Gudjon Thordarson Dies Aged 71: Former Stoke City and Iceland Manager

Updated 15 Nov 2026, 11:11 · First published 15 Nov 2026

Gudjon Thordarson, the former Iceland and Stoke City manager who led the Potters to promotion in 2002, has died aged 71. His former clubs and the Football Association of Iceland confirmed the news on Saturday.

A Stoke City favourite

Thordarson joined Stoke in 1999 and won the Auto Windscreens Shield, now the Football League Trophy, within months. In 2001-02 he led the club to promotion from the old Second Division through the play-offs.

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He managed Stoke in more than 150 games over three and a half years. Stoke City said they were “deeply saddened” by the news.

Iceland and beyond

A defender in his playing days, Thordarson spent his whole career at his hometown club IA Akranes and won one cap for Iceland in 1985. He later managed Akranes and took charge of the Iceland national team in 1997.

After Stoke, he had spells in charge of Barnsley, Notts County and Crewe. In 2024 he revealed he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

Sources: Stoke City FC, Football Association of Iceland.