Eidur Gudjohnsen needs 'day-to-day football'
Eidur Gudjohnsen has revealed that he is not yet match fit as he missed out on a pre-season training program while he was looking for a club over the summer.
The 31-year-old — who was not included in Iceland’s squad for their UEFA 2012 European Football Championship qualifying matches as he sought new employers — joined English Premier League outfit Stoke City this week after leaving French Ligue 1 outfit Monaco.
However, training on his own and taking so long to find a new club meant that he did not keep his fitness levels up and is desperate to get back into the swing of things.
Gudjohnsen told the BBC Radio Stoke that: “I just need football, to play games and get as many minutes under my belt as quickly as possible. You can only do so much on your own. I have done a lot of individual training so I don't just walk in the door completely out of shape. It's more just getting into the day-to-day football training again which I need and playing games to reach my best level again."
Time to sharpen up
With the domestic game currently taking a break while international fixtures take place, the forward has over a week to sharpen up ahead of Stoke’s next match, against Aston Villa on 13 September.
Gudjohnsen started his career with teams in his hometown of Reykjavik, with a spell at PSV Eindhoven in between. In 1998, he joined EPL side Bolton Wanderers. In two seasons there, he played 70 games in the league and FA Cup and scored 26 goals.
In the summer of 2000, Gudjohnsen was signed by Chelsea for a fee of four million pounds and went on to win two EPL titles, two FA Community Shields and a Football League Cup during his time at Stamford Bridge.
His impressive form at Chelsea brought the attentions of Barcelona, who snapped him up in 2006. With the Catalan giants, he won a league title, the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and Copa del Rey as well as enjoying two Supercopa de Espana triumphs.
Gudjohnsen has also won 61 caps for Iceland and is his country’s all-time leading goalscorer with 24 goals.
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