| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Brynjar Björn Gunnarsson | ||
| Date of birth | 16 October 1975 | ||
| Place of birth | Reykjavík, Iceland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||
| Playing position | Defensive Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Reading | ||
| Number | 6 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| KR Reykjavík | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1995–1997 | KR Reykjavík | 50 | (1) |
| 1998 | Vålerenga | 4 | (0) |
| 1998 | → Moss (loan) | 5 | (2) |
| 1999 | Örgryte IS | 24 | (1) |
| 1999–2003 | Stoke City | 131 | (15) |
| 2003–2004 | Nottingham Forest | 13 | (0) |
| 2003–2004 | → Stoke City (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2004–2005 | Watford | 36 | (3) |
| 2005– | Reading | 139 | (10) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 1993–1994 | Iceland U19 | 11 | (3) |
| 1995–1997 | Iceland U21 | 8 | (1) |
| 1997–2009 | Iceland | 74 | (4) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16 January 2011. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Brynjar Björn Gunnarsson (born 16 October 1975 in Reykjavík) is an Icelandic footballer who is currently playing his club football as a defensive midfielder for Reading in the N-Power Championship. Gunnarsson has previously played for Nottingham Forest, Stoke City and Watford in England as well as Vålerenga in Norway, Örgryte IS in Sweden and KR Reykjavík in Iceland.
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In 1999, Stoke City paid a club-record fee of £600,000 for Gunnarsson. He spent four years at the Britannia Stadium, making over 130 appearances, before moving onto Nottingham Forest on a free transfer in 2003.
However, he did not impress at the City Ground and was loaned back to Stoke just months later before Watford signed him in the summer of 2004, taking advantage of another Bosman move.
Gunnarsson signed for Watford in the summer of 2004, after being released by Forest. He made 43 appearances in an impressive first season. However, Ray Lewington's replacement as Watford manager, Adrian Boothroyd, to some raised eyebrows from the Watford support, allowed Gumarsson to leave for Reading for a nominal fee in the summer of 2005. Boothroyd gave the justification that Gunnarsson was too similar to his central midfield partner, Gavin Mahon, and of lesser quality.
On 13 November 2006, Gunnarsson signed a contract extension to keep him at Reading until June 2008.[1]
Gunnarsson may not be considered as a first team regular by most, but he has scored plenty of important goals. Notable goals include an impressive strike against Liverpool, an equalising goal against Manchester United in the 2006–07 season's FA Cup and a winning goal in the dying moments against Sheffield United in the 2005–06 Championship season.
On 13 January 2010 Gunnarsson cemented his reputation as a club legend after a breathtaking performance to knock Liverpool F.C. out of the FA Cup. Gunnarsson's dummy and nutmeg past the imposing Liverpool defence and his subsequent perfect cross to set up Shane Long won the tie in extra time.
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other[A] | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Stoke City | 1999–2000 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 30 | 1 |
| 2000–01 | 46 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 56 | 5 | |
| 2001–02 | 24 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 4 | |
| 2002–03 | 39 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 5 | |
| Total | 131 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 158 | 16 | |
| Nottingham Forest | 2003–04 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| Total | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | |
| Stoke City (loan) | 2003–04 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Total | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| Watford | 2004–05 | 36 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 3 |
| Total | 36 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 3 | |
| Reading | 2005–06 | 29 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 4 |
| 2006–07 | 23 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 3 | |
| 2007–08 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0 | |
| 2008–09 | 27 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 30 | 2 | |
| 2009–10 | 26 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 0 | |
| 2010–11 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | |
| Total | 131 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 148 | 9 | |
| Career Total | 314 | 27 | 19 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 366 | 28 | |
Gunnarsson made his debut for Iceland in a June 1997 World Cup qualifying match against Macedonia. He has been capped more than 70 times for Iceland, scoring four goals.[2][3]
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