Birkir Bjarnason
Birkir Bjarnason (born on 27 May 1988 in Akureyri, Iceland[3]) is an Icelandic professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder. He currently plays for the Swiss club of FC Basel and the Iceland national team.[4] In his homeland, he is nicknamed Thor.[5]
 Birkir playing for Iceland at the 2018 FIFA World Cup | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Birkir Bjarnason[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 27 May 1988
(aged 37)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Akureyri, Iceland | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2] | ||
| Playing position | Central midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Brescia | ||
| Number | 7 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| KA Akureyri | |||
| Austrått | |||
| Figgjo | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2006–2011 | Viking | 103 | (16) |
| 2008 | → Bodø/Glimt (loan) | 22 | (5) |
| 2012–2013 | Standard Liège | 16 | (0) |
| 2012–2013 | → Pescara (loan) | 24 | (2) |
| 2013 | Pescara | 1 | (0) |
| 2013–2014 | Sampdoria | 14 | (0) |
| 2014–2015 | Pescara | 35 | (10) |
| 2015–2017 | FC Basel | 42 | (14) |
| 2017–2019 | Aston Villa | 48 | (5) |
| 2019 | Al-Arabi | 5 | (1) |
| 2020–2021 | Brescia | 39 | (6) |
| 2021–2023 | Adana Demirspor | 41 | (5) |
| 2023 | Viking | 11 | (2) |
| 2023– | Brescia | 1 | (1) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2004 | Iceland U17 | 7 | (2) |
| 2005–2007 | Iceland U19 | 14 | (3) |
| 2006–2011 | Iceland U21 | 25 | (4) |
| 2010– | Iceland | 113 | (15) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 03:21, 12 June 2023 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 16 November 2022 | |||
He has also played for Viking FK, FK Bodø/Glimt, Standard Liège, Delfino Pescara 1936, and Sampdoria. He won the Swiss Super League with Basel in 2016.[6]
He was included in Iceland's squad for the UEFA Euro 2016. On 14 June 2016, he scored Iceland's first goal at a major tournament.[7] It was against Portugal, and the game ended in a draw.[8]
Statistics
International goals
- As of 3 July 2016[9]
| # | Date | Location | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 May 2012 | Valenciennes, France |  France |
Friendly | |||
| 12 October 2012 | Tirana, Albania |  Albania |
2014 FIFA World Cup qualification | |||
| 7 June 2013 | Reykjavík, Iceland |  Slovenia |
||||
| 10 September 2013 | Reykjavík, Iceland | Albania |
||||
| 28 March 2015 | Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan |  Kazakhstan |
UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying | |||
| 14 June 2016 | Saint-Étienne, France |  Portugal |
UEFA Euro 2016 | |||
| 3 July 2016 | Saint-Denis, France | France |
References
- ↑ "Club list of registered players: As at 19th May 2018: Aston Villa" (PDF). English Football League. p. 2. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "2018 FIFA World Cup Russia: List of players: Iceland" (PDF). FIFA. 16 June 2018. p. 13. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
- ↑ "Birkir Bjarnason Profile - Football Player, Iceland | News, Photos, Stats, Ranking, Records". NDTV Sports. Retrieved 2025-07-11.
- ↑ Birkir Bjarnason. KSI. http://www.ksi.is/mot/motalisti/felagsmadur/?LeikmadurNr=164919&pListi=4. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
- ↑ Five things to know about Birkir Bjarnason - the Thor of football. Yorkshire Evening Post. http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/sport/leeds-united/latest-whites-news/leeds-united-five-things-to-know-about-birkir-bjarnason-the-thor-of-football-1-7295852. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
- ↑ "Saison-Archiv". Swiss Football League. Archived from the original on 24 June 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
- ↑ "More than 8 percent of Iceland's population at Euro 2016". USA Today. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
- ↑ "Portugal 1-1 Iceland: Cristiano Ronaldo and Co held to shock draw by minnows". Mirror.co.uk. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
- ↑ "KSI profile". KSI. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
Other websites
- KSI profile
- Profile on the Swiss Football League homepage Archived 2021-12-09 at the Wayback Machine
- Profile at Viking Archived 2007-08-15 at Archive.today