Valur
Full nameKnattspyrnufélagið Valur
Nickname(s)Valsarar
Hlíðarendapiltar
Founded11 May 1911 (1911-05-11)
GroundHlíðarendi, Reykjavík
Capacity1,524
ChairmanE. Börkur Edvardsson
ManagerArnar Grétarsson
LeagueBesta deild karla
2023Besta deild karla, 2nd of 12
WebsiteClub website

The Valur men's football team, commonly known as Valur, is the men's football department of the Knattspyrnufélagið Valur multi-sport club. It is based in Reykjavík, Iceland, and currently plays in the Besta deild karla, the top league of men's football in Iceland. The team plays it home games at Hlíðarendi in Reykjavík. The team's colours are red and white. Valur has spent most of its time in the top-flight of Icelandic football, spending only three seasons outside the top tier. Valur is one of the most successful football clubs in Iceland, with 23 Icelandic championships. It holds the record attendance for a football match in Iceland, with 18,243 spectators in attendance for their match against Benfica in 1968.[1]

Valur participated in the Icelandic men's soccer tournament for the first time in 1915 and won the Icelandic championship for the first time in 1930. In total, it has won the Icelandic championship 23 times, the most recent success being in 2020.[2][3]

In a reshape in the fall of 2022, following a disappointing season, Valur appointed Arnar Grétarsson as manager soon after he was sacked as manager of KA Akureyri, after having notable success as manager in the northern capital the Icelandic giants hope to bring stability to their setup. Along with Arnar Grétarsson Valur appointed Sigurður Höskuldsson former manager of Leiknir Reykjavík as assistant manager.

European competition

Valur first competed in Europe at the 1966–67 European Cup Winners' Cup Preliminary Round, drawing 1–1 with Standard Liège but ultimately losing on aggregate 9–2. Since then, the club has participated in European competition twenty times, never advancing beyond the second round of any tournament.

Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate
1966–67 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Preliminary Round Belgium Standard Liège 1–1 1–8 2–9
1967–68 European Cup First round Luxembourg Jeunesse Esch 1–1 3–3 4–4(a)
Second Round Hungary Vasas 0–6 1–5 1–11
1968–69 European Cup First round Portugal Benfica 0–0 1–8 1–8
1974–75 UEFA Cup First round Northern Ireland Portadown 0–0 1–2 1–2
1975–76 European Cup Winners' Cup First round Scotland Celtic 0–2 0–7 0–9
1977–78 European Cup First round Northern Ireland Glentoran 1–0 0–2 1–2
1978–79 European Cup Winners' Cup First round East Germany 1. FC Magdeburg 1–1 0–4 1–5
1979–80 European Cup First round Germany Hamburg 0–3 1–2 1–5
1981–82 European Cup First round England Aston Villa 0–2 0–5 0–7
1985–86 UEFA Cup First round France Nantes 2–1 0–3 2–4
1986–87 European Cup First round Italy Juventus 0–4 0–7 0–11
1987–88 UEFA Cup First round East Germany Wismut Aue 1–1 0–0 1–1(a)
1988–89 European Cup First round France Monaco 1–0 0–2 1–2
1989–90 European Cup Winners' Cup First round East Germany BFC Dynamo 1–2 1–2 2–4
1991–92 European Cup Winners' Cup First round Switzerland Sion 0–1 1–1 1–2
1992–93 European Cup Winners' Cup First round Portugal Boavista 0–0 0–3 0–3
1993–94 European Cup Winners' Cup Qualifying round Finland MyPa 3–1 1–0 4–1
First round Scotland Aberdeen 0–3 0–4 0–7
2006–07 UEFA Cup First qualifying round Denmark Brøndby IF 0–0 1–3 1–3
2008–09 UEFA Champions League First qualifying round Belarus BATE Borisov 0–1 0–2 0–3
2016–17 UEFA Europa League First qualifying round Denmark Brøndby IF 1–4 0–6 1–10
2017–18 UEFA Europa League First qualifying round Latvia Ventspils 1–0 0–0 1–0
Second qualifying round Slovenia Domžale 1–2 2–3 3–5
2018–19 UEFA Champions League First qualifying round Norway Rosenborg 1–0 1–3 2–3
UEFA Europa League Second qualifying round Andorra FC Santa Coloma 3–0 0–1 3–1
Third qualifying round Moldova Sheriff Tiraspol 2–1 0–1 2–2 (a)
2019–20 UEFA Champions League First qualifying round Slovenia Maribor 0–3 0–2 0–5
UEFA Europa League Second qualifying round Bulgaria Ludogorets Razgrad 1–1 0–4 1–5
2021–22 UEFA Champions League First qualifying round Croatia Dinamo Zagreb 0–2 2–3 2–5
UEFA Europa Conference League Second qualifying round Norway Bodø/Glimt 0–3 0–3 0–6
2024–25 UEFA Conference League First qualifying round

Players

Current squad

As of 12 September 2023

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Iceland ISL Frederik Schram
2 DF Iceland ISL Birkir Már Sævarsson
3 DF Iceland ISL Hlynur Freyr Karlosson
4 DF Iceland ISL Elfar Freyr Helgason
5 MF Iceland ISL Birkir Heimisson
7 MF Iceland ISL Haukur Páll Sigurðsson (captain)
9 FW Denmark DEN Patrick Pedersen
10 MF Iceland ISL Kristinn Freyr Sigurðsson
11 FW Iceland ISL Sigurður Egill Lárusson
12 FW Iceland ISL Tryggvi Hrafn Haraldsson
14 FW Iceland ISL Guðmundur Andri Tryggvason
No. Pos. Nation Player
15 DF Iceland ISL Hólmar Örn Eyjólfsson
17 MF Iceland ISL Lúkas Logi Heimisson
18 MF Iceland ISL Þorsteinn Emil Jónsson
19 MF Iceland ISL Orri Hrafn Kjartansson
20 DF Iceland ISL Orri Sigurður Ómarsson
21 MF Iceland ISL Óliver Steinar Gudmundsson
22 FW United States USA Aron Jóhannsson
23 MF Iceland ISL Adam Ægir Pálsson
25 GK Iceland ISL Sveinn Sigurður Jóhannesson
26 MF Iceland ISL Sigurdur Dagsson
29 MF Iceland ISL Eyþór Örn Eyþórsson
33 DF Iceland ISL Hilmar Starri Hilmasson
77 MF Iceland ISL Bjarmi Kristinsson
99 FW Iceland ISL Andri Rúnar Bjarnason

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— GK Netherlands NED Guy Smit (at ÍBV)
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF Iceland ISL Bjarni Gudjón Brynjólfsson (at Þór Akureyri)

Coaches

Honours

Úrvalsdeild[4]

Icelandic Cup

  • Champions (11): 1965, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2005, 2015, 2016

Icelandic League Cup

Icelandic Super Cup

  • Champions (11): 1977, 1979, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1993, 2006, 2008, 2016, 2017, 2018
  1. ↑ Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the season was cancelled with four games left to play. Valur was awarded the title as the team in first at the time of suspension.

References

  1. ↑ "18.243 spectators in attendance vs. Benfica". Mbl.is. 18 September 1968. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  2. ↑ "Valur er Íslandsmeistari 2020". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 30 October 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  3. ↑ Gunnar Birgisson (31 October 2020). "Nýstárlegar leiðir í fögnuði Íslandsmeistaranna". RÚV (in Icelandic). Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  4. ↑ "Knattspyrnudeild – Titlar" (in Icelandic). valur.is. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
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