Birkir Bjarnason

Birkir Bjarnason (born 27 May 1988) is an Icelandic professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Serie B club Brescia and the Iceland national football team.[3]

This is an Icelandic name. The last name is patronymic, not a family name; this person is referred to by the given name Birkir.

Birkir Bjarnason
Birkir playing for Iceland at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Personal information
Full name Birkir Bjarnason[1]
Date of birth (1988-05-27) 27 May 1988[2]
Place of birth Akureyri, Iceland
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Position(s) Central midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Brescia
Number 31
Youth career
KA Akureyri
Austrått
Figgjo
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2011 Viking 102 (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– Brescia 13 (0)
National team‡
2004 Iceland U17 7 (2)
2005–2007 Iceland U19 14 (3)
2006–2011 Iceland U21 25 (3)
2010– Iceland 92 (13)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:21, 15 August 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18 November 2020

Club career

Viking FK

Birkir started playing football with local clubs in his hometown of Akureyri. His family moved to Norway in 1999 and he joined the youth teams of Figgjo. In the summer of 2005 Birkir joined Viking. In the 2006 season he scored his first goal for Viking against Hamarkameratene. Following that he played consistently as a starter for Viking and was a key aspect in helping the club avoid relegation that year and helping them obtain a third-place finish in 2007 under trainer Uwe Rösler.

In 2008 Birkir had a successful loan spell at newly promoted Tippeligaen side Bodø/Glimt,[4] playing a big part in them finishing fourth in the league. His performances brought the attention of bigger clubs such as Serie A club Reggina during January 2008, but he stayed at Viking until 2012. During this time he made 100 appearances for Viking in the Tippeligaen, scoring 16 league goals.

Standard Liège

On 12 January 2012, it was announced that Birkir would sign for Belgian Pro League side Standard Liège on a five-year deal.[5][6] He played 16 league matches in the Belgium Pro League for Standard.

Pescara

After the end of the 2011–12 season, in July 2012, Birkir joined the newly promoted Serie A side Pescara on a season-long loan deal, for €300,000, with an option to sign for an additional €900,000.[7] He scored his first goal for Pescara in a 5–1 away defeat at Napoli. After the 2012–13 season he stated that he was not interested in going down to Serie B with Pescara and, with two years remaining of his Standard Liège contract, he was unsure where he would be playing in the 2013–14 season.[8]

Pescara bought Birkir from Standard Liège on 9 June 2013 on a permanent transfer for a previously agreed fee,[7][9] with the aim of selling him for a higher amount that summer with interest being reported from clubs in the top leagues in England including, Italy and Germany.[10]

Sampdoria

On 2 September 2013, it was confirmed that Serie A side Sampdoria had signed Birkir on a co-ownership deal.[11] In total he made 14 Serie A appearances during the 2013–14 season for Sampdoria.

Return to Pescara

On 20 June 2014, it was announced that Birkir would sign again for Pescara on 1 July 2014, after the club won the co-ownership bidding for the player from Sampdoria.[12] Upon signing, he was appointed the captain for the 2014–15 season.

He scored 12 goals in 38 Serie B matches to help guide Pescara to a seventh-place finish and qualifying for the Serie B playoffs. Pescara beat Perugia 2–1 to qualify for the playoff semi-final. They beat Vicenza Calcio 3–2 over two legs in the semi-finals, with Birkir scoring the crucial match winning aggregate goal for Pescara on 2 June 2015 to help them qualify for the Serie B playoff final against Bologna.[13] However, with a 1–1 aggregate score after two legs Bologna, being the highest-placed team, were promoted.[14]

On 27 June 2015, Pescara announced they had accepted an offer of €1 million for Birkir from Serie A side Torino.[15] It was later revealed in July, that the move had seemingly stalled as Birkir had been unable to agree personal terms with the club.[16] A move to English side Leeds United also fell through.[17]

Basel

On 7 July 2015, it was announced that Birkir had signed a three-year contract with Swiss Super League club FC Basel for €1 million.[7][18] He made his first team league debut on 25 July 2015 in the 3–2 away win against Grasshoppers.[19] In the Champions League third qualifying round on 5 August he scored his first goal for his new club during the 1–0 home win against Lech Poznań.

He scored his first league goal for Basel on 26 September during the 3–1 home win against Lugano.[20] Under manager Urs Fischer Birkir won the Swiss Super League championship at the end of the 2015–16 Super League season. For the club it was the seventh title in a row and their 19th championship title in total.[21]

Aston Villa

On 25 January 2017, Birkir signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with English Championship side Aston Villa.[22] He scored his first goal for Aston Villa in an EFL Cup tie against Wigan Athletic on 22 August 2017.[23]

Brescia

On 18 January 2020, he returned to Italy, after signing a 1.5-year contract with Serie A side Brescia,[24] after a short spell in Qatar playing for Al-Arabi.[25]

International career
Birkir with Iceland in 2014

Birkir made his debut for the senior Iceland national side in 2010. He has also represented them at Iceland U-21, Under 19 and Under 17 levels.

He scored his first goal for Iceland against France on 27 May 2012 in a 3–2 defeat. He also followed this up with goals for Iceland in 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification with goals against Albania on 12 October 2012, Slovenia on 7 June 2013 and then against Albania again on 10 September 2013 in a 2–1 victory. Birkir's goals and performances played a crucial role in the qualifiers helping guide Iceland to the World Cup playoffs, however in November 2013 they lost 2–0 on aggregate over two legs to Croatia.[26]

He was called up to the national team again for UEFA Euro 2016 and achieved the honor of getting his country's first ever goal in a major tournament when he scored the equalizer against Portugal in their first group match.[27][28]

On 27 June 2016, Birkir played against England in the UEFA Euro 2016 round of 16 at the Stade de Nice, as Iceland upset England with a 2–1 victory to advance to the quarter-finals.[29]

In May 2018 he was named in Iceland's 23-man squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.[30]

Career statistics

Club
As of matches played 1 August 2020
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
FK Bodø/Glimt 2008[31] Tippeligaen 22500—00225
Viking Stavanger 2009[31] Tippeligaen 30600—00306
2010[31] 25830—00288
2011[31] 25130—00281
Total 801560—008615
Standard Liège 2011–12[31] Belgian Pro League 16010—3[lower-alpha 1]0200
Total 16 0 1 0 — 3 0 20 0
Pescara (loan) 2012–13[32] Serie A 24210——252
Pescara 2013–14[31] Serie B 1010——20
Total 1 0 1 0 — — 2 0
Sampdoria 2013–14[33] Serie A 14021——161
Total 14 0 2 1 — — 16 1
Pescara 2014–15[31] Serie B 391230——4212
Total 39 12 3 0 — — 42 12
Basel 2015–16[34] Swiss Super League 291010—10[lower-alpha 1]24012
2016–17[35] 13410—5[lower-alpha 2]0194
Total 421420—1525916
Aston Villa 2016–17[35] Championship 800000—80
2017–18[36] 23310312[lower-alpha 3]0294
2018–19[37] 1720000—172
Total 485103120546
Al-Arabi 2019–20 Qatar Stars League 5 1 0 0 0 0 — 5 1
Total 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1
Brescia Calcio 2019–20 Serie A 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 0
Total 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 0
Career total 310541713120235058
  1. Appearances in the Europa League
  2. Appearances in the Champions League
  3. Appearances in EFL Championship play-offs

International
As of 18 November 2020
Iceland
YearAppsGoals
201030
201150
201292
2013102
201480
201582
2016132
201761
2018111
2019103
202080
Total9213

International goals

Current as of 17 November 2019. Iceland score listed first, score column indicates score after each Birkir goal:[38]

#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1
 27 May 2012Stade du Hainaut, Valenciennes, France France
1–0
2–3
Friendly
2
 12 October 2012Qemal Stafa Stadium, Tirana, Albania Albania
1–0
2–1
2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
3
 7 June 2013Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland Slovenia
1–1
2–4
4
 10 September 2013 Albania
1–1
2–1
5
 28 March 2015Astana Arena, Astana, Kazakhstan Kazakhstan
2–0
3–0
UEFA Euro 2016 qualification
6
3–0
7
 14 June 2016Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Étienne, France Portugal
1–1
1–1
UEFA Euro 2016
8
 3 July 2016Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France France
2–5
2–5
9
 6 October 2017New Eskişehir Stadium, Eskişehir, Turkey Turkey
2–0
3–0
2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
10
 11 October 2018Stade de Roudourou, Guingamp, France France
1–0
2–2
Friendly
11
 22 March 2019Estadi Nacional, Andorra la Vella, Andorra Andorra
1–0
2–0
UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
12
 7 September 2019Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland Moldova
2–0
3–0
13
 17 November 2019Zimbru Stadium, Chișinău, Moldova
1–0
2–1

Honours

FC Basel

Aston Villa

References
  1. "Club list of registered players: As at 19th May 2018: Aston Villa" (PDF). English Football League. p. 2. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  2. "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.
  3. "Birkir Bjarnason". KSI. Archived from the original on 11 September 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
  4. "Birkir Bjarnason leigður frá Viking til Bodö/Glimt (Staðfest)". Fotbolti.net. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
  5. "Birkir BJARNASON". Sudpresse. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
  6. "Birkir samdi við Standard Liege". MBL. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
  7. "Arbitration CAS 2016/A/4387 Delfino Pescara 1936 v. Royal Standard Liège & Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)" (PDF). Court of Arbitration for Sport. 8 July 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  8. "Ég er opinn fyrir öllu". Morgunblaðið. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
  9. "Pescara keypti Birki af Standard". Morgunblaðið. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  10. "Félög í Englandi, Ítalíu og Þýskalandi vilja Birki". Morgunblaðið. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  11. "Sampdoria complete signing of Pescara midfielder". forzaitalianfootball. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  12. "Buste, Bjarnason torna al Pescara". Gianluca Di Marzio. Archived from the original on 23 August 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  13. "The transcripts of Pescara – Bjarnason the best, well Sansovini". Tutto Mercatto. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  14. https://www.espn.co.uk/football/report?gameId=420807
  15. "Official: Bjarnason to Torino". Football Italia. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  16. "Torino hit Bjarnason breaks". Football Italia. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  17. "Five things to know about Birkir Bjarnason – the Thor of football". Yorkshire Evening Post. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  18. FC Basel 1893 (2015). "Birkir Bjarnason wechselt zum FC Basel 1893". FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  19. Marti, Caspar (2015). "Birkir Bjarnason wechselt zum FC Basel 1893 mit 3:2". FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  20. Marti, Caspar (2015). "Nie gefährdeter 3:1-Heimsieg gegen Lugano". FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  21. Marti, Casper (2016). "Es ist vollbracht ! Der FCB ist zum 19. Mal Meister". FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  22. "Aston Villa sign Iceland midfielder Birkir Bjarnason from Basel". Sky Sports.
  23. "Aston Villa 4–1 Wigan". BBC. 22 August 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  24. "Bjarnason ingaggiato dal Brescia Calcio". Brescia Calcio. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  25. Thorogood, Tom (17 October 2019). "Derby County and Stoke City miss out as Al-Arabi confirm signing of Birkir Bjarnason". Derby County News. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  26. "Croatia end Iceland's World Cup dream". UEFA. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  27. "A karla – Lokahópur fyrir EM 2016" (in Icelandic). Knattspyrnusamband Íslands. 9 May 2016. Archived from the original on 12 May 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  28. "Portugal 1 Iceland 1". The Guardian. 14 June 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  29. "England 1 Iceland 2: Fairytale continues as Hodgson's men crash out". FourFourTwo. 27 June 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  30. "Injured Gylfi Sigurdsson in Iceland's World Cup squad - Goal.com". www.goal.com.
  31. "B. BJARNASON". scoreways.com. Archived from the original on 23 March 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  32. "Games played by Birkir Bjarnason in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  33. "Games played by Birkir Bjarnason in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  34. "Games played by Birkir Bjarnason in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  35. "Games played by Birkir Bjarnason in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  36. "Games played by Birkir Bjarnason in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  37. "Games played by Birkir Bjarnason in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  38. "KSI profile". KSI. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  39. Woodcock, Ian (27 May 2019). "Aston Villa 2–1 Derby County". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
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