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Eidur Gudjohnsen insists the old magic has not deserted him as he aims to make the best of a career reprieve with Wanderers.
The Icelander nearly hung up his boots for good in the summer after finishing with Belgian club FC Brugge but was spurred on to extend his playing days after an enticing offer for one final hurrah with his first English club.
Gudjohnsen’s name has already been sung from the Macron terraces for weeks now as news of his return spread.
But the 36-year-old is not here for sentimentality and now wants to add a successful promotion to two previous misses in a Wanderers shirt more than a decade ago.
“It is very flattering and it is great when you feel so welcome. I just hope I can live up to all the expectation,” he told The Bolton News.
“People will realise the last time I was here I was a young boy with fresh legs. Now they will see a more developed player, playing more on experience and knowledge than the freshness or the instinct of a young boy.
“I am not too worried. It is all about getting up to the same fitness levels as everyone else. I am sure there is a bit of magic still in there.”
Gudjohnsen says he is still “20 to 25 per cent” away from full match fitness but is ready to go if called upon for this weekend’s home clash with high-flying Ipswich Town – ironically the last club he faced in Bolton colours.
With a Champions League winners’ medal and four league titles already on his mantelpiece, it would have been easy for the former Barcelona and Chelsea striker to put his feet up and admire his success.
But despite considering retirement, he says the chance of a fresh start at Wanderers had whet his appetite.
“What tempted me back? Pure love for the game,” he said. “It was touch and go. In my mind I was never fully retired because I didn’t miss two consecutive training days whether it was doing something by myself, with a fitness coach or joining in training with a team in Iceland.
“That showed me maybe mentally and physically I wasn’t ready to retire.
“Then this came up well into the season. I met Neil Lennon and we had a chat of how we saw things.
“It is a very pleasant surprise. The decision to come here is first and foremost football, I want to help the team as much as I can and bring as much as I can. I still feel I can play at a good level. I am injury free and I love the day to day feeling of going training.
“In the end it was an easy decision.”
Source
The Icelander nearly hung up his boots for good in the summer after finishing with Belgian club FC Brugge but was spurred on to extend his playing days after an enticing offer for one final hurrah with his first English club.
Gudjohnsen’s name has already been sung from the Macron terraces for weeks now as news of his return spread.
But the 36-year-old is not here for sentimentality and now wants to add a successful promotion to two previous misses in a Wanderers shirt more than a decade ago.
“It is very flattering and it is great when you feel so welcome. I just hope I can live up to all the expectation,” he told The Bolton News.
“People will realise the last time I was here I was a young boy with fresh legs. Now they will see a more developed player, playing more on experience and knowledge than the freshness or the instinct of a young boy.
“I am not too worried. It is all about getting up to the same fitness levels as everyone else. I am sure there is a bit of magic still in there.”
Gudjohnsen says he is still “20 to 25 per cent” away from full match fitness but is ready to go if called upon for this weekend’s home clash with high-flying Ipswich Town – ironically the last club he faced in Bolton colours.
With a Champions League winners’ medal and four league titles already on his mantelpiece, it would have been easy for the former Barcelona and Chelsea striker to put his feet up and admire his success.
But despite considering retirement, he says the chance of a fresh start at Wanderers had whet his appetite.
“What tempted me back? Pure love for the game,” he said. “It was touch and go. In my mind I was never fully retired because I didn’t miss two consecutive training days whether it was doing something by myself, with a fitness coach or joining in training with a team in Iceland.
“That showed me maybe mentally and physically I wasn’t ready to retire.
“Then this came up well into the season. I met Neil Lennon and we had a chat of how we saw things.
“It is a very pleasant surprise. The decision to come here is first and foremost football, I want to help the team as much as I can and bring as much as I can. I still feel I can play at a good level. I am injury free and I love the day to day feeling of going training.
“In the end it was an easy decision.”
Source
