Hannes Þór Halldórsson facts for kids

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Hannes Þór Halldórsson

Hannes with Iceland at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Personal information
Full name	Hannes Þór Halldórsson
Date of birth	(1984-04-27) 27 April 1984 (age 41)
Place of birth	Reykjavík, Iceland
Height	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2002–2004	Leiknir R.	3	(0)
2005	Afturelding	18	(0)
2006	Stjarnan	18	(0)
2007–2010	Fram	84	(0)
2011–2013	KR	63	(0)
2012	→ Brann (loan)	1	(0)
2014–2015	Sandnes Ulf	45	(0)
2015–2016	NEC	8	(0)
2016	→ Bodø/Glimt (loan)	14	(0)
2016–2018	Randers	65	(0)
2018–2019	Qarabağ	4	(0)
2019–2021	Valur	58	(0)
2022	Víkingur Reykjavík	0	(0)
Total		381	(0)
International career‡
2011–2021	Iceland	77	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 25 September 2021 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 8 September 2021

Hannes Þór Halldórsson, born on April 27, 1984, is an Icelandic filmmaker and a former professional football player. He was a goalkeeper for the Icelandic national team. Hannes played in 77 games for his country. He also appeared in big tournaments like UEFA Euro 2016 and the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Football Career

Playing in Iceland

Hannes played for several clubs in Iceland. These included Leiknir, Afturelding, Stjarnan, Fram, and KR.

He started playing football with KR when he was just 5 years old. At age 20, Hannes stopped playing due to a shoulder injury. He later returned to the sport, joining Leiknir.

Hannes played for Leiknir when they were in the lower divisions of Icelandic football. He left Leiknir in 2004 after some mistakes in an important game. After that, he joined Afturelding.

Early in his career, Hannes had more shoulder injuries. He also worked hard to improve his kicking skills. In 2006, he joined Stjarnan, which was in the second division.

He then moved to Fram, a top-tier team, in 2007. Hannes had a goal to play for a first-tier team within three years. He also hoped to play football abroad someday.

In 2011, Hannes joined KR. In his first season with KR, his team won both the league and the cup.

Playing Abroad

On March 28, 2012, Hannes went to the Norwegian club SK Brann for a short time. He was on loan to help out when their main goalkeeper was injured.

In December 2013, Hannes joined another Norwegian club, Sandnes Ulf. He had trained with them earlier to get ready for Iceland's World Cup playoff game. In 2014, he became a full-time professional footballer.

On July 6, 2015, the Dutch club NEC announced they had signed Hannes. He signed a two-year contract with them.

Then, on July 15, 2016, the Danish club Randers FC signed Hannes. He agreed to a three-year contract.

On July 3, 2018, Hannes signed a two-year contract with Qarabağ FK in Azerbaijan. However, he left Qarabağ on April 5, 2019. At that time, he had become the third-choice goalkeeper for the team.

Returning to Iceland

On April 9, 2019, Hannes signed a four-year contract with the Icelandic club Valur. He said he returned to Iceland for family reasons and because of the long contract. He left Valur on November 11, 2021.

On March 16, 2022, Hannes announced he was retiring from professional football.

In June 2022, Hannes agreed to join Víkingur Reykjavík. He joined as a backup goalkeeper because their main goalkeepers were injured.

International Matches

Hannes saving Lionel Messi's penalty at the FIFA World Cup 2018

Hannes first played for the Icelandic national team in 2011. In his first game, a Euro 2012 qualifier against Cyprus, he did not let any goals in. He played in all 12 World Cup qualifying games for Iceland in 2014. This made him the team's main goalkeeper.

Hannes was chosen for UEFA Euro 2016, which was Iceland's first time in a major international football tournament. He played his first European Championship game against Portugal. That game ended in a 1–1 draw. Iceland made it to the knockout stage of the tournament.

In May 2018, Hannes was picked for Iceland's team for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. On June 16, 2018, Hannes saved a penalty kick from Argentina's famous player, Lionel Messi. This happened in Iceland's first World Cup match, which ended in a 1–1 tie. Hannes was named the best player of that match.

On September 8, 2021, Hannes announced he was retiring from the national team. This was after his 77th game for Iceland.

Life Outside Football

Hannes has also worked as a film director when he was not playing football. He directed Iceland's music video for the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest. His former employer, Sagafilm, promised him his job back after his football career abroad.

Hannes directed a 2018 World Cup advertisement for Coca-Cola. He also directed his first movie, Cop Secret. In 2022, he directed an advertisement for N1 for the UEFA Women's Euro 2022. This ad featured footballer Glódís Perla Viggósdóttir.

Career Statistics

International Games

See also

In Spanish: Hannes Þór Halldórsson para niños