Hákon Rafn Valdimarsson (born 13 October 2001) is an Icelandic professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Brentford and the Iceland national team.[2]

Hákon Valdimarsson
Hákon playing for IF Elfsborg in 2023
Personal information
Full name Hákon Rafn Valdimarsson
Date of birth (2001-10-13) 13 October 2001 (age 23)
Place of birth Iceland
Height 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)[1]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
Brentford
Number 12
Youth career
0000–2014 KR
2015–2017 Grótta
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2021 Grótta 65 (0)
2021–2024 IF Elfsborg 48 (0)
2024– Brentford 0 (0)
International career
2018 Iceland U18 1 (0)
2019 Iceland U19 1 (0)
2021–2022 Iceland U21 8 (0)
2022– Iceland 15 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 1 June 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 14 October 2024

Handball

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Hákon Valdimarsson played handball in Reykjavík for Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur. He played as an outfield player. [3]

Club career

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After playing for their handball team, Valdimarsson joined the Under 19 football team when they needed a goalkeeper. He played with them for a while, until the first team needed a second goalkeeper.[3]

Grótta

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Valdimarsson joined Grótta in 2015. After playing as an outfield player for the youth sides of KR, he first played as a goalkeeper after his switch to Grótta in 2015, appearing as an outfield player for Grótta's youth sides as late as 2017.[4] He made his senior debut in the last game of the 2017 1. deild season as an already relegated Grótta lost 2–1 to Leiknir Reykjavík.[5] Hákon then played in 15 out of 22 games in the 2018 2. deild as Grótta placed second and were promoted back to 1. deild. In the 2019 season, Hákon played in all 22 matches as Grótta became champions and were promoted to the top tier Úrvalsdeild for the first time.[6] In 2020 he played all 18 matches as Grótta were relegated back to the 1. deild. It was announced on the 30 April 2021 that Hákon had signed with Allsvenskan team IF Elfsborg and that Hákon would join them in the summer.[7] Hákon played nine matches for Grótta in the first half of the 2021 season before joining Elfsborg in July.

IF Elfsborg

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It was announced on the 30 April 2021 that Hákon had signed with Allsvenskan team IF Elfsborg and that Hákon would join them in the summer, Hákon then joined formally in July.[7][8] Hákon made his Allsvenskan debut for Elfsborg in a 1–0 win against IFK Göteborg on 1 October 2021 and proceeded to play in the next four matches.[9] Hákon was on the bench for the first half of the 2022 season, before he was given a chance to start in a 1–0 loss against Kalmar FF on 24 July 2022. The following game he was on the bench but a second start of the season in a 1–1 draw against Mjällby AIF saw him cement his place as the starting goalkeeper for IF Elfsborg. Hákon started all but one game in the 2023 season, being sent off in the 29th minute of a 1–0 loss to IFK Värnamo on 2 September 2023. Hákon conceded 22 goals in 29 league appearances, keeping 14 clean sheets. At the end of the season, Hákon was given the Allsvenskan goalkeeper of the year award.[10]

Brentford

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On 26 January 2024, Hákon signed a contract until June 2028 with Premier League club Brentford, for a reported £2.6 million transfer fee.[11][12]

International career

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Hákon has featured for the U-18, U-19 and U-21 Iceland youth teams, debuting in 2018, 2019 and 2021 respectively.[4] On 12 November 2021 Hákon received his first call-up to the senior squad when Patrik Gunnarsson had to withdraw through injury.[13]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 12 November 2023[9][1][4]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Grótta 2017 1. deild 1 0 0 0 2 0 3 0
2018 2. deild 15 0 0 0 3 0 18 0
2019 1. deild 22 0 3 0 3 0 28 0
2020 Úrvalsdeild 18 0 2 0 3 0 23 0
2021 1. deild 9 0 0 0 3 0 12 0
Total 65 0 5 0 14 0 0 0 84 0
IF Elfsborg 2021 Allsvenskan 5 0 5 0
2022 Allsvenskan 14 0 5 0 19 0
2023 Allsvenskan 29 0 29 0
Total 48 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 53 0
Brentford 2023–24 Premier League 0 0 0 0
Career total 84 0 5 0 14 0 0 0 137 0

Honours

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Grótta

Allsvenskan

  • Goalkeeper of the season, 2023 (for Elfsborg) [15]

References

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  1. ^ a b Hákon Valdimarsson at Soccerway. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  2. ^ "BRENTFORD SIGN ICELAND GOALKEEPER VALDIMARSSON". Brentford FC. 26 Jan 2024.
  3. ^ a b "HANDBALL TO FOOTBALL: NEW BRENTFORD SIGNING HÁKON VALDIMARSSON'S UNORTHODOX PATH TO THE PREMIER LEAGUE". Brentford FC. 26 Jan 2024.
  4. ^ a b c "Leikmaður - Hákon Rafn Valdimarsson". www.ksi.is (in Icelandic). KSÍ. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  5. ^ "Leikskýrsla: Leiknir R. - Grótta - Knattspyrnusamband Íslands". www.ksi.is (in Icelandic). KSÍ. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  6. ^ "Grótta í úrvalsdeildina eftir ótrúlegt sumar". RÚV (in Icelandic). RÚV. 21 September 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  7. ^ a b Sæmundsson, Ingvi Þór. "Elfsborg krækir í Hákon Rafn - Vísir". visir.is (in Icelandic). Vísir. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  8. ^ "Tveir efnilegir Íslendingar kynntir hjá nýjum félögum". RÚV (in Icelandic). RÚV. 16 July 2021. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  9. ^ a b "Hakon Rafn Valdimarsson | Football Stats | Elfsborg Boras | Age 20 | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  10. ^ "Spelare från Malmö FF och IF Elfsborg dominerade på Allsvenskans Stora Pris - Allsvenskan". allsvenskan.se (in Swedish). 2023-11-14. Retrieved 2023-12-08.
  11. ^ "Brentford sign Iceland Goalkeeper Valdimarsson". Brentford F.C. 26 January 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  12. ^ Smith, Dom (24 January 2024). "Brentford agree £2.6m deal for new goalkeeper with medical today". Evening Standard. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  13. ^ "Hákon Rafn kallaður inn í A-landsliðið". RÚV (in Icelandic). RÚV. 12 November 2021. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  14. ^ "Íslandsmót - Inkasso-deild karla - 2019". www.ksi.is (in Icelandic). KSÍ. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  15. ^ Hákon Rafn besti markvörður sænsku deildarinnar Rúv, 20 November, 2023
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