The Icelandic Invasion in Copenhagen by Arnar Laufdal

The Icelandic Invasion in Copenhagen by Arnar Laufdal

Icelandic players were very popular in FC Copenhagen and played with a good reputation in the early and mid 2010´s when the players from the Icelandic golden generation with players like Rúrik Gíslason, Sölvi Ottesen and Ragnar Sigurðsson.

Now there is a new Icelandic invasion in Copenhagen where there are currently five Icelandic players at the club, three in the first team, one in the U-19´s and one joining them when the summer transfer windows opens. This new invasion started in the fall of 2020 when Hákon Haraldsson and Orri Óskarsson came in to the U-17 team. Hákon Haraldsson (2003) came from ÍA in Iceland, one of the most decorated team in the history of Icelandic football but he never made a first team appearance in Iceland when he left for Copenhagen which is understandable as he was only 16 when he left. Orri Óskarsson (2004) was a more known prospect when he joined FCK as he made a lot of noise in the lower divisions. Orri was only 13 years old when he scored his first senior team goals when he scored two goals in the summer of 2018 for the third division team Grótta in a 5-0 victory. He played three games that summer scoring 3 goals, pretty decent for a 13 year old, next season he kept making noise when he was making consistent appearances for the promoted team Grótta who got back to back promotions to the top tier division in Iceland, Orri made 12 appearances in the summer of 2019 scoring 1 goal in the last game of the season, only 15 years old. Later that night when Grótta clinched a spot in the top tier division it was made public (by myself) that Orri was joining FCK, after he was being linked to Arsenal as well. A fun fact, Orri´s sister is actually in a relationship with the ´Head Of Scouting´ Mikkel Kohler at FCK. A small world we live in.

Hákon and Orri have been magnificent since joining FCK in the fall of 2020 being the key players for the U-17 and U-19 teams with also Hákon being promoted as a first team player for FCK and Orri making a huge case as well for being promoted to the first team as he´s scoring goals for fun with the U-19 team, scoring 27 goals in 22 games while giving 5 assists as well. Orri has now broken the record for goals scored with the U-19 team which was previously held by the prolific striker Jonas Wind who was recently sold to Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga for 12 million euros.

With the additions of Hákon and Orri, later came Ísak Bergmann Jóhannesson (2003) who was linked to many of the biggest clubs in Europe as Liverpool, Real Madrid, Man United and Juventus were all interested to sign this versatile youngster. Ísak went from his boyhood club ÍA to Norrköping in 2019 where he did a fantastic job, making 51 appearances scoring 7 goals and giving 16 assists which is ridiculous for such a young player, playing in the top division in swedish football. Understandably these top clubs were interested in Ísak but in the end he chose to sign with FCK as he was bought from Norrköping for 4.5 million euros in the summer of 2021.

On deadline day this summer came the 4th Icelandic player, Andri Fannar Baldursson (2002) but he came on loan from the Italian club, Bologna with an option to buy. Andri played 16 games for Bologna before going to FCK. I personally have not seen as much from Andri as I´ve liked but I was blown away when Andri was the best player for the Icelandic U-21´s team in a game against France in the U-21 European Championship where Andri was magnificent going against fellow midfielders like M. Guendouzi, Eduardo Camavinga and A. Tchouameni. Since arriving in Copenhagen, luck has not been on Andri´s side as he´s been very unlucky with injuries. When Jess Thorup the first team coach gave Andri a chance on the big stage in a home game against PAOK in the European Conference League, Kamil Grabara the goalkeeper of FCK got sent off after 9 minutes and the game obviously got affected by this, unfortunately for Andri where this was the game he was going to show J. Thorup he means business. Andri has shown he has the quality to play at this high level but I think patience and determination will get Andri to the level he wants and should be playing at.

Now onto the 5th and final Icelandic player, Galdur ´Magic´ Guðmundsson (2006) a 16 year old forward who was recently bought for around 300th pounds from Breiðablik which is known for producing players like Gylfi Sigurdsson (Everton), Jóhann Gudmundsson (Burnley), Alfred Finnbogason (Augsburg), Kristian Hlynsson (Ajax) and of course Andri Baldursson (FCK) to name only a few. Galdur made his first team debut at only 15 years old last season and has recently made 2 appearances with Breiðablik. Galdur is a player who is technically very good with a lot of flair and has a physical advantage over his fellow 16 year olds. In my opinion he is the best prospect born in 2006 in Icelandic football and if he plays his cards right I think he could be a first team player in a couple of years as FCK have shown they are not afraid of giving their young players a important role for example players like Mo Daramy, Roony Bardghji, Viktor Kristiansen and the list goes on and on. It would definitely not surprise me in a year or two you could see a FCK first 11 involving all these Icelandic players as Ísak and Hákon are first team players and Orri knocking on the door, with Galdur coming through and hopefully Andri making a comeback to the team.