls, NEC, Helsingborgs IF, Esbjerg fB, Zürich, Darmstadt 98 and Schalke 04.

This is an Icelandic name. The last name is patronymic, not a family name; this person is referred to by the given name Guðlaugur.

Guðlaugur Victor Pálsson
Guðlaugur playing for Hibernian in 2011
Personal information
Full name Guðlaugur Victor Pálsson
Date of birth (1991-04-30) 30 April 1991
Place of birth Reykjavík, Iceland
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Eupen
Number 4
Youth career
0000–2003 Fjölnir
2004–2007 Fylkir
2007–2009 AGF
2009–2010 Liverpool
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2011 Liverpool 0 (0)
2010–2011 → Dagenham & Redbridge (loan) 2 (0)
2011–2012 Hibernian 31 (1)
2012 New York Red Bulls 16 (0)
2012 → NEC (loan) 12 (2)
2013–2014 NEC 38 (2)
2014–2015 Helsingborgs IF 33 (3)
2015–2017 Esbjerg fB 35 (3)
2017–2019 FC Zürich 47 (1)
2019–2021 Darmstadt 98 67 (6)
2021–2022 Schalke 04 28 (0)
2022–2023 D.C. United 28 (0)
2023– Eupen 10 (0)
International career‡
2007 Iceland U17 7 (0)
2008–2009 Iceland U19 6 (0)
2009–2012 Iceland U21 11 (0)
2014– Iceland 40 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13 October 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17 October 2023

Club career

Guðlaugur was born in Reykjavík to an Icelandic mother and a Portuguese father. His paternal grandfather was a native of Mozambique. He played for Fjölnir but he decided to move to the neighbouring club Fylkir to get a chance to play on higher level. He then moved to Danish side AGF Aarhus in 2007.

Guðlaugur joined Premier League team Liverpool in 2009. He played for Liverpool reserves and served as team captain but failed to make the breakthrough into the first-team.[2] He went on loan to Dagenham & Redbridge in November 2010,[3][4] making his debut for the Daggers in the 1st round of the FA Cup in a 1–1 draw with Leyton Orient.[5] He made three appearances for the club, including an FA Cup tie, before returning to Liverpool.

On 28 January 2011, Guðlaugur signed an 18-month contract with Scottish Premier League club Hibernian.[2][6] Guðlaugur was given squad number 91, since 1991 was his birth-year. He made his debut in a 3–0 defeat against Dundee United two days later.[7] Guðlaugur scored his first goal for the club with a penalty in a 2–1 win against Kilmarnock on 12 February.[8] Guðlaugur played regularly under the management of Colin Calderwood, but featured less regularly after Calderwood was replaced by Pat Fenlon.[9] On 10 January 2012, Hibernian announced that Victor had left the club with immediate effect after an agreement was reached to cancel his contract.[9][10]

Sky Sports reported on 24 January 2012 that Guðlaugur was close to agreeing to terms with Major League Soccer club New York Red Bulls.[11] The signing was confirmed by New York on 10 February 2012.[12] Guðlagur did not command a regular starting place in the New York starting lineup during the 2012 season.[13]

In August 2012, the club loaned Guðlaugur to Eredivisie club NEC until May 2013, including an option for permanent signing.[14] On 31 December 2012, he was signed by NEC permanently on a free transfer. He signed a contract until the summer of 2016.[15]

After the relegation of NEC, Guðlaugur left the club and signed a contract in August 2014 with Swedish side Helsingborgs IF.[16] He made his league debut for the club on 10 August 2014 in a 0–0 home draw with Norrköping. He was subbed on for Arnór Smárason in the 75th minute.[17]

Guðlaugur signed a four-year contract with Danish side Esbjerg fB on 31 August 2015.[18] He made his league debut for the club on 14 September 2015 in a 4–2 home victory over Odense BK. He scored his first goal for the club in the 30th minute of this match.[19]

In July 2017 he signed a three-year contract with Swiss side FC Zürich.[20] He made his league debut for Zürich in a 2–1 home victory over Thun on 30 July 2017. He was subbed on for Sangoné Sarr in the 85th minute.[21] He was captain of the 2017–18 Swiss Cup winning team.

On 9 January 2019, Guðlaugur Victor signed a three and a half year deal with 2. Bundesliga side SV Darmstadt 98.[22][23]

On 25 May 2021, he agreed to join FC Schalke 04, newly relegated from Bundesliga, for the 2021–22 season, signing a two-year contract.[24]

On 27 July 2022, he joined Major League Soccer club D.C. United on a contract until the end of 2024 with an option for a further year.[25]

On 28 July 2023, Pálsson returned to Europe when he joined Belgian Pro League club Eupen on a three-year deal.[26]

International career

Guðlaugur has represented Iceland at Under-17, Under-19, Under-21, and full international levels. He helped Iceland qualify to the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship. He scored his first goal for the senior team in a 4–1 win against Liechtenstein on 31 March 2021.

Career statistics

Club
As of match played on 5 August 2023.[27][28]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Liverpool 2010–11Premier League 000000—00
Dagenham & Redbridge 2010–11League One 2010——30
Hibernian 2010–11Scottish Premiership 161———161
2011–12Scottish Premiership 15000—3[lower-alpha 1]0180
Total 31100—30341
New York Red Bulls 2012Major League Soccer 16010——170
NEC Nijmegen 2012–13Eredivisie 27210——282
2013–14Eredivisie 23220—2[lower-alpha 2]0272
Total 50430—20554
Helsingborgs IF 2014Allsvenskan 12241——163
2015Allsvenskan 21110——221
Total 33351——384
Esbjerg fB 2015–16Danish Superliga 5110——61
2016–17Danish Superliga 30220—3[lower-alpha 3]0352
Total 35330—30413
FC Zürich 2017–18Swiss Super League 33161——392
2018–19Swiss Super League 1401051—201
Total 4717151—593
Darmstadt 982018–192. Bundesliga 150———150
2019–202. Bundesliga 31320——333
2020–212. Bundesliga 21320——233
Total67640——716
Schalke 042021–222. Bundesliga 28020——300
D.C. United2022Major League Soccer 100———100
2023Major League Soccer 18000——180
Total280———280
Eupen2023–24Belgian Pro League 2000——20
Career total 33918262518037821
  1. Appearances in Scottish League Cup
  2. Appearances in Eredivisie play-offs
  3. Appearances in Danish Superliga relegation play-offs

International
As of match played on 16 October 2023.[28]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Iceland 201410
201530
201600
201720
201850
201940
202080
202161
202220
202390
Total401
Scores and results list Iceland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Guðlaugur Victor goal.
List of international goals scored by Guðlaugur Victor Pálsson
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
131 March 2021Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, Liechtenstein26 Liechtenstein3–04–12022 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

FC Zürich

Schalke 04

References
  1. "Victor Pálsson". D.C. United. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  2. "Midfielder completes transfer". Liverpool F.C. official website. 28 January 2011. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
  3. "Defender seals loan switch". Liverpoolfc.tv. 4 November 2010.
  4. "Dagenham and Redbridge sign Victor Palsson on loan". BBC Sport. 4 November 2010.
  5. "Dag & Red 1 - 1 Leyton Orient". BBC Sport. 6 November 2010.
  6. "Palsson Deal Completed". hibernianfc.co.uk. Hibernian F.C. 28 January 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
  7. "Dundee Utd 3 - 0 Hibernian". BBC Sport. BBC. 1 February 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  8. "Hibernian 2 - 1 Kilmarnock". BBC Sport. BBC. 12 February 2011. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
  9. Schweitzer-Thompson, Alex (12 January 2012). "Victor Palsson has fond Hibs memories as he exits". Edinburgh Evening News. Johnston Press. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
  10. "Palsson Leaves Club". hibernianfc.co.uk. Hibernian F.C. 10 January 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  11. "Palsson set for MLS move". Sky Sports. BSkyB. 24 January 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  12. "Red Bulls Sign Midfielder Victor Palsson". newyorkredbulls.com. New York Red Bulls. 10 February 2012. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
  13. Panizo, Franco (27 August 2012). "Sources: RBNY close to loaning Palsson to Netherlands". www.mlssoccer.com. Major League Soccer. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  14. "Red Bulls Loan Midfielder Victor Palsson to Dutch Club N.E.C. Nijmegen". www.newyorkredbulls.com. New York Red Bulls. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  15. "NEC trekt huurling Pálsson transfervrij aan". www.voetbalprimeur.nl. Voetbalprimeur. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
  16. "Sport | Het laatste nieuws uit Nederland leest u op Telegraaf.nl".
  17. "Helsingborgs vs. Norrkoping – 10 August 2014 – Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  18. "Esbjerg skriver fire år med Victor Palsson".
  19. "Esbjerg vs. Odense – 14 September 2015 – Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  20. "Der FC Zürich verpflichtet Victor Pálsson". fcz.ch. 5 July 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  21. "Zurich vs. Thun – 30 July 2017 – Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  22. "Lilien verpflichten Nationalspieler Pálsson". sv98.de. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  23. "Palsson: Der erste Isländer in Darmstadt". kicker Online (in German). 9 January 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  24. "Victor Pálsson joins S04, Florian Flick signs a pro deal". Schalke 04. 25 May 2021.
  25. "D.C. United Sign Icelandic National Team Midfielder Victor Pálsson from German Bundesliga Club FC Schalke 04". D.C. United. 27 July 2022.
  26. "La KAS Eupen engage l'international islandais Victor Pálsson" [KAS Eupen sign Icelandic international Victor Pálsson]. www.as-eupen.be/fr (in French). 28 July 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  27. Victor Pálsson at Soccerway
  28. Victor Pálsson at WorldFootball.net
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