Hólmar Örn Eyjólfsson (born 6 August 1990) is an Icelandic footballer who plays as a centre-back for Úrvalsdeild karla club Valur and the Iceland national team. He is the son of Eyjólfur Sverrisson, former Iceland international and manager.
Club career Handknattleiksfélag Kópavogs Born in Sauðárkrókur, Iceland, Eyjólfsson moved to Stuttgart, German when his father played for Stuttgart, where during his three years stay in the country, he spoke a little German. After returning to Iceland, Eyjólfsson first joined FC Tindastóll when he was five years old. When Eyjólfsson was seven years old, his family moved to Kópavogur and then joined HK when he was ten years old, starting out his professional football career. There, he began his career at and began taking football seriously.
After progressing through the ranks at the club, Eyjólfsson finally made his Handknattleiksfélag Kópavogs debut on 13 May 2007 against Víkingur when he was sixteen years old and started the whole the game to help the club keep a clean sheet, in a 0–0 draw. After making his Handknattleiksfélag Kópavogs debut, Eyjólfsson signed a contract extension with the club. Following this, he received a handful of first team football, playing in the centre–back position despite being suspended on three occasions for picking up a total of six yellow cards. His performance led German clubs, such as, Hertha BSC and Bayern Munich, who both offered him a trial, but Eyjólfsson ended up staying at Handknattleiksfélag Kópavogs. At the end of the 2007 season, he went on to finish his first season, making twelve appearances in all competitions and helped the club finish ninth place, just two points away from relegation. For his performance, Eyjólfsson was named Handknattleiksfélag Kópavogs’ most promising player of the year at the club's ceremony.
Ahead of the 2008 season, Eyjólfsson signed a contract extension with Handknattleiksfélag Kópavogs, keeping him until 2009. He continued to establish himself in the first team, playing in the centre–back position despite missing a total of four matches in the first half of the season. Eyjólfsson made his last appearance for the club came on 23 June 2008 against Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur, which saw Handknattleiksfélag Kópavogs lost 3–0. By the time he departed from the club, Eyjólfsson made eight appearances in all competitions.
West Ham United Eyjólfsson signed for Premier League side West Ham United on 6 July 2008 from Icelandic team HK, where he previously made 19 first team appearances. Eyjólfsson previously went on trial with the club earlier this year.
After missing out due to an injury, he appeared in West Ham United's friendly matches throughout the club's pre–season tour. His performance in the pre-season at West Ham United was praised, which according to the club's website, they wrote "that the Icelander had a great game and never got into trouble against the opposition team's forwards". Throughout the 2008–09 season at West Ham United, Eyjólfsson never played a single match in the first team and mostly spent his time, playing for the club's reserve side.
Despite being loaned out twice during the 2009–10 season, Eyjólfsson was featured five times for West Ham United's reserve side and was captain at one point. Following the end of the 2009–10 season, he returned to the club's reserve side and continued to remain involved in a number of matches, but suffered an injury along the way through the 2010–11 season. On 16 April 2011, he announced his intention to leave West Ham United when his contract ran out without having played a first-team game for the club. His departure from West Ham United was confirmed on 17 May 2011 when the club would not be renewing his contract. Eyjólfsson later spoke about his time at West Ham United, saying: "I lacked perspective in England. I saw no way to get as much time at West Ham as I would like. And especially at my age, it is important to be able to develop further."
Loan spells from West Ham United On 1 October 2009, Eyjólfsson signed on loan for EFL League Two side Cheltenham Town on a one-month loan. Two days later on 3 October 2009, he made his full debut for the club, in a 1–1 home draw against Notts County. He returned to his parent club in November 2009 having made four appearances for Cheltenham Town.
On 9 January 2010, Eyjólfsson joined Belgian Roeselare on loan, until the end of the season. Upon joining the club, he joined Roeselare to get more playing time and to make him more stronger. Eyjólfsson made his Roeselare debut on 16 January 2010, starting the whole game, in a 2–1 loss against Mechelen. Since joining the club, he quickly established himself in the first team, playing in the centre–back position. After suffering from a minor ailments, Eyjólfsson returned to the starting line–up against K.V.S.K. United in the league's relegation play–offs and set up a goal for Nikita Rukavytsya, in a 2–1 win. However, he was unable to prevent the Roeselare's relegation to the Belgian Second Division. At the end of the 2009–10 season, Eyjólfsson went on to make sixteen appearances in all competitions for the club. For his performance, he was named one of the five best players by the club despite only appearing in the second half of the season. Following this, Eyjólfsson returned to his parent club.
VfL Bochum Eyjólfsson signed for German 2. Bundesliga team, Bochum, on 27 June 2011, signing a three-year contract, keeping him until 2014. Upon joining the club, the club's sports director Jens Todt commented on his move, quoting: "Holmar is a tough teamplayer who wants to get through like his father in Germany". He later said that his father advised him to move to Germany, citing "its football is played very seriously here."
However, weeks after joining the club, Eyjólfsson suffered an injury that kept him out for two months after undergoing surgery. After returning from injury late–September, he spent the next two months on the substitute bench and only played three times on the reserve side. Eyjólfsson made his debut for Bochum, coming on as a late substitute for Marcel Maltritz, in a 6–0 win over Erzgebirge Aue on 4 December 2011. His next appearance came against Hansa Rostock on 5 February 2012 when he made his first start and set up a goal for Nikoloz Gelashvili, who scored a winning goal, in a 2–1 win. Having started out on the substitute bench since returning from injury, Eyjólfsson was given a handful of first team appearances for the rest of the 2011–12 season. At the end of the 2011–12 season, he went on to make eleven appearances in all competitions.
At the start of the 2012–13 season, Eyjólfsson found himself in and out of the starting line–up for VfL Bochum. As a result, he appeared three times in the club's reserve side. However, in a match against Dynamo Dresden on 8 December 2012, Eyjólfsson was sent-off for a straight red card for kicking Lynel Kitambala in the 35th minute, in a 3–0 win. After the match, it was announced that he would be serving a three match suspension. Amid to the suspension, Eyjólfsson was expected to be loaned out for the rest of the season, due to lack of playing time at VfL Bochum, but he ended up staying at the club. After serving a three match suspension, he returned to the starting line–up against 1860 Munich on 15 February 2013 but was sent-off for a straight red card in the 17th minute, in a 1–0 win. Shortly after, Eyjólfsson had his suspension overturned, allowing him to let him play the next match. During a 2–1 loss against FC Ingolstadt 04 on 10 March 2013, he suffered a concussion after a collision and was substituted in the 45th minute. But Eyjólfsson was able to make a quick recovery and cleared to start in the next match. Following this, he started in the next six matches but was at fault for conceding goals that saw VfL Bochum lose four consecutive matches between 10 March 2013 and 5 April 2013. After recovering from a muscular problems, Eyjólfsson was dropped to the substitute bench in the club's remaining matches of the 2012–13 season, though he came on as a substitute for a match against 1. FC Köln on 4 May 2013. At the end of the 2012–13 season, Eyjólfsson finished his second season at VfL Bochum, making nineteen appearances in all competitions.
At the start of the 2013–14 season, Eyjólfsson found his playing time, mostly coming from the substitute bench, due to facing new competitions, as well as, his own injury concern. As a result, he continued to feature for the club's reserve side, appearing three times. Following the absence of regular right–back, Paul Freier, Eyjólfsson was called up for his replacement and started in a number of matches, playing in the right–back position. He then played a role in a match against St. Pauli on 15 February 2014 by scoring only goal of the game and helping Bochum keeping a clean sheet, in a 1–0 win. However, Eyjólfsson was soon dropped from the starting line–up and found his playing time, coming from the substitute bench. Despite this, he started the whole game, in a 1–0 win over Karlsruher SC on 11 May 2014, a win that saw the club promoted to Bundesliga next season. At the end of the 2013–14 season, Eyjólfsson made nineteen appearances and scoring once in all competitions. Following this, he was released by Bochum after a three-year spell at the club.
Rosenborg On 11 August 2014, Eyjólfsson joined Norwegian side Rosenborg, signing a one-year contract with the club, with an option of extending for two years. He was previously linked with a move to Swedish side Helsingborg before having a medical at Rosenberg.
Eyjólfsson made his Rosenberg debut on 24 August 2014, coming as a late substitute, in a 2–0 win over Sarpsborg 08. Following this, he quickly established himself in the first team, forming a centre–back partnership with Tore Reginiussen for the rest of the 2014 season. Eyjólfsson then scored his first goal for the club on 28 September 2014, in a 3–0 win over Aalesunds. His performance led Reginiussen praising him, saying: "It has worked well. Hólmar is good at talking and good at taking responsibility. He is simply a very good player who is easy to play with." Eyjólfsson helped Rosenberg finish second place in the league, as he made ten appearances and scoring once in all competitions.