Kjartan Finnbogason

Kjartan Henry Finnbogason (born 9 July 1986) is an Icelandic international footballer who plays as a striker for Danish 1st Division club Esbjerg fB. He has represented Iceland at international level.

This is an Icelandic name. The last name is patronymic, not a family name; this person is referred to by the given name Kjartan.
Kjartan Finnbogason
Personal information
Full name Kjartan Henry Finnbogason
Date of birth (1986-07-09) 9 July 1986
Place of birth Reykjavík, Iceland
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Striker
Club information
Current team
 Esbjerg
Number 22
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003–2004 KR Reykjavík 16 (2)
2005–2008 Celtic 0 (0)
2006 → Queen's Park (loan) 0 (0)
2007 → Åtvidabergs FF (loan) 6 (1)
2008–2010 Sandefjord 22 (10)
2009–2010 → Falkirk (loan) 7 (1)
2010–2014 KR Reykjavík 115 (53)
2014–2018 Horsens 119 (50)
2018–2019 Ferencváros 14 (6)
2019–2020 Vejle 42 (21)
2020–2021 Horsens 7 (2)
2021– Esbjerg 0 (0)
National team‡
2011– Iceland 13 (3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 08:01, 1 February 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19 January 2020

Club career

Kjartan was born in Reykjavík, Iceland. He was signed by Celtic in December 2004.[1] Although signing for the club as a member of their youth academy, he was loaned to Queen's Park in the 2005–06 season to gain first team experience, but he suffered a broken foot and soon returned to Celtic Park. Despite scoring 28 goals in 20 reserve appearances for the Glasgow club, he failed to make a single first team appearance and left after less than two years. It was reported in the Scottish press that Kjartan was unhappy with the way he was treated. Sources claimed he was disenchanted with the lack of first team opportunities given to him by manager Gordon Strachan. Celtic were initially going to offer him a contract, but due to notable disagreements Kjartan handed in a transfer request.

He had several trial offers from English clubs and he made public his intention to play in the Premier League. Kjartan accepted a trial from Bristol City at the start of the 2007–08 season and went on the clubs Latvian tour against Skonto FC and FK Žalgiris Vilnius, but did not impress sufficiently and was released after the tour.[2]

He made a good impression at Falkirk after scoring in the 2–1 defeat of Livingston on 5 August 2009 as a trialist attacker in a friendly. In August 2009, Kjartan signed a six-month loan deal at Falkirk, with an option of a permanent deal. He scored on his debut, against Dundee United on 29 August 2009.[3]

He signed for Sandefjord Fotball in January 2010. Kjartan then signed for KR Reykjavik in 2010 making a two-year contract. Playing in shirt number 6 he scored 9 goals in all competitions. During the 2011 season, Kjartan played in shirt number 10. After 18 league games, KR Reykjavik was at the top of the table and Kjartan had scored 12 goals in the league. Kjartan broke a club record for KR Reykjavik scoring his seventh goal against MŠK Žilina in nine UEFA Cup appearances in 2011, making him the highest goal scorer in the clubs UEFA Cup history.

Ferencváros

He scored a hat-trick in the second round proper of the 2018–19 Magyar Kupa season against Sárvári FC.[4][5]

Vejle

On 20 January 2019, Kjartan signed for Vejle Boldklub.[6]

Return to Horsens

After terminating his deal with Vejle, Finnbogason returned to AC Horsens on 6 October 2020, signing a deal until June 2021.[7] His contract was terminated by mutual consent in January 2021 due to personal reasons, with Kjartan expressing an interest in returning to Iceland.[8]

Esbjerg

On 1 February 2021, Kjartan signed a six-month contract with second-tier Danish 1st Division club Esbjerg fB.[9]

International career

Kjartan scored his first ever international goal against China in a friendly match in China.

International goals
Scores and results list Iceland's goal tally first.[10]
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.10 January 2017Guangxi Sports Center, Nanning, China China PR1–02–02017 China Cup
2.8 November 2017Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha, Qatar Czech Republic1–11–2Friendly
3.19 January 2020Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson, United States El Salvador1–01–0

References
  1. "O'Neill hails Icelandic signings". BBC Sport. BBC. 23 December 2004. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
  2. "Bristol City reject Icelandic ace". BBC Sport. BBC. 21 July 2007. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
  3. "Dundee Utd 2 - 1 Falkirk". BBC Sport. BBC. 29 August 2009. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
  4. https://int.soccerway.com/matches/2018/10/31/hungary/magyar-kupa/sarvar-fc/ferencvarosi-torna-club/2926592/?ICID=PL_MS_04
  5. http://m.nemzetisport.hu/labdarugo_nb_i/magyar-kupa-sarvar-ferencvaros-2666503
  6. Kjartan: VB hører til i Superligaen, vejle-boldklub.dk, 20 January 2019
  7. Finnbogason vender hjem til AC Horsens, achorsens.dk, 6 October 2020
  8. Dalgård, Jonas (1 February 2021). "Kjartan skulle hjem til Island: Sådan er gamet". bold.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  9. Dalgård, Jonas (1 February 2021). "Esbjerg henter fritstillet Kjartan Finnbogason". bold.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  10. "Finnbogason, Kjartan". National Football Teams. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
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