Matthías Vilhjálmsson

Matthías Vilhjálmsson (born 30 January 1987) is an Icelandic international footballer who plays as a striker for the Úrvalsdeild club Víkingur. He can as well play as a midfielder. He also played for the Icelandic national football team from 2009 to 2016.

Matthías, also known as Matti Vill, has previously played for the Icelandic clubs BÍ and FH, the English club Colchester United and the Norwegian club Start.

Career

Early career Matthías was born in Reykjavík and grew up in Ísafjörður where he played with BÍ until he was 17 years old. He moved to Hafnarfjörður in 2004 to play with FH where he enjoyed early success with the youth teams of FH, winning the cup in 2004 and also the double in 2005, which is the only group in the club who have won the double. Matthías made his first-team debut for FH at the age of 18 in the last match of the 2005 season. He came on as a substitute with 20 minutes were left in the game, after one minute he was awarded a penalty which the team's top goalscorer Tryggvi Guðmundsson converted to complete his hattrick.

Between 2006 and 2010, Matthías won five titles with his team, three league titles and two cups. In 2007, he was voted the best young player in the league by other players. The 2009 season also ended with a league title, and he had most assists in the league and was the player with sixth most goals despite playing as a midfielder or right back. In the spring of 2010 he became one of the youngest captains in the history of FH when he was selected as the club captain for the 2010 season by his manager Heimir Guðjónsson. The same season, Matthías was voted the best midfielder in the league by other players in a survey by the most popular football website in Iceland, www.fotbolti.net. The highlight of the season was when FH won the cup 4–0 against their rivals KR where Matthías scored first two goals from the penalty spot before lifting the trophy after the game.

England Matthías joined Colchester United on trial in November 2010. He impressed the manager John Ward enough to earn a loan deal to the end of the season with the option of a permanent deal.

Matthías made his début as an 83rd-minute substitute in a 2–0 defeat against Brighton & Hove Albion where he replaced Dave Mooney, as the club went on to lose 3-0. Matthías made two more appearances for Colchester United, both coming on as a substitute. Due to lack of first team opportunities at the club, he asked Colchester United for his release, which was granted on 3 March 2011 and returned back to Iceland.

Norway Ahead of the 2012-season, Matthías joined Norwegian First Division club Start on a season-long loan-deal. He scored 18 goals for the team during the season, and became the top goalscorer in the 2012 Norwegian First Division when Start won promotion to Tippeligaen. Ahead of the 2012-season he joined Start on a permanent deal, and signed a two-year contract with the club.

On 25 July 2015, after weeks of speculations, Matthías signed for the Norwegian club Rosenborg on a two-and-a-half-year deal.

Return to Iceland Matthías returned to Iceland and joined FH in 2021. In April 2023, he played his 400th match in the Icelandic top-tier league.

Career statistics Club

International goals Scores and results list Iceland's goal tally first.

GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition 1. 21 March 2010 Kórinn, Kópavogur, Iceland 2–0 2–0 Friendly 2. 16 January 2015 UCF Soccer and Track Stadium, Orlando, United States 2–0 2–1 Friendly

Honours FH Úrvalsdeild: 2006, 2008, 2009 Icelandic Men's Football Cup: 2007, 2010 Icelandic League Cup: 2006, 2007, 2009, 2022 Icelandic Super Cup: 2007, 2008, 2010

Rosenborg Tippeligaen/Eliteserien: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 Norwegian Football Cup: 2015, 2016, 2018 Mesterfinalen: 2017

Vikingur Besta deild karla: 2023, 2025 Icelandic Men's Football Cup: 2023 Icelandic Super Cup: 2024

Individual Norwegian Cup Top goalscorer: 2017