How Jon Dadi Bodvarsson became firmly part of the Wolves family

And little did Jon Dadi Bodvarsson know, when starting for Iceland on that historic night in Nice, that he would soon be heading to Molineux during a somewhat chaotic time to fulfil his dream of savouring English football.

Not only playing, but leading that post-match ‘Icelandic Clap’ which lit up not just Molineux but plenty of stadiums on the road including Anfield, St Andrew’s and St James’ Park.

It made for some spectacular scenes. And iconic photography. For a few months at least, it brought everyone together.

For the player himself, thrust into a rather bizarre environment with a manager in Walter Zenga into his 16thappointment in 18 years, and as one of a new batch of summer signings that hit double figures, it was a hugely appreciated gesture which certainly helped him settle in.

“That celebration really made me feel a part of everything after signing for a new club,” Bodvarsson confirms.

“For me, football is all about that bond between the fans and the players, helping the supporters to express themselves and have a good time.

“It was what we had done with Iceland at the Euros and then the Wolves fans took notice and carried it on!

“It was really nice and a fun thing to do, especially when the time was right, like we’d had a great win or the moment was good.

“I remember it not just at Molineux but after big away performances too, like at Liverpool and Newcastle, just incredible memories.”

Wolves and Bolton, Bodvarsson’s most recent port of call, haven’t exactly been comfortable bedfellows in recent footballing history. The fierce rivalry of the 1990s lingers on!

But in terms of the Icelandic Clap, they have been united, and Bodvarsson, who has just departed Bolton where he had become extremely popular, led the very same celebration on many occasions for the other Wanderers.

He is now a free agent - more on that later – but, eight years ago, after that win against England which took Iceland into the last eight of Euro 2016, Bodvarsson was hot property.

Having launched his career with his hometown club Selfoss, three years in Norway with Viking preceded joining FC Kaiserslautern in the German second division, in the January transfer window of 2016.

Bodvarsson put pen to paper on a two-and-a-half year deal, but his performance at the Euros changed everything.

“It was such a huge success for everyone involved with Iceland, and not long after I got back, I had a call to say Wolves were interested,” he recalls.

“It ended up taking two or three bids before Kaiserslautern accepted, and I remember talking to Kenny Jackett, who was very direct and straightforward, and told me he wanted me to sign and to get the deal done quickly.

“I was very excited, I knew Wolves were a famous team and having watched the Premier League as a kid, I knew that’s where they were trying to get.

“And then, by the time I got to the club, Kenny had just left, which came as a bit of a shock!”

It was a fairly lively environment into which Bodvarsson and the other glut of new signings arrived as new owners Fosun set out their stall to take Wolves in a new direction, letting Jackett go after three stable and successful years, and bringing in the more unpredictable prospect of Zenga.

By their own admission, it took Fosun a year to get things right and push Wolves forward - ultimately to explosive effect – but, at first, there was very little in the way of solid foundations.

Over a 12-month period the club had no fewer than five managers, Jackett and Nuno bookending the appointments of Zenga, Rob Edwards as interim and Paul Lambert.

And yet, even if the season as a whole eventually proved a challenging one, the first few weeks offered an exhilarating mix of the weird, the wild and the sometimes wonderful. It was lively, at times entertaining, and certainly never dull.

Bodvarsson came off the bench to secure Wolves an opening day point at Rotherham, was among the scorers in a brilliant local derby win at Birmingham and grabbed an assist in an impressive victory at eventual Championship title-winners Newcastle.

Fun times, even if for such a short period!

“I started well at Wolves and hit the ground running,” Bodvarsson recalls.

“I was o-k with my English and I have always found the people really laid back and friendly and that helped me.

“I do remember having a moment when I was on the pitch for my debut thinking ‘what have I got myself into here’?

“Rotherham were very physical and very direct and the pace of the game was different to what I was used to, but I quickly adapted.

“It’s still strange to remember because I had only been a striker for a couple of seasons – before that I was a winger – but even though it was a relatively new position, I seemed to find myself and I was really enjoying it.

“It’s that cliché of being in the moment and in the zone, and I still sometimes watch some of the highlights back like that day at Birmingham and coming off the bench when we won in the FA Cup at Liverpool.

“I remember at Anfield I went on a run and nearly scored one of the best goals I would have scored in my career! That would really have helped as I was struggling for goals at the time.

“But I always think back to random flashes of really good memories during my time at Wolves.”

Wolves finished 15th in the Championship that season, and Bodvarsson scored three goals in 48 appearances, of which exactly half, 24, came from the bench.

His game, however, was always about far more than goals.

Leading the line and link-up play were also key elements of the Icelander’s contribution, not to mention nothing less than total commitment and workrate every single appearance.

Even though there was disappointment at never getting the chance to be part of the Nuno revolution which followed, Bodvarsson reflects fondly on his year at Molineux.

“For me, the season I spent at Wolves was a massive learning curve,” he explains.

“It taught me about how it is in the industry as a footballer, so much more intense than it had been in Norway and Germany.

“Having become a striker quite late on, it’s a massive pressure position with all the statistics of needing to score goals, and I didn’t get enough.

“I had to learn to deal with all of that, alongside it being a massive transitional period for the club, with several managerial changes, and in the middle of all that we were all dealing with our own stuff as players.

“I suppose what happened for me at the end of that season was one of the brutal realities of football.

“I understand that a new manager was bringing in a lot of new players, and very good ones, but I would have loved to have had the pre-season to at least try and show myself.

“That is all you want as a player, and when you look at Nuno, it wasn’t just about the new players, it was how he improved players already there as well.

“For me it could have been the same, I could have progressed at Wolves, but while that was disappointing it’s also part of football – all the ifs, buts and maybes.

“I would have loved the chance to play for Nuno or at least had the chance to showcase what I can do, but there is no bitterness at all, because that’s just how football is.”

Having been one of the many to arrive in the summer of 2016, Bodvarsson was one of the many to depart a year later.

Moving on to Reading, where he was later joined by Dave Edwards, and then Millwall, before spending the last two-and-a-half years with Bolton, including winning the EFL Trophy, complete with Icelandic Clap, at Wembley, albeit in a game which Bodvarsson missed through injury.

And now? He is a free agent, for the first time in his career.

For now, that means family time with wife Maria, five-year-old daughter Sunneva and recently arrived son Emil but Bodvarsson is ready and waiting to grasp a new challenge.

Ideally that would be in England, where the family is settled and he feels the pace and physicality of the football is perfectly suited to his game, but he is also open to the idea of another adventure elsewhere.

Wherever he ends up, he will do so with continuing fond memories of Wolves, where he also wrote his name into the club’s history by becoming the 1,000th player to represent the first team, receiving a special framed picture from former club historian and general legend Graham Hughes to mark the occasion.

“That was a really special moment, to receive that framed shirt from Graham, such a famous guy connected with the club,” Bodvarsson, now 32, recalls.

“And overall, to just have a part in a club the size of Wolves with all that history is something that was very proud for me personally.

“Hopefully I put a few smiles on the faces of fans and produced one or two good memories because, for me, that is the most important thing at the end of the day.

“I still have a feeling after my time there, that even though my stats weren’t the greatest, the fans realised that my game was about more than that.

“I hope that the Wolves fans saw I was always giving my best, and that I made a positive impact, and still today I get nice messages on social media which really mean a lot and make me think I did something right while I was there.

“Wolves is a club which will definitely always have a special place in my heart.”

England and Iceland have met again since that infamous night eight years ago, twice in the Nations League in which the Three Lions won 4-0 and 1-0 respectively.

Tomorrow they are reunited at Wembley, this time as preparation for England’s European Championships campaign, and not as part of it.

“That game in the Euros was an insane moment and probably the highlight of my career,” Bodvarsson reveals.

“The whole tournament was amazing, our confidence was so high and we believed we could beat anyone.

“And after all those celebrations on the pitch, what I can remember is how quiet our dressing room was afterwards, everyone just sat there and taking it all in, such a massive achievement.”

There will be no such drama this time.

But Bodvarsson will just be looking on, no doubt with a thought back to the most dramatic and memorable of the 64 senior caps he has picked up for the Iceland national team.

A special night and an historic night, and one which led him to Wolves, for which he will remain forever grateful.