Sigursteinn Davíð Gíslason (25 June 1968 – 16 January 2012) was an Icelandic football player and manager. A left-sided defender who could also play in midfield, he spent the majority of his playing career in his home country; he started his career with KR and later had spells with ÍA and Víkingur Reykjavík. During the 1999–2000 season, Sigursteinn joined English club Stoke City and played eight matches in the Football League. Following his retirement from playing, he became a coach at his former club KR and went on to spend three years as the club's assistant manager. In 2008, Sigursteinn was appointed as manager of Leiknir Reykjavík, a position he held for more than two seasons before being forced to retire through illness.
Playing career
Club
Although born in Akranes, Sigursteinn started his career with KR Reykjavík, where he joined the reserve team in 1985. He was part of the team that beat Þróttur 6–3 in the final of the 1986 Reykjavík Championship, and was a regular for the side over the following two seasons. On 16 August 1987, Sigursteinn made his first-team debut for KR, coming on as a second-half substitute for Gunnar Skúlason in the 0–1 defeat to Keflavík. He was given his first start by manager Gordon Lee five days later as the team suffered another home defeat, losing 2–3 to ÍA. By the end of the 1987 season, he had made five senior appearances for KR.
Ahead of the 1988 campaign, Sigursteinn returned to Akranes to join his hometown club ÍA as one of seven new signings. He was selected in the starting line-up for the first game of the season against Leiftur on 15 May 1988, but was forced to leave the pitch in the tenth minute after sustaining an injury in a clash with an opposition player. He scored his first goal in senior football in the 3–1 win against the same club in the return match on 16 July 1988. In total, he played 12 matches and scored twice during the 1988 campaign. The following year, Sigursteinn scored one goal in 13 appearances as ÍA achieved a sixth-place finish. During the 1990 season, he established himself as a first-team regular, starting every league match. He also netted three goals, which included two in successive matches against FH and Valur in July. However, the season ended in disappointment for ÍA as they won only 3 of their 18 league fixtures and finished bottom of the division and were thereby relegated to the second tier of Icelandic football.
Sigursteinn played 17 matches and scored 5 goals during the 1991 season as the team regained their place in the top division after a one-year absence. He again missed only one match of the 1992 campaign as ÍA were crowned champions of the Úrvalsdeild for the first time since 1984. Over the next four seasons he remained a regular starter as the side won five consecutive league championships, becoming the first club to accomplish the feat since Fram more than 80 years earlier. In 1994, Sigursteinn was awarded Icelandic Player of the Year, the third ÍA player in succession to win the accolade after Luka Kostic and Sigurður Jónsson. That year, he was offered a chance to turn professional by moving to Swedish outfit Örgryte IS, but he declined and went on to stay with ÍA until the end of the 1998 season, making well over 160 appearances in all competitions for the club.
On 14 January 1999, Sigursteinn returned to his first club KR. During his first season back, KR won the Icelandic league for the first time since 1968. He played a total of 20 league and cup matches and scored once, netting the team's fourth goal in the 5–1 win against Valur on 27 May 1999. In November of the same year, he joined English Football League Second Division side Stoke City on loan, along with manager Guðjón Þórðarson and a number of other Icelandic players. Sigursteinn made his debut for Stoke in the 4–0 away win over Wycombe Wanderers on 23 November 1999, although he was substituted for compatriot Einar Daníelsson after suffering a dislocated shoulder. He failed to firmly establish his first-team place during his time in England, starting only four league matches for Stoke and making a further four substitute appearances. He also played four games in the Football League Trophy, a tournament that Stoke went on to win that season.