Birkir Bjarnason
 Bjarnason playing for Viking in 2009 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Birkir Bjarnason | ||
| Date of birth | 27 May 1988 | ||
| Place of birth | Akureyri, Iceland | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Central Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Sampdoria | ||
| Number | 22 | ||
| – | KA Akureyri | ||
| – | Austrått | ||
| – | Figgjo | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2006–2011 | Viking | 100 | (16) |
| 2008 | → Bodø/Glimt (loan) | 22 | (5) |
| 2012–2013 | Standard Liège | 16 | (0) |
| 2012–2013 | → Pescara (loan) | 24 | (2) |
| 2013 | Pescara | 1 | (0) |
| 2013– | Sampdoria | 6 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2004 | Iceland U-17 | 7 | (2) |
| 2005–2007 | Iceland U-19 | 14 | (3) |
| 2006–2011 | Iceland U-21 | 25 | (3) |
| 2010– | Iceland | 27 | (4) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 30 October 2013. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Birkir Bjarnason (born 27 May 1988 in Akureyri) is an Icelandic professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Italian Serie A club Sampdoria.[1]
Playing career
Viking FK
Birkir started playing football with local clubs in his hometown of Akureyri, Iceland. He joined Viking in summer of 2005 from Figgjo. In the 2006 season he scored his first goal for Viking against Hamarkameratene. Since then, he has been a constant starter for Viking, helping them avoid relegation and even manage a third place finish in 2007. In 2008, he had a successful loan spell at newly promoted Tippeligaen side Bodø/Glimt,[2] playing a big part in them finishing fourth in the league. His impressive performances brought the attention of bigger clubs such as Serie A club Reggina in January 2008, but the Icelander stayed at Viking until 2012.
Standard Liège
On 12 January 2012, it was announced that Birkir would sign for Belgian side Standard Liège on a five year deal.[3][4]
Pescara
After the end of the 2011–12 season, in July 2012, he joined the newly promoted Serie A side Pescara on a season-long loan deal. He scored his first goal for Pescara in a 5–1 away defeat at Napoli. Birkir stated after the 2012-13 season that he wasn't interested to go down to Serie B with Pescara and, with two years remaining of his Standard Liege contract, he was unsure where he'd be playing in the 2013-14 season. [5] Pescara bought Birkir from Standard Liege in mid-June 2013 for a previously agreed fee, [6] with the aim of selling him for a higher amount that summer with interest from clubs in the top leagues in England, Italy and Germany. [7]
Sampdoria
On 2 September 2013 it was confirmed that Sampdoria had signed Birkir on a co-ownership deal.[8]
International
International Goals
Current as of 10 September 2013.
- Score and result lists Icelands goal first:
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 May 2012 | Stade du Hainaut, Valenciennes, France |  France | 1–0 | 2–3 | Friendly |
| 2 | 12 October 2012 | Qemal Stafa Stadium, Tirana, Albania |  Albania | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3 | 7 June 2013 | Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland |  Slovenia | 1–1 | 2–4 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 4 | 10 September 2013 | Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland | Albania | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Career statistics
| Club | Season | Division | League | Cup | Continental | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| 2006 | Viking | Tippeligaen | 16 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 1 |
| 2007 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | ||
| 2008 | Bodø/Glimt | 22 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 5 | |
| 2009 | Viking | 30 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 7 | |
| 2010 | 25 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 10 | ||
| 2011 | 23 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 1 | ||
| 2011–12 | Standard Liège | Jupiler Pro League | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 19 | 0 |
| 2012–13 | Pescara | Serie A | 24 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 2 |
| 2013–14 | Pescara | Serie B | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2013–14 | Sampdoria | Serie A | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Career Total | 169 | 23 | 22 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 195 | 26 | ||
References
- ↑ "Birkir Bjarnason". KSI. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
- ↑ "Birkir Bjarnason leigður frá Viking til Bodö/Glimt (Staðfest)". Fotbolti.net. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
- ↑ "Birkir BJARNASON". http://standard.sudpresse.be. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
- ↑ "Birkir samdi við Standard Liege". MBL. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
- ↑ "Ég er opinn fyrir öllu". Morgunblaðið. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
- ↑ "Pescara keypti Birki af Standard". Morgunblaðið. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
- ↑ "Félög í Englandi, Ítalíu og Þýskalandi vilja Birki". Morgunblaðið. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
- ↑ "Sampdoria complete signing of Pescara midfielder". forzaitalianfootball. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Birkir Bjarnason. |
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