Pétur Marteinsson
Icelandic footballer
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Pétur Hafliði Marteinsson (born 14 July 1973) is a retired Icelandic football player. He played for Hammarby IF in Sweden, Stabæk in Norway and Stoke City in England during his professional career. Marteinsson was capped 36 times and scored one goal while playing for Iceland. He is the son of former Icelandic international player Marteinn Geirsson.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Pétur Hafliði Marteinsson | ||
| Date of birth | 14 July 1973 | ||
| Place of birth | Reykjavík, Iceland | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1990 | Fram | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1990–1991 | Fram | 5 | (0) |
| 1992–1993 | Leiftur | 34 | (12) |
| 1994–1995 | Fram | 32 | (0) |
| 1996–1998 | Hammarby | 70 | (4) |
| 1999–2001 | Stabæk | 63 | (4) |
| 2001–2003 | Stoke City | 18 | (2) |
| 2003–2006 | Hammarby | 48 | (5) |
| 2007–2008 | KR | 29 | (0) |
| Total | 299 | (27) | |
| International career | |||
| 1988 | Iceland U-17 | 1 | (0) |
| 1990 | Iceland U-19 | 2 | (2) |
| 1992–1995 | Iceland U-21 | 19 | (0) |
| 1993–2005 | Iceland | 36 | (1) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Marteinsson holds an MBA degree from Reykjavik University.
Professional career
Marteinsson is an operation manager in Reykjavík, living in Vesturbær, raised in Breiðholt and Ártúnsholt (local neighborhoods in the city of Reykjavik).
After his professional football career abroad, Marteinsson lived with his family in several cities, including Stockholm, Oslo, Stoke-on-Trent, and Boston. These experiences contributed to his interest in urban planning and its role in shaping urban environments.
Since 2007, when returning home to his native Iceland, Marteinsson has built small and medium-sized businesses with the goal of improving local community services and enhancing human life in Reykjavik. These include Kex Hostel and Kaffihús Vesturbæjar (Kaffi Vest).
He has also been involved in the development of housing aimed for first time buyers through his urban development firm Borgarbragur. Marteinsson has also been involved as advisor in planning sports facilities within local neighborhoods and a new national stadium in Reykjavik.
Since 2024, Marteinsson has been employed with OZ Sports, an infrastructure provider for sports broadcasting.
Personal life
Marteinsson was raised in Breiðholt and Árbær (local neighborhoods in the city of Reykjavik) and is the son of former Icelandic international player Marteinn Geirsson and Hugrún Pétursdóttir. Marteinsson is married to Unnur Anna Valdimarsdóttir, professor at the University of Iceland. They have one daughter.
Political career
In early January 2026, Marteinsson declared his candidacy[1] to lead the Social Democratic Alliance, Samfylkingin, in the primaries for the May 2026 municipal elections in the City of Reykjavik.
Club career
Marteinsson was born in Reykjavík and started his career in Fram. He moved to Swedish club Hammarby IF in 1996[2] where he was a great success. A sought-after defender, Marteinsson was bought by the Norwegian club Stabæk,[3] coached by Anders Linderoth.
In November 2001, he moved on to English club Stoke City,[4] joining up with a number of fellow Icelandic players. He made his debut against Peterborough United in January 2002. He made just two more appearances during the 2001–02 season and when Guðjón Þórðarson was sacked at the end of the season Marteinsson struggled to get a look in with new manager Steve Cotterill and then Tony Pulis. Marteinsson made 18 league appearances for Stoke scoring twice against Bradford City in 2002 before being released in September 2003.[5][6][7]
He returned to Hammarby where he spent three years and made 48 appearances for "Bajen". In October 2006, KR Reykjavik announced they had signed Marteinsson for the 2007 Icelandic premier league season,[8] a move which saw Marteinsson return to his native Iceland to finish his career in 2008. In his last season he won a cup.[9]
International career
Marteinsson was capped 36 times for Iceland.[10] He made his debut in an August 1993 friendly match against the USA as a substitute for Kristján Jónsson.
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Fram | 1990 | Úrvalsdeild | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1991 | Úrvalsdeild | 4 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| Total | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| Leiftur | 1992 | 1. deild karla | 18 | 7 | 2 | 0 | — | 20 | 7 | |
| 1993 | 1. deild karla | 16 | 5 | 4 | 0 | — | 20 | 5 | ||
| Total | 34 | 12 | 6 | 0 | — | 40 | 12 | |||
| Fram | 1994 | Úrvalsdeild | 16 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 0 | ||
| 1995 | Úrvalsdeild | 16 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 0 | |||
| Total | 32 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 0 | ||||
| Hammarby | 1996 | Swedish Division 1 | 23 | 0 | — | — | 23 | 0 | ||
| 1997 | Swedish Division 1 | 23 | 2 | — | — | 23 | 2 | |||
| 1998 | Allsvenskan | 24 | 2 | — | — | 24 | 2 | |||
| Total | 70 | 4 | — | — | 70 | 4 | ||||
| Stabæk | 1999 | Tippeligaen | 18 | 0 | — | — | 18 | 0 | ||
| 2000 | Tippeligaen | 21 | 2 | — | — | 21 | 2 | |||
| 2001 | Tippeligaen | 24 | 2 | — | — | 24 | 2 | |||
| Total | 63 | 4 | — | — | 63 | 4 | ||||
| Stoke City | 2001–02 | Second Division | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 2002–03 | First Division | 12 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 2 | |
| 2003–04 | First Division | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 18 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 2 | ||
| Hammarby | 2003 | Allsvenskan | 1 | 1 | — | — | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2004 | Allsvenskan | 19 | 3 | — | — | 19 | 3 | |||
| 2005 | Allsvenskan | 8 | 1 | — | — | 8 | 1 | |||
| 2006 | Allsvenskan | 20 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 0 | |||
| Total | 48 | 5 | — | — | 48 | 5 | ||||
| KR | 2007 | Úrvalsdeild | 15 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | 23 | 0 | |
| 2008 | Úrvalsdeild | 14 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 1 | |
| Total | 29 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 42 | 1 | ||
| Career Total | 299 | 27 | 12 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 320 | 28 | ||
International
Source:[12]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iceland | 1993 | 1 | 0 |
| 1994 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1997 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1998 | 4 | 0 | |
| 1999 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2000 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2001 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2002 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2003 | 2 | 1 | |
| 2004 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2005 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 36 | 1 | |
- Scores and results list Iceland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Marteinsson goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 August 2003 | Tórsvøllur, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands |  Faroe Islands |
2–1 | 2–1 | UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying | [14] |
