Eidur Gudjohnsen Bio Send To Friend  

Gudjohnsen is one of the survivors at Chelsea post-Abramovich, but he has found his postilion in the side increasingly marginalised.

With Jose Mourinho opting to play just the one striker, and players such as Didier Drogba and Hernan Crespo brought into the club, the Icelandic star has been forced to play much of his football in midfield.

It's a situation which is unlikely to improve.

Formerly Ronaldo's strike partner at PSV Eindhoven, he overcame serious injury and fought against a weight problem to become one of the hottest properties in British football.

Gudjohnsen was one of the best players in the First Division in 1999/2000, playing a big part in Bolton Wanderers' push to the semi-finals of both the League and FA Cup.

Big and skillful, he can be a nightmare to defenders with his fine link-up play and eye for the through ball. He is also not shy in front of goal.

It appeared only a matter of time before a big club would come in for Gudjohnsen, and in the summer of 2000 Chelsea paid £5million for his services.

He had a tough first season at Stamford Bridge as he struggled to win a starting place ahead of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Gianfranco Zola. But he still managed to net 13 goals, mainly from the bench.

It was the following season, 2001/02, that Gudjohnsen really began to set the Premiership alight. His partnership with Hasselbaink became Chelsea legend as they blew away numerous Premiership defences.

The Icelandic international scored 23 goals, and he would pick up an FA Cup runners-up medal after defeat to Arsenal at the Millennium Stadium. He had also picked up a Charity Shield winners' medal on his debut in 2000.

However, speculation grew that he, along with Hasselbaink, was available for transfer in the summer of 2002. With Chelsea running into cash flow problems it was claimed they needed to sell, and that their star strikers were top of the list.

Gudjohnsen stayed, but he had a poor term by his own standards, grabbing 14 goals. But he did sign a new contract at the end of the season.

In the same season the player admitted to having a gambling problem, having lost £400,000 in five months at a casino.

He survived the summer spending spree of 2003 to remain an important first teamer in 2003/04, and clocked up double figures again.

The striker remained important in 2004/05, starting 42 matches for Chelsea and scoring a total of 15 goals as the Blues won the Premiership and the League Cup.

At the start of the season he had penned a new four-year contract at Stamford Bridge.

The player made his 250th Chelsea appearance in 2005/06.