Axel Óskar Andrésson (born 27 January 1998) is an Icelandic professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for Afturelding.

Club career

Axel started his career in the youth team of local side

Ungmennafélagið Afturelding Ungmennafélagið Afturelding (, ), commonly known as Afturelding or UMFA, is a professional Icelandic multi-sports club from the town of Mosfellsbær located just north of the capital Reykjavík. The club was founded in 1909 and today is prima ...

before he was promoted to the first team at only the age of sixteen, going on to represent the side eleven times in the 2014 2. deild karla season. After impressing for Afturelding he was invited for a trial in England for the youth team at

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

Reading

In July 2014, Axel joined Reading permanently, signing a two-year scholarship with the club. In July 2016 he graduated from the under-18 side having already committed to signing his first professional contract with the club. Having moved up to the under-23 squad, Axel was sent out on loan to gain some first team experience at

National League South The National League South, officially Vanarama National League South, is a professional Association football league in England. National League South is the second division of the National League (English football), National Leagues and step ...

side

Bath City Bath City Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Bath, Somerset, England. The club is affiliated to the Somerset FA and currently competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. Nicknamed the "R ...

in November 2016. Axel impressed during his time with the Romans scoring five goals from defence, and was even promoted to captain despite only being aged nineteen. He went on to make a total of eighteen appearances for Bath in all competitions. He was promoted to the first team upon his return to Reading in the summer of 2017, and made his professional and first team debut in the

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

win over Gillingham on 8 August. On 6 December 2017, Axel joined

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...

on a one-month youth loan deal until 6 January 2018. On 15 August 2018, Axel signed a new contract with Reading, until the summer of 2020, and then immediately joined Norwegian

1. divisjon The Norwegian First Division, also called 1. divisjon () and OBOS-ligaen (due to sponsoring ties with OBOS), is the second-highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Each year, the top finishing teams in the 1. divisjon are promo ...

club

Viking FK Viking Fotballklubb, commonly known as Viking or Viking Stavanger internationally, is a Norwegian professional football club from the city of Stavanger. The club was founded in 1899. It is one of the most successful clubs in Norwegian football, ...

on loan until the end of their 2018 season.

Viking

On 21 December 2018,

announced the signing of Axel on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee. During the opening game of the

2019 season Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * '' Dici ...

on 31 March against

Kristiansund Kristiansund (, ; historically spelled Christianssund and earlier named Fosna) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality on the western coast of Norway in the Nordmøre district of Møre og Romsdal counties of Norway, county. The admin ...

, Axel suffered a season-ending knee ligament injury.

Riga FC

On 8 February 2021, Axel signed for Latvian club

Riga FC Riga Football Club, commonly referred to as Riga FC, is a Latvian Association football, football club, founded in 2014. The club is based at the Skonto Stadium in Riga. Since 2016 Latvian Higher League, 2016, the club has been playing in the Latv ...

. On 25 March 2022, Axel and Riga terminated their contract by mutual agreement.

Örebro

On 25 March 2022,

Örebro Örebro ( ; ) is the seventh-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Örebro Municipality, and capital of Örebro County. It is situated by the Närke Plain, near the lake Hjälmaren, a few kilometers inland along the small river Svartån, and ...

announced the singing of Axel to a three-year contract.

KR

On 8 March 2024, Axel signed a three-year deal with KR.

Afturelding

On 7 December 2024, Afturelding announced the signing of Axel and his brother Jökull.

International career

Axel has represented Iceland at under-17, under-19 and under-21 level. In December 2018, Axel got his first call-up for the

Iceland national football team The Iceland national football team () represents Iceland in men's international Association football, football. The team is controlled by the Football Association of Iceland, and have been a FIFA member since 1947 and a UEFA member since 1957. ...

. He made his debut for the squad on 11 January 2019 in a friendly against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, as a 70th-minute substitute for

Eiður Sigurbjörnsson Eiður Aron Sigurbjörnsson (born 26 February 1990) is an Icelandic footballer who plays as a defender for Vestri. In May 2017 he signed a 2.5 year contract for Valur. Career In November 2015, Eiður signed for German 3. Liga side Holstein K ...

Personal life

Axel is the son of

Andrés Guðmundsson Andrés Guðmundsson (born 17 April 1965) is an Icelandic Strongman and Highland Games competitor. He held the titles of the World Strongman Challenge and the European Hercules. He was also renowned for his prowess with the legendary Húsafel ...

, a former international

strongman Strongman is a competitive strength sport which tests athletes' physical strength and endurance through a variety of heavy lifts and events. Strongman competitions are known for their intensity, pushing athletes to their physical and mental limit ...

competitor and former holder of the

World Strongman Challenge The World Strongman Challenge was one of the most enduring annual strongmen competitions, running in various guises for twenty years, with only two years break. In that time it attained the position of one of the most prestigious strongman contest ...

title. His younger brother is

Jökull Andrésson Jökull Andrésson (born 25 August 2001) is an Icelandic professional association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Ungmennafélagið Afturelding, Afturelding. Andrésson has also appeared for ...

, who is also contracted to Reading.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Viking FK *

: 2018 2018 Viking FK season#Table

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Andresson, Axel Óskar 1998 births Living people Axel Oskar Andresson Axel Oskar Andresson Men's association football defenders Axel Oskar Andresson Axel Oskar Andresson Axel Oskar Andresson Axel Oskar Andresson Bath City F.C. players Reading F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Viking FK players Riga FC players Örebro SK players Axel Oskar Andresson National League (English football) players Norwegian First Division players Eliteserien players Latvian Higher League players Superettan players Axel Oskar Andresson Axel Oskar Andresson Expatriate men's footballers in England Axel Oskar Andresson Expatriate men's footballers in Norway Axel Oskar Andresson Expatriate men's footballers in Latvia Axel Oskar Andresson Expatriate men's footballers in Sweden Axel Oskar Andresson