Stefan Thordarson comes from a remarkable footballing family.
The Preston North End midfielder is the tenth member of his family to represent his country internationally.
Ahead of Sunday`s game against Premier League giants Aston Villa, he said: “In our family, football starts from birth!”.
“It feels like almost all my relatives have played for Iceland!”.
Thordarson, 26, has earned 28 caps for the national team, including playing in the 1-0 victory over England at Wembley last June.
His father Thordur, uncle Stefan (who played for Stoke), great-uncles Olafur and Teitur, and great-grandfather Thordur have also represented their homeland.
Going further back in his lineage, he is related to former Iceland star Petur Petursson, who played for Feyenoord, Anderlecht and Royal Antwerp.
Through his great-grandmother, he is also related to Arni Sveinsson, Sveinn Teitsson and Sigursteinn Gislason — all of whom were capped by their country.
His older brother Thordur Thorsteinn Thordarson is a professional footballer who has played in Iceland`s top flight, while his cousin Oliver Stefansson currently plays for Swedish team IFK Norrkoping.
“I’m fortunate to have a family who know what I’m going through as a footballer and they’ve been a major help,” Thordarson said.
“The main one is my dad, who played as a goalkeeper back home but had two years in Sweden too at IFK Norrkoping.”
“And then there’s my uncle Stefan — who I’m named after. He was a striker with Stoke between 2000-02.”
“My middle name is Teitur, which I get from my great-uncle. He played for Lens and Cannes in France.”
“He was a great goalscorer and in the 1981-82 season he got 19 for Lens, which was only three behind Les Bleus legend Michel Platini, who was playing for Saint-Etienne that year.”
“Teitur was the Estonia national team coach and managed a lot of teams in Norway and Iceland as well as Vancouver Whitecaps in Canada. I look up to him a lot.”
“Then going further back there’s my great-grandfather Thordur, who was in the Iceland team for their first-ever competitive match, against France, when we were allowed to enter the qualifying stages for the 1958 World Cup.”
Thordur also scored against an amateur England side in 1956 — classed as a B international as Iceland were not professionals at the time.
Thordarson added: “I’m lucky to have all these role models. I’m always talking to dad and my uncle who played for Stoke.”
“Once or twice a year I meet my great-uncles too. Everyone has always been a huge help in my career.”
Thordarson is the third player in Preston history to come from Iceland and specifically from Akranes on the west coast.
The town is a 30-minute drive from Reykjavik and has also produced North End midfielder Bjarki Gunnlaugsson (1999-2002) and striker Thordur Gudjonsson (2002).
Akranes, with a population of 8,452, has also produced Joey Gudjonsson and Bjorn Bergmann Sigurdarson.
Current Iceland head coach Arnar Gunnlaugsson, who played for Bolton, Leicester and Stoke, is also from the town.
Thordarson said: “There cannot be many places in the world that have produced so many pro footballers from such a small population.”
“When you’re brought up, it’s all about football. Our hometown team won everything in the 1980s and early 1990s.”
His role model growing up was Iceland’s most famous player — Eidur Gudjohnsen.
Thordarson was inspired when Gudjohnsen was his Under-21s coach.
He said: “Eidur was a huge inspiration. To come from Iceland and play for Barcelona alongside Messi, Ronaldinho, Xavi and Deco was amazing.”
“It was such a great honour to play for him.”
Thordarson aims to reach the Premier League, saying: “That’s why I moved to England. That has always been my dream.”
Growing up, he watched English football and supported Arsenal, idolizing Thierry Henry, Robert Pires and Cesc Fabregas.
The Preston star revealed: “I had an English coach back home called Dean Martin.”
“He still lives in Iceland but is from London and is a big Arsenal fan. He got some of us to be Gooners too.”
“It was during the Invincibles era. The way that team played under Arsene Wenger — and Cesc? Wow.”
“The way he was and how he moved on the field with his upbringing from Barcelona. It was a joy to watch.”
After playing for his local club, Thordarson moved to Denmark and played four seasons for Silkeborg.
In the 2022-23 season, he played against West Ham in the Conference League group stage.
Thordarson joined Preston last July and has become a fan favorite.
He said: “It’s been an eventful first season. We lost manager Ryan Lowe, who signed me, after just one game.”
“We had a good Carabao Cup run by beating Fulham 16-15 on penalties and I got to play Arsenal.”
“Despite the 3-0 loss, that was a great experience.”
“And now we’re in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. Beating Burnley 3-0 in the last round was one of the best atmospheres I’ve ever played in.”
